Injuries to big players has been the story of the season and across all positions. Tua Tagovailoa, Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, & Puka Nacua are just a few of the top-tier players that have been hit with the injury bug. Some teams have been able to persevere through them like the Chiefs, while other teams like the Dolphins have faltered. We’re going to be looking at each team’s matchups in week 5 and for the teams with injuries, will they be able to get past their opponents or ultimately meet their demise. Through 4 weeks, we are 37-27 in picking games.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
In one of the better Thursday Night matchups of the season, the NFC South showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons is going to be a good one. Both teams have offenses with exciting playmakers that make the game entertaining to watch. The Buccaneers have Baker Mayfield who is playing like a top 5 quarterback on the year and the Falcons have 2nd year running back Bijan Robinson who consistently makes highlight reel type plays. The problem for Atlanta is they don’t give the ball to Bijan enough and it’s going to cost them again as their play calling which is one of the league’s worst is what leads to them losing.
Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings (London)
The first London game of the season features a 2-2 New York Jets team & a surprising 4-0 Vikings team led by Sam Darnold who’s entering MVP conversations. Darnold faces his former team that gave up on him and he’s on a mission right now & will send a statement in this game as the Vikings move to 5-0 across the pond.
Winner: Minnesota Vikings
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Andy Dalton faces another one of his former teams for the second week in a row. Dalton played with the Bears in 2021 & is now back at Soldier Field where he didn’t get enough of an opportunity as the team landed on Justin Fields which we all know how that went. The Bears might have the better record and are playing at home, but their offense has been terrible this season and their defense not much better. Since Andy Dalton’s been playing, he’s thrown over 500 yards and 5 touchdowns so far and has the offense alive again. We like Andy Dalton to keep it up & get a big win over Chicago.
Winner: Carolina Panthers
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
The Baltimore Ravens & Cincinnati Bengals got big wins in week 4 as the Bengals saved themselves from falling to 0-4 and the Ravens crushed the 3-0 Bills. The Ravens and Bengals usually play tough against one another, but the Ravens are just at another level than the Bengals are right now and Baltimore moves over .500 for the first time this season.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Two of the lowest ranked teams in the NFL and rivals are the Miami Dolphins & New England Patriots. The Patriots are not surprising being in this spot, but if you asked us at the beginning of the season, the Dolphins are. Without Tua, the Dolphins offense has been non-existent for 2 weeks in a row. How bad this offense has been is pathetic as they could only muster 12 points against a winless Tennessee Titans at home. Tyler Huntley has another week under his belt, but the nerves showed out and we think the Dolphins can’t even do enough to beat New England as they fall to 1-4 and tied for the worst record in the league heading into their bye.
Winner: New England Patriots
Cleveland Browns at Washington Commanders
The 2023 Heisman Winner, Jayden Daniels is looking like he’d win that Heisman again if the NFL had one. He’s been the story of the year for the Washington Commanders and putting them atop the NFC East Standings. The Commanders are on a roll and even against a tough Cleveland Secondary, the Commanders should still win as the Browns offense is awful. Even if Jayden Daniels has his worst game on the year, it’ll still be enough to beat a Cleveland team that cannot score.
Winner: Washington Commanders
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
There’s no way that the Jaguars can fall to 0-5, is there? 3 of their 4 losses were one score games that they should’ve won. The Jaguars biggest problem is the collapsing in the second half and they face another team in Indianapolis with second half struggles of their own. If the Jaguars fall to 0-5, we expect the Jaguars to fire Doug Pederson. With his job on the line, we think this will be the best coached game of the season and the Jaguars to pull off a last desperate effort against a banged up Colts offense.
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
One of the most anticipated matchups of the week is a battle of two 3-1 teams in Buffalo & Houston. Buffalo’s coming off a blowout loss and is on a mission to prove they are legit and put that loss aside. They have another tough draw two weeks in a row, but the Texans defense has been inconsistent this season and they’re going to struggle against Josh Allen’s dynamic play style. The Bills march on to 4-1 and the Texans fall to 3-2 in a shootout.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos
Two teams that we’re unable to get a good read on are the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Both teams have come up with some massive wins, but have lost in embarrassing fashion as well. Neither team is going to be a playoff team and offense is where their biggest problems lie. This matchup is going to come down who has the better defense and that’s Denver led by pro bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
Winner: Denver Broncos
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
After obliterating the Rams, the Cardinals got destroyed by the Commanders by 28 points. We can understand giving up the points to Washington’s offense, but only putting up 14 points against their defense is pathetic. The Cardinals now face a much tougher 49ers defense and it’s going to be another ugly affair for them.
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams
Jordan Love came back earlier than expected after his MCL sprain & it was a slow start against Minnesota, but in the second half, him & the entire offense came alive. It was clear his mobility isn’t fully there, but his passing is. Against a Rams team that has lost 2 games in a row, with one being a blowout against Arizona and the other a pathetic loss against Chicago, Jordan Love gets his first win of the season as the Packers offense rolls over Los Angeles.
Winner: Green Bay Packers
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks lost their first game of the season, but it wasn’t the fault of the offense as Geno Smith threw for over 300 yards and the offense put up over 30 points. The Giants have lost and it has been a direct result of their offense, specifically the play from quarterback Daniel Jones and the running game. The Seahawks defense wasn’t great allowing Jared Goff to be perfect last week, but they don’t need to do much to win against a Giants team that has only broken 20 points once this year.
Winner: Seattle Seahawks
Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers were dealt their first loss of the season after their defense powered them through the first 3 weeks. They face another offense that they have the ability to keep in check. But the Cowboys defense should keep the Steelers in check as well and this should be a rather low scoring game. This game could go either way, but we can’t see the Cowboys losing to Justin Fields and we’ll give them the edge in this one even without Micah Parsons.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs find ways to win despite the injuries. Their offense is struggling with the losses of Marquise Brown in the preseason, Isiah Pacheco’s injury in week 1, & now Rashee’s Rice injury in week 4. We know Patrick Mahomes can spread the ball around and make magic happen, but we think New Orleans is going to be a problem for them, especially their secondary with the limited receivers they have available. New Orleans is coming off back to back losses after monster performances in weeks 1 & 2, but their losses were both scores from the opposing team in the last minute of the game & against good teams. The Saints get a big win & a big confidence boost beating the 4-0 Chiefs on the road in Monday Night Football.
HeatCheck Sports 
0 comments on “2024 NFL Week 5 Picks: Which Teams Can Survive Their Injuries?”