NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 5: Early Look at NFL Schedule

In an ongoing series here at SurvivorPoolPicks.com, I will look at each week of the NFL season through Week 8 to spot what are likely the best Survivor Pool picks on the board. This week we will look at the Week 5 NFL schedule. I have offered picks and predictions for the first four weeks of the season already: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. Of course, a lot can change between now and Week 5 since we just started the first week of preseason. However, we will look at Week 5 in depth once Week 4 is in the books as we will offer extensive Survivor Pool coverage throughout the 2015-15 pro football season.

Here are the noteworthy games for Week 5. I will just go down the list in chronological order with comments on the best Survivor Pool picks for Week 5.

Indianapolis at Houston (Thursday Night Football): The Colts are probably a good pick almost every week of the season this year, and they are probably my No. 1 Survivor Pool team because of the division they play in and their prowess on the field. This team could have the best regular-season record in the league. Because of that, however, they will be a popular pick in most pools during the early part of the season and will likely be gone from everyone’s roster of possible picks by Week 5. Houston received a big blow when Arian Foster got injured in the preseason, and this offense should really struggle with no solid QB options and not many playmakers on offense. The Texans defense should be great, but that probably won’t be enough to keep up with the high-octane Indy offense here. Still, there are better picks on the board for Week 5 for those rare folks who haven’t used the Colts by this point.

Kansas City vs. Chicago: The Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium are always a force, and with a tough opening schedule this is probably one of the first times Survivor Pool players will be looking at the Chiefs. I think the Chiefs in their current form are a lot better than the Bears this year and they should be able to win this game as long as there are no major injuries. However, Kansas City always has a head-scratching result on their record each year just like they normally win a game no one gives them a chance in. I will be looking very strongly at Kansas City in Week 5 as they look like a pretty good pick.

Atlanta vs. Washington: This is a game the Falcons should win. If you want to gamble early in the season, I could not really argue with this pick. The Redskins have a chance to be truly awful this year, and I don’t think the most die-hard of fans would argue with that. However, I don’t want to gamble this early and will probably be looking elsewhere for my pick even though Atlanta should win here.

Baltimore vs. Cleveland: The Ravens should dominate this one. The Browns have a very hard schedule this season and will not win many games even if they improve from last season (not likely). Division games scare me, however, as the underdog will probably give their best effort, especially early in the season. In this advance look at Week 5 I probably have the Ravens equal with the Chiefs in their chance of coming away with a win here, but the divisional factor would probably push me in the Chiefs direction if I was still 50/50 on these games as my top picks. I will be looking at these teams thoroughly leading up to Week 5, though.

Green Bay vs. St. Louis: I will just say it right now: I am not going to be playing against the Rams that much this season. This team played way above its head last season and was a really good bet as an underdog. I think this team will take the same M.O. this year, and they are good for a big upset or two. The Packers are going to be a very popular Survivor Pool pick in Week 1, so this might be a great chance to use them for a pool player that went in another direction in Week 1 because most other competitors will not have the Pack at their disposal. Green Bay should win this, but the Rams are a team I will be watching closely and will be wary of fading early in the season until I see something that tells me otherwise.

Buffalo at Tennessee: The Titans are the frontrunners to be the worst team in the NFL this season and will likely have the worst record in the league. However, I am not crazy about taking an 8-8-type team like Buffalo on the road even against a team like this. Heck, even though Titans rookie QB Marcus Mariota will likely be thrown right into the fire to take his lumps , Tennessee might still have a better QB situation than the one in Buffalo. Titans faders will likely be eyeing the Bills in Week 5, but I will probably be looking elsewhere.

Denver at Oakland: I think the Raiders will be better this year. They seem to have their QB in place and some skill players surround him to give Oakland hope for the future. The Broncos should get the win here, but QB Peyton Manning may be losing a step and this is also a division game. I think there are better picks on the board for Week 5. If this game was in Denver this would be a much better option, but for now I like some other games better and will probably not have the Broncos available in my pool by Week 5 anyways.

So I think Kansas City is the best option on the board followed closely by Baltimore. That’s if I had to make a pick today for Week 5, but of course we will examine this week much closer in the week leading up to the games and will release our official picks at that time.