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NFL Betting Predictions: Week 5 Opening Line Report and Picks

by Mike Pruitt - 10/4/2021

NFL predictions Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers Week 5 Opening Line Report and picks

So, it turns out Tom Brady did, in fact, escape his trip back to Massachusetts with a victory. It wasn't the prettiest game ever, and the score was much lower than a lot of us imagined, but he got it done against his old coach, team, and town of 20 years.

There was a brief hug from the two on the field after the game. It looked respectful but not much else. Brady then was immediately embraced by an assistant coach for a good 10 seconds, showing us that there is a big emotional gap still between the GOAT coach and the GOAT quarterback duo that rained on the parade of every NFL team for two decades.

Elsewhere in the league, the Dallas Cowboys held on to a big lead in the fourth quarter as the Carolina Panthers tried to claw their way back into the game. I hate to say it, but Dak and the Boys are looking like possibly the best team in the NFC.

The NY Football Giants got their first victory of 2021 with an upset of the inconsistent New Orleans Saints. In one of the spotlight games of the week, the resurgent Rams of Los Angeles played the now division rival Arizona Cardinals in a game for first place, and Bruce Arians appeared to have a better game plan heading into this one and led his team to the wide victory.

The only undefeated teams left in the NFL are the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders, who play this Monday night. This isn’t great for us bettors, because all signs point to even more parity in the NFL.

Let’s look at some of the opening betting lines for the upcoming Week 5 in the NFL and make some predictions from there.

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Green Bay Packers vs Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5, 50)

The Green Bay Packers come into week 5 with a record of 3-1 overall as well as going 3-1 against the spread this year, too. I think they may be a dark horse team this year in the NFC with so many people focused on the Dallas Cowboys and the young Arizona Cardinals.

There is always the US Special Forces level sniper rifle that is the arm of new Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. I think the NFC is shaping up to be pretty interesting. Is Aaron Rodgers still happy?

Probably not. But does it even matter? The guy is so competitive that he is going to go out there and play at a higher level than before every time he steps onto the gridiron.

Another up-and-coming strong-armer of the football, Cincy's Joe Burrow, has his team playing better than they have in quite some time, but the Bengals are scratched up, to say the least. There are still some question marks about some guys' availability for this weekend's game. However, that is enough for me. The valuable positions in the secondary and also Joe Mixon's questionable health at running back are enough to slow their stripes.

I understand Cincy is going to get 3 points for being the home team, but let’s keep it real. There aren’t many Bengal fans in this part of the country, and the Packers’ fandom spans across more than just the state of Wisconsin.

Even with that, I think Green Bay should be another field goal of a favorite here.

Pick: Packers -3.5

Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens (-7.5, 46.5)

The Baltimore Ravens have been really putting things together lately, and I love the way Lamar Jackson is playing. It appeared that opposing defenses may be finally catching up to his tactics.

Then, he just does what he does, and our jaws drop. At the end of the day, though, he is still a limited player back there, and we know he isn’t the thrower of the football that many of the opposing quarterbacks in the NFL.

They don’t have his feet or legs, though, so sometimes it evens out. We will save the quarterback philosophy for another day. The Colts looked good this past weekend. I know it was just the Dolphins, but give me a touchdown and I am tempted to take them here against the Ravens.

Tempted but not enough to bet against the Baltimore Ravens at home with a pretty healthy squad. They have a receiver who may be hampered going into this matchup, but I think Lamar makes up for that with some lengthy scrambles should the Colts play too much man to man.

I can’t get against the Ravens at home here. I know the 7.5 is a lot. But honestly, I could see this line moving up to 9 points by kickoff. If the Baltimore pass rush can put some heavy pressure on Carson Wentz and keep it there, I think he will eventually make some mistakes that could lead to this game being blown out.

Pick: Baltimore

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