2015 NFL Week 5
The second month of activity of the regular season will begin with the possible reappearance of quarterback Tom Brady after being suspended the first four games.
New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys
It will be the first time the Patriots will visit the AT & T Stadium, but they will be looking for their fifth straight win against the Lone Star team. The last time they met was four years ago, and New England won 20-16 in Foxborough. Bill Belichick’s team hasn’t visited Dallas since 2007, and this game is listed as Pick’em in the NFL betting Odds. In the last five games of the series, the Patriots are 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Cowboys have failed to beat New England since the 1996 season when they won 12-6 at home thanks to four field goals by Chris Boniol. In two games against the AFC team, Tony Romo has thrown for 576 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Player to watch: Tom Brady finished with five touchdowns and no interceptions in his last visit to Dallas. The two-time MVP is eager to play, and that could be a big problem for the Cowboys’ defense, which was the 26th against the pass in 2014, accepting an average of 251.9 yards.
Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers
The fifth week of activity will end on Monday night at Qualcomm Stadium, where two quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2004 Draft, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers, will be face to face. Both have had a successful career in the NFL, however, Big Ben has the advantage with two championship rings and three trips to the Super Bowl, while Rivers has not been able to lead the Chargers to the game for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Pittsburgh dominates the series between these two teams with 22 wins in 31 games. San Diego has won only two of the last 10, including the last three years ago by 34-24 at Heinz Field. The Chargers host the Steelers for the first time since 2006 and they are favorites to win this match in the NFL betting Odds (-1). They are 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS in the past five versus the Steel Curtain.
Player to watch: Phillip Rivers ended last year tied to Jay Cutler in the first place in the league with more interceptions with 18, the second-most of his career in a season (20 in 2011).
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
The Texans will try to end the domination of the Colts when they receive them on Thursday night at the NRG Stadium. Indianapolis has won six of the last seven including five in a row. Houston remained in contention in both games last season and lost by a total of 12 points combined. The pass defense of the home squad will have to improve if they want to stop Andrew Luck as it accepted 243.1 yards per game last season. Former Stanford quarterback threw five touchdowns and two interceptions against the Texans in 2014. Although Indianapolis has won in recent years, this game is listed as Pick’em in the NFL Odds. The team led by Chuck Pagano is 5-0 SU and 4-0-1 ATS in the past five of the series.
Player to watch: It is difficult to pick a player when J.J. Watt is on the field. Last year against the Colts, he had four sacks and recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.
Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals
The NFC champions will look for their first win in Cincinnati since 1993 and will try to avenge the defeat they suffered in the last meeting between these two teams four years ago. The Bengals are one of the few teams that could beat Seattle at CenturyLink Field in recent years, however, for this game the Seahawks are favorites in the football betting Odds to win listed -2.0. Pete Carroll’s team is 3-2 SU and 1-3-1 in the last five matches against Cincinnati.
Player to watch: Quarterback Andy Dalton will face one of the best pass defenses in the league. Seattle last season only allowed 185.6 yards per game. Dalton has thrown 66 interceptions since joining the NFL in 2011.
Other attractive games this week are Chicago Bears Kansas City Chiefs (-4.0), New Orleans Saints-Philadelphia Eagles (-4.0) and San Francisco 49ers-New York Giants (Pick’em).
Check out NFLScheduleWeek5.com; your source for NFL week 5 game previews, and recaps of the 2015 NFL season.
