NFL 2025: Week 5 Picks

The 2025-26 NFL season continues into October with Week 5 action. 28 teams will be in play from Thursday to Monday, with four teams getting an early bye week.

The action kicks off on Thursday Night Football, with an NFC West matchup for the second straight week, showcasing the two teams that didn’t have the national spotlight. Brock Purdy and the 3-1 San Francisco 49ers take on Matthew Stafford and the 3-1 Los Angeles Rams, with both teams trying to keep up in a competitive division.

Sunday is a “13-14 hours of football” day for those who celebrate: with the 2-2 Minnesota Vikings playing their second straight international game, against the 1-3 Cleveland Browns in London. Rookie Dillon Gabriel is expected to make his first NFL start at quarterback for the Browns.

Sunday early slot games include Jalen Hurts and the 4-0 Philadelphia Eagles hosting Bo Nix and the 2-2 Denver Broncos, as well as C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans traveling to take on Lamar Jackson (or Cooper Rush?) and the Baltimore Ravens, with both teams trying to dig themselves out of 1-3 holes.

In the late afternoon slot, we have this week’s Sak Sports Blog Game of the Week: Baker Mayfield and the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers hitting the road to take on Sam Darnold and the 3-1 Seattle Seahawks.

On Sunday Night Football, we’ll see Josh Allen and the 4-0 Buffalo Bills for the third time in five weeks on national television. No one is complaining about seeing Allen and company in the standalone games, but will Drake Maye and the 2-2 New England Patriots put up enough of a fight for the game to be interesting?

Finally, we got a potentially fun one on Monday Night Football: Trevor Lawrence and the upstart 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars hosting Patrick Mahomes and the 2-2 Kansas City Chiefs. Can Jacksonville continue their early season success to get to 4-1? Or will Mahomes and the Chiefs start looking more like themselves again, and push their record above .500 for the first time this season?

Read on for my 2025-26 NFL Week 5 Picks, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any picks, join the conversation with @SakSports on Twitter/X, on Facebook, or by commenting directly on this post!

Picks Record

Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 13-3

Week 3: 11-5

Week 4: 10-5-1

Overall Record: 44-19-1 (70%)

For four straight weeks, I’ve hit double digit wins, for a strong 70% winning percentage. Use my picks or make your own on DraftKings and sign up with my referral link for free bonus bets for both of us!

Note: I am not sponsored by DraftKings, this is my personal referral link, and I do not personally recommend gambling your own money beyond bonus bets. If you choose to bet, please do so responsibly. I am not responsible for any bets made based on my predictions.

Thursday Night Football

San Francisco 49ers (3-1) at Los Angeles Rams (3-1): Rams win 24-17

Sunday Games

The 0-4 New York Jets are still looking for their first win of the season. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys offense have been great, but Dallas’s defense is largely to blame for the Cowboys 1-2-1 record. (Photo: Sports Illustrated)

Game in London Minnesota Vikings (2-2) vs. Cleveland Browns (1-3): Vikings win 26-13

Las Vegas Raiders (1-3) at Indianapolis Colts (3-1): Colts win 27-20

New York Giants (1-3) at New Orleans Saints (0-4): Saints win 23-20

Dallas Cowboys (1-2-1) at New York Jets (0-4): Cowboys win 33-20

Denver Broncos (2-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-0): Eagles win 27-17

Miami Dolphins (1-3) at Carolina Panthers (1-3): Dolphins win 24-16

Houston Texans (1-3) at Baltimore Ravens (1-3): Ravens win 33-23

Tennessee Titans (0-4) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2): Cardinals win 27-16

Sak Sports Blog Game of the Week Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Seattle Seahawks (3-1): Don’t get me wrong, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are banged up. But Baker Mayfield just keeps finding ways to win, with Tampa Bay’s only loss this season coming in a single score game against an Eagles team that just won’t lose. But Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks have also been steady, with a tight Week 1 loss to San Francisco followed by three straight wins. While both teams have playoff aspirations, I think the Seahawks are going to make major waves this season, and that starts with getting to 4-1 through five weeks, surviving a tight one at home. Seahawks win 31-30

Detroit Lions (3-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-2): Lions win 38-13

Washington Commanders (2-2) at Los Angeles Chargers (3-1): Chargers win 27-24

Sunday Night Football

New England Patriots (2-2) at Buffalo Bills (4-0): Bills win 31-20

Monday Night Football

Kansas City Chiefs (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1): Chiefs win 24-17

Teams on Bye

The earliest bye week of the season goes to the Atlanta Falcons (2-2), Chicago Bears (2-2), Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)