In this week’s edition of bold predictions, the NFC takes center stage for the most part. Five of the six teams involved in the following three games are from a conference in which 12 of the 16 teams are .500 or better.
The NFC also owns a 13-7 lead in interconference action this season, and there are seven more contests this week where the AFC and NFC butt helmets.
Week 5 kicks off at SoFi Stadium as the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams renew acquaintances on Thursday night.
Presenting 3 bold predictions for NFL Week 5
Saints’ RB Alvin Kamara paves way for team’s first victory in 2025
Former Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is in the midst of his first season as an NFL head coach. He inherited a New Orleans Saints’ team that lost its final four games in 2024. The club has now dropped eight consecutive outings, and Moore’s squad is the lone winless team in the NFC.
The Saints host the New York Giants, who are coming off their first win of the season behind rookie signal-caller Jaxson Dart. Despite the victory, New York’s defense gave up 152 yards rushing—128 (1 TD) to rookie Omarion Hampton. It says here veteran Alvin Kamara exploits the NFL’s 29th-ranked run defense.
Breece Hall has a big day vs. Big D as Jets break into win column
Let’s stick with the running back theme. There were a few examples in Week 4 of teams having big days on the ground and not being able to back that up with a win. Last Sunday, the Raiders rushed for 240 yards and fell to the Bears, 25-24.
On Monday night at Miami, the Jets rolled up 197 yards rushing but three turnovers doomed Aaron Glenn’s club, 27-21. Both Breece Hall and quarterback Justin Fields ran for 81 yards in that six-point loss. The defensively-deficient Dallas Cowboys will be at MetLife on Sunday. Hall has 346 total yards from scrimmage but zero TDs. That changes this week and the Jets get their first win.
Buccaneers exceed 20 points in cooling off Seahawks at Seattle
Both Todd Bowles’ team and Mike Macdonald’s club sport 3-1 records as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks square off in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a reunion of sorts for quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, the first and third overall picks in the 2018 draft who were also teammates with the Carolina Panthers in 2022.
The Bucs boast the league’s fourth-ranked defense in terms of fewest yards allowed, but it’s Macdonald’s unit that has been on a roll this season—limiting all four opponents this season to 20 points or less. But Mayfield and company end Seattle’s three-game winning streak.