2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 5

Green Bay Packers (2-2) @ Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)

Monday, October 9, 8:15 PM ET

It might not be the highest-profile reunion matchup of the week, but Davante Adams facing off against his old team is at least a little bit interesting. The biggest question at the time of this writing is whether or not Jimmy Garoppolo will be healthy enough to play in the game, or whether that will matter at all.

The Raiders obviously gave the Chargers a tough game in Week 4 despite the fact that Khalil Mack had six sacks for the Chargers, and despite the fact that Aidan O’Connell was making his first career NFL start.

O’Connell ended up making a critical mistake late against the Chargers that cost them the game, but at least we know that he can’t possibly face more pressure than what he saw against the Chargers on Sunday, right?

The pass rush of the Green Bay Packers is this team’s calling card right now. They have ways to bring pressure from the interior, from the edge, blitzing – you name it. They have one of the best and fastest defensive front seven groups in the entire NFL. So whether it’s O’Connell out there or Jimmy Garoppolo, someone is going to be under pressure. 

The oddsmakers have the Packers as favorites in this game, but not by much. With the Raiders playing at home, this game is very much a toss-up and the one area of the Packers’ defense that we’ve seen get gashed a little bit this season is against the run. Against the Lions, David Montgomery was able to have a ton of success, just wearing that defense down.

The Raiders need to feed Josh Jacobs the ball in this one and limit mistakes offensively. If they do that, I think they can win a low-scoring game at home. The more opportunities they give Jordan Love, the more I like the Packers.

Prediction: Raiders win 23-20