2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 5

Houston Texans (2-2) @ Atlanta Falcons (2-2)

Sunday, October 8, 1:00 PM ET

Through the first month of the season, the Houston Texans are unsurprisingly one of the more surprisingly good teams in the league. Okay, that doesn’t make sense. What I mean is this – before the season, you could have seen the Texans showing their talent and youth at the same time. Meaning, we might have seen them play well in games, but likely still lose.

Through four games, they are playing well and winning more games than expected. That’s a testament to the job being done by new head coach DeMeco Ryans and his staff as well as the progression of rookie quarterback CJ Stroud.

Through four games this season, Stroud has been sensational. He has thrown for over 1,200 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions so far. Stroud is spreading the ball around, Nico Collins is finally living up to the potential many saw in him, and the Texans look quite good after a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4.

The Atlanta Falcons seem to be on a different trajectory entirely despite having the same record as Houston up to this point. A nice 2-0 start to the season has really turned bitter quickly for the Falcons, who have lost games to the Lions and Jaguars consecutively, and in unimpressive fashion.

I’m liking this Texans bandwagon right now. CJ Stroud is playing really well, but the Falcons have shown this season that they are quite a bit tougher than we’ve seen the last couple of years. In games like this, for NFL picks and predictions, I look to the oddsmakers to find out what they’re thinking. They have the Falcons at home at -1.5 favorites.

I could be sold either way, but I’m going to ride the wave the Texans are on.

Prediction: Texans win 24-23