Jay's Plays NFL Picks Week 5
Jay's Plays

Jay’s Plays NFL picks: 2015 betting primer and Week 5 picks

FOLLOW: iHEART | TUNEIN


Ernesto the Prediction Iguana went 5-2 last week, a good start to the season. (Still angry the Cardinals laid an egg at home against the vulnerable Rams. Gotta win those games if you want a first-round bye in the playoffs.) It's especially good out of the gate as teams still have not identified themselves enough to our liking. There's so much mediocrity to sift through, with 11 teams at 2-2 including three of the four NFC East teams. It's a good week to play cautiously and let both sleepers and dark horses show themselves. Be extra careful out there.

ERNESTO THE PREDICTION IGUANA OPENED THE SEASON 5-2
ERNESTO THE PREDICTION IGUANA OPENED THE SEASON 5-2

GREEN LIGHT!

Patriots (-1.5) at COWBOYS
COWBOYS-Patriots OVER 41

Yes, Cheatriots. We all know it, so shut your pie holes and enjoy the easy week against the Romo-less 'pokes. (P.S.: I love the meme of Mike Tomlin dancing out of the way of Jacoby Jones with the headline, "Steelers fans be like, 'The Patriots are cheaters!'")

AMBER ALERT!

Steelers (+10) at CHARGERS

The Steelers on Monday night are always a near-lock, though without Big Ben, this will be a little dicey. They also play the Chargers well historically, anything from that zany 11-10 game to the 35-24 playoff shootout a few weeks later, both won by Pittsburgh.

PACKERS -3 vs. Rams

The Rams can't possibly go into TWO places and beat down undefeated divisional leaders can they? Not after a 12-6 bore-fest loss at home to Pittsburgh, right?

RED ALERT

RAVENS (-1) vs Browns

The Ravens should be 0-4, but I still can't believe they're that bad. Yes, the adage is true, "Your record is what it says it is," but I don't trust Cleveland enough to go into Baltimore and upset the fading, but still dangerous Ravens.

EAGLES-Saints OVER 42.5

Two teams that can light it up but have struggled so far. Now that the offenses have had a chance to click, they should fire on all cylinders...or at least enough to cover a soft over/under number.

About the author

Jay Flemma

Starting with a blog and a dream, Jay Flemma launched his first sports-writing website in 2004. Some 13 years and 25 major golf championships later, Jay has won multiple national sports writing awards. Besides GNN, his work has appeared in numerous books as well as on-line at Cybergolf, PGA.com, GolfObserver, GolfChannel.com and many other sites and print magazines. When not trying to find a lost golf ball, Jay is an entertainment, copyright, Internet, sports and trademark lawyer in Manhattan. His clients have been nominated for Grammy and Emmy awards, won a Sundance Film Festival Best Director award, performed on stage and screen, and designed pop art for museums and collectors. Jay lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut.