9:30 AM EST
Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Get ready for some NFL football for breakfast. The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take their game across the pond and play the second consecutive game in England. Unlike last week, this matchup will be featured in the normal 9:30 AM EST slot that previous London games have kicked off at. For the Panthers, Cameron Newton will miss his fourth straight game. However, Carolina has been productive in his absence winning all three games that he’s been sidelined. Christian McCaffrey has vaulted himself into MVP conversation and has carried the offense for the Panthers. They remain in the thick of the NFC South race thanks fully to what McCaffrey has done. Attempting to slow down the multifaceted running back is a rising star in Tampa Bay, Shaquil Barrett. He leads the NFL with nine sacks this season. In the first meeting between these two teams he racked up three of them. Jameis Winston and Bruce Arians have worked together very well so far let’s see if that travels internationally.
PREDICTION: Panthers 24 , Buccaneers 20
1:00 PM EST
Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns
These teams have had opposite trajectories to begin this season. The Cleveland Browns entered the season as one of the most hyped teams. In the offseason, they added Odell Beckham Jr. and with Baker Mayfield setting the rookie passing touchdown record a season ago everyone was prepared to see an offensive boom. So far, Cleveland has underwhelmed and finds themselves sitting below .500 through five games. On the other hand, the Seattle Seahawks were an afterthought in the NFC. Several thought that this year would be a down one for Russell Wilson’s team but the quarterback is proving doubters wrong once more. He is on a tear to begin this season and has Seattle sitting at 4-1 just behind the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. Browns fans will be ready to pounce if the Seahawks falter early and Cleveland could surely use a win before a matchup with the New England Patriots in Week 8.
PREDICTIONS: Browns 27 , Seahawks 17
Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Deshaun Watson (12th overall) and Patrick Mahomes (10th overall) were taken just two picks apart in the 2017 NFL Draft. Fast forward to today and they have become two of league’s best and brightest young stars in the league today. On Sunday, they’ll meet for the first time and all eyes will be the pair. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are coming off an embarrassing loss on primetime television last week against the Indianapolis Colts. An ankle injury slowed down the potent offense and for the first time since Mahomes became a starter Kansas City failed to score 26 points. Watson is fresh off a blazing five-touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons. The Texans are tied atop the standings in the AFC South and a win against the Chiefs not only keeps them in the lead but gives them an outside shot at potentially grabbing a first-round bye.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 38 , Texans 27
Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins
LET’S GET READY TO TUMBLE! Two of the worst teams in the league will square off on Sunday with neither team really looking to win this game trying to preview what will happen is not the way to look at this game. What could come from a loss in this game is a shot at getting their choice of quarterback to rebuild their franchise around. Everyone knew the Miami Dolphins were trying their hardest to ensure that they would be the one’s to get the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Just about every move that they’ve made has led them to more losing. The Washington Redskins were not on that same path, they had just taken their quarterback of the future with their selection of Dwayne Haskins. However, an 0-5 start had cost Jay Gruden his job and there’s no telling what the plan is now as its highly unlikely Bill Callahan remains the head coach past this season. Brian Flores seemingly has the franchise’s backing but Callahan is not only coaching for his current job but his next one.
PREDICTION: Redskins 20 , Dolphins 10
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings
The NFC is much more open than the AFC this year and the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings both believe that they are talented enough to represent their conference in the Super Bowl this season. After starting the year off 1-2, the Eagles have won two straight and thanks to some help elsewhere they are sitting pretty in the NFC East. Carson Wentz looks the part now that he’s back healthy. Doug Pederson is still an offensive mastermind. Jordan Howard is showing his worth at running back. Their defense however has a lot of holes. Particularly at corner back where injuries have impacted their talent and depth. Minnesota will be looking to let Kirk Cousins have his moment for a second consecutive week. The Vikings played the leaky New York Giants defense and now they’ll get one just as bad in the Eagles. Adam Thielen was the beneficiary that time and he could have another big game or they could look to make Stefon Diggs happy again.
PREDICTION: Vikings 31 , Eagles 27
New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
When Drew Brees went down in Week 2 with a thumb injury it seemed like the New Orleans Saints were doomed. Instead, Teddy Bridgewater has filled in brilliantly and he is undefeated in the games that he has started in place of the future Hall of Fame quarterback. With weapons like Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas it’s easy to see why the transition has gone so swimmingly to date. Kamara is dealing with a tender ankle but reports are that he participated in the team’s walkthrough yesterday and will be on the field for the team against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Also proposed to make his return is disgruntled corner back Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey was away from the team for paternity and since he’s returned a back injury has kept him off the field. Following a heart-to-heart with Jaguars owner, Shad Khan, the belief is that Ramsey will be back in uniform. With him back and some more #MinshewMagic Jacksonville could possibly be a threat to pull off an upset.
PREDICTION: Saints 28 , Jaguars 20
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens
A meeting between two AFC North rivals is usually one that leads to a good, tough, hard-fought game. This one will likely not be that. The Lamar Jackson experiment has had its ups and downs in Baltimore but through five weeks they are leading the AFC North at 3-2. Things have been rough for the offense lately but they have an opportunity to bounce back in a big way as the winless Cincinnati Bengals come to town. The Bengals have played as poorly—if not worse—as the Miami Dolphins to begin the season. New head coach Zac Taylor has not been able to bring some of that Sean McVay coaching tree magic with him so far. Andy Dalton looks to be on his last legs as the starting quarterback and if they continue to lose they’ll be in ripe position to find a successor.
PREDICTION: Ravens 33 , Bengals 17
4:05 PM EST
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Under Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers have put together some underwhelming seasons. Yet, injuries have often left the roster depleted of his top tier talent. This season that hasn’t been the case. Jimmy Garoppolo has remained healthy and a strong three-headed rushing attack led by Matt Brieda, Tevin Coleman, and Raheem Mostert—first in the NFL in rushing yards per game—have been the key to this team starting the year with an unblemished, 4-0, record. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Rams have fallen from top of the class to middle of the pack. At 3-2 they currently sit in third place in the NFC West. Todd Gurley will miss this game so it will be on Jared Goff and Sean McVay to team up and carry this offense for at least one game. Look out for Aaron Donald to make a statement this game—not that he needs to, we all know how good he is. These two teams will need this win in more ways than one.
PREDICTION: Rams 28 , 49ers 16
Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Atlanta Falcons have easily been one of the biggest disappointment in the NFL this season. They enter Week 6 with a 1-4 record and have little to no shot at making the playoffs. Though Arthur Blank has backed him publicly, if things get worse than Dan Quinn could possibly be out of job. He’s got to hope that Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and the rest of the offense can figure out a way to turn things around and make their record respectable to finish the year out. In Arizona, there’s no such pressure on Kliff Kingsbury or Kyler Murray. The team got their first win of the season last week—against the Bengals—and any glimmer of hope they can provide this season will go a long way for this franchise’s fan base. The result could be a shootout between two offenses looking to assert themselves and get their team on the right path moving forward.
PREDICTION: Falcons 44 , Cardinals 31
4:25 PM EST
Tenessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos
Ladies and gentleman, Vic Fangio and the Denver Broncos finally did it! After a few close calls that ended with the opposing team stealing a victory on game-winning field goals, they got the better of the Los Angeles Chargers a week ago. They hope to carry that momentum with them for another game and get a winning streak going. Phillip Lindsay has been the offensive catalyst for this team and if they want to keep winning they’ll need another big game from the second year running back. They also still have Von Miller coming off the edge on defense and he surely will want to make Marcus Mariota’s day a bad one. Mariota and the Tennessee Titans have been a roller coaster of a team. They might have hit their peak in a resounding Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns on the road. Mike Vrabel’s defense has been leading the way and with Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan patrolling the secondary they have the makings and talent of a top defensive unit.
PREDICTION: Broncos 27 , Titans 20
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Jets
SAM DARNOLD IS BACK, THE NEW YORK JETS ARE A REAL TEAM AGAIN! It was a good run while it lasted Luke Falk—the team released him now that their wonder boy is back in action—but Adam Gase once again has his full array of weapons. Even then, the struggles have been very apparent for this group. Le’Veon Bell has been the steadying presence but with no passing game to speak of teams have opted to load the box and just contain the All-Pro. It will be intriguing to see if there’s any rust with Darnold since he’s been away from the game for over a month. For Dallas, this game presents them with an opportunity to hit the reset button. The Cowboys opened the season with three wins and new offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, was crafting an offense as effective as the Jimmy Johnson era one that were perennial Super Bowl contenders. However, after back-to-back losses to two upper echelon NFC teams (New Orleans and Green Bay) the team finds itself in a fight with Philadelphia just to win the NFC East. Dak Prescott literally threw the game away last week and he’ll hope to make up for that this game as the Jets secondary is one of the worst in the NFL this year.
PREDICTION: Cowboys 34 , Jets 21
