Sportsnaut
The first month of the 2025 NFL schedule is in the books, with all 32 teams playing four games apiece. October brings the arrival of bye weeks, with four teams (Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Green Bay Packers) not taking part in the NFL schedule this week.
Ahead of a slate of action with plenty of intriguing matchups, let’s dive into our NFL Week 5 predictions for every game this week.
Injuries have once again taken a toll on the San Francisco 49ers. In their first game without Nick Bosa, San Francisco allowed 6.5 yards per carry and 124 rushing yards to Travis Etienne while failing to record even a single quarterback hit or sack. On top of that, the 49ers’ offensive line struggled to protect Brock Purdy. Now, the 49ers face a Los Angeles Rams team that just recorded a 48.6 percent pressure rate against the Colts’ offensive line, and this Rams’ offense is averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season. Thursday Night Football games tend to be fairly close, but Los Angeles has the big advantages that should result in a win.
Football fans in London will get to witness two quarterbacks with awful decision-making when pressured taking on two of the best pass rushes in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns defense allows the lowest yards-per-play average (4.1) in the NFL, while the Vikings rank top six in sack rate, third-down defense, and yards per drive (22.6). Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz will likely both throw an interception in this game, so whichever defense generates the most takeaways might be the deciding factor. In a tight game, the offense with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson should make enough plays to pull out the victory.
The Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders are both coming off losses in which their quarterbacks were picked off multiple times. Looking ahead to this matchup, the key will be which team can run the football more effectively. Indianapolis has a bottom-10 run defense in yards per carry (4.5) this season, but the Raiders’ run game has been wildly ineffective (3.1 yards per carry) until last week versus Chicago. As for Las Vegas’ ability to defend the run, it allowed 201 yards to the Commanders but held its three other opponents under 100 total rushing yards. The pick here comes down to the team with the better offensive line and the consistently more effective ground game, but the Raiders can pull off the road win if Geno Smith avoids turnovers.
The New York Giants offense without Malik Nabers will be almost close to unwatchable. Fortunately for New York, its defensive line is coming off a season-best performance and now gets to take on a young quarterback (Spencer Rattler) who has really struggled with pressure this season. Neither...
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