NFL Expert Picks Week 5: Updated ESPN Picks Almost Unanimous Against Seattle Seahawks

NFL expert picks for Week 5 have been updated by the ESPN analysts. One of the Week 5 NFL expert picks leans heavily in favor of the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Seattle Seahawks. ESPN.com releases weekly predictions from experts with the network, and the updated picks for the week have been submitted.

Thirteen analysts submitted predictions this week, with 11 of them choosing the Bengals to beat the Seahawks on Sunday morning, October 11. The only two analysts siding with the Seahawks are Keyshawn Johnson and Seth Wickersham. It’s worth noting that the pair has two of the best prediction records for the 2015 NFL season, with Johnson posting a 42-21 record and Wickersham at 41-22. Only Keith Jackson (43-20) has a better mark so far.

The Seahawks come into this game with a 2-2 record, while the Bengals are still undefeated at 4-0. It is certainly one of the better games on the schedule this week, with the defending NFC champion on the road against a potential Super Bowl threat from the AFC. It also pits two of the best defenses in the NFL against each other, potentially predicting a very low scoring game.

In the Week 5 NFL expert picks from ESPN, six of the analysts incorrectly predicted that the Houston Texans would win on Thursday night (October 7). Despite missing Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts found a way to emerge with a hard-fought victory. It easily makes the Colts a favorite to win the AFC South yet again.

These predictions from ESPN include a number of unanimous game predictions. They have the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Chicago Bears, the Atlanta Falcons beating the Washington Redskins, the Baltimore Ravens beating the Cleveland Browns, the New England Patriots beating the Dallas Cowboys, and the New York Giants beating the San Francisco 49ers.

There is also one game within the Week 5 NFL expert picks in which an analyst stands alone in his prediction. In the Green Bay Packers vs. St. Louis Rams game, Chris Mortensen is the only analyst picking the Rams to win. With a 41-22 mark so far this season, he has correctly predicted quite a few games, but he now stands alone in this tough road game for the Rams.

In some of the other Sunday games, the analysts have the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Eagles beating the New Orleans Saints, the Buffalo Bills beating the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals beating the Detroit Lions, and the Denver Broncos beating the Oakland Raiders. The only home team picked to win in this group is Philadelphia.

The Sunday night game is the San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants, with none of the analysts giving much hope to 49ers fans. This one has the Vegas oddsmakers also heavily favoring the Giants to improve to 3-2 on the season. If not for stumbling late in those two losses, the Giants could be 5-0 on the season. Eli Manning might just have another Super Bowl contending team, setting up the possibility of a Giants vs. Broncos championship that would keep the sports shows talking for weeks.

The Monday night game (October 12) is the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers. Analysts favor the Chargers to win this game, but by a very slim margin. Six analysts have picked the Steelers to win the game, despite having Michael Vick at quarterback. That 7-6 split is echoed by the fans, who have picked the Chargers to win by a very small margin. The Week 5 NFL expert picks are now set in stone for the weekend games, with many games selected in favor of the visiting teams. The predicted games begin with Seattle vs. Cincinnati at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

[Photos by Andy Lyons, Bob Levey, and Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images]