NFL Week 5: Most intriguing matchups, game picks, fantasy tips 🏈

This is the USA TODAY Sports’ NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn’t already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe.

Week 5 is here … and it got off to a wild start as the Atlanta Falcons won behind the heroics of ‘Cardiac’ Kirk Cousins.

➤ About last night: Atlanta Falcons 36, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30 (OT) — Whew, boy! This game had everything: A bunch of points, big plays, a head-scratching decision to go for it on fourth-and-15, a blocked field goal, a field goal in the game’s final second, the 25th 500-yard passing game in league history, and an unexpected hero in KhaDarel Hodge, who scored the winning touchdown in overtime.

Kirk Cousins joins exclusive 500-yard passing game list
KhaDarel Hodge is perfect hero for Falcons in another odds-defying finish
PHOTOS: Best of Falcons-Buccaneers

➤ Game of the week: Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers — One of the NFL’s most storied inter-conference rivalries returns on ‘Sunday Night Football’ with the Cowboys coming off a gut-check win and the Steelers attempting to rebound from their first loss of the season. These two franchises are familiar with primetime games. Since 1970, the Cowboys (106 wins) and Steelers (98) have the most victories among all NFL teams in primetime (though, to be fair, these two teams get scheduled regularly for primetime games). Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is in elite company in terms of career winning percentage in primetime games (.703, 26-11), and is one of four quarterbacks with a winning percentage of .700 or better in primetime starts since 1970 (minimum 25 starts): Steve Young (.767), Joe Montana (.733) and Peyton Manning (.723). Patrick Mahomes (.697) could move above .700 with a win on ‘Monday Night Football.’

Will Micah Parsons be available for the Cowboys?

➤ Sneaky-good game of the week: Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals — The Ravens offense featuring quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry is humming. Jackson is a must-watch talent week-in and week-out. Henry is back to running over, around and past people to the tune of a league-leading 480 yards rushing. The Bengals finally got their first win of the season last week. Another win here puts the Bengals back in the thick of the race for the AFC North, which either the Bengals and Ravens have won the past three seasons and in five of the past six.

➤ Dreadful game of the week: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots — This unimpressive matchup pits the 28th-ranked Patriots vs. No. 30 Dolphins (according to Nate Davis’ latest power rankings). Thankfully, there are five other games during the 1 p.m. ET timeslot. It seems doubtful that ‘NFL RedZone’ host Scott Hanson will be kicking to this one for regular updates. These teams are offensively offensive: The Patriots and Dolphins rank 31st and 32nd — respectively — in points per game; the Dolphins are 26th in yards per game, while the Patriots are dead last.

➤ Game I’m mildly interested in, and not just because I have Kareem Hunt on my fantasy team: New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs — The Saints have lost two straight after a 2-0 start. The Chiefs are 4-0, but hardly have been all that impressive. Kansas City is dealing with a myriad of injury issues on offense with wide receiver Rashee Rice on injured reserve, wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown out for an extended period of time and running back Isiah Pacheco also on injured reserve. Is this the week that all of these injuries catch up to the Chiefs, or will Patrick Mahomes, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce keep this team winning?

When might Rashee Rice return?

➤ Just going to rank some games I’m interested in watching without giving any context:

Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams
Cleveland Browns at Washington Commanders
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos

➤ Don’t forget to set your alarm , there’s a London game on Sunday: New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings — Cue The Clash’s ‘London Calling.’ The surprising Vikings (4-0) ‘host’ the Jets (2-2) at 9:30 a.m. ET or 6:30 a.m. for those of us based on the Best Coast, in what will be the eighth NFL game held at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Vikings enter this one 3-0 in their previous trips to London (that also includes games played at Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium). This is the second of five International Series games — and first of three straight Sundays of games in London.

Public service announcement If you’re still alive in USA TODAY Sports’ survivor pool (there are only 148 of 10,357 entries still alive, so well done!), please make sure to make your Week 5 pick!

NFL Week 5: Pigskin prognostications, betting tips, rankings

➤ Week 5 picks: This is where USA TODAY Sports’ panel of experts has provided fans with the great public service of making prognostications for every game this weekend, both straight up and against the spread.

➤ Bold predictions: Which teams and players could surprise the most in Week 5?

➤ Lorenzo’s best bets: Lorenzo Reyes is back with his favorite NFL bets for Week 5, including why he likes lines involving the Vikings, Saints and Ravens this weekend.

➤ NFL Week 5 betting odds: Which teams are favored this week?

➤ Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up after four weeks of play. The Kansas City Chiefs might be 4-0, but their perch atop the league seems increasingly precarious.

NFL news, notes and analysis

➤ Mock draft: Did you really just say ‘mock draft’? Yes! It’s never too early for mock draft. USA TODAY Sports’ Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz presents his latest first-round projection for the 2025 NFL draft. Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes figure prominently in the top 10.

➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: From architectural splendors to rich football histories, the NFL has plenty of outstanding venues. Which stadium topped our rankings? The answer might surprise you.

➤ Will injury to Rashee Rice prompt a Chiefs trade? Losing a go-to receiver for an extended period of time could spurn action on the trade market by the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Here are five wide receiver trade options that could work for the Chiefs.

➤ Jayden Daniels has special connection to Washington icon: Doug Williams was in the process of watching video of Jayden Daniels earlier this week when he took a break to share some quarterback-on-quarterback insight. ‘He’s always poised. He’s always thinking,’ the Super Bowl XXII MVP told USA TODAY Sports.

Fantasy football: Bye weeks are here, so pay attention

Whether if you’re 4-0 or 0-4 (don’t give up now!), you’re really going to be on top of things fantasy-wise in the coming weeks as teams go on their respective byes. For Week 5, there are four teams enjoying a bye week. Some of those teams are prominent in the fantasy world. We’re here to help you navigate the bye weeks and optimize your lineup.

➤ Fantasy rankings for Week 5: For your convenience, these position-by-position rankings were updated for this week’s games.

➤ Start ’em and sit ’em for Week 5: Here is where we list of eight players to start, and eight to sit this weekend. Such as why you should sit Joe Burrows, but start Justin Fields.

➤ Start ’em /sit ’em by position: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers | Defenses/special teams

➤ Risers and fallers: Find out why Aaron Rodgers, D’Andre Swift, and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are looking up, and Kyler Murray, Bijan Robinson and Brandon Aiyuk are trending down.

➤ Fantasy trade value charts: These charts can be used as your very own fantasy football trade analyzer in standard, half-PPR (point per reception), and full PPR leagues.

Week 5 NFL schedule

(All times Eastern)

Thursday

Atlanta Falcons 36, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30 (OT)

Sunday

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings (in London), 9:30 a.m. (NFL Network)
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Cleveland Browns at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. (FOX)
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. (FOX)
Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)

Bye week: Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans

Get your daily dose of sports with the Morning Win!

For The Win’s daily sports newsletter pairs the latest news from around the sports world with the smartest − yet somewhat irreverent – takes from FTW’s staff.

Come celebrate your fandom with us Monday through Friday by signing up here.

From the YouTube algorithm

The Cowboys and Steelers play this week, so it’s only natural to revisit the epic clashes that these two stories franchises have had over the years. Most notably, how these two teams have met three times in the Super Bowl, which is the most rematches, with the Steelers holding a 2-1 edge.

Fans of the 1970s NFL can debate which Super Bowl encounter of that era was better — X or XIII — but what might not be up for debate is how Super Bowl XIII might have enjoyed the greatest collection of talent of any game in NFL history.

Super Bowl XIII, the game, was a wild one. The Steelers built a 35-17 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys stormed back with a frenzied rally that fell just short. This game also featured one of the most heart-wrenching plays in Super Bowl history, which resulted in the famous call from Verne Lundquist: ‘Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America.’

If you enjoy reading 4th & Monday , encourage your football fan friends to subscribe . Follow the gamesomely gallant writer of this newsletter on X and/or Threads @jimreineking .