“Pick ‘Em or Kick ‘Em”™: FGT VS. Urban Sports Scene 2021 Week 5 NFL Picks

By the Football Garbage Time Staff

If you followed last year, you won over 60% of your picks, and we aim to do even better this year.

And if you’ve been following us, you know that we here at Football Garbage Time have gone head to head against Wally, Will and Ray at Urban Sports Scene on our NFL Picks for the last 7 seasons.  Why?  Because they’re awesome competitors, they KNOW their sports, and, heck, they’re just good guys!  This year we’ll have their picks up right HERE, so keep it tuned in, to both us and them, because we’ll be picking all season all long.

Without further to do, here we go:

Week 5 Games

Ha Kung Wong’s Picks

Ha Kung’s Thoughts:

Last year I ended up with a 68.1% record for the season, so that’s six years in a row with over a 60% pick rate.  Had a little bit of a rough start this season, but I’ve since righted the ship and am sitting at a healthy 40-24 (62.5%) on the year.  Last year, I had a 87.5% record on Locks of the Week and a 50% record on Upsets of the Week.  So far I’m 75% (3-1) on my Locks and 50% (2-2) on my Upsets this year, so it looks like we’re back on track here as well.  Don’t worry, I don’t plan on stopping now!

Let’s get to that Lock (for Survivor Leagues) and Upset for Week 5…

Lock of the Week ➡ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-9.5) over Miami Dolphins

The Buccaneers just came off an emotional victory in Foxboro in a much closer game than we all expected.  Don’t let that fool you, it was raining hard most of the night which limited the offense on both sides.  The Bucs have some injuries on defense, but are full go on offense and the Dolphins are still starting Jacoby Brissett.  Sure, there’s a little bit of a “student vs. mentor” narrative here as Brissett started for Brady for a few games in New England, and Brissett hasn’t necessarily been bad, but I’d be surprised if the Bucs don’t take care of business.  The Bucs offense have the 7th most yards per game (399.8) and the 5th most points per game (30.5) this year.  The Dolphins defense allowed the 9th most yards per game (388.3) and the 8th most points per game (27.3) this year.  Plus, we know that Bruce Arians and Tom Brady don’t put on the breaks when their winning.  I’m locking in the Buccaneers.

Upset of the Week ➡ Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.0) over Denver Broncos

As I mentioned last week, the Broncos are undefeated through 3 weeks, but their 3 wins come against 3 opponent (Giants, Jets and Jaguars) that totaled at that time an 0-9 record.  And of course they were exposed against the Ravens in Week 4, not to mention losing Teddy Bridgewater and having to resort to Drew Lock.  Bridgewater may still be able to return from his concussion, but it’s a huge question mark.  Plus the Broncos still don’t have Jerry Jeudy or K.J. Hamler back yet.  After starting off the season beating the Bills, the Steelers have struggled pretty significantly, losing to the Raiders, Bengals and Packers. But their defense still appears intact and T.J. Watt is still one of the best linebackers in the business.  I’m picking the Steelers in an upset.

Joanne Kong’s Picks

Scott King’s Picks

Scott’s Thoughts:

I’ll never pick the Lions again.

Wole’s Picks

Wole’s Thoughts:

Check out Wole’s thoughts on his picks in the recent Urban Sports Scene Podcast!

Ray’s Picks

Ray’s Thoughts:

Check out Ray’s thoughts on his picks in the most recent Urban Sports Scene Podcast!

Will’s Picks

Will’s Thoughts:

Check out Will’s thoughts on his picks in the most recent Urban Sports Scene Podcast!

George’s Picks

George’s Thoughts:

Two more massive division games in the toughest terrain in the NFL, the NFC West, so let’s take a look at those.

L.A. Rams at Seattle: Seahawks saved their season at San Francisco and they will take that momentum to the 12th man. Except Seattle’s not that tough at home anymore and much like last week’s matchup, the road teams have won a lot in this rivalry in the last several years. And the Rams need to bounce back after Kyler Murray sliced them up. Expect Jalen Ramsey to take the challenge on D.K. Metcalf and expect Cooper Kupp to start a new touchdown streak against a very porous Seattle secondary. Rams win.

San Francisco at Arizona: The Cardinals looked like the best team in the NFL last week while the 49ers threw away a game against one of their most bitter rivals. But it looks like Trey Lance* will finally get his chance as a starting QB. Lance will give San Francisco’s offense the juice it needs but cause a lot of problems for the Arizona defense. A big day for another rookie, Trey Sermon, will make the difference in the 49ers turning their season around in Arizona.

Others: New Orleans pattern is W-L-W-L. That makes this a winning week where Jameis Winston and the Saints offense gets well against the awful Washington defense.
Cleveland’s front will put Justin Herbert under siege and with help from Browns fans taking over SoFi Stadium, Cleveland will win against the Chargers.

And for you eliminator pick. If you haven’t taken the Bucs yet, this is the week to do it, especially if Tua Tagovailoa is not back yet.

* — if Jimmy Garappolo starts I will change my pick to Arizona

Week 4 Results

Current Standings

Check back next week for Week 5 results and Week 6 picks!

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