NFL Week 5 picks, schedule, odds, injuries, fantasy tips

The Week 5 NFL schedule for the 2023 season is stacked with great matchups, and we’ve got you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game and a bold prediction for each matchup.

Additionally, ESPN Stats & Information provides a big stat to know and a betting nugget for each contest, and our Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a game projection. Analytics writer Seth Walder picks out each matchup’s biggest X factor, and fantasy analyst Eric Moody hands out helpful fantasy football intel. Finally, Walder and Moody give us final score picks for every game. Everything you want to know is here in one spot to help you get ready for a loaded weekend of NFL football.

Let’s get into the full Week 5 slate, including Josh Allen vs. Trevor Lawrence in London, a big Cowboys-Niners showdown and Patrick Mahomes taking on the Vikings. It all culminates with a “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Packers and the Raiders on ESPN. (Game times are Sunday unless otherwise noted.)

Jump to a matchup:
JAX-BUF | HOU-ATL | CAR-DET
TEN-IND | NYG-MIA | NO-NE
BAL-PIT | PHI-LAR | CIN-ARI
NYJ-DEN | KC-MIN | DAL-SF
GB-LV

Thursday: CHI 40, WSH 20
Bye: CLE, LAC, SEA, TB

9:30 a.m. ET | NFL Network | Spread: BUF -5.5 (48.5)

Storyline to watch: While it’s a Bills “home” game, the Jaguars are on the second of back-to-back weeks in London, which means Jacksonville has the time zone experience advantage. But the Jaguars will be challenged to slow down a Bills offense that’s averaging 5.9 yards per play (fourth) while the Jaguars’ defense is allowing 5.4 yards per play (22nd). — Alaina Getzenberg

Bold prediction: QB Josh Allen will score a touchdown, and so will … LB Josh Allen. Not a big deal if Buffalo’s Allen runs for a TD — he has 40 over his career, including two this year — but Jacksonville’s Allen has just one TD in his five-year career: a 37-yard fumble return that gave the Jaguars a 20-16 victory over Tennessee in Week 18 last season. — Mike DiRocco

Stat to know: QB Allen had four touchdown passes last week, the 10th such game in his career. He is tied with Jim Kelly for the most in Bills franchise history. The last quarterback to throw four TD passes in consecutive games was Joe Burrow in Weeks 16-17 in 2021.

Matchup X factor: Jaguars cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Darious Williams. Jacksonville has a strong run defense, and if these two corners — who both have allowed lower than average yards per coverage snap this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats — can slow down the Bills’ passing attack, the Jaguars have a chance. — Walder

Injuries: Jaguars | Bills

What to know for fantasy: The Jaguars’ defense allows the second most fantasy points to tight…