Week 5 was filled with crazy upsets, wild finishes, and insane stat lines. The Kansas City Chiefs finally went down, losing to the Indianapolis Colts, who were not led by Andrew Luck, but by Jacoby Brissett.
Meanwhile, for the Texans, Will Fuller had one of the craziest performances ever, hauling in 14 catches for a career-high 217 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Aaron Jones trampled the Dallas Cowboys with four rushing touchdowns.
And finally, the San Francisco 49ers blew out the Cleveland Browns on Monday night, improving to 4-0.
Is there anyway someone could have predicted these?
I am going to take a shot and throw out a pair of wild predictions for this upcoming week of the NFL season. If they are wrong, don’t blame me, because they are bold for a reason.
The Miami Dolphins get their first win of 2019
Look, the Dolphins have been terrible so far this season, but, so have the Redskins. Washington let go of head coach Jay Gruden late Sunday night following the blowout loss to the New England Patriots. They also have the tough decision of which quarterback to throw out there this week. If you take away the six turnovers in two games from Case Keenum, he’s actually played well this season. Dwayne Haskins entered the game early in Week 4 following a brutal Keenum interception but went on to throw three interceptions of his own. That led to Colt McCoy’s appearance last week against the elite Patriots’ defense. He too was underwhelming, leaving the Redskins in a tricky situation. No matter who gets the call in Week 6, the Dolphins will have a chance to pick up their first win of 2019.
The Dolphins will be back home in Miami and are coming off their bye week, a break from football which allowed them to break down all of their scrappy performances up until this point. They should be able to score several times against the Redskins, who rank in the bottom quarter of the league in total defense. Additionally, the Dolphins enter the week fully healthy, with almost no players on the injury report. It will be the first (and possibly last) week of the season that Dolphins fans can sit back, enjoy the game, and take in the beautiful Florida weather.
This matchup will not be as bad as people think. I believe that it will stay close and come down to the wire. Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders has had a tough start to 2019, but I think he will kick the game-winning field goal to give Miami their first win of the season. As for the Redskins, I would strongly suggest both looking for a new head coach and tanking to get the first pick in the 2020 NFL draft. It could really help.
Final Score Prediction: Redskins 17, Dolphins 20
Dalvin Cook will shred the Eagles’ defense for over 200 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns
Each week so far this season, a different running back has dominated, producing an insane stat line. For instance, in Week 1, it was Austin Ekeler’s show as he put up 154 scrimmage yards and three total touchdowns. The following week, Saquon Barkley dropped 194 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on the Buffalo Bills. Then, stud running back Alvin Kamara put on a show with 161 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. Week 4 featured an amazing game from Browns running back Nick Chubb, who tallied 183 yards and three touchdowns. And of course, Aaron Jones who had four rushing touchdowns to go along with 182 scrimmage yards.
Why am I telling you all these stats? Well, all of these players faced a team over .500 in these weeks. Another way to put it: the better teams in the league are giving up these kinds of numbers to opposing running backs.
Everything points to a monster performance from Dalvin Cook in Week 6. Cook’s opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, are currently 3-2 and sitting atop the NFC East. They fit the criteria above and have been horrible on the defensive side of the ball so far this season. Meanwhile, Cook has looked phenomenal this season, averaging 108 rushing yards a game and scoring a touchdown in four of the fives games played. The Minnesota Vikings run the football on nearly 53% of all plays from scrimmage, which is the second-most in the league. As a result, Cook should get plenty of touches and will have the chance to break a couple free due to the weak Eagles secondary. In what should be a very high scoring affair between the two solid offensive teams, I expect a lot of red zone opportunities for Cook, increasing his chance at touchdowns.
Dalvin Cook is coming off of a 218-yard game against the Giants and will look to keep it rolling against a vulnerable Eagles defense. I’d grab your popcorn for this one, as it should be one of the more entertaining games this week.
Stat Prediction: 22 carries, 168 rushing yards, 4 catches, 40 receiving yards, two rushing touchdowns
One Response
Not so sure about Dalvin- the Eagles allow just 63.0 rushing yards per game which is lowest in the NFL. I think it’s more likely Kirk goes off than Cook.