NFL Week 5 ‘Thursday Night Football’ game picks and predictions

The first quarter of the 2022 NFL season is officially in the books. Well, I guess with 17 games, it hasn’t technically been the first quarter yet, but it’s close enough. Through the first four games, we’ve seen an NFL that features a lot of parity in the low-to-middle area with a few elite teams at the top: the Buffalo Bills in the AFC, and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC. Otherwise, things look pretty wide open—particularly in the NFC.

To kick Week 5 off, we’ve got a Thursday Night Football matchup between two teams that should be more interesting than they are. The disappointing Indianapolis Colts travel to take on the almost-as-disappointing Denver Broncos. Interestingly, both teams are starting new quarterbacks this season, and one is a very familiar face for Falcons fans: Matt Ryan with the Colts, and Russell Wilson with the Broncos.

Let’s get right to tonight’s pick, which I’ll be making on a straight moneyline (aka picking the winner) basis. I’ll still provide the information on the spread and over/under, for those interested. At the bottom, I’ll show the rest of the staff’s picks for the game.

All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. See the current odds here.

Thursday Night Football: Indianapolis Colts (1-2-1) at Denver Broncos (2-2)

The pick: Broncos (-175)

Spread: Broncos -3.5 | Over/Under: 42 | Moneyline: Broncos -175, Colts +145

Before the season started, this looked like a much more interesting game on paper. Most of us were excited to see how Matt Ryan would fare with the Colts, and there was plenty of intrigue surrounding Russell Wilson’s trade to the Broncos. Fast forward, and these are two teams mired in mediocrity heading into Week 5. Denver at least features an elite defense, while the offense finally came alive a bit in Week 4. Indianapolis has just been a depressing watch so far, and somehow features the NFL’s worst offense.

I’m going with the Broncos in this one.

Staff picks

What are your picks and predictions for tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup?

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.