NFL Week 5 ‘Thursday Night Football’ game picks and open thread

After a wild Week 3, Week 4 was more “down-to-earth” and helped solidify our early understanding of the 32 NFL teams. There have been some pleasant surprises, like the Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and...Tampa Bay Buccaneers? On the other side of the coin, we’ve had our fair share of disappointments—the Bengals, Giants, and Vikings are all 1-3 after playoff appearances in 2022.

Week 5 is when teams start to separate themselves. It’s a crossroads for many, including our Atlanta Falcons—will the offense bounce back after a two-game skid, or will the team continue sliding out of the NFC playoff picture? Things kick off with Thursday Night Football, featuring a solid Washington Commanders (2-2) team taking on the struggling Chicago Bears (0-4).

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: Chicago Bears (0-4) at Washington Commanders (2-2)

The pick: Commanders (-265)

Spread: Commanders -6 | Over/Under: 45 | Moneyline: Commanders -265, Bears +215

I honestly feel for Bears fans at this point. Chicago looked like they might have been putting it together a bit, up 28-7 over the Denver Broncos in the third quarter. They proceeded to blow that 21-point lead and lose, 31-28. This is a team in utter disarray, and now they’ve got to play the Commanders. Washington is 2-2 after a 2-0 start, but this is a solid team that will be a tough out every week thanks to that defense. Said defense will make things difficult for the Bears, and Chicago’s defense is incapable of slowing any offense down.

Staff picks

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