NFL Picks - Week 5 Thursday

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle

Both teams come into this game at 3-1, but a little closer look indicates that the records may not be truly identical. The Rams’ three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 7-5. Meanwhile, the Seahawks’ victories have been over squads that are now a combined 1-10-1. Suffice it say, Seattle’s schedule has been weak. But ya know what? You can only play whoever’s up next. That’s the way it’s always been ... well at least since 1942 that is. George Halas was so confident in his Bears team that season that with the Lions on the schedule in Week 6 he invited Chicago's Week 7 opponent, the Eagles, to play them simultaneously. It was a stroke of genius because there was only one field so the refs didn’t really know what the hell to do. The Bears won both games when the Lions’ and Eagles’ potential game-winning field goals collided in midair, and the league banned three-way games later that night. Regardless of whether or not that's a real story, the original point was, you can’t totally fault the Seahawks for beating bad teams. But you can praise them for beating good ones, which is exactly what they have the opportunity to do on Thursday night. Will they though? Take this for what it's worth, under Pete Carroll the Hawks are 7-1 in these abbreviated week Thursday match-ups, and have given up an average of only 12 points per game. Good enough for me!

Seahawks 23-20