Schein 9 NFL Week 5:

We’re a month into the NFL season and Cowboys fans might never forgive Jerry Jones for refusing to pick up the phone and call Derrick Henry. And I get it.

The Jaguars are winless, the Eagles are rudderless and I’m still not over Brandon Aubrey missing that kick with the spread at 5.5! 

 

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Here are our midweek musings, Schein 9 style.

1. Commanding Attention

We raved about Jayden Daniels in this space last week. And then we picked against him. And that gives perspective here. There was no more impressive win in Week 4 than the Commanders clubbing the Cardinals in Arizona. And Daniels made history becoming the first quarterback with 85% completion percentage in back-to-back games. Wow. He’s special. And to do it on a short week on the road against Joe Burrow and Kyler Murray? Again … wow!

Washington is 3-1 with Cleveland on deck. Daniels is not a fluke. He’s been amazing as thrower, runner and leader. Washington is now +275 to win the NFC East. Philadelphia has major injuries, Jalen Hurts has struggled mightily and Nick Sirianni can’t coach. Dallas is Dallas. Dan Quinn has this Commanders team playing hard and fundamentally sound with a generational, franchise-changing, fan-inspiring quarterback. 

And Washington is favored by only three points this weekend against the Browns? Yes, please.

2. Lions Roar, but Doubts Remain

Detroit was literally perfect on offense on Monday night, exploding for 42 points and needing them all in a huge win over Seattle. Jared Goff completed every pass he threw. Ben Johnson’s play calling and the execution was simply tremendous. And with the defense unable to bottle up Seahawks QB Geno Smith, every response was needed.

Detroit is 3-1 and loaded with talent, but I’m not quite there yet. I think Minnesota is beyond legit in the NFC North and clearly has a better and more reliable defense than the Lions. I still favor the 49ers big picture in the NFC. The Niners are still my play to win the conference at +375. I most certainly prefer the Eagles at +600 or Minnesota at +650 over the Lions at +425

3. Ol’ McDonald Has a Team

Sure, Mike McDonald’s Seahawks lost on Monday for the first time this year. But frankly, I came away more impressed with them in a loss than I did in their 3-0 start. Geno Smith is the real deal. I love their Big Three at receiver. Kenneth Walker runs angry. The defense got carved up, but I thought that was more about the amazing talent and coaching of the Lions.

Seattle has the gift of the schedule with inept Daniel Jones and the spiraling Giants coming to town. I can’t wait to pick them and lay the six points. Seattle to make the playoffs is at -115 now on ESPN BET. Just saying …

4. Rise Up

I loved the Bucs to pound the Eagles on Sunday, and that happened. And while the Falcons beat the Saints, they were fortunate. But with Atlanta at home on a short week on the night when Matt Ryan is rightly going into the Falcons’ Ring of Honor, I like Atlanta to keep the good vibes going. This Jesse Bates-led defense will put more heat on Baker Mayfield than Philly did. It’s vital to win the home games in this division. The Falcons are favored by 1.5 on DraftKings and I will be playing that.

5. K.C. Barbecued?

I really should know better. But I simply cannot see this version of the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. The Rashee Rice ACL injury on a fluke play colliding with Patrick Mahomes trying to recover a fumble was awful. Rice was en route to pure stardom this year. Now, there’s no Rice, Hollywood Brown, Isiah Pacheco. I can’t see the Raiders trading Davante Adams to their biggest rival. Diontae Johnson? Amari Cooper makes sense. But it shouldn’t be enough to win the entire thing. 

Preseason, we said six teams had a real shot to win the AFC: Bills, Jets, Chiefs, Texans, Ravens, Bengals. It was wide open before the injuries piled up around Patrick Mahomes. And yes, the Chiefs are 4-0, but they haven’t looked great. Chew on this nugget: the Chiefs are the third NFL team to start 4-0 and have to erase a seven-point deficit in all four games. The other two, the 2000 Rams and 2000 Jets, both didn’t win a playoff game. Mahomes and Andy Reid are an all-time combination, but I cannot see this year’s team winning the Super Bowl.

6. Welcome to the Jungle

Logic need not apply for the monster game between the Ravens and Bengals. Yes, Baltimore just pounded the stuffing out of the Bills behind Derrick Henry running wild. Yes, the Bengals have already lost home games being favored by over a touchdown against New England and Washington. But I cannot stop staring at Joe Burrow as a home dog in the division. This is exactly what Burrow talked about when the team dropped to 0-3. The season is far from over and this is Cincy’s first division game. The Bengals got a needed win in Carolina. This is a totally different obstacle. Burrow has a great knack for rising to the moment in games like this.

7. Bo Knows?

Bo Nix threw for negative yards in the first half against the Jets. Then he totaled 60 for the game, the fewest number of yards for a winning Broncos quarterback since John Elway’s very first game. It’s a fun rivalry game between the Raiders and Broncos in Denver with both teams at 2-2. Vegas had an inspired win over Cleveland, which really spoke more to how inept Deshaun Watson and the Browns are. I loved the Broncos’ over-5.5 win total as my best bet in the preseason. It’s because of Sean Payton. This team isn’t very talented. But this is the kind of game where Payton schools Antonio Pierce and Denver moves that much close to payday for preseason bettors. Grab it now before the Davante Adams rumors — and eventual trade — move this line.

8. Jet Nosedive

I still can’t believe the Jets lost the aforementioned game to the Broncos. I thought “Same Old Jets” was dead. I was wrong. And it’s all on Robert Saleh. This is what happens when you stay with a head coach who has been a chronic loser with a winning percentage in the toilet, which no legit calling card or stamp for his team. And Saleh blamed Aaron Rodgers’ cadence? Not the penalties? Or the play calling? Or the receivers’ routes. I mean, come on. The ultimate losers lament.

And wouldn’t it be something if Sam Darnold beat his former team to improve to 5-0? We begged Joe Douglas in 2021 to keep Darnold and trade down from two and stockpile picks and get a haul like the Dolphins did from San Francisco with teams curiously desperate to trade up for the likes of Zach Wilson and Trey Lance.  

Yet, I somehow still believe. 

Both the Bills and Jets have fascinating games this weekend. Buffalo is in Houston for the Stefon Diggs revenge game, which really has spice and meaning on both sides. Darnold tries to get his revenge on the Jets for ruining the early portion of his career. And remember, Buffalo and New York play on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6. The Bills are heavy favorites to win the AFC East. The Jets’ price on ESPN BET is now +275. As bleak as things feel right now, it’s the time to pounce. I still very much believe both the Bills and Jets are making the playoffs, despite that sinful waste from Gang Green.

9. Bad Taste

I picked the Titans’ moneyline over Miami on “Make It Rain with Adam Schein” on VSIN. It was even more lopsided than I imagined. The Dolphins got spanked at home by a turnover-happy quarterback who puts mayo in his coffee and then Mason Rudolph of all people. Are we allowed to have the Mike McDaniel conversation? Look at what Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, all from the same tree, have done with major injuries throughout their careers, including this season. Heck, look at LaFleur winning with Malik Willis. Miami’s backup quarterback plan was flawed. GM Chris Grier deserves blame for the line and the defense. I told you the Dolphins’ Under for wins was a best bet preseason.

I literally laughed out loud looking at the spread on New England and Miami this week. The Patriots are favored by one. Remember when delusional Dolphins fans told me this was their year? I can’t wait to pick the Patriots.

Wouldn’t that be something to lose to Mayo boy and Jerod Mayo in consecutive weeks. Gross and bad taste indeed.

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