Brink's Best Bets: Dolphins at 49ers and All NFL Week 5 Predictions

During Week 4, I bounced back with a winning record, going 9-6 on the week. Let's take a look at the season results, then go on to pick the Week 5 set of games.

Season Record: 36-27
49ers Picks Record: 2-2

Best & Worst Picks of Week 4

My Best Pick: Browns 33 - Cowboys 30
Final Score: Browns 49 - Cowboys 38

My Worst Pick: Lions 38 - Saints 27
Final Score: Saints 35 - Lions 29

Week 5 Predictions

Buccaneers @ Bears (+5.5) - Foles upsets Brady again Bears 23 - Buccaneers 20

Panthers @ Falcons (-3.5) - Falcons stay winless in a boring one Panthers 19 - Falcons 13

Bills @ Titans (+6.5) - Allen kills the Titans with his arm, 4 TDs Bills 37 - Titans 27

Raiders @ Chiefs (-12) - Chiefs have been close to a loss lately, they get their first here Raiders 31 - Chiefs 28

Cardinals @ Jets (-6.5) - Jets simply don't have an NFL caliber team Cardinals 34 - Jets 15

Eagles @ Steelers (-7) - Steelers defense too much for Wentz Steelers 24 - Eagles 10

Rams @ Washington (+9) - WFT can't keep up with the Rams offense Rams 30 - WFT 17

Bengals @ Ravens (-13.5) - Ravens bully bad teams, no different today Ravens 41 - Bengals 23

Jaguars @ Texans (-6.5) - No BOB, no difference, Texans lose again Jaguars 26 - Texans 21

Colts @ Browns (+2.5) - Colts defense is legit, Browns miss Chubb Colts 24 - Browns 15

Giants @ Cowboys (+9) - Cowboys batter a bad Giants team Cowboys 23 - Giants 14

Vikings @ Seahawks (-7) - Seahawks keep on rolling over a bad Vikings squad Seahawks 44 - Vikings 38

Chargers @ Saints (-7.5) - Chargers have the better QB, but coaching decides this one Saints 26 - Chargers 25

Dolphins @ 49ers (-8)

Why SF Wins: The Dolphins aren't an incredibly talented team. The 49ers struggled mightily with the Eagles in Week 4, but the Eagles brought a very good defense to the field. The Dolphins defense is one of the worst in the league. This 49ers team can thrive against a bad defense. Currently the 49ers offensive line is somewhat of a nightmare, but facing a Dolphins team with 9 sacks through 4 games might just be what the doctor ordered. If Jimmy Garoppolo is in at QB the 49ers should have no problem winning this game, if anyone else, it's a major question mark. The 49ers will win this game if they can limit the pressure on their QB, allowing their playmakers the time to get open. Defensively the 49ers have to prepare for the scrambling ability of Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as well as his understudy Tua Tagovailoa. The 49ers defense has really limited teams in 2020, but coming up with a stop in the big moments has been a problem. In the 49ers' 2 losses, they had leads in the 4th quarter that the defense just could not hold. The 49ers will win this game by protecting their QB and shutting down the Dolphins QB's improv skills and getting them off the field on 3rd downs.

Why SF Loses: The 49ers have a dirty little secret: their offensive line is really not good at all. In turn, the 49ers are struggling to establish a run game. The very thing that made the 49ers successful in 2019 is a glaring weakness for the team in 2020. This has stripped the team of any identity. Add that to the platoon of injuries and the 49ers are at somewhat of a crisis point. If the Dolphins study the game film, they'll see what everyone knows: the 49ers struggle with running QBs. Offensively, the Dolphins should encourage Ryan Fitzpatrick to run while throwing Tua into certain packages on designed runs. The Dolphins aren't a great pass rushing team, but if they generate some pressure on the QB, they can force the 49ers to turn it over and keep the 49er offense off the field. Knocking the 49ers QB out of rhythm while attacking their defense on the ground will be the Dolphins' key to victory.

Prediction: This is an incredibly difficult game to choose. The Dolphins are 1-3, but they have been relatively competitive in all of their contests. The 49ers are missing so many players in key positions and the practice squad isn't the place to find legit contributors. The location of the game may work against the 49ers as well. Strangely, the 49ers have been much worse at home in 2020. At away games the team has seemed confident and full of energy, while at home they have seemed flat, sluggish and uninspired. The math just doesn't add up to a 49ers victory, but the desperation factor will come into play and the 49ers will pull out a tight one. 49ers 19 - Dolphins 16

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