USA Today · NFL 2026 · 5 experts · weeks 4–5

USA Today NFL picks and records, 2026

Latest recorded: Week 5. Week 6 picks not recorded yet · last checked Oct 14, 7:44 a.m. ET

Season record

Top record straight up: Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, 21-9-1.

Leading the panel on market-adjusted points so far: straight up, Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, +5.7 points 19 picks scored · 19 of 31 with recorded odds; against the spread, Blake Schuster, +2.0 points 14 picks scored · 0 with recorded odds, 14 at assumed even odds. Panel standings

USA TODAY's game previews give a winner and a predicted final score for each game, with the opening line printed on the page; we derive the spread pick from the predicted score.

All picks, straight up: 54-35-360.7% · 92 picks
All picks, against the spread: 45-43-051.1% · 88 picks

Latest picks
Panel standings
Experts
How we checked these records
Original pick pages

USA Today leaders by market-adjusted points

The panelists with points above zero, by market-adjusted points, with their record in the same picks and a simple rule to compare with. Every panelist's full record is in the table below and on their own page. How we score fairly

Straight up

Leading so far, without places: the panelists above zero on market-adjusted points, up to 10, of the 2 with at least 10 scored straight-up picks this season. Places start with the live record (picks we recorded before kickoff, from Week 6).
Panelist	Market-adjusted points	Record in these picks	Picking every favorite · same games as this expert
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz	+5.7 points 19 picks scored · 19 of 31 with recorded odds	12-6-1 66.7%	9-9-1 19 games
Adam Kaufman	+0.3 points 19 picks scored · 19 of 31 with recorded odds	10-8-1 55.6%	9-9-1 19 games

Against the spread

Leading so far, without places: the panelists above zero on market-adjusted points, up to 10, of the 4 with at least 10 scored spread picks this season. Places start with the live record (picks we recorded before kickoff, from Week 6). A coin flip averages 50%.
Panelist	Market-adjusted points	Record in these picks
Blake Schuster	+2.0 points 14 picks scored · 0 with recorded odds, 14 at assumed even odds	8-6 57.1%
Adam Kaufman	+1.0 points 29 picks scored · 0 with recorded odds, 29 at assumed even odds	15-14 51.7%

USA Today NFL picks, Week 5

We haven't recorded USA Today's Week 6 picks yet. The latest available picks are from Week 5.

Straight up, Week 5. Columns: Adam Kaufman, Blake Schuster and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz.
Game	Kaufman	Schuster	Middlehurst-Schwartz
TB at DAL TB 24, DAL 16	DALLoss	DALLoss	DALLoss
PHI at JAX PHI 17, JAX 19	JAXWin	JAXWin	JAXWin
CHI at GB CHI 7, GB 31	CHILoss	CHILoss	CHILoss
CIN at MIA CIN 31, MIA 24	CINWin	CINWin	CINWin
CLE at NYJ CLE 12, NYJ 17	CLELoss	NYJWin	CLELoss
HOU at TEN HOU 26, TEN 3	HOUWin	—	HOUWin
IND at PIT IND 22, PIT 34	PITWin	PITWin	PITWin
LV at NE LV 17, NE 45	NEWin	LVLoss	NEWin
MIN at NO MIN 23, NO 13	MINWin	NOLoss	MINWin
NYG at WSH NYG 27, WSH 27	WSHPush	NYGPush	WSHPush
DEN at LAC DEN 23, LAC 17	DENWin	DENWin	DENWin
DET at ARI DET 45, ARI 21	DETWin	ARILoss	DETWin
SF at SEA SF 32, SEA 29	SFWin	SEALoss	SFWin
BAL at ATL BAL 30, ATL 23	ATLLoss	ATLLoss	ATLLoss
BUF at LAR BUF 37, LAR 34	LARLoss	BUFWin	BUFWin

Against the spread picks, Week 5

Against the spread, Week 5. Columns: Adam Kaufman, Blake Schuster and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz.
Game	Kaufman	Schuster	Middlehurst-Schwartz
TB at DAL TB 24, DAL 16	DAL -3.5Loss	DAL -3.5Loss	DAL -3.5Loss
PHI at JAX PHI 17, JAX 19	JAX +1.5Win	JAX +1.5Win	JAX +1.5Win
CHI at GB CHI 7, GB 31	CHI +3Loss	CHI +3Loss	CHI +3Loss
CIN at MIA CIN 31, MIA 24	CIN -6Win	CIN -6Win	CIN -6Win
CLE at NYJ CLE 12, NYJ 17	CLE +1.5Loss	NYJ -1.5Win	CLE +1.5Loss
HOU at TEN HOU 26, TEN 3	HOU -3.5Win	—	HOU -3.5Win
IND at PIT IND 22, PIT 34	PIT -2.5Win	PIT -2.5Win	PIT -2.5Win
LV at NE LV 17, NE 45	LV +8.5Loss	LV +8.5Loss	LV +8.5Loss
MIN at NO MIN 23, NO 13	MIN -1.5Win	NO +1.5Loss	MIN -1.5Win
NYG at WSH NYG 27, WSH 27	NYG +2.5Win	NYG +2.5Win	NYG +2.5Win
DEN at LAC DEN 23, LAC 17	DEN +2.5Win	DEN +2.5Win	DEN +2.5Win
DET at ARI DET 45, ARI 21	ARI +8.5Loss	ARI +8.5Loss	ARI +8.5Loss
SF at SEA SF 32, SEA 29	SF +3.5Win	SF +3.5Win	SF +3.5Win
BAL at ATL BAL 30, ATL 23	ATL +4.5Loss	ATL +4.5Loss	ATL +4.5Loss
BUF at LAR BUF 37, LAR 34	—	BUF +3Win	BUF +3Win

Every Week 5 pick from all outlets

Experts

Season records, 2026. Win % leaves out pushes.
Expert	Straight up	Win %	Against the spread	Win %
Adam Kaufman	19-11-1	63.3%	15-14-0	51.7%
Blake Schuster	6-7-1	46.2%	8-6-0	57.1%
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz	21-9-1	70.0%	15-15-0	50.0%
Nate Davis	1-0-0	1 of 1	1-0-0	1 of 1
Nicholas Brinkerhoff	7-8-0	46.7%	6-8-0	42.9%

By week

All of this outlet's picks combined.
Week	Straight up	Against the spread
Week 4	29-19-0	20-25-0
Week 5	25-16-3	25-18-0

When every participating writer picked the same side

Straight up: in 15 games, every USA Today expert who picked the game took the same side. Those picks went 10-5-0.
Against the spread: in 21 games, every USA Today expert who picked the game took the same side. Those picks went 11-10-0.

How we checked these records

USA Today does not print a running record or per-pick marks that we can check against yet. Our count comes from the picks and the final scores alone.

Original pick pages

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