Winning Favorites You Should Bet On NFL Week 5
Posted by Eric Williams on Saturday,October 8, 2016 10:03, EDT in
If you didn’t know before NFL betting odds enthusiasts, now you do. Not all favorites are created equal. Some teams are installed as obligatory favorites because they’re playing at home while other teams should have never been listed as the favorite because they’re simply not as good as their underdog opponents.
Thanks to the quartet of Week 5 underdog picks that you’re about to get, you’re going to maximize your chances of striking pay dirt with a series of winning wagers. Okay, with all of that said, let’s rock and roll people!
In Depth Analysis On The Winning Favorites You Should Bet On NFL Week 5
Houston at Minnesota -5.5
The Minnesota Vikings had a bye in Week 4 while Houston narrowly got past AFC South Division rival Tennessee 27-20 to cash in as a 3.5-point home favorite. Nevertheless, Minnesota is the easy pick to win and cash in for me in this Week 5 matchup as they are playing absolutely phenomenal defense in limiting the opposition to just 13.3 points per game.
Conversely, the Texans are struggling to score the ball as they average an uninspiring 17.2 points per game, although their defense has been solid in limiting the opposition to just 18.2 points per game defensively (eighth). Minnesota has gone 3-0 against Houston over their last three meetings dating back to 2004. The Vikes are 5-0 ATS in its last five games, 10-3 SU in their last 13 home games and a near-perfect 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
My Pick: Minnesota 24 Houston 14
Philadelphia -2.5 at Detroit
Detroit has lost three straight since beating Indianapolis in their regular season opener and will take on a Philadelphia team that is a perfect 3-0 under rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and well-rested after getting a bye in Week 4 following their stunning 34-3 beatdown of Pittsburgh in Week 3.
More importantly, Philadelphia is ranked a stupendous second in scoring (30.6 ppg) and first in points allowed (9.0 ppg). The Birds are 4-1 ATS in their last five games and an identical 4-1 ATS in their last five road games. On the flip side of the coin, Detroit is just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games and 3-6 ATS in their last nine games against Philly. The bottom line for this pairing is that Philly is the better team in all three phases.
My Pick: Philadelphia 31 Detroit 21
NY Jets at Pittsburgh -7
The Jets have lost two straight including their humbling 27-17 Week 4 loss against Seattle as a 1-point underdog on Sunday while Pittsburgh bounced back nicely from their humbling Week 3 loss against Philadelphia to beat the hell out of Kansas City 43-14 as a 3.5-point favorite on Sunday night.
With that said, the Steelers are the easy pick for me in this matchup seeing as how Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has tossed an insane 9 interceptions over his last two starts and New York is struggling to score the ball, ranking 23rd in scoring at 19.7 points per game. Pittsburgh is ranked 11th in points allowed at 20.0 points per contest while ranking an impressive eighth in scoring at 27.0 points per contest.
New York is 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games and 8-15 SU in their L/23 road dates. Conversely, Pittsburgh is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games and a near-perfect 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. The Steelers win and narrowly cover the spread against the desperate Jets.
My Pick: Pittsburgh 30 NY Jets 20
New England -10 at Cleveland
The New England Patriots lost their first game of the season in falling to AFC East division rival Buffalo 16-0 on Sunday while the Cleveland Browns remained winless despite putting up a great effort in their 31-20 Week 4 loss at Washington. With that said, I’m fully expecting the Patriots to roll all over the Browns in this contest with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady back on the field after serving a four-game suspension.
I know the Patriots are ranked an uninspiring 23rd in scoring at 20.2 points per game, but the Pats are also ranked a stellar fourth in points allowed at 15.2 points per contest. Conversely, Cleveland is ranked a dismal 27th in points allowed at 28.7 points per contest while ranking an equally discouraging 27th in scoring at 18.5 points per contest.
New England is 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games, but 4-2 ATS in its last six games overall. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans and betting backers, the Browns are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games and 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight home dates. The Pats win by double digits.
My Pick: New England 31 Cleveland 17
