Over & Away the best bets in NFL's fifth week
Over & Away the best bets in NFL's fifth week
New Orleans and Minnesota capped off the NFL's fifth week with a free-for-all at the Superdome Monday night before the Vikings came away with a 30-27 victory over the Saints. That pushed totals betting for the week to 8-6 O/U and 43-30 on the '08 season. Visitors also brought home the bacon with away teams cashing 10-4 ATS, including the nine road underdogs performing at a very delicious 6-3 ATS rate.
Did someone here ask for more touchdowns?
They were scoring them every which way on Monday night. Reggie Bush had two punt return TDs for the New Orleans Saints. Antoine Winfield took a blocked field-goal attempt 59 yards the other way for the Minnesota Vikings. In the end, the Vikings prevailed 30-27 as 3-point road dogs, blowing out the total of 47 on a day when Adrian Peterson rushed for only 32 yards.
All those return trips to the end zone propelled the Over to an 8-6 record in Week 5's NFL matchups (43-30 on the season). Away teams were big money at 10-4 against the spread, and away dogs like the Vikings were 6-3 ATS. Favorites had been the top story against the betting odds up to this point, but they were only 7-7 in Week 5 to sit at 41-31-2.
Monday’s events were the perfect coda for a very strange week of football. The Houston Texans (+3) had the Indianapolis Colts down 27-10 with under five minutes to play, but still found a way to lose 31-27. The key play: a 68-yard fumble return by Gary Brackett. Handicappers who parlayed the favorite and the Over (48½) should be buying the next round of drinks.
Sunday also gave us a clash between Brett Favre’s two former employers. The Atlanta Falcons (+3½) pulled off the 27-24 upset at Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers fell to 2-3 SU and ATS. The offense has gone a bit off-kilter since Aaron Rodgers hurt his shoulder, and the defense failed to sack rookie Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Another easy Over on the total of 40½ points.
And what happened to Buffalo’s defense? The Bills (+1) were steamrolled 41-17 by an Arizona Cardinals team that was missing Anquan Boldin. It didn’t help Buffalo’s cause that the offense fumbled the ball away three times, or that Trent Edwards was knocked out of the game after just three plays. Replacement J.P. Losman had two of those fumbles to spoil an otherwise solid performance.
Some things did go according to the textbook in Week 5. The Tennessee Titans kept their perfect season alive at 5-0 SU and ATS, scoring the winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining to beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. The lowest total of the week (33½ points) wasn’t low enough for this ugly matchup.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Detroit Lions are also “perfect” at 0-4 SU and ATS following their 34-7 loss to the visiting Chicago Bears (-3½). Maybe now Detroit wishes it had Joey Harrington back. Darren Orlovsky was not terribly good in relief of Jon Kitna, who left the game with back spasms. They combined for just 131 yards passing; Kyle Orton (24-for-34, 334 yards) looked like a god in comparison as the Bears improved to 3-2 SU and 3-1-1 ATS.
Detroit joins idle St. Louis as the two untarnished “fade” teams in the NFL. Bettors have also ridden the Over with the aforementioned Texans at 4-0. The Seattle Seahawks find themselves in the same position with the Over at 4-0 and the team in a shambles at 1-3 SU and ATS. The Seattle defense has fallen apart, as the Giants illustrated during their 44-6 victory in East Rutherford. The defending champions are holding off the cynics at 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS.
Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows are those pesky New England Patriots. They won out on the West Coast, beating San Francisco 30-21 as 3-point road favorites to improve to 3-1 (2-2 ATS). Matt Cassel had his ups and downs, mixing two picks in with a beautiful 66-yard TD pass to Randy Moss. He could use some better pass protection, the Pats defense is a little sketchy right now – and yet the Patriots are 3-1. Bill Belichick is pleased.
New Orleans and Minnesota capped off the NFL's fifth week with a free-for-all at the Superdome Monday night before the Vikings came away with a 30-27 victory over the Saints. That pushed totals betting for the week to 8-6 O/U and 43-30 on the '08 season. Visitors also brought home the bacon with away teams cashing 10-4 ATS, including the nine road underdogs performing at a very delicious 6-3 ATS rate.
Did someone here ask for more touchdowns?
They were scoring them every which way on Monday night. Reggie Bush had two punt return TDs for the New Orleans Saints. Antoine Winfield took a blocked field-goal attempt 59 yards the other way for the Minnesota Vikings. In the end, the Vikings prevailed 30-27 as 3-point road dogs, blowing out the total of 47 on a day when Adrian Peterson rushed for only 32 yards.
All those return trips to the end zone propelled the Over to an 8-6 record in Week 5's NFL matchups (43-30 on the season). Away teams were big money at 10-4 against the spread, and away dogs like the Vikings were 6-3 ATS. Favorites had been the top story against the betting odds up to this point, but they were only 7-7 in Week 5 to sit at 41-31-2.
Monday’s events were the perfect coda for a very strange week of football. The Houston Texans (+3) had the Indianapolis Colts down 27-10 with under five minutes to play, but still found a way to lose 31-27. The key play: a 68-yard fumble return by Gary Brackett. Handicappers who parlayed the favorite and the Over (48½) should be buying the next round of drinks.
Sunday also gave us a clash between Brett Favre’s two former employers. The Atlanta Falcons (+3½) pulled off the 27-24 upset at Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers fell to 2-3 SU and ATS. The offense has gone a bit off-kilter since Aaron Rodgers hurt his shoulder, and the defense failed to sack rookie Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Another easy Over on the total of 40½ points.
And what happened to Buffalo’s defense? The Bills (+1) were steamrolled 41-17 by an Arizona Cardinals team that was missing Anquan Boldin. It didn’t help Buffalo’s cause that the offense fumbled the ball away three times, or that Trent Edwards was knocked out of the game after just three plays. Replacement J.P. Losman had two of those fumbles to spoil an otherwise solid performance.
Some things did go according to the textbook in Week 5. The Tennessee Titans kept their perfect season alive at 5-0 SU and ATS, scoring the winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining to beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. The lowest total of the week (33½ points) wasn’t low enough for this ugly matchup.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Detroit Lions are also “perfect” at 0-4 SU and ATS following their 34-7 loss to the visiting Chicago Bears (-3½). Maybe now Detroit wishes it had Joey Harrington back. Darren Orlovsky was not terribly good in relief of Jon Kitna, who left the game with back spasms. They combined for just 131 yards passing; Kyle Orton (24-for-34, 334 yards) looked like a god in comparison as the Bears improved to 3-2 SU and 3-1-1 ATS.
Detroit joins idle St. Louis as the two untarnished “fade” teams in the NFL. Bettors have also ridden the Over with the aforementioned Texans at 4-0. The Seattle Seahawks find themselves in the same position with the Over at 4-0 and the team in a shambles at 1-3 SU and ATS. The Seattle defense has fallen apart, as the Giants illustrated during their 44-6 victory in East Rutherford. The defending champions are holding off the cynics at 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS.
Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows are those pesky New England Patriots. They won out on the West Coast, beating San Francisco 30-21 as 3-point road favorites to improve to 3-1 (2-2 ATS). Matt Cassel had his ups and downs, mixing two picks in with a beautiful 66-yard TD pass to Randy Moss. He could use some better pass protection, the Pats defense is a little sketchy right now – and yet the Patriots are 3-1. Bill Belichick is pleased.