NFL Betting - Week 5 Not One for the Books
Oct 12th, 2009 by admin
If you bet with the crowd over the weekend, chances are, you did pretty well. There were a lot of surprises, and in most cases, recreational NFL betting players had a field day. The sportsbooks are now left with hat in hand. If every weekend was like this, chances are, online sportsbooks would be out of business by January. Luckily, the house has earned so-so amounts of money since regular season NFL betting began, so all is not lost.
Did They Really Win?
Week 5 was the week of some notable wins for a few underdog teams. Some games went as expected, but there were others that continue to baffle NFL fans and sportscasters alike, because no one expected that certain teams would prevail.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens - 17-14 Bengals
Say what? The Bengals have been on a roll, and their victory against the birds from Baltimore marks their 3rd consecutive win. Many thought that Baltimore was a force to be reckoned with; but after Week 4’s crushing defeat thanks to the Patriots, it appears the Ravens are still in recovery mode. You’ve got to hand it to Cincinnati’s kicking team: over the course of the last three games, EACH WIN was by a field goal. Needless to say, NFL bettors that took the Ravens were very disappointed Sunday afternoon after the Bengals were able to claw their way to a 17-14 victory.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Detroit Tigers - 28-20 Steelers
Well of course the Steelers were going to win this one, but by 8 points? That seems a little too close for comfort after a rumble with the Detroit Lions. In the Lions’ defense, they ARE no longer winless, and their confidence level has certainly been boosted in recent weeks. They’re no longer the easy defeat that they were last season. Scoring 20 against the defending Super Bowl champs shows the Lions have some strong potential. We may not see them bust completely out their bad rut this season, but by next year, you can definitely bet on the fact that the Lions will become a much stronger team. It’s likely they’ll win a couple more games this season, no doubt besting the the record St. Louis Rams, who are currently a bit down in the dumps.
New York Giants vs. Oakland Raiders - 44-7 Giants
So much for the spread on this game. The Giants licked the Raiders good, in a contest that was so lopsided you would have thought the Raiders’ cheerleaders were filling in for the defensive line. The Raiders had an average start to their season, winning a couple games by a comfortable margin. Over the weekend, however, the Giants (easily one of League’s top teams) bitch slapped them by 37 points. Ouch. Now let’s see the Giants do that to someone their own size: they play the New Orleans Saints next weekend.
Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers - 45-10 Falcons
Even though the sportsbooks thought the 49ers were the better team going into this matchup, everyone knew the Falcons would win. The Falcons are a solid team, despite the fact that they’ve forgotten to show up for a couple games this season. All the same, many handicappers had the Falcons against the over hyped 49ers. Mister Peebles, from NFL-Betting.com, had them for the easy win. And easy it was. Congrats Atlanta Fans!
Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots - 20-17 Broncos
WOW. The Broncos are now 5 and 0, while the Patriots got handed their second loss of the 2009-10 season. It’s unclear whether New England just had a bad day, or if the Broncos can indeed lay claim to their winning record in a matchup that was decided in over time. Clearly, the sportsbooks thought this one was a write off: the Patriots were the heavy favorite going into Sunday afternoon’s contest. Then the fat lady sang, and the Broncos came out on top. Look for the Broncos to continue their winning ways as the season progresses. Meanwhile, the Patriots need to regroup.
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets - 31-27 Dolphins - Monday Night Football
Say what again? We thought better of the Jets, whose only loss up until this point was against the Holier than thou New Orleans Saints. Now, just as we’re finishing up this post, the Miami Dolphins closed out the game in rare form, with a respectable 4 point margin. The underdog wins again: did ANY sportsbook predict this result? Probably not. So expect some bookies to be on the corner shaking a cup for spare change. This defeat is another point in the favor of the NFL betting public who had faith in the Dolphins in their 2009-10 Monday Night football debut.
What’s up next week? Well, the New York Jets, for one, are heading upstate to face the Buffalo Bills. They should be able to win this contest, but that’s what we said 4 hours ago 
. Then the undefeated Buckin’ Broncos face the motley crew Oakland Raiders. Will the Broncos keep the streak alive? Given the volatility of the Raiders, it’s all but in the bag. Then again, upsets DO happen, as we’ve seen this weekend. In any event, it’s time to study the box scores and plan next week’s NFL betting strategy. Week 6 is less than 7 days away.
Good Luck from Bet-on-the-NFL.com!