It should be quite the interesting week of NFL betting action in Week 7, as some of the top teams in the league square off against one another with playoff positioning firmly being on the line. Don’t miss our look at the Week 7 odds and all of the NFL betting lines for this week.

There’s no game on the board this week that is more important than the clash between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos. Simply put, this is the biggest regular season game that the Colts have played since moving to Baltimore. They are taking on their former QB Peyton Manning, a legend in Indianapolis and a man for whom many teenagers are named for both in Indiana and in Tennessee. You won’t find a more loved man in the city that doesn’t currently play for the Colts, and there is going to be a huge tribute to Manning for what he did in Indy prior to this game. It should be emotional for sure, and we expect that Manning is going to be in his element playing in his old home. The Broncos, who have the best team in football right now, are -6.5 in this one, and that makes them the second biggest road favorites of the weekend. This game also features a ‘total’ of 56, the highest of the weekend.

The other road favorites of note and substance this weekend are the San Diego Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football this week, while the Bolts are going against the winless (and hapless) Jacksonville Jaguars. Seattle is giving 5.5 in this one, which is a far cry from the 58-0 score that these two teams played to last year. Don’t be shocked if this one is about some payback in the NFC West, as the Cards can get within just one game of the division lead if they can pull off this shocker. Jacksonville meanwhile, is the biggest home underdog of the weekend, as it is a 7.5-point pup. However, with the Chargers flying across the country and playing at 10:00 AM local time game the week after playing on Monday Night Football, the deck is stacked in favor of the hosts. If there was ever a game in which Jacksonville was going to beat a good team, this would be the game.

And then there are some games this weekend that just look flat out weird. The San Francisco 49ers are only laying four on the road against the Tennessee Titans, who are still using QB Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers are -6.5 and bordering on -7 at home against the St. Louis Rams in a battle of teams that, at least on paper, look relatively comparable. The Washington Redskins have a significantly worse record than the Chicago Bears, and the argument could be made that these two teams will finish nowhere near each other this year. However, off of their bye week, QB Robert Griffin III and the Redskins are only a pick ’em at home against Chicago, insinuating that this could be the best game of the day on the Week 7 betting lines. Perhaps the oddest of the odd? The New York Jets are only +3.5 at home against the New England Patriots, who feel like they should be favored by at least a TD in this one.

Not every game is complete lopsided by looks, though. The Houston Texans are in desperate need of a victory, and they are going to try to snap their four-game losing streak against the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs just broke the record for the loudest crowd road ever at an NFL game at 137.7 dB, and you know that this is going to be amped up for this game against the two-time defending AFC South champs. QB Matt Schaub is highly suspect at this point, and he is questionable for this game with a leg injury. The Houston offense needs any spark that it can get. The Texans are sharp for sure, and they are +6.5 on the road at Arrowhead. This game features the lowest ‘total’ of the day at 39.5, and it is one of the four games on the docket with ‘totals’ of 41 or lower, making it the lowest scoring week by average ‘total’ in NFL betting action this year.

The Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals were both laughing stocks for a number of years, but now, they are both division leaders with a chance to really put their foot down in their respective divisions. The Bengals are on the road at Ford Field, where they are getting 2.5, though Detroit is still wondering if it is going to have its best offensive weapon, WR Calvin Johnson ready to go in this game.

The Philadelphia Eagles are -2.5 at home with QB Nick Foles calling the shots against the Dallas Cowboys in a game where first place is on the line in the NFC East. The Miami Dolphins are -7.5 at home against the Buffalo Bills, who could be starting either QB Thad Lewis or the newly acquired QB Matt Flynn under center this week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting 7.5 against the Atlanta Falcons, who also have injury problems the likes of which you wouldn’t believe. When he gets in the huddle on Sunday, the only skill player that might be looking back at QB Matt Ryan that was starting the season in that huddle is TE Tony Gonzalez. WR Roddy White, WR Julio Jones, and RB Steven Jackson all expect to be sitting this one out.

In the 4:00 ET hour, the Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to salvage their season, something that they will be able to accomplish if they can beat the NFL betting lines against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are -2.5 at home against the defending Super Bowl champs. Elsewhere, the Green Bay Packers, even without LB Clay Matthews and WR Randall Cobb, are -10.5 at home against the Cleveland Browns.

Sadly, the worst game of the week is probably the Monday Night Football game. The winless New York Giants are favored by 3.5 to get their first victory of the campaign against the one-win Minnesota Vikings, who are going to be starting QB Josh Freeman, marking their third starting quarterback thus far in six games on the season.

2013 NFL Week 7 Spreads @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 10/17/13):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus (and -107 juice) at Sportbet When Using This Link)

Week 7 NFL Point Spreads for Thursday, October 17th
303 Seattle Seahawks -5.5
304 Arizona Cardinals +5.5
Over/Under 41

Week 7 NFL Lines for Sunday, October 20th (1:00 ET Kickoffs)
397 New England Patriots -3.5
398 New York Jets +3.5
Over/Under 43.5

399 San Diego Chargers -7.5
400 Jacksonville Jaguars +7.5
Over/Under 45.5

401 Houston Texans +6
402 Kansas City Chiefs -6
Over/Under 39.5

403 Cincinnati Bengals +2.5
404 Detroit Lions -2.5
Over/Under 47

405 Buffalo Bills +7.5
406 Miami Dolphins -7.5
Over/Under 42.5

407 Chicago Bears pk
408 Washington Redskins pk
Over/Under 50

409 Dallas Cowboys +2.5
410 Philadelphia Eagles -2.5
Over/Under 54.5

411 St. Louis Rams +6.5
412 Carolina Panthers -6.5
Over/Under 42

413 Tampa Bay Buccaneers +7.5
414 Atlanta Falcons -7.5
Over/Under 43

NFL Week 7 Lines for Sunday, October 20th (4:00 ET Kickoffs)
415 San Francisco 49ers -4
416 Tennessee Titans +4
Over/Under 40

417 Cleveland Browns +10.5
418 Green Bay Packers -10.5
Over/Under 46.5

419 Baltimore Ravens +2.5
420 Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5
Over/Under 41

Week 7 Sunday Night Football Lines for Sunday, October 20th
421 Denver Broncos -6.5
422 Indianapolis Colts +6.5
Over/Under 56

Monday Night Football Week 7 Spreads for Monday, October 21st
423 Minnesota Vikings +3.5
424 New York Giants -3.5
Over/Under 46.5

There is no game on the weekly NFL schedule like Monday Night Football, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are keeping close tabs on all of the MNF games this year and taking our weekly look at the Monday Night Football game this week!

Note: All Monday Night Football games can be seen on ESPN, and all MNF kickoffs are slated for 8:30 p.m. (ET), except where noted.

This Week’s Monday Night Football Game Preview
Minnesota Vikings +3.5
New York Giants -3.5
Over/Under 46.5

With just one win between the two teams, the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants definitely aren’t providing the sexiest matchup on the docket, especially not for a Monday Night Football game. However, this is the game that we are tasked with this week, and we don’t expect it to be pretty.

Three of the main players in this game that will be racking up stats were free agents earlier this year. QB Josh Freeman for Minnesota is obviously the big one, as he is going to be making the start on Monday for the first time in his career outside of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, some forget about RB Brandon Jacobs and the newly acquired RB Peyton Hillis. These are really the only two guys in the backfield for the Giants that can carry the football, and as long as they keep two arms around the rock and don’t put it on the ground, Head Coach Tom Coughlin isn’t going to care.

The recipe for both these teams is very simple. Minnesota has to run the ball and force turnovers, real weaknesses of the Giants. The G-Men absolutely cannot stop turning the ball over, and the end result is game after game of disappointment. The ground attack ranks 26th in the league on the defensive side, and we don’t see things getting any better against RB Adrian Peterson. On the other side of the ball, the Giants have to put pressure on Freeman and make him use some of the playbook to beat them. There can’t possibly be that much chemistry between Freeman and his receivers. Playaction bombs seem to be the most effective play in the arsenal, and the only way to take that away is by taking away All Day. If AP goes off for 30 carries and 220 yards, this game won’t even be remotely close, and it will be the third in a row in which the boo birds are gawking at the Giants the whole night at home.

Minnesota has won four of the last five games in this series, including taking two straight here in the Meadowlands. However, the Giants won the most recent meeting 21-3, and they held the Vikes down to just 161 yards in the game in 2010. If that’s what happens again, New York will surely get its first victory of the campaign.

As always, the games on the Sunday Night Football schedule are the best of the bunch to end a full weekend of football, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are taking care of our Sunday Night Football preview each and every week, as well as providing you with an up to date schedule of all of the Sunday Night Football games on the docket for the 2013 season.

Note: All Sunday Night Football games can be seen on NBC, and all SNF kickoffs are slated for 8:30 p.m. (ET). The ability to flex games starts in Week 10.

This Week’s Sunday Night Football Game Preview
Denver Broncos -6.5
Indianapolis Colts +6.5
Over/Under 56

We have seen every single Sunday Night Football game this year feature at least 29 points scored by the winner, and we can just about darn near guarantee that that is going to be what happens in this one once again in Week 7. The Denver Broncos are scoring points at a ridiculous clip this year, and they’ll take on the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Field.

Of course, the headline here is going to be about QB Peyton Manning coming back to Indy, the city that he essentially built from a football perspective. Manning now is leading the best offense he has arguably ever had, and that’s saying a lot, knowing that he had a season where he threw for the most touchdowns in NFL history at the time. However, what is really getting to us is the fact that this defense isn’t all that great. Some of it is the circumstance of always playing from ahead, and that means lots of soft zones and such, but we have seen this unit look horrid against QB Tony Romo and the Cowboys and now at times against QB Chad Henne and the Jaguars. One of those is excusable. The other isn’t. There are definitely flaws in this undefeated side.

Indy is far from perfect as well, and the argument could be made that this team was fortunate to beat both Seattle and Oakland at home this year. However, the Colts are the worthy AFC South leaders in our eyes, and we have to imagine that they are going to want to stretch out this lead even more. Indy is already a game up on the Titans and two up on the Texans, and both teams are big underdogs this week. QB Andrew Luck is taking over for the departed Manning, and he is going to try to be the next great Colts quarterback to lead this team for a decade. Luck is another one of these once-in-a-generation types of talent, and he’ll go far, but is he ready to really take down a man that has already carved out a Hall of Fame career?

Watching the NFL betting trends here is sickening. Do you care that Manning has five straight wins and covers in this series or the fact that the Colts have five straight wins and covers in this series? The truth of the matter is that Luck was still a frosh at Stanford the last time that these two teams played, and that really probably prompts you to throw out the record books.

Our Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers picks are set and ready to go at Bankroll Sports, but if you’re looking for a bit of a different way to take advantage of some of the Monday Night Football prop bets, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re going to be breaking down some of the best NFL props on the board for Monday Night Football, all of which come courtesy of Diamond Sportsbook.

Andrew Luck Under 280.5 Passing Yards – We’re really not all that sure at what the oddsmakers have been looking at here with Luck. He hasn’t come anywhere near this total of passing yards but once all season long in a game, and though he is going against a bad secondary, he also is only throwing the ball right around 30 times per game on the season. If Luck is only going to put the pill in the air 30 times in this game, he is going to have to average right around nine yards per attempt, and we know that he isn’t going to do that more often than not. Especially at +100 odds, we have to think that this is a winning bet more than half the time to make us winners.

Coby Fleener To Score a Touchdown (+125) – Fleener has had himself a good second season, and without TE Dwayne Allen there to steal his targets, the Stanford grad is really shining. He has scored a touchdown in two of his three games this year, but he has been targeted in the end zone in four of the five. Luck is going to complete more of his shots into the end zone than you’d think, and we have to remember that this San Diego defense has had no luck whatsoever defending against tight ends this year. Remember Monday Night Football the first time that the Chargers played on it this year? They allowed three touchdowns to the tight ends of the Houston Texans. We only need one in this one, and we think that Fleener is going to be the man that gets it in at least half of his games.

Philip Rivers Under 290.5 Passing Yards – Rivers has put up three games with at least 400 passing yards this year, but this is a very good Indianapolis secondary that he is going up against that ranks fifth in the NFL against the pass. Sure, Rivers could rack up a bunch of garbage yards, and that might end up beating us, but we are believers that this is going to be a close game one way or the other. Remember that in the two games where Rivers didn’t throw for 400 yards, he also didn’t even throw for 200 yards. Eventually, he’ll settle somewhere in the middle, and we have to think that right around 250 yards is about right for the man from NC State.

Keenan Allen Over 4 Receptions – Asking Allen to get to four receptions to push and five to win seems like a decent bet to us at this point. The rookie out of Cal has had 11 receptions, but more importantly 19 targets in his last two games, proving that he is the man that Rivers is going to love to throw the rock to when he gets the chance to do so. Some of the shots have been deep that Allen has gotten, and though that isn’t really going to help us in terms of receptions, we do think that quantity in this case will be good enough to outshine the lack of quality that some of the throws have had to Allen over the course of the last two weeks.

Antonio Gates To Not Score a Touchdown – It’s only a pick ’em prop, and we think that “no” should be the favorite here by a sizeable margin. The Colts haven’t allowed a tight end to find the end zone against them this year, and in most of the games that they have played, tight ends have caught two passes or fewer. Gates has had himself a good season, but he isn’t getting all of the looks from Rivers in the end zone as he used to. We think that this is a man that could be in for a decent night, but the end zone isn’t in the cards more often than not in all likelihood.

The 2013 NFL season and schedule are here, and that means that there are going to be some big time games over the course of the whole campaign. Join us for the 2013 Thursday Night Football schedule and check out all of the NFL games on the NFL Network this year!

Note: All Thursday Night Football games can be seen on the NFL Network except where noted, and all kickoffs are slated for 8:20 p.m. (ET).

This Week’s Thursday Night Football Game Preview
Seattle Seahawks -6
Arizona Cardinals +6
Over/Under 41

The Seattle Seahawks are starting to pull away from the rest of the pack in the NFC West, and there is no reason not to think that they won’t win the division title from here. They have the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football this week, and this battle is going to be stingier than you are probably thinking.

Head Coach Bruce Arians has the Cardinals really believing that they belong to be playing in games like these. They really had a chance against the San Francisco 49ers last week, and if not for four turnovers, they probably would have won the game. Instead, they are just 3-3, and though they are on the outside of the playoffs looking in, there is a real chance to make some noise over the course of these next three games. The team doesn’t leave home now for a month, and it has to capitalize even though it might be an underdog in all three of these clashes ahead with Seattle, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans. QB Carson Palmer has turned the ball over a ton this year, as he is responsible for 11 picks and a good chunk of the team’s 15 turnovers.

That has to really have this Seattle defense smiling. The Seahawks have forced nine interceptions this year, many of which have come in the fourth quarter of games. DB Richard Sherman has a knack for the big play at the big moment, and you can bet that Palmer is going to want to stay away from him. Seattle hasn’t played nearly as well on the road as it has at home, but the truth of the matter is that the team really has only played one tremendously impressive game this season, that being the 29-3 win over the 49ers in Week 2. A win over the Jacksonville Jaguars was no great shakes, and a victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 wasn’t phenomenal either. Since then, there are three games against AFC South teams, and all three of those games could have been lost, yet all three really should have been won.

The Seahawks have had no luck whatsoever going on the road to the desert. The Cardinals have won and covered six of the last seven meetings between these two. Most remember the fact that Seattle won 58-0 when these two teams met last December, but they don’t remember the fact that a significantly worse Arizona team than this one came away with a win when these two hooked up here at University of Phoenix Stadium in September.

The sixth week of NFL betting action commences on Thursday night for some of the biggest and best teams in the league, as we will see a number of teams that are fighting for their lives try to right their seasons, and some teams continuing the quest for perfection.

The biggest story of the weekend is probably the biggest NFL point spread of the weekend. The Denver Broncos are giving 27 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that makes this the biggest single game spread in the history of NFL betting. Will it close that way, though? That’s still a bit of a mystery. Early action was on Jacksonville last week when WagerWeb Sportsbook posted the game at Denver -26, but we’ll see what happens now that Jacksonville has become the first team in NFL history to lose its first five games by 10+ points. It is clear that this is the worst team in football, and regardless of whether it is QB Blaine Gabbert or QB Chad Henne, things are going to be disgusting. QB Peyton Manning has put up just gobs of numbers, and for as long as he wants to be in this game, he is going to be doing even more damage. We would be shocked to see Manning throw for fewer than four TDs in this game on Sunday, and the scariest part is that it is going to take more than that to cover the number.

What’s almost as remarkable is the fact that the San Francisco 49ers are 11-point favorites against the Arizona Cardinals, yet they are the third biggest favorites of the day. The other team in the NFC West of note, the Seattle Seahawks are -14 against the Tennessee Titans, who remain to be a 3-2 team that is right in the thick of the fight of the playoff picture. There is obviously a lot of good coming here for these teams that are heavily favored, and it would be a shock to see any of them even remotely fail on the Week 6 odds in spite of those huge numbers.

Thursday Night Football is a dream waiting to happen for the Chicago Bears’ defense. This is a team that prides itself on forcing turnovers and making life a living hell on opposing quarterbacks. Enter the New York Giants, who have the most turnovers in football, and it isn’t even all that close. QB Eli Manning has already chumped up 10 picks this year, and his G-Men are off to an 0-5 start. Losing this one would put the team three back in the division with just 10 games to play, and the hope of a turnaround would be fading out once and perhaps for all. New York is getting 7.5 in this one, and it would be a miracle if the team could just salvage its first cover of the campaign in this one.

What we’re not seeing all that much of on the Week 6 betting lines are road favorites. The Green Bay Packers are giving three to the Baltimore Ravens in what should be one of the better games of the day, while the team that they are chasing, the Detroit Lions, are -2.5 on the road against the Cleveland Browns, who are forced to turn back to QB Brandon Weeden under center. Meanwhile in the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are still in search of their first win of the season, are -3 on the road against the New York Jets, and their division mates, the Cincinnati Bengals are -7 on the road against the Buffalo Bills. We’ve mentioned four games here, and two of the underdogs, the Bills and the Browns have the same problem. They’re both playing without their starting quarterbacks. We’ve already mentioned the QB Brian Hoyer injury that has put Weeden back in the saddle, but Buffalo has lost its second quarterback right now, as QB EJ Manuel has an LCL injury that is going to keep him out for a couple of weeks.

The Bills made their effort to sign QB Josh Freeman this week, but that right went to the Minnesota Vikings instead. Freeman is going to make $3M this year from the Vikes and over $8M from the team that cut him, Tampa Bay, and we aren’t all that sure if he is going to step in and start right away or not. QB Matt Cassel led Minnesota to its first win of the year two weeks ago in London, and he figures to start on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, where the Vikes are -2. As far as those Bucs are concerned, they’re a pick ’em at home against the Philadelphia Eagles (that’s the division leading Philadelphia Eagles to you!). Philly doesn’t know yet if QB Nick Foles or QB Michael Vick will be starting after Vick’s hamstring acted up against New York on Sunday, so that will be an interesting development to watch as the week wears on.

We have yet to make mention of the fact that the Houston Texans are -6.5 at home against the St. Louis Rams, as QB Matt Schaub tries to avoid becoming the first quarterback in league history to throw a pick six in five straight games, but that’s clearly not amongst the best games of the day. In the 4:00 ET hour though, the clash between the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots is. New England is giving 2.5 in this one, but New Orleans remains the only undefeated team in the NFC, and it is surely going to put up a heck of a fight. It’s not often that you see a pair of surefire Hall of Fame quarterbacks doing battle with one another, but QB Drew Brees and QB Tom Brady absolutely fit the bill.

Sunday Night Football should be a good one this week, as the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys battle for first place in the NFC East. The Cowboys are coming off of that crippling loss to the Broncos last week, and they badly need to bounce back in this one. If they don’t, they’re going to be in a lot of hot water. The Redskins haven’t shown much yet this year, but they are +4.5 and would qualify as a big upset if they were able to pull this one out of their hat.

On Monday Night Football in Week 6, the San Diego Chargers have to play once again. The Bolts have already played a Sunday night game that started at 11:35 p.m. ET and a Monday night game that started at 10:10 p.m. ET, so playing at odd times is nothing new to them. For the Indianapolis Colts though, this is a huge game. They knocked off the Seahawks last week, and they can put their foot on the gas pedal in the AFC South if they can win this game. They’re -1 on the road, and the oddsmakers aren’t showing much in the way of confidence that they can get the job done.

Surprisingly, the highest ‘total’ of the week actually isn’t the game between Brees and Brady as you would figure. The Colts and Jaguars have the highest number of the week at 51.5, and the implied team total here for the Broncos is 39.5 points, an absolutely insane number by the NFL’s standard.

We do have to mention that there are some games that have started off the week as of Sunday night off the board, and that could change some of the numbers around. However, the lowest ‘total’ of the games that are on the board right now pits the Jets against the Steelers, where the ‘total’ is only 40. The Titans and Seahawks get an honorable mention at 40.5, while the Raiders and the Chiefs are set at 41 to open up Week 6.

2013 NFL Week 6 Odds @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 10/13/12):
(Get a FREE $300 Bonus at JustBet.cx When Using This Link)

Week 6 NFL Point Spreads for Thursday, October 10th
101 New York Giants +7.5
102 Chicago Bears -7.5
Over/Under 45

Week 6 NFL Spreads for Sunday, October 13th (1:00 ET Kickoffs)
203 Oakland Raiders +9.5
204 Kansas City Chiefs -9.5
Over/Under 41

205 Philadelphia Eagles pk
206 Tampa Bay Buccaneers pk
Over/Under OTB

207 Green Bay Packers -3
208 Baltimore Ravens +3
Over/Under 48

209 Detroit Lions -2.5
210 Cleveland Browns +2.5
Over/Under 45.5

211 Carolina Panthers +2
212 Minnesota Vikings -2
Over/Under 44

213 St. Louis Rams +6.5
214 Houston Texans -6.5
Over/Under OTB

215 Pittsburgh Steelers -3
216 New York Jets +3
Over/Under 40

217 Cincinnati Bengals -7
218 Buffalo Bills +7
Over/Under OTB

NFL Week 6 Betting Lines for Sunday, October 13th (4:00 ET Kickoffs)
219 Tennessee Titans +14
220 Seattle Seahawks -14
Over/Under 40.5

221 Jacksonville Jaguars +27
222 Denver Broncos -27
Over/Under 51.5

223 Arizona Cardinals +11
224 San Francisco 49ers -11
Over/Under OTB

225 New Orleans Saints +2.5
226 New England Patriots -2.5
Over/Under 49.5

Sunday Night Football Week 6 Odds for Sunday, October 14th
227 Washington Redskins +4.5
228 Dallas Cowboys -4.5
Over/Under 53

Monday Night Football Week 6 Lines for Monday, October 15th
229 Indianapolis Colts -1
230 San Diego Chargers +1
Over/Under OTB

The Week 5 NFL odds are out and ready to go, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are breaking down all of the NFL gambling odds for what should be another remarkable week of play on the gridiron.

Are there legitimately playoff teams that are huge underdogs on the Week 5 NFL betting lines? You bet there are! The biggest of those underdogs comes in what might be the best game of the week between the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans. The Texans have dropped two games in a row, and they very well could be an 0-4 team at this point if not for a few breaks in the second halves of games. They haven’t had a game that this year in which they haven’t trailed in either the second half or overtime, and they are going on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a tough game for sure, but as proof as to how far these two teams have come of late… The last time these two met at Candlestick Park was in 2005, and the #1 pick in the NFL Draft was on the line in Week 17. Houston lost the game, won the #1 pick, and took DE Mario Williams, who has since left via free agency. The Niners did knock off the Rams last week, but is the sky still falling? For the losing team, dropping to 2-3 is going to leave a lot of questions to be answered. The Niners are giving a touchdown in one of the biggest NFL point spreads we have seen in a Texans game in quite some time.

Meanwhile, the favorites in the NFC East and the leaders in the clubhouse in the division, the Dallas Cowboys are going to be playing a tough battle against the Denver Broncos. Not only are the Cowboys also +7, but they are +7 at home! Denver though, has been mowing through teams, and it is on a pace to just shatter every single record known to man offensively. It’s really unreal to think of the numbers that QB Peyton Manning is putting up at this point with this team, and things are only going to get better and better as the second quarter of the season wears on. This is the first really tough road test of the season though, and it is one that many will be excited to see if the Broncos can figure out how to pass with flying colors.

And finally, the Detroit Lions, who are 3-1 through four games and sitting atop of the NFC North, are +6.5 on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Once again, this is a huge number, and it is one that is going to be tough to beat, even for a Green Bay team that took its bye week last week and is hoping to get healthy, especially at the running back position. With all three of its running backs getting banged up in the last couple of weeks, the Packers have some explaining to do in this one. We know that they’ll score some points through the air, but can they slow down QB Matthew Stafford and the gang? Stafford’s offense has looked fantastic thus far this year, and the Lions put up 40 last week against the high-octane Chicago defense.

The biggest favorites of the weekend though, are the St. Louis Rams. It’s tough to think that a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in quite some time is actually capable of laying 13 points, but without us even saying a thing, you know that it is the Jacksonville Jaguars that are coming to town. The Rams are on a long week of preparation for this game, and they are getting a lame team that is seemingly destined to go 1-15 or worse this year. QB Blaine Gabbert is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, and it really doesn’t matter whether it is Gabbert or QB Chad Henne, the title is likely the same. If St. Louis doesn’t bounce back from its bad loss to San Fran in this one, there’s no way to fix this team. This is a get well game in every sense of the word for this defense.

Aside from these games that we have mentioned though, there isn’t a single point spread that has opened up at bigger than 4.5 points on Thursday or Sunday. The San Diego Chargers are giving 4.5 on the road against an Oakland Raiders team that just handed the Redskins their first win of the season last week. Oakland’s quarterback situation is still murky. QB Matt Flynn started last week against Washington, but we have to think that it is going to be QB Terrelle Pryor that is getting the call once again to start off on the Week 5 odds as long as he finishes passing his concussion tests.

The next two biggest NFL points spreads in Week 5 are both in primetime games. The second biggest spread of the week thus far pits the New York Jets at +8.5 against the Atlanta Falcons, while the Cleveland Browns are -3.5 against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. We have to think that this is going to be the third straight start for QB Brian Hoyer, who has led the Browns to a pair of wins thus far on the season, which is more than we can say for QB Brandon Weeden, who was 0-2 in his two starts before getting hurt, and perhaps Wally Pipped.

(Note: This article is written as of Sunday evening. The current NFL betting odds for Week 5 are below. The games between the Patriots and Bengals and the Chiefs and Titans are both off the board at the moment and will be expected to open up later in the week.)

There are definitely some more quirks about the Week 5 NFL schedule that are just completely off the wall. Two more playoff teams from last year, the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts are both underdogs. The Colts are three-point dogs at home against the Seattle Seahawks, while the Ravens are +3 at the Miami Dolphins. The Indy/Seattle game is the far more interesting contest. It’s the second straight week that Seattle is going to have to fly a long ways to play a 1:00 ET game on the road, and it is going to come with a lot of offensive linemen not on the field. The Colts have continued to soar, as they have now rolled to two victories in a row after losing to Miami at home in Week 2, a loss that really had fans screaming that perhaps something was really wrong with this team. This will be one of the better games on the docket.

But the biggest quirk? The winless New York Giants are actually favored by two points at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. Giants fans, fret not! Yes, the G-Men are 0-4 this year, but if they win this game and the Cowboys lose as they are supposed to against the Broncos, they are going to be just a game back five games into the season. Now THAT’S how you know your division is brutal. In fairness to New York, this is the first game this season that the team is going to be favored in by more than a single point. The Eagles have been a wreck since their first half of the season, and wonder is certainly there if the rest of the league has figured out Head Coach Chip Kelly and his offense (or whether they are just exploiting his defense!).

The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears are meeting in a contrast of styles. The Bears would much rather play a slowed down game that features a lot of defense, while the Saints are going to race up and down the field. Chicago watched its perfect start to the season go by the boards when it was beaten by the Lions last week in a game that was nowhere near as close as an eight-point final score suggests.

To round out the card, the Carolina Panthers are -1 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, who perhaps aren’t getting all that much respect at 2-2. The Panthers are coming off of their bye week though, so they might have a few new tricks up their sleeve after the long week of rest.

Even with two games off the board at the moment, there is very little doubt as to what the highest ‘totals’ and the lowest ‘totals’ of the week are going to be. No game is going to end up being lower than that Thursday nighter between the Bills and the Browns. Hoyer and QB EJ Manuel don’t exactly put a lot of confidence in bettors, especially with as badly as Buffalo has managed to protect the rookie in the pocket this year. The number to beat is 41.5, and we think that it is very interesting to continue to see how games played with teams on short weeks #1 tend to be unpredictable and #2 tend to feature lower scoring games. The only game that is going to remotely close to this number this week is the one between the Rams and the Jaguars, mainly because the Jacksonville offense has now gone over 30 first half drives without a touchdown. Do keep in mind that the game between the Chiefs and the Titans could end up with a number lower than this if QB Jake Locker, who was injured on Sunday, is indeed out for the game.

On the other end of the spectrum, nothing should be all that surprising. Once again, the Broncos have one of the highest ‘totals’ of the week. And oh, why not? The team already has 179 points scored this season, which we’d be willing to bet could end up being fewer points than the Jaguars will score for the entire season. Depending upon the number you got, all four Denver games could have ended in covers, and all four Denver games have gone past the ‘total’, so the 55 shouldn’t even seem like that high of a number at this point.

The highest ‘total’ of the week though, pits the Giants and their sieve of a defense against the Eagles and their sieve of a defense. These two teams have combined to give up 831 yards and 71 points per game this year, and those are just downright bad numbers. Philly’s offense is still putting up plenty of numbers, but the defense is really holding this unit back in a big time way. The number to beat is 56, and not surprisingly, this is the biggest ‘total’ of the weekend.

Remember when the Lions and the Packers would easily have the highest ‘total’ in any given week if they played against each other on the NFL betting lines? 52 is a high number, but this time around, it’s just third best.

Current NFL Week 5 Odds @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 9/29/13):
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NFL Week 5 Betting Lines for Thursday, October 3rd (Thursday Night Football Odds)
301 Buffalo Bills +3.5
302 Cleveland Browns -3.5
Over/Under 41.5

Week 5 NFL Spreads for Sunday, October 6th (1:00 ET Kickoffs)
413 Kansas City Chiefs OTB
414 Tennessee Titans OTB
Over/Under OTB

415 Baltimore Ravens +3
416 Miami Dolphins -3
Over/Under 43

417 Jacksonville Jaguars +13
418 St. Louis Rams -13
Over/Under 42

419 New England Patriots OTB
420 Cincinnati Bengals OTB
Over/Under OTB

421 Seattle Seahawks -3
422 Indianapolis Colts +3
Over/Under 43

423 Detroit Lions +6.5
424 Green Bay Packers -6.5
Over/Under 52

425 New Orleans Saints +1
426 Chicago Bears -1
Over/Under 47.5

427 Philadelphia Eagles +2
428 New York Giants -2
Over/Under 56

NFL Week 5 Betting Lines for Sunday, October 6th (4:00 ET Kickoffs)
429 Carolina Panthers -1
430 Arizona Cardinals +1
Over/Under 42

431 San Diego Chargers -4.5
432 Oakland Raiders +4.5
Over/Under 44

433 Denver Broncos -7
434 Dallas Cowboys +7
Over/Under 55

Sunday Night Football Week 5 Odds for Sunday, October 7th (Sunday Night Football Odds)
435 Houston Texans +7
436 San Francisco 49ers -7
Over/Under 42.5

Monday Night Football Week 5 Lines for Monday, October 8th (Monday Night Football Odds)
437 New York Jets +8.5
438 Atlanta Falcons -8.5
Over/Under OTB