NFL Week 5 Betting Recap
When it comes to the NFL, there’s usually one team that will upset the apple cart for bettors on Sunday. This week, that team was the Jacksonville Jaguars.
NFL Week 5 Biggest Upset
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Jaguars were 7.5-point road underdogs in Pittsburgh for Week 5. The Jaguars were coming off a loss to the Jets last week, so plenty of public bettors lined up at the betting window to lay the points with the home favorite. At halftime, Jacksonville held a slim 7-6 lead and while Pittsburgh was struggling, at some point the Steelers figured to turn it on.
Then disaster struck in the second half. Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted a total of five times in the game. Two of those five interceptions were returned for touchdowns as the Jaguars cruised to a 30-9 victory. The upset ruined individual plays, parlays, teasers and survivor pool players that figured Pittsburgh was the safest bet on the board this week.
Panthers Help Books
While the Jaguars were ruining bettors’ day in Pittsburgh, the Panthers were making Vegas sports books happy in Detroit. That’s because the Lions were the biggest public play of Week 5, receiving over 70% of the action as a 2-point favorite. Things looked good for Detroit backers early, as the Lions jumped out to 3-0 and 10-3 leads over Carolina. But Cam Newton had a great game, leading the Panthers to a 27-24 victory and making a clutch throw on the team’s final drive to hold off a 14-point rally by the Lions in the fourth quarter.
Was it a trap in Cincinnati?
Many savvy bettors had to be asking themselves whether or not the Bills-Bengals line was a trap. Buffalo was coming off an upset victory over the Falcons in Atlanta the week prior and the Bengals didn’t look sharp in the month of September. Over 50% of the tickets for the Buffalo-Cincinnati game were on the Bills receiving three points, and those bettors nearly cashed in when Buffalo drew within 17-16 in the fourth quarter. But a late Cincinnati field goal and a subsequent Tyrod Tayor interception killed Bills tickets as the Bengals barely covered the three points in a 20-16 victory.
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Outright Upsets
There were other outright upsets besides the Panthers and Jaguars. The Chargers used a couple of Eli Manning turnovers in the fourth quarter to edge the Giants 27-22 as a 3-point road dog in New York. The Seahawks held off the Rams 16-10 in a low-scoring, sloppy game in L.A. where Seattle was a 2-point dog. The Packers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Cowboys 35-31 as a 2.5-point underdog and the Ravens beat the banged-up Raiders 30-17 as a 3-point underdog in Oakland.