NFL Odds: Here Are Three Favorites To Avoid Betting In Week 5

It figures to be another weird week in the NFL.

After COVID-19 concerns wreaked havoc on the Week 4 slate, Week 5 could ultimately be just as tricky with no clear resolution on the Tennessee Titans’ outbreak and mounting cases among the New England Patriots.

Even without that uncertainty, it’s not the prettiest slate with 12 of the 15 currently scheduled games having a betting line of a touchdown or more.

Those lopsided spreads could make betting tricky, but we’re back with a few betting favorites you might want to avoid when filling out your cards.

Jacksonville Jaguars at (-6) Houston Texans
Teams typically perform well in their first week after firing the head coach. It sure sounds like Houston was not a fun place to be at the end of Bill O’Brien’s tenure, so there could be a bounce-back this week for the otherwise talented Texans. But maybe it’s just bad and not even a firing can fix it. It also seems unlikely firing O’Brien immediately fixes the run defense, which the Jags certainly could expose. We’re not ready to jump on Jacksonville here, but we’re definitely not running to the window to bet on Houston, either.

Denver Broncos at (-11) New England Patriots
New betting rule: Look to generally avoid betting on teams that may or may not have a highly contagious illness making its way through their locker room. The Patriots looked clueless offensively without Cam Newton in Kansas City. Assuming there’s a game this week, he could be back under center, which obviously is a good thing. However, the Patriots will reportedly be without All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who is the latest Patriot to test positive for COVID-19. From a football standpoint alone, that’s a big loss, especially against a talented receiving corps. It also sounds like the Patriots won’t practice until Friday. They’ll probably still win and they certainly could cover — especially if Newton is back — but this is a big-time stay-away for us.

(-1.5) Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns
Honestly, if you want to bet the Browns, you might have missed your best chance. This game opened with the Colts laying 2.5 points. It already dropped and could fall even more before kickoff, as Cleveland receives more love in the betting market. Indianapolis has been tremendous since its Week 1 loss to the Jaguars, but this is a tough week for it as there are big-time injury concerns. Linebacker Darius Leonard, who is the heartbeat of the league-leading defense, is questionable at best this week. That’s in addition to other injuries at the position, which makes for a tough matchup against a very good Browns rushing attack, with or without Nick Chubb. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo might not play, either. Again, a tough break when you don’t have your best tackle against arguably the NFL’s top pass-rusher, Myles Garrett. There are also still questions about Indy’s secondary, which makes this a sub-optimal matchup with Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. feeling good after last week’s dynamic performance in Dallas.