Team NESN is a part of the historic Las Vegas Westgate SuperContest this season.
Betting analyst Sam Panayotovich and digital content editor Mike Cole are teaming up to pick five weekly NFL games against the point spread. Each winning selection receives one point and ties earn a half-point. The guys went 4-1 in Week 4 and are tied for 487th place out of 1,968 entries.
The betting lines are released every Wednesday and selections are due by Saturday afternoon.
Here are Sam’s and Mike’s picks for Week 5 of the SuperContest:
Cincinnati Bengals +3 vs. Green Bay Packers
MC: Cornerback Jaire Alexander being out for Green Bay is a big deal for a secondary that was already struggling. Joe Burrow is the best quarterback the Packers will have seen to date and he’ll prove to be a much tougher test than Jared Goff, Jimmy Garoppolo and Ben Roethlisberger were. Green Bay will have its hands full with a loaded Bengals receiver room — Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins — and we like Cincy to make this one real interesting.
San Francisco 49ers +5.5 at Arizona Cardinals
SP: After four straight wins to start the season, the Cardinals are the most overvalued team in the NFL. They’re being priced like a great team in this spot against a division opponent that usually plays them very well. Expect head coach Kyle Shanahan to show you some different wrinkles with rookie quarterback Trey Lance, who has had a full week of practice to prepare with the starters. Take the points.
Cleveland Browns +1.5 at Los Angeles Chargers
SP: This line tells you everything you need to know. The Chargers have morphed into one of the most popular betting teams in the league this season and bookmakers are making it really easy for you to lay that small number with a home favorite. The Browns’ defensive front will throw all kinds of pressure at Bolts quarterback Justin Herbert and the Cleveland offense will run the rock and melt the clock. It won’t be pretty, but we forecast a Los Angeles loss.
New York Giants +7 at Dallas Cowboys
MC: The Cowboys are a perfect 4-0 against the point spread this season. Bookmakers slowly have shaded their betting lines towards Dallas over the last couple of weeks to account for all the public money that keeps pouring in on America’s Team. So there’s relative betting value on New York. Daniel Jones has been much more protective with the football and somehow the G-Men keep scratching and clawing. We’ll plug our noses and take the points.
New York Jets +3 vs. Atlanta Falcons
SP: Don’t let the Jets get hot. After upsetting the Tennessee Titans without A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, New York heads across the pond to face the Falcons without top receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage. Robert Saleh’s defense has been better than advertised and we expect the Jets to have every opportunity to win their second consecutive game. Stranger things have happened in London.
SUPERCONTEST RECORD: (11-8-1, +11.5 points)
