The betting public was wise to play Tom Brady and the New England Patriots against Pittsburgh and its backup quarterback.
Matt Youmans
Sam Bradford is 4-0 in his starts for the Minnesota Vikings, who are 18-2 against the spread in their past 20 regular-season games.
The Golden Nugget opened lines Thursday on 15 potential national championship game matchups. Alabama is a 7-point favorite over Ohio State.
The underdog Cowboys and rookie quarterback Dak Prescott humbled and outdueled Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in a 30-16 landslide at Lambeau Field.
In his coaching career, Andy Reid is 15-2 the week after the bye, including 2-1 with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The betting public deserves credit for rolling with the Crimson Tide, and it’s happening again this week. Top-ranked Alabama is a 13-point favorite at Tennessee.
“It was probably the worst game of the year for us,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said of New England’s blowout victory over Cleveland.
The Dallas Cowboys are 3-1 with a rookie quarterback, but their schedule has been soft, and the Cincinnati Bengals have a hard-core defense.
Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs are World Series favorites. Who’s really rooting for the Cubs to fail? Maybe a few bookmakers.
The Giants and Mets meet Wednesday in the National League wild-card game in New York. The line is a pick’em at Las Vegas sports books.
The Vikings are 17-2 against the spread since early in the 2015 season. Minnesota is a 4½-point home favorite over the New York Giants on Monday night.
Popular favorites Arizona, Carolina and New England went down in Week 4. The San Diego Chargers’ choke job was another stunner.
A season after finishing 17-2, Carolina is 1-2 and facing adversity. At some point, maybe this weekend in Atlanta, Cam Newton and the Panthers will pull it together.
A month ago, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was a Heisman Trophy long shot, and the Cardinals were at 60-1 odds to win the national title. But everything has changed.
This could be a big night for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. He’s off to a hot start and facing one of the NFL’s softest defenses.