A wild Week 4 ended with a down-to-the-wire Monday Night Football game where the Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Denver Broncos and moved to 4-0. As we shift our focus to Week 5, we’ll start with the other two teams in the AFC West as both aim to make up some ground on the still undefeated Chiefs in our NFL Week 5 Parlay.
The Favorite
Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers
Odds: Chargers -5.5
The Raiders gave up 42 points to the long-dormant Cleveland Browns this past weekend and absent of a bad officiating decision, should have lost. Overall, their defense has been lousy, giving up 28 or more in three of their four games. They’re tied for last in the whole NFL with the New York Giants in sacks registered (five). Put these ingredients together and Philip Rivers should have a field day against the Oakland defense. It’s hard to see the Raiders keeping up against a much better defense on the other side — especially with the Raiders being on the road in this spot.
Related: NFL Betting Guide
The Chargers tend to play sloppy and undisciplined, and are sometimes hard to trust, but this is a very good matchup for them.
Pick: Chargers
The Underdog
Denver Broncos at New York Jets
Odds: Jets -2
The Jets are a team that continues to nosedive. After crushing the Detroit Lions in their season-opening win, they’ve lost three straight while looking progressively worse by the week. Their rushing offense is averaging only 88 yards per game and quarterback Sam Darnold has lost his confidence. The rookie has completed less than 50 percent of his passes over the last two weeks.
The Jets are one of just four NFL teams to average under 300 yards per game on offense (289.3). While Denver isn’t an elite team, they are solid enough on both sides of the ball to win and cash here.
Pick: Broncos +2
The Total
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Odds: 48
Why not keep betting Rams overs until we’re proven wrong? So far, they’ve cashed in three of the four games and in the lone miss, they scored 34 points while their opponent was shut out.
The Rams have the second-best scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 35 points per game, and scored over 40 points last year when they played in Seattle against the Seahawks. If the Rams score in that same range, it means we only need to get a few garbage touchdowns late in the game and put the total over the number. That seems doable.
Pick: Over
The Point Spread
Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers
Odds: Steelers -3
The Falcons defense has completely collapsed. Missing three key starters in Keanu Neal, Deion Jones and Ricardo Allen, this unit is just completely overmatched on a weekly basis. They’re allowing 34.7 points per game over the last three contests. This doesn’t look like the spot where they’ll get right. The Steelers are desperate for a win and are at home in this spot. The Falcons are an indoor team who is now traveling to play outdoors.
The Steelers offense should have a field day in this spot. They’ll score at will and get back on track. It’s hard to envision them losing at home in back-to-back weeks.
Pick: Steelers -3
