NFL odds: Patriots, Broncos among Week 5 favorites as Brady returns
The New England Patriots (3–1) are coming off their first loss on Sunday, as they were blanked at home for the first time since 1993 when the Buffalo Bills (2–2) pulled off a 16–0 upset as 3.5-point road underdogs.
The betting line moved in Buffalo’s favor leading up to kickoff with Jacoby Brissett starting at quarterback, but the return of Tom Brady in Week 5 versus the winless Cleveland Browns will likely see action the other way after New England opened as a 10-point favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Browns (0–4) remain the only team in the NFL without a victory after falling 31–20 to the Washington Redskins as 7.5-point road underdogs last week. Cleveland is 1–3 against the spread and 2–10 versus the line in its last 12 games as an underdog according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
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New England has won five of the past six meetings with the Browns straight up and should get a big boost now that Brady has returned from his suspension.
Two of the other winless teams going into Week 4—the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints—will be on byes in Week 5. But the Chicago Bears (1–3) will be visiting the Indianapolis Colts (1–3) off their first win over the Detroit Lions (1–3) last Sunday.
The Bears won 17–14 as three-point home underdogs, and the Colts are listed as 4.5-point home chalk following their 30–27 loss to the Jaguars as one-point favorites in London. Indy has lost six of the previous eight matchups with Chicago, going 2–5 ATS in the last seven.
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The Lions will try to bounce back from their loss at Soldier Field and hand the Philadelphia Eagles (3–0) their first loss of the season as three-point home underdogs. Detroit has covered three of the past four meetings but is 2–7 SU in the last nine in the series.
The AFC’s only unbeaten team will host the highest-scoring team in the league in what might be the most intriguing matchup of Week 5. The Denver Broncos (4–0) are five-point home chalk versus the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (3–1), but they do not know yet if quarterback Trevor Siemian will be ready to go after suffering a shoulder injury in a 27–7 road victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1–3).
Atlanta is scoring 38 points per game but has lost seven of the previous nine meetings with Denver SU. However, the Broncos are just 1–5–1 ATS in their last seven games as home favorites.
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The Green Bay Packers (2–1) will return from their bye to host the New York Giants as seven-point home favorites at sports betting sites on Sunday night. The visiting team has won seven of the past 10 games in the series, but the Giants will be playing on the road against an NFC North foe for the second consecutive week off Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings.
And Tampa Bay may get to play the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers (1–3) in the Week 5 Monday night matchup without having to worry about quarterback Cam Newton, who suffered a concussion in a 48–33 loss at Atlanta last Sunday.
The Panthers were three-point road favorites against the Falcons and have won six straight over the Bucs to go along with a 5–1 ATS mark during that stretch. If Newton is not cleared, Derek Anderson is expected to start.
