12 Jun 2019
Can the Philadelphia Eagles bounce back in their happy hunting ground on Thursday night? Will the Seattle Seahawks justify favouritism as the NFL returns to Wembley Stadium on Sunday? We take a look at some of the big games ahead of Week 6, providing quick hits and top trends.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ NEW YORK GIANTS
No team in the NFC East has a winning record and the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles sit at 2-3 following their 23-21 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. The Giants also suffered a narrow defeat, going down 33-31 at Carolina in a heart-breaker to drop them to 1-4 on the year.
The Giants lead the all-time series 83-81-2, but the Eagles have won three in a row and have lost only two of the last 11 meetings in New York.
Eagles QB Carson Wentz has looked almost back to his best following his knee injury last season and tossed two touchdowns last week. He seeks a third consecutive game with over 300 yards passing.
His Giants counterpart Eli Manning has feasted on Philly in the last three meetings, with over 350 yards passing in each tilt – but these have all been losing efforts.
Manning has additional weaponry this year with RB Saquan Barkley becoming only the third player in NFL history to gain 100+ yards from scrimmage in his first five games (after Adrian Peterson and Kareem Hunt). Barkley will bid to score a rushing TD for a third consecutive home game.
None of the Giants’ next six games are against a team with a winning record, including two against the Eagles, who have their backs to the wall with games looming against Carolina, Jacksonville and New Orleans.
It appears the Super Bowl champion Eagles will have to win the division to have a chance of making the post-season, but with Washington heading the NFC East with a 2-2 record, there is hope they can do that. The Eagles have drifted to 22/1 to win the Super Bowl with Genting Casino.
Penalties have been killing the Eagles, who are 29th in the NFL with 395 penalty yards and they are inefficient in the red zone, converting 38.5 percent in the three games that Wentz has been back at the helm. Eradicating mistakes is key, although RB Jay Ajayi, who fumbled five yards from the end zone last week, is unlikely to remain an Eagle, since the impeding free agent then tore an ACL and was placed on Injured Reserve.
Neither team is playing consistently good football right now. The Giants’ offensive line has allowed 16 sacks, and the Eagles have been worse, allowing 17.
The Genting Casino NFL odds have the Eagles as slight Moneyline favourites at 8/13, with the Giants at 13/10. This feels like a must-win for Philadelphia who are 5/4 conceding 4.5 points on the Genting Casino American Football handicap, although they can be backed at 1/2 in receipt of 1.5 points.
Check out all the odds for the Thursday night game.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS @ OAKLAND RAIDERS
The NFL returns to London for the 12th consecutive year on Sunday, with the first of three games over successive weekends at Wembley Stadium.
This is obviously a long trip for both west coast teams, each of whom have struggled this season. The Raiders are 1-4 following a 26-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, while the Seahawks covered the handicap in a narrow 33-31 home loss to the unbeaten Rams, which dropped them to 2-3 for the year.
Raiders’ QB Derek Carr has been efficient and leads the AFC in completion percentage, while Seattle QB Russell Wilson ties the NFL lead (alongside Tom Brady) with 44 TD passes since 2017.
In 21 London games, the road team is 12-8-1 and in this series, and the ‘home’ team has won the last 11 meetings. The favourite is 13-8 ATS in London games. So there is a conundrum for backers. One of those trends will be bucked, as the road-team Seahawks are 1.5-point favourites at Genting Casino NFL odds of 4/5.
Given the likely weather conditions, overcast with little wind, bettors might consider the points total to be on the low side at 47.5 points. There may be some interested in taking the overs at odds of 5/6.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS @ ATLANTA FALCONS
After three close losses to Philadelphia, New Orleans and Cincinnati, the injuries hit hard and Atlanta were trounced in Pittsburgh, which is the norm according to the history books. The Falcons are now a lowly 1-4, with their first three losses coming by a combined 13 points.
All is not lost, though. They are expected to be favoured in at least eight of their remaining 11 games.
While this is a must-win for the Falcons, the Bucs are at 2-2, having beaten both the Saints and Eagles before suffering losses to the Steelers (by three points) and Bears (thrashed 48-10) before their bye week.
The Buccaneers have lost the last three meetings, but have won two of their last three trips to Atlanta. The Falcons need to run the ball more to be effective and keep opposing attacks off the field. While we should expect to see Tevin Coleman, Ito Smith and Devonta Freeman getting more touches this week, this Bucs team is worst in the NFL against the pass. They have conceded a league-high 13 passing touchdowns and opposing QBs are completing 77.1 percent of their passes.
Injuries have played a part, but the scheme is also lacking cohesion, with some players being overly aggressive and some getting burned for soft coverage.
Because Matt Ryan is playing very near to his 2016 MVP form, there will be those who think the home team Falcons will get the win and play the Moneyline at 8/15, or they will take the Falcons on the Genting Casino NFL handicap conceding 3.5 points at odds of 10/11.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ CINCINNATI BENGALS
The Bengals are atop the AFC North with a 4-1 record, having come from 17-0 down to beat the Miami Dolphins 27-17 on Sunday, scoring 24 fourth-quarter points, while the Steelers are 2-2-1 after thumping the Atlanta Falcons.
The good news for the visitors is their historic record over their division rivals. Steelers won nine of the last 10 meetings, and triumphed on eight of the last nine trips to the Queen City. The last three wins in Cincinnati came by a combined seven points, however.
The Bengals went into their clash with the Dolphins ranked 29th in the NFL in net yards allowed per game (419.3) and 32nd in third-down efficiency, but Ryan Tannehill is far from being the elite passer that Ben Roethlisberger is, so while the Bengals looked stout defensively last week, we should perhaps expect the Steelers’ passing game to have more success.
The Bengals are 3/4 Genting Casino NFL Moneyline favourites and 2.5-point favourites on the handicap at 10/11. The Steelers are 11/10 to win, and they can be backed at 1/2 in receipt of 5.5 points on the handicap.
CHICAGO BEARS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS
Miami is still tied for a share of the AFC East at 3-2 with New England, but they have lost their last two road games and confidence has been drained after they conceded 27 unanswered points to Cincinnati – a place where, up until Sunday, they had never lost on back-to-back visits.
Following a demolition of an awful Tampa Bay defense, Chicago is rested after a bye.
Bears’ QB Mitch Trubisky, fresh of a six-touchdown performance, may well simply hand the ball off to his running backs and let Chicago’s great pass rusher Khalil Mack take on an injured and over-matched Miami offensive line.
These are two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions and it is no surprise to see the Bears, who have won three of their last four trips to Miami, as 4/7 Genting Casino NFL Moneyline favourites.
The 3-2 Dolphins are 7/5 to win their third straight home game and are 7/10 in receipt of 4.5 points on the handicap. Given their sorry offensive output, some bettors will feel it prudent to play the unders at 4/6, as the points total line is set at 44.5.
ARIZONA CARDINALS @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The 2-2-1 Vikings return home after two consecutive road games to face an Arizona Cardinals team coming off their first win of the season.
The Vikings have won 10 of the last 14 meetings at home, including the last nine, and their air attack, which ranks third in the NFL with 321.4 yards per game on average, is likely to keep the chains moving.
The Cardinals’ attack is a work in progress – their 28-18 win over San Francisco was the first time they topped 17 points this season. While they are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games, they are also just 3-7 in their last 10 ATS in road games.
The Vikings are 36-15 ATS in their last 51 following an ATS win and are 10/11 to cover a 10.5-point Genting Casino NFL online handicap. In a wide-open division, the Vikings are 13/8 to win the NFC North – check out all odds for every NFL division.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ NEW YORK JETS
If the Colts had a semblance of a running game and were confident that QB Andrew Luck’s arm will not fall off from over-use, then their odds of 20/1 to win the AFC South might seem quite large pretty soon. While they are 1-4, the Colts have three very winnable games in the next three weeks (Buffalo and Oakland) and three home games after a Week 9 bye.
The Jets have a strong ground game, but rookie QB Sam Darnold has tossed six interceptions to go with his seven touchdowns and he has posted just one 200+ yards game this season.
The Jets are 2.5-point favourites on the Genting Casino handicap and the Colts can be backed at 6/5 on the Moneyline. If this revolves on QB play, Luck may be on your side.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS @ CLEVELAND BROWNS
The 3-2 Chargers seek a third straight win but have lost their last two trips to Cleveland. The Browns, who beat division rival Baltimore last week, have never won three consecutive at home to the Bolts.
Chargers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following successfully covering a handicap, while the Browns have covered the spread on just seven of their last 24 home games.
The Chargers’ two losses came to both the unbeaten Chiefs and Rams, while the Browns have gone to overtime in three of their five games.
The big question is can Browns’ QB Baker Mayfield match Chargers’ counterpart Philip Rivers blow for blow. With Cleveland managing to score 21 points or less in four of their five games, the odds would suggest that the Browns are rightfully slight underdogs at 3/4 in receipt of 2.5 points on the handicap. They can be backed at 19/20 on the Moneyline, with the Chargers at 17/20.
Those seeking picks against the handicap spread may wish to take a look at Lindyssports.com, America’s leading football authority.
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