NFL Handicapping Articles

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/2/2015

Mike McCarthy has been one of the most successful coaches in the NFL with a 101-53-1 regular-season record and one Super Bowl title to his credit since taking over at Green Bay. But even legendary coach Bill Parcells has admitted every coach wears out his welcome at some point. You aren't going to see guys staying decades in jobs these days like a Tom Landry, Chuck Noll or Don Shula.

NFL Handicapping and Betting: Carolina Panthers Prospects for Undefeated Season
by George Monroy - 12/1/2015

Now that the New England Patriots finally lost a game, the last undefeated team standing is also the most unlikely one. Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers have empathically stamped their arrival into the NFC's elite with a 15-game winning streak (dating back to last season). And even if they do not win a Super Bowl this year, the organization has built a foundation that is ready to compete for a title over the next half-decade. Most NFL pundits expected the Panthers to be a 10-win team at best, and even then that assessment felt like an exaggeration.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 13
by George Monroy - 12/1/2015

Basic strategy teasers are finally beginning to gain some traction after starting out the first half of the season with a losing record. The wager went 4-1 last week, 3-0 during Week 11 and 3-0 during Week 10 for a 10-1 mark over that span. What exactly are basic strategy teasers? And why should we bet on them? The teasers are two-team, six-point wagers that move underdogs of 1.5 to 2.5 points up and favorites of 7.5 to 8.5 down, in order to move past the strongest NFL key numbers of three and seven.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 13 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 11/30/2015

If you were an NFL general manager -- or, shoot, just your own fantasy football GM -- and I told you for the rest of this season you could have one of three quarterbacks to start for your team and offered Matt Hasselbeck, Brock Osweiler and Matt Ryan, the choice is easy, right? It has to be Ryan.

NFL Odds and Betting Week 12: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 11/27/2015

Might the de facto NFC East title game be held on Sunday when the New York Giants visit the Washington Redskins? Could be. Now let me preface this by saying I expected Philadelphia to win that division back in the preseason (I fell into the Sam Bradford trap) and Dallas to finish second. Figured the Giants third and Redskins fourth. But after what transpired on Thanksgiving, the East looks like a two-team race between the G-Men and Redskins.

NFL Wild-Card Odds: Picks and Predictions for Four Potential Playoff Teams
by Dave Schwab - 11/27/2015

This is the time of the NFL season when much of the talk turns to which 12 teams will earn the right to compete for a trip to the Super Bowl by making it into the playoffs. BetOnline has recently updated its NFL playoff prop bet odds for a number of different teams as far as their chances to nail down one of those spots, and my job is to find the best value in these odds.

NFL Betting and Handicapping: What to Make of Inconsistent Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 11/27/2015

I'm sitting here watching this incredibly awful massacre of the Eagles by the Lions on Thanksgiving, and it's making me mad. It's not because I'm an Eagles fan - I'm certainly not. It's not because I feel bad for Chip Kelly - he'll look good at LSU. It's not even because Matthew Stafford is sitting on the bench this week for my fantasy keeper team and there is nothing I can do about it now - though that isn't helping. What makes me mad is how frustratingly inconsistent the Lions are. They are one of those teams you just can't get a sense of - they are football chameleons. For a bettor that is the worst.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
by Alan Matthews - 11/26/2015

When I previewed last season's Patriots-Broncos matchup, I mentioned that football fans should enjoy it because it was quite possibly the last time Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the two greatest regular-season quarterbacks of all time and two of the five best overall in league history, would ever face off. Now that's looking more and more likely.

NFL Betting and Wagering Advice: Biggest Mismatches Week 12
by Victor Ryan - 11/26/2015

There are a few glaring statistical mismatches on this week's NFL slate, including in the big New England-Denver matchup in the Mile High City on Sunday night. This week, a closer look will be taken at four different games that feature teams with bad matchup. Let's get started.

NFL Handicapping: Atlanta Falcons a Headache for Bettors
by Trevor Whenham - 11/26/2015

It has been a tale of two seasons this year for the Atlanta Falcons. They jumped out of the gate 5-0, and people were ready to give Dan Quinn the Coach of the Year hardware. After all, he had taken a team that had averaged just five wins over two pathetic seasons and won his first five games. Impressive. But then the team went out and lost four of their next five. Ouch. Even worse, the four losses were all against teams - New Orleans, Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Indianapolis - that they absolutely should have been able to beat.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys Odds
by Alan Matthews - 11/25/2015

Some sportsbooks have Carolina as a favorite and some with this game as a pick'em, but others still have Dallas favored for the middle game on Thanksgiving from AT&T Stadium. And you might never see a 3-7 team favored over a 10-0 one again this decade in the NFL. It's only the second time a 10-0 team has opened as an underdog. The other was that storied 1985 Chicago Bears team. It was a 2-point opening dog when it visited a 7-3 Cowboys squad. Chicago won 44-0.

NFL Handicapping: Betting Odds and Analysis for Thanksgiving Matchups
by Trevor Whenham - 11/25/2015

As a proud Canadian I'm not jealous of much about other countries. Thursday is an exception, though. There are few things I love more than turkey. Football is one of those things. You Americans have a whole holiday devoted to just those two things. Brilliant. We had our Thanksgiving a month ago, and it's not quite the same. For starters, it's on a Sunday, not a Thursday, so it's just a typical day of football instead of a bonus one.

NFL Handicapping: Betting on or Against Double-Digit Favorites
by George Monroy - 11/25/2015

Betting on large spreads in the NFL can be tricky. One the one hand, giving up double-digit points is a lot to overcome. However, on the other hand, those large underdogs are large underdogs for a reason-because they are typically horrendous football teams. Surprisingly, however, the 2015 NFL season has seen only 11 double-digit spreads through the first 11 weeks of the season, and there have already been four weekends without a single large spread on the board.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 12
by George Monroy - 11/24/2015

Week 12 of the NFL season is filled with basic strategy teaser action. And after last Sunday's games went a perfect 3-0, now might be the time to jump on board and use the power of the bet. A basic strategy teaser is a two-team, six-point teaser that uses the power of NFL key numbers, which are the most common margins of victory, to move certain spreads around the three- and seven-point mark. This week's action has five NFL games that qualify with all underdogs being moved up past seven points. Let's take a closer look at the games and figure out the best way to wager on each one.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 12 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 11/23/2015

Maybe the race for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year isn't quite over yet. Pretty much everyone has handed that award to Rams running back Todd Gurley. And I'd still consider him the favorite, but Gurley has slowed down after four straight games with at least 128 yards rushing. He hasn't topped 89 in the past three games, all of which have been Rams losses to see their wild-card chances all but disappear.

NFL Odds and Betting Week 11: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 11/20/2015

There are of course 32 teams in the NFL. Do you realize there are only 11 with winning records entering Week 11? That's the fewest number of winning teams this late in the season in 25 years. Two divisions, the AFC South and NFC East, don't have any clubs in that category. The 2-7 Dallas Cowboys are still in the NFC East race, and the 4-6 Jacksonville Jaguars (after Thursday's win over the Titans) could be tied for first in the AFC South by Sunday evening.

NFL Betting and Wagering Advice: Biggest Mismatches Week 11
by Victor Ryan - 11/20/2015

The ability of a team to exploit a mismatch goes a long way in determining the outcome of NFL games. Each week, there are certain teams that hold a significant statistical advantage over its opponent in a certain area. Coaches spend hours game-planning to capitalize on such a scenario, and as a handicapper it's your duty to determine what potential impact such mismatches will have on the end result.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 11/20/2015

Injuries are a big part of the picture in the NFL when it comes to handicapping the games, especially at the quarterback position. This Sunday the Denver Broncos will go on the road against the Chicago Bears, and backup quarterback Brock Osweiler will be getting the start for an injured Peyton Manning.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings Odds
by Alan Matthews - 11/19/2015

Not surprised that the Minnesota Vikings are looking like a playoff team, but I gave them about a nil chance of winning the NFC North Division as long as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was healthy. Yet here we are in Week 11 and the Vikings (7-2), winners of five straight, have a one-game lead over the Packers (6-3), who have shockingly lost three in a row. It's their first three-game skid with a healthy Rodgers since 2008.

NFL Betting Advice: Handicapping the Denver Broncos Sans Manning
by Trevor Whenham - 11/19/2015

We are heading into some unfamiliar territory on Sunday. Not only have we not seen Peyton Manning benched at a time that he could at least theoretically play, but we rarely see this happen to an elite quarterback of any kind. But here we are, one of the best quarterbacks of all time being sat down in favor of… Brock freaking Osweiler. Who would have ever guessed? Strange world we live in. The biggest question for us here, of course, is what this means for Denver from a betting perspective.