NFL Handicapping Articles

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
by Alan Matthews - 10/20/2015

Recent history has shown it's very tough for a team that lost the previous year's Super Bowl to return to the playoffs the next season. And right now, the Seattle Seahawks, the two-time NFC champions, don't look like a playoff team. Well, in the fourth quarter they sure don't. Shoot, now you are hearing rumors that Seattle coach Pete Carroll might be interested in returning to USC. That's not happening, Carroll says. And it's not. Remember, he left with the NCAA on his heels and that program was a mess for a few years due to sanctions for what happened under Carroll's watch.

NFL Week 6 was a Breeze for Las Vegas Bookmakers
by Raphael Esparza - 10/20/2015

I'm sure all Las Vegas bookmakers heading into work on Sunday were hoping that either New England or Green Bay would NOT cover, and Christmas came early for the Vegas books. There was no Week 5 overview but to quickly recap, the public lost small two weeks ago in Week 5 and this Sunday Week 6 the public lost big. With the two wins for the evil Las Vegas sportsbooks that makes the books up 4-2 in winning weeks going into Week 7 -- they are on a nice little winning streak.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 7 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/19/2015

Is Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano trying to get himself fired? Pagano doesn't have a contract past this season and isn't happy about it. There have been numerous reports that he and the front office are not on the same page and that Pagano might simply walk after this year.

NFL Odds and Betting Week 6: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/16/2015

Here's hoping you opened Week 6 NFL betting by taking my advice on the Thursday night game between the Saints and Falcons in New Orleans, which I previewed here at Doc's. I wrote that the Saints might win outright but definitely to take the 3.5-point alternate line. New Orleans won pretty easily 31-21 -- I also hit on the "over" 51 thanks to a garbage-time Devonta Freeman touchdown reception from Matt Ryan with 1:21 left -- to trim the list of unbeatens in the NFL to five.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/16/2015

Bovada remains one of the top sportsbooks when it comes to betting on the NFL. In addition to a full set of betting lines for all the games on the schedule, you can usually find a few special prop bet odds centering on team and player storylines that are trending with bettors right now. I will take a closer look at what is on the board for Week 6 and give you my "best bet" pick for each of the three props listed.

NFL Week 6 Underdog Odds with Picks and Betting Predictions
by George Monroy - 10/15/2015

Underdogs have been outpacing the favorites during the first six weeks of the season, but the wins and losses have come in an uneven fashion. Some weeks the underdogs have dominated the favorites, winning as many as nine games straight up, and other weeks the underdogs have struggled to produce more than four wins. Heading into Week 6 of the NFL season and beyond, figuring out which underdogs have value to cover a spread or win a game outright becomes a bit easier.

NFL Handicapping: Lions in Store for Another Winless Season?
by Trevor Whenham - 10/15/2015

Detroit Lions' fans are getting the sick feeling that they have seen this before. After winning seven games in 2007, the Lions didn't win any in 2008. Last year the Lions won 11 games and made the playoffs, narrowly losing at the Cowboys in the wild card game. Now they look nothing like that team, are the only winless team through five games, and have the look of a team that could do a whole lot more losing going forward. I can't sugarcoat it - things are bleak for this team. They are in a very bad place, and it's hard to imagine dramatic improvement in a hurry.

Free NFL Expert Picks: New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts Odds
by Alan Matthews - 10/14/2015

I try to stay away from previewing a team's game in back-to-back weeks, but this is all about winning bets, right? And I was incredibly confident that New England would go into Dallas and take care of business rather easily in Week 5 -- and it did. And there's no way I couldn't preview the Patriots' Week 6 game against Indianapolis, the team that turned in the Pats for allegedly messing with the footballs during last season's AFC Championship Game. That was called "Deflategate". You may have heard of it.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
by Alan Matthews - 10/14/2015

Sometimes a head coach simply stays too long at a job, no matter the sport or how successful he might have been. Now, obviously it hasn't been a problem with someone like Bill Belichick in New England, but you always hear that eventually players will tune out the same voice after a while. That seemed to happen in Atlanta with Mike Smith the previous two seasons. He was hired before the 2008 season, and the Falcons had been very successful under him until the past two years. A change was made this offseason, and Atlanta is 5-0 and can already match its 2014 wins total with a victory Thursday. Dan Quinn, the former Seahawks defensive coordinator, is the +300 favorite at Sportsbook.ag to win NFL Coach of the Year honors.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 6
by George Monroy - 10/14/2015

Week 6 of the NFL season is filled with multiple basic strategy teaser options on the board. And now that the year is beginning to take form with the bad teams falling behind and the good ones making themselves known, there will be plenty of opportunities to find great wagers and situations to bet on. Let's take a closer look at this week's four basic strategy teaser options and figure out the best way to wager on each game. Here is a rundown on what makes up a basic strategy teaser.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 6 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/12/2015

And with the first pick in the 2016 NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select ... sure, the Detroit Lions are the only team in the NFL without a win yet, but I'm not convinced the Chiefs will win another game this season after they fell at home to a pretty bad Chicago Bears team on Sunday and lost superstar running back Jamaal Charles to a season-ending torn ACL. That's beyond crushing as Charles was easily the most important player on that offense.

NFL Odds and Betting Week 5: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/9/2015

Bovada has an interesting Week 5 special asking whether all six unbeaten teams will make the playoffs. Let's take a look at them and project. New England (3-0): Patriots should get to 4-0 on Sunday with a win at injury-depleted Dallas -- Pats are taking biggest lean of any team in Week 5 -- and they are a lock to make it obviously assuming good health for Tom Brady.

NFL Week 5 Handicapping: Taking a Look at Large Spreads and Home Underdogs
by George Monroy - 10/9/2015

Betting on the NFL can be broken down into so many categories that a gambler could focus on one specific area and probably come away with a profit at the end of the year. If you wanted to focus on double-digit home favorites, or Thursday Night home teams, or underdogs of seven-points or more, you could find value throughout the season and come out ahead if the handicapping was sharp. Two areas that most bettors tend to focus on are home underdogs and large spreads (nine points or more), which seem to happen nearly every week.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/9/2015

When it comes to betting on the NFL, BetOnline sportsbook has you covered with a full set of odds for the games. However, it does not stop there. Each week of the season it also releases a number prop bet odds in conjunction with a few of the matchups on the slate.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
by Alan Matthews - 10/7/2015

My apologies for the Thursday night NFL preview being a day late this week. Usually these are posted on Tuesday, but there was no line for Colts-Texans until Wednesday morning due to the uncertain status of Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck. It looks again like the South is clearly the worst division in the AFC as the Colts should be 0-4 in some ways but are 2-2 and still lead the division as the only team at .500.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 5
by George Monroy - 10/7/2015

A basic strategy teaser is perhaps the smartest and most profitable way to make a NFL teaser bet. Teasers in general are considered "suckers bets" because most gamblers end up going "crazy" by adding the most points and teams possible into the bet ,and any time you create a situation where a large number of teams have to cover a bet, you are fighting an uphill battle. Basic strategy teasers, however, are two-team, six-point teasers that take advantage of the NFL key numbers of three and seven and anchor spreads around those markers.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 5 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/7/2015

Last week in the NFL was a great opportunity for a play on the "under" when it came to betting the total line, with nine of the 15 games staying under BetOnline's closing NFL betting odds. I was once again below .500 with my top three picks on the total line with a 1-2 record on the day after biting on the "over" in the New York Giants at Buffalo game.

Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 5
by Dave Schwab - 10/7/2015

The New York Giants are starting to emerge as the team to beat in the NFC East in light of key injuries with Dallas and Philadelphia's unexpected poor start. The one thing you can probably count on when it comes to this division is that things will find a way to remain tight in this race all season long.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys
by Alan Matthews - 10/6/2015

Was originally considering making Seattle-Cincinnati my featured Sunday game, but how can I not do the glamour matchup of New England and Dallas? This could still be a Super Bowl preview, although the Cowboys (2-2) definitely look off track right now with the injuries to stars Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. The good news for them is that the NFC East is incredibly weak.

Handicapping the Undefeated and Winless ATS NFL Teams
by George Monroy - 10/6/2015

Heading into Week 4 of the NFL season there were still 10 undefeated or winless teams against the spread, and after the dust cleared on Sunday only four remained. Arizona and Denver finally dropped a spread, while Detroit and Oakland finally covered one. Baltimore and Pittsburgh-one was coverless and the other undefeated-played to a push on Sunday, and even though their records remain intact, we will skip them in this article. Let's take a closer look at remaining winless and unblemished teams and figure out which streaks will continue and which will not.