NFL Handicapping Articles

Free NFL Picks: Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/23/2015

I don't want to say I am reveling in the injury problems the Dallas Cowboys are having already this season ... but, yeah, I am reveling in them. Certainly no team has been hit harder thus far by the injury bug, yet there Dallas is at 2-0 and atop the NFC East. At 5Dimes, the Cowboys are -185 to win the division again, and the field is +160. I don't see Dallas winning it, but then again no one else in the East has looked very good yet.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 3
by George Monroy - 9/23/2015

Basic strategy teasers started out the 2015 NFL season on the wrong foot. The wager went 1-2 last week and currently has a 3-3 mark heading into Week 3. Basic strategy teasers are a math-based wager that expects certain spreads - favorites of 7.5, 8.0, and 8.5 -- to be teased down by six points past the key number of three and underdogs of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 to be teased up by six points and past the key number of seven-to be profitable based on strength of each line movements.

Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 3
by Dave Schwab - 9/23/2015

The reigning NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys are 2-0 to start the year, but they have paid a steep price with the loss of both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant for an extended period of time due to injury. The big question that remains is if they can hang on in what appears to be a pretty weak division until they get two of their top players back on the field.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 3 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 9/23/2015

Through the first two weeks of the new NFL season the oddsmakers have nailed the betting odds for the total line with 17 games going "over" the closing line and 15 games staying "under". Through the first two weeks of my top picks on the total line, it has been rough going to say the least with a 0-3 slide last week after going just 1-2 in Week 1.

Free NFL Picks: Washington Redskins at New York Giants Odds
by Alan Matthews - 9/22/2015

So do I think either the Washington Redskins or New York Giants are any good? I don't. But I am not ruling out either winning the NFC East. That division is now totally wide open with Dallas losing both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant for likely two months and the Philadelphia Eagles massively underachieving thus far. Amazingly, the Eagles remain +130 favorites at Sportsbook.ag to win the division despite that 0-2 start. Dallas is +150, Washington at +600 and New York at +800.

NFL Handicapping: Biggest Betting Questions Heading into Week 3
by George Monroy - 9/22/2015

The NFL season is still young, yet with the injuries and surprise wins and losses, there are quite a few pressing questions that bettors and fans alike would love to have answered. Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Seattle are still winless, the NFC East is in shambles, while Arizona and New England might be on a collision course to meet in the Super Bowl. Let's take a closer look at a few of the biggest betting questions that emerged after Week 2 of the NFL season.

NFL Handicapping: Betting Prospects for 0-2 Seattle Seahawks
by George Monroy - 9/22/2015

Making any type of dire predictions after the second week of the NFL season is never a good idea, particularly after we did that to the New England Patriots last season and they ended up winning the Super Bowl. In today's 24/7-social-media-obsessed news cycle, however, overreacting and overanalyzing is what experts and fan loves to do. And while we'll try not to take that approach in this article, bettors cannot ignore the fact that Seattle has started the season 0-2 and does not resemble the team that dominated in NFL over the last two seasons.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 3 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2015

Well, that was no fun! I made four picks in this space for Week 2 of the NFL season and didn't get a single one right. I should have known better than to trust the Buffalo Bills against New England. I need to stop listening to Rex Ryan bloviate! And I'm already off the Philadelphia Eagles bandwagon. I am stunned Chip Kelly's offense struggled so much in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. And what is up with DeMarco Murray? What a crazy bust he has been thus far, rushing 21 times overall for 11 yards.

NFL Odds and Betting Week 2: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 9/19/2015

Handicapping Week 1 in the NFL is the hardest. But I would argue that Week 2 is when you can really capitalize on the public bettors. That's because they tend to overreact to what happens in the opening week. For example, you can bet next-week line in Las Vegas before the previous week's games have been played. Tennessee was a 4-point underdog at Cleveland for Week 2 before the Titans went to Tampa and destroyed the Buccaneers last Sunday, with Marcus Mariota looking like Dan Marino (and Jameis Winston like Vinny Testaverde).

Free NFL Betting Picks: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers Odds
by Alan Matthews - 9/16/2015

The Packers are now the betting favorites to win Super Bowl 50 at +500 at Bovada. The Seahawks have slipped to third-favorites (also behind New England) at +750. From what I saw in Week 1, I see no reason why these two won't play in the NFC title game again, although there were some worrisome signs for Seattle. After all, Dallas lost superstar receiver Dez Bryant for perhaps 12 weeks. Philadelphia looked overrated in a loss in Atlanta. No NFC South team is better than either Seattle or Green Bay. Arizona? St. Louis? Not sold on them yet despite some impressive Week 1 victories.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 9/16/2015

Each week of the NFL regular season Bovada releases its betting odds for a number of team and player props in conjunction with the games themselves. Every so often it will add a few NFL Specials to the mix that concentrate of some of the pressing issues that particular week. A perfect example is this week's special player prop odds on the "over/under" on Peyton Manning's fantasy football points in Thursday night's game against Kansas City according to Yahoo Sports.

Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 2
by Dave Schwab - 9/16/2015

The reigning NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys took the early lead in this year's title race as the only team in the division to win in Week 1. That fast start will be put to the test this Sunday with the Cowboys making the trip east to Philadelphia.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 2 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 9/16/2015

Week 1 in the NFL is in the books, and betting the total line was a mixed bag with nine games going "over" and seven staying "under" on 5Dimes' closing NFL betting odds. As far as my top three picks for this past Sunday's game, I ended the day 1-2 after the Baltimore at Denver game stayed well under the 49-point line.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 2
by George Monroy - 9/16/2015

Basic strategy teasers opened the year with a 2-1 record, and the only matchup to not cover the spread was the New Orleans Saints losing by 12 points on a +8.5-point teaser to the Arizona Cardinals. The wager needs to win at a 72-percent mark in order to become profitable, and last week's 66-percent clip would have lost bettors money if they had bet each teaser round-robin style. For Week 2, there are only three teasers on the board-two underdogs being pushed up past the seven-point mark and one favorite being pushed down toward the 1.5-point mark.

NFL Picks Good & Bad Bet: Underdogs with the Best Week 2 Betting Value
by George Monroy - 9/16/2015

Week 1 of the NFL season had five underdogs win their respective games outright, with the biggest two being the Buffalo Bills dominating the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams pulling off an overtime victory against the defending NFL champion Seattle Seahawks. Many betting experts already had their eyes on these two matchup as possible underdog value, along with San Francisco's matchup as a home underdog against the Minnesota Vikings. Heading into Week 2, there are a few underdog situations that stand out for either being very good or very bad.

Free NFL Picks: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/15/2015

I clearly should have done my homework last week because I generally don't like previewing the same NFL team two weeks in a row if avoidable. I picked the Ravens-Broncos game in Week 1 because it was a potential playoff preview, but I didn't bother looking ahead to Week 2, and it's Denver at Kansas City on Thursday night, the first NFL Network/CBS Thursday telecast of the season. So I'll try and focus more on the Chiefs here if possible.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 2 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/15/2015

I was 2-1 on my three game picks in last week's Opening Line Report, hitting on Green Bay -6.5 at Chicago, although the Bears played it closer than I expected, as well as Miami -3.5 at Washington. The Redskins appear every bit as bad as they were expected to be. I missed on Indianapolis -2.5 at Buffalo as that Bills defense shut down Andrew Luck and Co. and Tyrod Taylor actually looked like a pretty solid NFL quarterback in his first regular-season start.

NFL Betting Analysis: Dez Bryant Injury and Dallas Cowboys Wagering Odds
by George Monroy - 9/15/2015

The Dallas Cowboys didn't have much time to celebrate after their thrilling come-from-behind victory over the New York Giants during the opening week of the season. Shortly after Tony Romo marched his team 72 yards down the field with a little over a minute on the clock and hit Jason Witten with the gaming-tying touchdown, news broke that Dez Bryant, who was injured earlier in the game, will miss four to six weeks with an broken bone in his foot.

Week 1 NFL Crushes the Vegas Books
by Raphael Esparza - 9/14/2015

It seems like only yesterday I hung up my suit & tie in the Las Vegas corporate world and retired from the Vegas sportsbooks. I will admit there are times I miss working behind the counter and bullshitting with co-workers and customers, but this Sunday I was perfectly happy sitting in my home office watching NFL games.

NFL Betting Advice and Handicapping: Biggest Concerns from Week 1
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2015

There were a lot of good things about that opening weekend in the NFL. We don't care about those right now. There were some things that were as bad as expected. Don't care about those either. What we want to focus on here are five situations where there were varying degrees of hope that were, more or less, shattered by what happened in the opening game.