NFL Handicapping Articles

NFL Betting: Handicapping the Remaining Unbeaten Teams
by George Monroy - 10/30/2015

The huge matchup headlining Week 8 of NFL action is a meeting between two titans in Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers when the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers face off in a battle of unbeaten teams. The legendary quarterbacks have played against each other only one time in their respective careers, during Rodgers' first year as the starting quarterback in Green Bay. The matchup will cross off one of the five unbeaten teams left this year, so let's take a closer look at each one and figure out who has the best value to keep the streaking going into the second half of the season.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/30/2015

It is Week 8 in the NFL. And along with all the pointspreads, moneylines and total lines for the matchups, Bovada has once again added some extra action to the games with a few NFL special props. The following two prop bets concern a struggling player and a losing team in terms of yards gained, and my bonus pick this week concerns a quarterback that might be playing for his job.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos
by Alan Matthews - 10/29/2015

It's arguably the game of the 2015 regular season in Denver on Sunday night when the unbeaten Packers visit the unbeaten Broncos in a potential Super Bowl preview. It's only the fourth meeting of 6-0 teams in league history and first since 2007. It's also the first ever in prime time. So expect huge ratings and betting action at the various sportsbooks.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
by Alan Matthews - 10/28/2015

Even with an upset on Monday night, the Miami Dolphins (3-3) aren't going to catch the New England Patriots (6-0) for the AFC East title. The Pats are going to take the East for the seventh straight season barring a Tom Brady injury. But this game would be huge for Miami's potential wild-card chances, not to mention burgeoning confidence. The team looked like it didn't care a lick under Coach Joe Philbin, so he was fired after a listless Week 4 loss against the New York Jets in London.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 8
by George Monroy - 10/28/2015

Everyone loves a good teaser bet, and why wouldn't they? Teasers allow bettors to move spreads around in various point intervals, beginning at six and moving to 10 points and beyond. On paper, teasers are amazing because bettors can essentially make their own lines. The wager, however, can quickly fall into "suckers bet" territory if you are not careful. The more teams and points that are added into a teaser end up the worsening the odds and correct payouts to actually hit your bet.

NFL Betting and Wagering Advice: Biggest Mismatches Week 8
by Victor Ryan - 10/27/2015

NFL games are often decided by which team can best exploit the weaknesses of its opponent. A prudent part of handicapping the NFL is finding the biggest statistical mismatches and determining what impact they will have on the result. With that in mind, each week in this space you will be provided an in-depth look at some of the biggest mismatches on the NFL slate.

NFL MVP Betting Odds with Expert Wagering Predictions
by George Monroy - 10/27/2015

The NFL MVP landscape has changed quite a bit over the last few years, and this season only a couple of mainstays remain at the top of the list. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are still in the mix, but the most surprising absence is five-time MVP winner Peyton Manning not even ranking the in the Top 10 and receiving something in the range of +7500. During any other year Manning at 75/1 would be the bet of the century, but unfortunately players age and careers come to a close, which seems to be the place legendary quarterback is currently standing.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 8 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/26/2015

There are no locks in sports betting but this is: From now on, there will be at least one NFL game every year streamed live over the Internet. Did you happen to check out Sunday morning's Bills-Jaguars game from London? It was only available outside those two markets via Yahoo and other than a couple of times where the screen froze for a few seconds, it looked pretty good. The NFL is thrilled with the numbers as the game reportedly was seen by around 33.6 million people worldwide (15.2 million unique viewers).

NFL Odds and Betting Week 7: Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/23/2015

Hopefully you followed my Thursday night betting advice again this week as it was a sweep on the spread and the total as the Seattle won in San Francisco 20-3, easily covering the 6.5-point spread and going way under the total of 42. Colin Kaepernick just can't handle that Seahawks defense. He was 13-for-24 for 124 yards and dropped to 1-6 in seven starts against the Seahawks with three touchdown passes to nine interceptions and 24 sacks, six more Thursday.

NFL Props Odds with Expert Betting Picks and Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/23/2015

When it comes to special props for the NFL, nobody does it better than Bovada. Heading into Week 7 of the regular season, it has released a whole new set of unique betting odds for a pair of backup quarterbacks that will be under the gun to get their team a much-needed win. I will take a closer look at a pair of these special player props on the board for Week 7 and give you my "best bet" pick for each.

NFL Totals Betting: Best and Worst Season Records plus Week 7 Value
by George Monroy - 10/22/2015

Wagering on spreads every single week can be a tricky proposition, and many times they can leave gamblers feeling like they have to bet on something even though a certain line doesn't jump off the board. Wagering on totals, however, can be a great way to break up the monotony of a long betting season and help NFL bettors stay refreshed and get out of a gambling rut. Let's take a quick look at the best "over" and "under" teams and figure out which lines have the most value heading into Week 7 of the season.

NFL Expert Picks Against the Spread: Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins
by Alan Matthews - 10/21/2015

Quite difficult to pick a featured matchup this Sunday. There's just one game -- one! -- featuring two teams with winning records, and it's Jets at Patriots for the AFC East lead. But the Pats have been covered plenty already this season and will be going forward. So I looked elsewhere among the less-than-impressive 13 games remaining and decided on Houston at Miami because I thought each would contend for at least a wild-card spot this year. I doubt the loser of this one has much of a shot at the playoffs.

NFL Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Betting Options for Week 7
by George Monroy - 10/21/2015

Basic strategy teasers are finally starting to gain some traction after struggling through the first third of the season. The wager, which is a two-team, six-point teaser, went 4-1 last week, and every team but the Buffalo Bills managed to cover their adjusted spreads. Basic strategy teasers only use certain lines that involve favorites of 7.5 to 8.5 points and underdogs of 1.5 to 2.5 points and move those lines past the strongest NFL key numbers of three and seven.

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.