Bill Parcells, one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NFL, once said that you never really know what you have in an NFL team until Thanksgiving, as all of the learning curves on offense, defense and special teams have to sort themselves out. Week Four showed us that we still have a lot of teams with consistency issues. The “Walmart Defense” that Jerry Jones brought to Dallas was on display against the Rams, as Todd Gurley brought back memories of such great Ram running backs as Eric Dickerson, running wild all over the Cowboys in a 35-30 victory. The Carolina Panthers who lost by 21 to New Orleans last week went to New England and came away with a last-second win. NFL betting requires a lot of confidence — and willingness to rebound from one week to the next. Take a look at our must-wager games for the coming week, along with the latest NFL odds for Week 5. As always, the home teams are in all caps.
The Seattle Seahawks took apart Indianapolis by a 46-17 score on Sunday night. There are a few things to remember: the Seahawks were playing at home (where they show a lot more intensity), and the Colts came in with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback in place of Andrew Luck. A more instructive result would be the beating that Seattle took at Tennessee took two weeks ago; on the road, the Legion of Boom just doesn’t show as much hustle, and the Rams’ defense didn’t stop Dallas much in the first half, but then they made the adjustments after halftime and shut the Dak & Zeke show down. I see the Rams clamping down on an inconsistent Seattle offense in the same fashion.
Top NFL Betting Matchups to Check Out in Week 5
What we learned in NFL Week 4: https://t.co/3M66JfnBxP The Buffalo Bills, WOW. The Saints defense, WOW. The Los Angeles Rams, WOW. pic.twitter.com/9Pt4wpvp0T
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 2, 2017
DETROIT (-3) over Carolina (1:00pm ET, FOX)
Cam Newton has finally played a complete game in which he showed the form that he brought during 2015, when he led the Carolina Panthers all the way to the Super Bowl. Against the New England Patriots last week, he went 22 for 29 for 316 yards. He did throw an interception, but for the most part he found his targets down the field, as the Panthers rumbled for 444 total yards of offense. The Panthers did not show much defense, as Tom Brady threw for 307 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, but they did get the stops when they needed them. However, now Carolina heads to Detroit to face a Lions defense that held Minnesota (without starting quarterback Sam Bradford and without star tailback Dalvin Cook (knee) for much of the second half) to just seven points. Anthony Zettel had a pair of sacks, four quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. Detroit pried three turnovers away from the Vikings, so while the Lions (who lead the NFL with a +9 turnover margin) did not have much headway against a stout Vikings defense, they were able to take the win. Carolina’s defense is not nearly as stout as Minnesota’s either against the pass or the run, so I see the Lions winning and covering at home.L.A. RAMS (PK) over Seattle (4:00pm ET, FOX)
The Los Angeles Rams have definitely shown that they are for real, and teams that do not come in with the right defensive intensity will find themselves on the receiving end of a long, long day. Against the Cowboys, the Rams could not do much right for much of the first half, but then they took advantage of a muffed punt and went into the intermission down just eight points. After halftime, Jared Goff had down-and-out patterns open all day, and Todd Gurley looked like he was averaging about 15 yards a carry, as the Rams took control of the game. By the end, it felt like the Rams had won by 25, not by five.
The Seattle Seahawks took apart Indianapolis by a 46-17 score on Sunday night. There are a few things to remember: the Seahawks were playing at home (where they show a lot more intensity), and the Colts came in with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback in place of Andrew Luck. A more instructive result would be the beating that Seattle took at Tennessee took two weeks ago; on the road, the Legion of Boom just doesn’t show as much hustle, and the Rams’ defense didn’t stop Dallas much in the first half, but then they made the adjustments after halftime and shut the Dak & Zeke show down. I see the Rams clamping down on an inconsistent Seattle offense in the same fashion.
