NFL Best Bets: Week 5 (2019)

Two good Thursday night games in a row? It’s almost as if there are more good games when good teams are scheduled to play each other. Crazy. The Week 5 slate features more games that look to be close ones with possible implications down the road, which is great from a fan standpoint, but also as a bettor. Here are the five best bets for NFL Week 5. See the consensus lines and odds for all games here.

Get a risk-free bet up to $500 at FanDuel Sportsbook >>

Carolina Panthers (-3) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
I feel wrong picking against Gardner Minshew, but the Panthers are the better all-around team, and they have home-field advantage. This game comes down to which team can get pressure on the opposing inexperienced quarterback. Getting pressure has not been a problem for Carolina, who is tied for a league-high 18 sacks. This pressure has also led them to force four interceptions, which is tied for fifth in the league. Even if Jacksonville brings the heat in Week 5, Kyle Allen has arguably the best blitz beater in the game with Christian McCaffrey.

Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers
Both teams have inexperienced quarterbacks, and both defenses have been bad. The Steelers have struggled with everyone but the Bengals, giving up at least 24 points in the other three games. They are giving up over 120 rushing yards per game and have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete over 69 percent of their passes. Baltimore is averaging over 200 more yards and almost 15 points more than Pittsburgh, and they should bounce back after two tough losses against this defense. They have also proved to play tough football on the road, going 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games.

Minnesota Vikings (-5) at New York Giants
The Giants will be without Saquon Barkley for seemingly one more week, and Stefon Diggs will be joining the Vikings offense. There has been a lot of drama in Minnesota regarding the Diggs situation this week, but you should look for Minnesota to pass a bit more in this game to make their receivers a bit healthier. On the flip side, Diggs will look to improve upon last week’s game, especially if he is unhappy in Minnesota and is trying to impress for the rest of the league. The Viking have destroyed bad teams this season, and don’t let the Giants’ last two games fool you, they are a bad team. The Vikings offense should have a great day against the worst-graded corners overall in the league and a front seven that just lost a linebacker last week.

Green Bay Packers (+3.5) at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys faced the league’s easiest schedule heading into Week 4, and their offense followed it up with 10 points against the 30th-ranked defense in opponent yards per play (6.7). On top of the poor offensive performance, they lost star left tackle Tyron Smith, which is terrible news when facing a Packers defense that invested heavily in edge rushers this offseason. The Packers’ investment has already shown, too, as they’ve totaled 97 quarterback pressures through four games. Green Bay has also had a long week to prepare after playing on Thursday. The Packers will be without Davante Adams, but we have already seen how effective Matt LaFleur can be as a game planner with extra time, scoring a quick 21 points against Minnesota after their first Thursday game. Aaron Jones is also expected to have a big day, returning to the state of Texas, where he went to school. Dallas is also where Jones had his first career 100-yard game. In short, give the edge to the Packers defense in this game with their extra rest.

Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans (Under 38.5)
We saw just how good the Buffalo defense is last week, as they held the Patriots to only 16 points. The Titans defense is nothing to scoff at either, with both teams allowing under 16 points per game on average. Offensively, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is still in the concussion protocol after taking a bad hit. The total has hit the under for Buffalo in six of their last seven games, including every game this season. The under has also hit in eight of their last nine road games. I expect to see a lot of running in this game. When Buffalo has been on the road, they like to slow the game down, averaging just 65 plays ran (72 at home). On the other side, the Titans do the same at home, running 56 plays per game at home (64 on the road).

FanDuel Sportsbook: View our review and access special sports betting offers >>

Zach Brunner is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Zach, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFlurry.