Both injuries and COVID-19 are impacting the early and midweek opportunities available to NFL bettors. Week 5 is yet to see as much drastic line movement as previous weeks this season, but the real moves have come in the form of games hopping on and off the betting board.

At the time of this writing, the Bills-Titans and Broncos-Patriots games have been off the board entirely for the past 24 hours due to uncertainty around if and when they will occur because of positive virus tests. The Raiders-Chiefs game was also pulled shortly before writing after a Las Vegas player tested positive for COVID. The virus that has created so much turmoil and uncertainty in daily life is now causing the same things on the NFL handicapping front.

With so much still up in the air, we will do our best to make sense of this unpredictable NFL season as best we can. Read on for a breakdown of all Week 5 betting lines, both opening and current, and an in-depth analysis of some of the bigger line moves we have seen thus far.

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Line Movement Analysis for Week 5

NFL bettors can learn a lot from the betting market. This education comes primarily through line movement on games. Changes to the odds, point spread, or total for a game indicate that one side has taken a significant amount of money from professional, or "sharp" bettors. In the name of both balancing their accounts and attempting to align with the "sharp side" of the game, sportsbooks react by adjusting their lines to try and attract money on the opposite side.

Refer to the side by side comparison of consensus opening lines and current odds for all Week 5 games in the table below. For games that saw especially significant movement, analysis of and reasoning for the changes are included in the sections below.

Week 5 Point Spread Movement Analysis

All odds courtesy of FOX Bet

Rams at Washington

Public perception would lead one to believe that the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Football Team is one of the bigger mismatches of the Week 5 slate. Sharp action begs to differ, however. The Rams opened as 9.5-point favorites, but the line has since been bet all the way down to an even 7-point touchdown spread.

Analyzing the move from the Rams’ side of things, it's quite possible that LA's lackluster performance against an inferior New York Giants team last week did not sit well with the betting market. If the Rams couldn't cover a large number at home, what's to make one think that they will on a cross-country road trip? Los Angeles failed to generate a strong offensive attack against a Giants defense considered to be vastly inferior to that of Washington.

The big news surrounding this game comes from the Washington side of the spectrum. Ron Rivera announced that Kyle Allen would be taking over as the team's starting quarterback moving forward. Whether or not the move is long-term remains to be seen, as Alex Smith is drawing ever closer to making his return. What it means for certain is that Dwayne Haskins will no longer be holding back this Washington offense. The Football Team also possesses a defensive front capable of wreaking havoc on the Rams’ offensive line. These storylines, plus home-field advantage, are likely the primary motives in bettors backing Washington.

Cardinals at Jets

After failing to find a positive result against the Brett Rypien-led Denver Broncos last Thursday night, it’s a bit surprising to see the New York Jets taking sharp money for their Week 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals. After opening as an 8.5-point favorite, Arizona has been bet down to now only a seven-point margin.

The Cardinals haven't exactly done their part to draw favor from the betting market in the past two weeks, either. After an impressive 2-0 start to the season that included a road win over NFC West rival San Francisco, the Cardinals have dropped back-to-back games to the very average Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers as a heavy public favorite. They find themselves in a similar position against the Jets this week. The past two weeks alone might be an indication that the Cardinals are overvalued.

Handicapping the Jets was complicated somewhat this week with the announcement that Sam Darnold won’t be under center due to injury. Joe Flacco will make his first start as a Jet in Darnold's place. While the offensive line is still a significant problem, Flacco should at least have star running back Le'Veon Bell back in the fold after he missed the team's last three games. Bell, slot receiver Jamison Crowder, and tight end Chris Herndon are all weapons capable of exploiting a banged-up Cardinals secondary.

Giants at Cowboys

The point spread for Sunday's NFC East rivalry game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys is truly one to be appreciated. It's not often that you see a 1-3 team laying double-digit points, but that is exactly the case with the Cowboys in this game. After opening at -11.5, Dallas has been bet down to even 10-point favorites.

The Giants may be winless, but they are only a game and a half out of first place in the below-average NFC East. New York managed to cover the spread against the Rams last week, thanks to a strong showing from a defense that quietly ranks 11th overall in adjusted efficiency (Football Outsiders). The concern here lies with an offense that has now gone eight full quarters without scoring a touchdown. Daniel Jones has a great opportunity to get right against the weak Cowboys defense.

If not for the onside kick gaffe by the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, this would be a battle of winless teams. With that said, everything seems to point to the Cowboys having talent advantages, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Dak Prescott and his bevy of weapons should have no trouble against the suspect Giants secondary. But can Dallas' defense get a stop? This major concern, combined with equal desperation to win on the part of the Giants, is the primary incentive behind the sharp money favoring the underdog.

Week 5 Totals Movement Analysis

Eagles at Steelers

The Battle of Pennsylvania rivalry will be renewed in Week 5 when the Philadelphia Eagles make the cross-state trip to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The total for the game has seen heavy sharp action to the under. The line has moved down from an opening number of 46.5 to currently read 44 at FOX Bet, with 43.5's already showing up elsewhere in the market.

Strong defensive play carried the Eagles to their first victory of the season a week ago. Philadelphia forced three turnovers, including a game-sealing pick-six, in the win. With how shaky Carson Wentz and the depleted Eagles offense have looked through four weeks, Philadelphia may very well end up relying on their defense to keep them in games in the future as well.

The Steelers bring a top-5 adjusted defense to the table, a unit that figures to be at or near the top of such ratings all season long. They should have no trouble creating problems for Philadelphia's injury-plagued offense. Like the Eagles, Pittsburgh is yet to show any scoring prowess this season. Given that the defenses appear to be both teams’ strengths, a move to the under on the game total makes sense. With that said, the value on the under has all but dried up at this point.

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Henry John is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Henry, check out his archive and follow him @HankTimeSports.