Week 4 in the National Football League may just be in the books, but it’s not too early to be thinking about the NFL betting lines for Week 5.
Some of the Week 5 lines hit the NFL odds list before Monday night’s game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh even kicked off. The early odds can sometimes be the best ones you’re going to see all week long, but they can also bite you if a late injury or on-field change causes a move that gives the line more value somewhere else.
A number of the early lines from Week 5 stand out, including an interesting matchup between San Diego and Miami. The Dolphins were off in Week 4, so this will be their first game since they shocked the Patriots as 12.5-point underdogs. Miami heads home for Week 5, and even though they broke out against New England they’re still 7-point underdogs against the Chargers.
The Colts also return from their bye in Week 5 with what looks to be an easy win against the 0-3 Texans. This will be the Texans’ first game back in Houston since Hurricane Ike messed up Reliant Stadium, and in their homecoming they’re only a 3-point underdog to the Colts.
The biggest early spread belongs to the Carolina Panthers, who are 9.5-point home favorites against Kansas City. The Chiefs may have finally snapped their 12-game losing streak against the Broncos last week, but that was at Arrowhead Stadium and not on the road where the Chiefs have won only eight games in the last three seasons.
One last game worth a look on the early NFL odds is New England at San Francisco. If Tom Brady was playing in this game the Patriots would be double-digit favorites. But with Matt Cassel at the helm instead of Brady New England is only favored by 3 points. The 49ers were a 5-point underdog in their 31-17 blowout loss against the Saints last week, while everyone knows how things went for the Patriots two weeks ago when they got upset by Miami 38-13 as 12.5-point home favorites.