NFL nut Kyle Robins (@AhhYeahKyleYeah) shares his expert opinion on the best bets ahead of Sunday's Week 5 action.
Arizona Cardinals @ New York Jets | Sunday 11th October 2020, 18:00
Yeah, that’s right, I’m heading straight back to New York to yet again take on the free-falling Jets. And why wouldn’t I after going 2/2 on their games through the first four weeks?
Before the start of the season, I had the Jets down as one of, if not the worst team in the entire league, and they’ve done very little to convince me otherwise. Constant question marks float around Adam Gase, and its safe the say the team is just a complete and utter mess. Which is certainly good news for me who took them to finish fourth in the AFC East.
Now, heading into Week 5, things have somehow managed to get even worse for the men from New York. Starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who’s had a rough time to date, has gone down injured, meaning they’ll be dusting off 35-year-old Joe Flacco to start.
The former Ravens quarterback hasn’t played in almost a year, who’s numbers last season were, let’s face it, horrendous, through eight games; he threw for 1,822 yards and just six touchdowns to five interceptions. Now he heads into a starting role for a team who have only managed to accumulate 65 points through four games (second lowest in the league). It wouldn’t fill me with any confidence what so ever if I were a Jets fan.
The Jets already have a league worst point differential at 16.5 per-game, and have already lost by 9, 10, 18 and 29 this season. Now they face off against a Cardinals team who sit at 2-2, after a loss to the Panthers.
The fact the line for this game has somehow remained at seven is quite simply beyond me. Yes, the Cardinals have been inconsistent so far, especially on defence, but they’re just so much more talented and well coached than this jets team. They’ve already pulled off an impressive road victory in San Francisco, so this should be a walk in the park.
Take Arizona -7, and maybe even hunt for more value with a higher handicap too. This could easily be a 14-point margin or more.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Pittsburgh Steelers | Sunday 11th October 2020, 18:00
After an unscheduled bye week, Pittsburgh is back in action, welcoming a struggling Eagles outfit into town.
In the midst of the first coronavirus outbreak within the league, the Steelers were to first to feel the effects. As the Tennessee Titans continue to have positive cases on a daily basis, the league is facing its toughest challenge in years.
With the Titans potentially on the receiving end of the biggest disciplinary measure in league history after breaking Covid team protocols, teams will certainly be upping their measures to prevent another outbreak.
Now into the game itself. The Steelers were sitting at 3-0 prior to their week off, and currently are 7-point favourites against Carson Wentz and his Eagles. Philly comes into this off the back of their first win against what was essentially a 49ers reserve team. Whilst they came out victories, they were absolutely torched by George Kittle, who exploded for 183 yards and one touchdown off 15 receptions.
Now whilst Kittles usage was in part down to the 49er’s thin offensive options, it certainly showed the vulnerabilities in the Eagles ability to defend the tight end position. Which we kind of knew anyway, after already allowing four touchdowns to tight ends through Weeks 1-3.
Now they face off against a Steelers team who have plenty of offensive weapons, undoubtedly more so than the 49ers. With James Conner in the backfield, and JuJu and Johnson out wide, I’m looking for Eric Ebron to continue to make strides forward in the offense, something he has managed to do each week so far this season. Hauling in a season high five receptions on seven targets for 52 yards and a touchdown in Week 3 against the Texans.
Whilst he continues to get comfortable in new surroundings, look for Ebrons workload to increase as the season precedes, and bank on him to carry on from his Week 3 stat line this weekend against a poor Eagles defence. The Steelers should get plenty of opportunities to score. So look for Ebron to capitalise and get into the endzone at 9/4 with Unibet
Carolina Panthers @ Atalanta Falcons | Sunday 11th October 2020, 18:00
For the final bet of the weekend, I’m staying with the 6pm games and looking to go 3/3 in the early slate. Once again, I’m looking to exploit a vulnerable defence and this time it’s one of the worst in the league.
The team from Atlanta are near last in every defensive statistic imaginable and there is a clear reason they sit at 0-4. They’ve given up 1,793 total yards (second-worst) and 138 total points (second-worst), allowing in average 34.5 points per-week. Those are some astounding statistics.
This week they welcome a Carolina team that has certainly surprised a few people to date, and are more competitive than most people thought they would be. Off the back of an impressive win against the Cardinals, they’ll be hopeful for more success against a weak Falcons defence.
Offensively for the Panthers, it has been rather impressive to date. After losing Christian McCaffery, some felt it would have a major effect on the offensive game plan, but, if anything, its opened up more opportunities for Teddy Bridgewater to get the ball downfield.
Whilst DJ Moore was the main man last year. It’s the free agent acquisition that is making the most noise on this Panthers offense so far.
Robby Anderson sits with 377 yards through the first four weeks, off 28 receptions from 34 targets. The fourth-year man out of Temple is on track for a career year, and should be in line for another huge target share this weekend.
In what looks set to be a high scoring game, with the line currently set at 55 total points. Look set for Robby to explode against this weak Falcons pass defence and clear his line of 73.5 receiving yards at 5/6 with SkyBet.
Best Bets
Arizona Cardinals @ New York Jets – Arizona Cardinals -7 (10/11 SkyBet)
Philadelphia Eagles @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Eric Ebron anytime touchdown (9/4 Unibet)
Carolina Panthers @ Atalanta Falcons – Robby Anderson Over 73.5 Receiving Yards (5/6 SkyBet)
