The Week 5 slate is headlined by the NFC West showdown in Seattle on Friday, the undefeated Chiefs at home on Monday and the 49ers looking for a 4-0 record against the improving Browns. We have a full preview and betting tips for these key matchups of the week here.
NFL Week 5 Betting Tips
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (Friday 10.20am AEST)
The Seahawks are back at home in Week 5 after a fairly comfortable 27-10 divisional win over the Cardinals. Their 3-1 start has been built on running the football with Chris Carson and Russell Wilson hasn't been picked off yet. The defence has been solid against the run and average against the pass, which will need to improve against the Rams high powered offence. At home, they've been a bit up and down with a close win over the Bengals and a loss against the injury-riddled Saints.
Los Angeles will be looking for a rebound result after the Buccaneers crushed them at home 55-40 last Monday. Jared Goff and the Rams were playing catch up football all game after 3 interceptions and they couldn't stop Jameis Winston's weapons on defence. But they do have a good recent record over the Seahawks with 3 wins on the trot and will definitely be keen to make amends for the Week 4 performance.
The total is set pretty high for a Friday game but mainly looking at last year's series, it's understandable. In last November, the Rams outscored them 36-31 in LA. Previously, the two sides also scored 30+ points in the Rams 33-31 victory at this venue. Coming into this clash, the Seahawks allowed 33 points in their last home game against the Teddy Bridgewater led Saints. Jared Goff won't be happy about last week and he'll look to dominate the Seahawks secondary with the speed of Kupp/Cooks/Woods. Meanwhile, Wilson should enjoy plenty of time to find his combination with Metcalf and Lockett in the passing game. The Over has saluted in 5 of the Seahawks last 7 home games so we like it here.
Total points OVER 49.5
$1.90
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs (Monday 10.20am AEST)
The Kansas City Chiefs will aim for a 5-0 start to the season in this clash with the Colts. Similarly to last season, their offence has been pretty much unstoppable with 135 points scored thus far and they're the top-ranked passing offence behind Patty Mahomes. Interestingly, he was kept in check by the Lions last week in the Chiefs 34-30 comeback road win. Darrel Williams found the endzone with 20 seconds remaining for his second score of the 4th quarter to give the Chiefs a huge win. But the Chiefs won't be happy with 3 fumbles lost and their defence continues to be a concern.
Considering Andrew Luck retired in the preseason, the Colts are in a good place at 2-2. They've been a chance of winning all 4 games and they the potential to continue that trend against the Chiefs average defence. Colts RB Marlon Mack will be the key after the Chiefs were unable to stop the Lions running game in Week 4. He does have an ankle injury so hopefully, that clears up before this one.
Ultimately, the total is set extremely high because of the Chiefs major inability to stop points. However, the Colts offence is battling injuries and they'll have to run some clock to keep the ball away from Mahomes. Meanwhile, Kansas City weren't overly great last week and did show more ability to run the ball. So this total looks much too high and considering the Under has saluted in 11 of the last 16 games at Arrowhead Stadium. Meanwhile, the Colts are 5-2 against the Under on the road and 4-1 when they play the Chiefs.
Total points UNDER 57.5
$1.85
Cleveland Browns at San Francisco 49ers (Tuesday 10.15am AEST)
With an early lead in the NFC West, the 3-0 49ers will be keen to continue their impressive start to the season. Before the bye last week, they stormed home against the Steelers with a 24-20 victory and that followed huge wins over the Bengals/Bucs. Their defence has improved out of sight thus far and that'll be the key against the Cleveland Browns.
The ever-improving Browns are coming to San Francisco on the back of a crushing 40-25 win over divisional rival Baltimore. They were unstoppable in the second half with 30 points as Nick Chubb racked up 165 rushing yards and 3 scores. The other interesting non-factor was Odell Beckham with just 2 catches. However, Jarvis Landry was the beneficiary with 8 catches and 167 yards.
This a rare matchup considering the 49ers and Browns have played together 4 times since 2003. In those 4 games, low scoring has been the trend as the Under has saluted in all 4. Coming into this game, both sides are good defensively against the pass so that should see both sides run some clock with in-form backs. While Chubb was awesome last week, he gets a tougher matchup against the 49ers 2nd ranked run D. The Browns are an average team against the run but they have won both of their road games this season and should be confident of stopping the 49ers offence.
Total points UNDER 46.5
$1.89
