Well, last week wasn’t the best with me going 1-2 with my NFL underdog picks. For the season, I’m now 7-7-1. As we continue to try and navigate through COVID-19, let’s take a look at three more underdogs to consider placing a wager on for Week 6. All odds were obtained from DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts: Bengals +7.5
First and foremost, we’ll need to keep an eye on this game leading up to Sunday. It was reported early Friday morning that there were multiple positive tests for COVID-19 among the Colts. They are re-testing and waiting for confirmation. As of right now, the game has not been postponed, but be sure to monitor for updates.
The Bengals were steamrolled by the Ravens last week, losing 27-3. Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow faced arguably the toughest test of his young career and he didn’t fare well, completing 19 of 30 passes for 183 yards and an interception. He was also sacked seven times. The Bengals couldn’t get anything going on the ground, either, turning 28 carries into 70 yards. All in all, it was a game to forget on both sides of the ball.
As bad as that loss was, the Bengals had entered Week 5 having not lost a game by more than five points. Also, Burrow had thrown for at least 300 yards in each of his previous three games. While winning on the road against the Colts will be a tall order, the Colts’ struggles on offense could make this a close contest. Outside of torching the putrid Jets in Week 3, the Colts have scored 23 points or fewer in three of their other four games. I’ll take a chance on the Bengals with this large spread.
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers: Bears +1
Believe it or not, this will be a battle between two teams who are a combined 7-3. The Bears haven’t exactly been blowing away their opponents on their way to their 4-1 record considering their point differential is only +5. The same can be said for the Panthers, who are 3-2 with a +4 mark in that category. As far as impressive victories go, the Bears are coming off of a good one after defeating the Buccaneers on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the Panthers took care of business by pulling off a win over the hapless Falcons last week. They jumped out to a big lead in the first half, but their offense went quiet in the second half in what turned out to be a 23-16 victory. They could have a much more difficult time scoring in this game with the Bears allowing only 20 points per game, which is the fourth-fewest in the league. There’s a path to them winning this game behind their defense, even with how well Mike Davis has filled in for Christian McCaffrey (ankle) for the Panthers.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals: Cowboys +1
The Cowboys are the only team in the league to be leading their division with a losing record. At 2-3, they now have to try and find a way to maintain that lead without starting quarterback Dak Prescott, who was lost for the season with an ankle injury in Week 5 against the Giants. Luckily for them, they have one of the better backups in Andy Dalton, who helped lead them to a game-winning field goal in that matchup with the Giants. He certainly has plenty of talent around him to be successful.
Even with Prescott out, this should be a high-scoring matchup. It’s difficult to take too much stock in the Cardinals only allowing 20.4 points per game when you consider that their five games have come against the 49ers, Lions, Panthers, Jets and Washington. All five of those teams rank inside the bottom-half of the league in points per game, with the Jets and Washington ranking the lowest and third-lowest, respectively. Given that the Cowboys will have the advantage of playing at home, they could pull off the win here.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is mbarner51) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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