NFL Week 4 Betting Recap at Bovada & Thursday Preview
Maybe it was the hoodie!
The New England Patriots were on a rare two-game losing streak heading into Sunday's game at Buffalo. And there was one thing missing for the Pats in those losses: Coach Bill Belichick's signature hoodie. Well, it was back on Sunday and so were the Patriots as they blew the Bills out of the water in the second half for a 52-28 victory. And that was the top win of the week for NFL bettors at Bovada.
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New England trailed 14-7 at halftime and 21-7 early in the third quarter but scored touchdowns on six straight possessions after intermission at one point. The Patriots are the first team since the 1950 Giants to score at least 45 second-half points in a game in which it trailed at halftime. And the Pats became the second team in NFL history with a 300-yard passer (Tom Brady had 340), two 100-yard rushers (Brandon Bolden had 137 and Stevan Ridley 106), and two 100-yard receivers (Wes Welker with 129 and Rob Gronkowski 104). The other club to do it was Green Bay on Dec. 28, 2008.
The Patriots closed as 4-point favorites and took the biggest spread lean of the week at nearly 84 percent. At minus-210 on the moneyline they took almost 88 percent, and the over 48.5 points got about 72 percent of the action.
The other big win for players was on San Francisco beating the Jets 34-0 as Mark Sanchez's struggles continued. He is dead last among full-time starters in completion percentage at 49.2. Yet the Jets still aren't using Tim Tebow as he attempted his first pass of the season in the loss and carried the ball just twice. San Francisco closed as a 4-point favorite and took more than 83 percent of the action. At -200 on the moneyline, the Niners took almost 80 percent.
Five of the week's six most-wagered player props for Week 4 came from Sunday night's Giants-Eagles game. Two big wins for the book were on Eagles running back LeSean McCoy under 23.5 receiving yards (he had 17) and on Michael Vick under 262.5 passing yards (had 241).
The bettors' top three player prop wins of the week were all on Giants QB Eli Manning. They were: over 277.5 passing yards (309), over 23.5 completions (24) and over 1.5 touchdown passes (two). The book's top game result also was that one with New York losing 19-17. The Giants closed as 1-point dogs and took almost 60 percent of the action. The under 47 points took less than 32 percent of the lean.
Thursday's Live Betting Preview: Cardinals at Rams
The division with the best overall mark so far at 11-5 is the surprising NFC West. Arizona leads it by a game over the 49ers, with St. Louis and Seattle at 2-2. The Cards, one of three 4-0 teams in the league, are opening 1.5-point favorites for Thursday's NFL Network game.
Dating to last regular season, no team has played as well as the Cardinals, who have won 11 of their past 13 overall and are 4-0 for the first time in 28 years. History says Arizona likely will make the playoffs as it is the 11th team in the past nine years to start a season 4-0 after beginning 1-3 or 0-4 in the previous year. Nine of the previous 10 advanced to the postseason, with only the 2008 Bills missing out. None of those nine won a Super Bowl, with only the 2006 Bears reaching the game.
The Cardinals escaped Miami with a 24-21 overtime win Sunday on a Jay Feely 46-yard field goal. The franchised ended a 47-game losing streak when trailing by 13-plus points at halftime. Arizona is winning despite a running game that averages 2.6 yards per carry, the second-worst in the NFL. The Cards' defense is No. 3 in the NFL in scoring, not having allowed a team to score more than 21 points yet in 2012. Three of Arizona's games have thus gone under the total.
St. Louis matched last season's victory total by upsetting Seattle 19-13 on Sunday. No kicker has ever won an NFL Rookie of the Year Award, but the Rams' Greg Zuerlein might be in the discussion this winter. Against Miami, he converted all four-field goal attempts (58, 48, 60, 24) and became the first kicker in NFL history to convert a 60-yard field goal and a 50-yard field goal in the same game. He's 12-for-12 on the year and is fourth in the league with 41 points.
A win Thursday would move the Rams above .500 for the first time since 2006. St. Louis was swept by Arizona last year, losing one in overtime and the other by a field goal. Arizona has won seven straight games at St. Louis.
The quick turnaround has led to some rather ugly Thursday night games this year: all three have gone well under the total. This week's is set at 38.
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