Ross Williams previews Sunday's NFL action, beginning in London and ending at Green Bay.
NFL betting tips: Week 6
2pts Texans @ Jaguars under 42.5 total match points at 10/11 (General)
2pts Carolina Panthers (-3.5) to beat the Philadelphia Eagles at evens (bet365)
2pts Christian Watson (Packers) to score a touchdown at 6/5 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Christan Watson to score 2+ touchdowns at 17/2 (bet365)
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars kick off the Sunday slate with their second-straight London game and I’m anticipating a scrappy affair at Wembley Stadium. A week removed from breaking Philadelphia hearts in the dying seconds, the 4-1 Jags take on their division rivals, the Houston Texans, who have looked a shadow of themselves in the opening five weeks of the campaign.
The Texans did finally pick up their first win of the season on Sunday, but a result over the Tennessee Titans can only hold so much prestige and the jury remains very much out.
Houston’s inability to run the ball has been a real Achilles' heel in the early stages of the season and this match-up with Jacksonville could not be worse. The Jaguars have the stingiest defence in the NFL against the run (63.8 yards per game) while only the Packers have been less effective than Houston from the running back position.
This will significantly impact Houston’s point-scoring potential and it brings the ‘UNDER’ in to play.
The total points line sits at 42.5 as we head into Sunday and history suggests it’s a viable bet. The ‘under’ has landed in eight of the Jags’ last ten visits to the British capital and – most crucially – three of Jacksonville’s five games so far have seen fewer than 40 points scored. The other two were essentially blowouts.
A spread of just 2.5 points in this game suggests a close one and, generally, when the Jags are in a close one, points are at a premium.
No reason to overthink this one – let’s take the ‘under’ and get our Sunday off to a good start.
Carolina Panthers @ Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are in injury hell right now and that opens up an opportunity. The CAROLINA PANTHERS are their visitors this weekend and they’ll smell blood in the water with Jalen Hurts now added to the list of Philadelphia’s absences.
Tanner McKee taking charge of the Eagles offence is bound to be the quarterback story of this game, but that doesn’t do justice to the man leading the Panthers.
He’s not the name you’d expect, but Bryce Young currently has more passing yards per game than anyone else in the league and he’s been excellent value for Carolina, leading them to two hard-fought victories.
Immediately, the difference in the standard of the quarterbacks stands out in this match-up, but the underlying numbers suggest far greater disparities between Carolina and the Eagles.
Philadelphia are averaging just 18.4 points per game, while the Panthers have racked up 30.3. That’s a stark contrast and it absolutely brings a fairly slender handicap into play, particularly with Philadelphia further understrength this week.
The Panthers are very backable at evens to win this one by more than 3.5 points. Off a bye week, against an Eagles side smarting from defeat in London and lacking a whole platoon of offensive options, Carolina look like a logical selection.
Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Sunday’s primetime spectacle provides a dream match-up for one of the league’s most prolific scorers.
CHRISTIAN WATSON of the Green Bay Packers has been electric this season and he remains second-only to reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the receiving touchdown charts.
His six scores in five games already make him a tempting proposition in the scorer market, but his opposition on Sunday night only adds to that.
The Dallas Cowboys have struggled badly against the pass so far this season, so much so that a ‘players-only’ meeting between the team’s defenders was called on Monday. Never a good sign.
The Cowboys have shipped ten receiving touchdowns in five games, allowed a quarterback completion percentage of 72% and an overall passer rating of 120.5. In other words, no side gives quarterbacks and their receiving targets more joy than Dallas.
This is music to the ears of Jordan Love and Watson and I expect the Packers duo to capitalise. Watson is 6/5 to score anytime and that looks like solid value, seeing as he’s only blanked in one of his five games so far this season. I’d also consider the prospect of Watson grabbing a brace for the third time, replicating his output from a week ago, to be pretty strong.
Posted at 15:55 BST on 17/10/26
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