NFL Week 5 Betting Recap: Bad Beats and Big Payouts

There was much for bettors to be thankful for Sunday, but Browns and Bengals backers are singing the blues.

You had to wait—and wait—and wait some more while grabbing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but Sunday's Week 5 action ended on a strong note with the Chiefs and Bills hitting the over in the week's highest over/under at SI Sportsbook.

Sunday featured most favorites winning and/or covering and sizable player prop bets paying out. That may not offer much consolation, though, to Bengals and Browns backers who came so close to victories, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion.

Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Sunday's action, and be sure to check Monday's lines for Colts-Ravens at SI Sportsbook.

THE GOOD

Ride The Favorites

Sunday provided a good chance to hit on a three- or five-team parlay with 10 of the 14 moneyline favorites winning. The biggest favorites (Patriots, Vikings, Buccaneers, Cowboys) all won, and many bettors backed the Titans against the Jaguars.

Sportsbooks felt the effect of the favorites taking care of business.

Sportsbooks getting buried today: Dal, AZ, GB, TB, & Tenn were popular combos that did the damage. Most in no way out situation on all four SNF possibilities

— Micah Roberts (@MicahRoberts7) October 11, 2021

Waiting—And Waiting— For Sunday Night

The Buffalo-Kansas City rematch may not have been the most exciting game, but the over (56.5) better hit if a rain/lightning storm keeps you up past midnight.

While it looked dicey at times, Josh Allen's second touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 5:55 remaining secured the over. Those east coasters who stayed up past their bedtime could at least sleep peacefully knowing their bet cashed.

37 points in the 1st Half
20 points away from the OVER 56.5.

That rain delay better not cause these offenses to sputter

— SI Betting (@SI_Betting) October 11, 2021

When In London...

Premier League fans particularly would have enjoyed this fun prop with soccer ties involving the Jets-Falcons game in London. Wagering on each team kicking at least two field goals netted +200 odds.

The teams made you sweat, but the Jets kicked their second field goal with 17 seconds left to secure the win. It also set the tone for what would surely be a great day of kicking across the league, right?

The Long Shots

• The Titans' defense scoring the first touchdown during the Tennessee-Jacksonville game paid off handsomely with a +2200 prop.

• The Kadarius Toney breakout game finally happened, and we hope you wagered on it. Toney had +1020 odds that he would have the most receiving yards in a game featuring Amari Cooper, Kenny Golladay and CeeDee Lamb. Toney paced all receivers with 189 yards, 105 more than any other player.

• While Odell Beckham Jr. was nowhere to be found in a game that featured 89 points, Rashard Higgins netted +375 odds on an anytime touchdown.

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

THE UGLY

Fumblerooski

Damien Harris seemed well on his way to making bettors and fantasy owners proud Sunday. He scored the Patriots' first touchdown and was on his way to his second when a defender knocked the ball loose at the 0.1-inch yard line.

We all know about that legendary New England doghouse, and Harris barely touched the ball the rest of the way. He fell short of his 70.5 over/under prop, finishing with 58 yards, despite being less than a foot away from a potential monster day.

Oh, So Now You Score?

Betting the under on Patriots' games had been a sound and profitable strategy.

Until Sunday.

The Patriots-Texans game tied for the lowest over/under at 39, and it was easy to see why. New England hasn't been lighting up the world, and Davis Mills against Bill Belichick is a mismatch. We could all see a final in the 20-3 range.

Well, Mills came to play, and the Patriots instead needed all 60 minutes to eke out a 25-22 win. So much for the under.

Um...Kyler?

Kyler Murray had rushed for 20, 31, 19 and 39 rushing yards in his first four games, an average of 29.75 yards. Murray had 31.5 rushing yards over/under Sunday against the 49ers, and as our Shawn Childs noted, Murray had topped 31 yards in each of his four previous career matchups against San Francisco.

Well, let's just say things didn't go to plan.

Murray had seven rushes for 1 yard. Yup. You read that right. One yard. One. Sigh. At least Trey Lance delivered on the rushing side.

Going Against The Book

We came oh-so-close to hitting on three boosted bets at SI Sportsbook.

The odds were boosted from +270 to +300 that Laviska Shenault Jr. and Ja'Marr Chase would each have 60+ yards.

Chase did his part by torching the Packers for 159 yards, and one would have thought the Jaguars would find ways to get Shenault the ball considering they were without D.J. Chark and faced a Titans defense that is far from ferocious.

Instead, Shenault caught one pass for 58 yards. One catch. Couldn't the Jaguars find any more ways to utilize him? Sigh. So close, yet so far.

A pair of three-team parlays also came quite close but ultimately left us sad.

A Broncos-Packers-Patriots moneyline parlay boosted from +280 to +300 missed because the Broncos couldn't contain a mediocre Steelers offense.

A Browns-Cardinals-Cowboys moneyline parlay boosted from +295 to +330 failed to cash because the Browns' defense took the day off.

(Sorry, Browns fans, but there is more horror to come...)

Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

THE UGLY

Heartbreak in Cincinnati

The Bengals entered Sunday as a 3-point home underdog to the Packers and managed to hang around all game despite not getting the message that you may want to actually cover Davante Adams. Bold strategy, I know.

Mason Crosby missed a late field goal in a tie game, and Bengals moneyline and points-backers started feeling good as Cincinnati moved into field goal range.

A 57-yard field goal and the money will be flowing in the Bengals' bettors' direction. Evan McPherson's got this.

Miss.

OK, no worries. Crosby misses another in overtime. McPherson will redeem himself and be carried off the field like Rudy! The kick is up. It looks good. And he misses. Again. But, wait! He thought he hit it!

Crosby delivered on the next drive for the push, but all those Cincinnati backers are surely still miffed this morning.

The kickers in Packers-Bengals might actually be cursed

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/5QFb5i8VHP

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 10, 2021

When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

With the Chargers favored by 2.5 points against the Browns, things appeared to be looking up when the Chargers missed a late extra point.

Cleveland held a 1-point lead, meaning they would cover both moneyline and spread provided they did not allow a touchdown in the final 3:23.

Well, it just seems that nice things don't happen to the Browns.

Leading 41-40, the Browns punted the ball with a little more than two minutes left. The defense, like it did all day, let the Chargers move with ease.

Austin Ekeler had a chance to score a touchdown but purposely went down with time left to set up the game-winning field goal. The moneyline seemed like a lost cause at this point, but a field goal still ensured the cover.

However, the Browns did the smart football thing. They all but pushed Ekeler into the end zone on the next play to fall behind by five.

The Browns just made sure Austin Ekeler got into the end zone 😂

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/3BERrsLmMb

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 10, 2021

They made the right football play, but that's not what we care about. You wanted the Chargers to settle for the field goal to secure the win.

Baker Mayfield couldn't lead a go-ahead drive and the Browns failed to cover.

An ugly day for AFC North backers.