Thursday night football betting returns this week, with a matchup that will help answer some burning sportsbook betting questions. Such as: what kind of team are the New England Patriots? The Pats entered the 2017 online NFL betting season as online sportsbook favorites to win the title. In fact, many New England fans were eagerly boasting that their team would deliver yet another undefeated regular season performance. Five weeks into the season and it’s clear that Pats fans didn’t know what they were talking about during the preseason, considering that New England currently has one of the worst defenses in the league.
Tom Brady and company are currently sitting on a 2-2 record that ties them with the New York Jets for 2nd in the division. New England has enjoyed so many playoff appearances largely in part due to the lack of competitiveness in their division, and they could benefit from that once again in 2017. Right now the only team in the East that is a threat are the 3-1 Buffalo Bills, who keep looking better each week. The Dolphins might be competitive once Tannehill comes back from injury but with Cutler under center, Miami can hardly be thought of as a professional football team.
This Thursdays, the Pats will do all they can to avoid falling even further behind in the divisional race. New England will have to contend with the 2-1 Buccaneers, a team that most offshore sportsbooks are still uncertain about. This week, we’ll find out just how bad the Pats’ defense and just what kind of football team Tampa Bay is. Let’s take a look at what kind of turnout the online sportsbook odds are predicting.
Offshore Sportsbook Betting Lines:
New England Patriots -5 (-110) 56 (-108) -230
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +5 (-110) 56 (-112) +192
Betting New England
Picking the Pats on the money line seems like a poor idea. New England is coming off a disheartening home loss to the Carolina Panthers and will have to bounce back with less rest than normal. A tired and low-spirited Patriots team will be much easier to overcome than a squad filled to the gills with confidence.
However, if you’re set on picking the Pats this Thursday, you’re better off wagering on the spread and cashing in on that -110 payout. It should be noted that New England is 1-3 against the spread this season and 1-0 ATS on the road. The Patriots have lost each of their last two games by 3 points. The Pats are undefeated versus the totals line however.
Betting Tampa Bay
The Bucs are coming off a big 25-23 win over the New York Giants. Tampa Bay’s lone loss of the season came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings, a team that narrowly missed the playoffs last season. Tampa Bay is 1-2 against the spread this season and 2-1 against the totals line overall. The Bucs are averaging 23.7 points per game to the Pats’ 32.3. It’ll be interesting to see if Tampa Bay can run up the scoreboard on New England’s lowly defense.
