NFL Week 5 parlay: Let’s make some money

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Our Week 4 parlay struggled as we went 1-2, along with losing our bonus play. If you were with us, our sincerest apologies, but I will not be discouraged. Have to get right back up on the horse.

So, here we go, building another parlay looking to bounce back.

After looking at BetMGM Sportsbook’s NFL Week 5 odds, here’s our “Let’s make some money” NFL parlay bet to cash in on among SportbookWire’s NFL expert picks and predictions.

Last week, we made the mistake of taking risks on 2 struggling teams — see Colts and Bengals. Cincy was a road favorite, which obviously was the wrong play.

This week, we’re going to look at good teams and good situations to get us back on track.

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NFL Week 5: Let’s make some money parlay

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 12:04 a.m. ET. All games Sunday and ET unless noted.

Leg 1:BILLS -5.5 (-110) vs. Jaguars at London – 9:30 a.m. (NFL Network)

Both teams are coming off dominant victories as 3-point favorites.

Buffalo (3-1) destroyed visiting Miami 48-20, while Jacksonville (2-2) handled Atlanta 23-7 in London — yes, the Jaguars are playing back-to-back games across the pond. But this is where the similarities end.

After a season-opening 22-16 loss at the New York Jets, the Bills have railed off 3 straight wins — doing so in dominating fashion. They’ve averaged 41.0 points per game with an average winning margin of 30.0 PPG, winning by at least 28 points in the streak.

The Jaguars have been inconsistent so far. They beat Atlanta and Indianapolis — in the opener — but lost to Houston and Kansas City. In the win vs. the Falcons, QB Trevor Lawrence threw for 207 yards and 1 TD, but he didn’t need to air it out with the Jaguars taking control early in the first half. If Jacksonville is going to beat Buffalo, Lawrence will have to put up bigger numbers.

Bills CB Tre’Davious White is out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles in the win vs. the rival Dolphins. This should benefit Lawrence in finding receivers down field, but if the Jaguars offensive line can’t protect him against the Bills pass rush, White’s absence will be nullified.

The Bills are 3-1 against the spread (ATS), covering in all 3 of their victories — by a minimum of 20 points. While a blowout may not be in order against the Jaguars, whose familiarity with playing in London should help them, 5.5 points does not deter me from TAKING THE BILLS to start our parlay.

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Leg 2: RAVENS -4 (-110) at Steelers – 1 p.m. (CBS)

If the Ravens (3-1) win, they’ll have swept their road games against the entire AFC North through the first 5 weeks — they already won at Cincinnati and Cleveland. A win Sunday would go a long way in the Ravens’ goals of returning to the playoffs and winning the division.

The Steelers (2-2) come into this game hobbled. QB Kenny Pickett injured his knee in Week 4 and is questionable for Sunday — he says he plans to play. WR Diontae Johnson has an injured hamstring and is on IR (the injured reserve list). Unable to return until late October at the earliest, this will be a major detriment for Pittsburgh as RB Najee Harris hasn’t shown the ability he has since his rookie season.

Harris has just 210 rushing yards on 49 carries through the first 4 games. After allowing his lead back to have almost 100% of the snap count for much of his tenure, coach Mike Tomlin has been slowly decreasing the usage of Harris — to a career-low 52% in 2023.

The Baltimore offense looked impressive last week against a particularly good Cleveland defense. QB Lamar Jackson found TE Mark Andrews for 2 TD passes as the Ravens will look to continue their strong play this week.

These division games are usually low scoring. This one is likely to be the same, but with Jackson leading the Ravens, and no matter if Pickett or QB Mitch Trubisky starts for Pittsburgh, I like BALTIMORE TO COVER THE 4-POINT SPREAD on the road.

Leg 3: Cowboys at 49ERS -3.5 (-110) – 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

The Cowboys (3-1) have been blowing teams out who try to throw on them. The 49ers (4-0) would rather run the ball down your throat, which will make things difficult for the Cowboys defense in stopping RB Christian McCaffrey and QB Brock Purdy … especially on the road in San Francisco.

Unless Dallas moves LB Micah Parsons from the right side, he’ll try to get to Purdy around OL Trent Williams, considered the top left tackle in the NFL. Parsons is good. Williams is better. This will give Purdy time to find McCaffrey and WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

It also benefits the 49ers that Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs (torn ACL) is out for the season. Plus, with the pressure DE Nick Bosa and Co. will get on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, Dallas is headed to its 2nd road loss of the season — it lost at Arizona 28-16 in Week 3.

This line should be closer to -6 in favor of San Francisco. Being that it is only -3.5, I love the value offered.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $59.58 (payout = $69.58).

Try out the USA TODAY Parlay Calculator.

Leg 4-*: Bengals at Cardinals OVER 44.5 (-110) – 4:05 p.m. (FOX)

*-If you want to add a 4th play to this parlay:

This one is tough. The Bengals (1-3) are the better team, but it’s hard to be sure.

QB Joe Burrow has been hobbled by a bad leg, affecting everything in the Cincinnati offense. WR Ja’Marr Chase was frustrated last week and expressed it with his comments in the locker room after the Bengals lost as 2.5-point favorites at the Tennessee Titans 27-3.

Things don’t look right for Cincy, but a visit to Arizona could be just the cure.

Even so, the Over is a safer wager than the spread here — Cincinnati is a 3-point favorite.

Arizona has been playing tough — the Cardinals covered their first 3 games but finally came up short in last week’s 35-16 loss as 14-point underdogs at the 49ers.

Against a good 49ers defense, the Cardinals still were able to score 16 points. The previous week, the Cards put up 28 in its lone victory when they beat the Cowboys.

With the Bengals secondary losing both starting safeties to free agency in the offseason — Jessie Bates to Atlanta and Vonn Bell to Carolina — it has not been the same. Arizona QB Joshua Dobbs should be able to find room to operate Sunday.

The Cardinals defense has not been great this season either, which might help the Bengals’ last-ranked offense (236.0 yards per game) find itself. The Cardinals defense has allowed 374.5 YPG to rank 26th in the league with 242.5 of them coming through the air, ranking 24th..

The Bengals and Burrow need to find something quick if they want to remain anywhere close to a playoff berth. Against the Cardinals, they should be able to put up points. But Arizona will score, too.

OVER 44.5 is a good leg to add to a parlay.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $122.83 (payout = $132.93).

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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