It was a wild Sunday in Week 3 NFL betting and the Monday Night Football finale was no exception but the show must go on and we’ve circled two Week 4 NFL matchups with online betting value for early shoppers – Game previews and ATS picks for the Dolphins vs. Cardinals and Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens
Arizona has won seven of nine when favored in the second of back-to-back home games including a 3-1 ATS record vs. non-Conference foes
Shocking, bizarre, comical – Just a few of the words being thrown around sports betting forums and online betting sites Tuesday and football bettors regroup for another round of action. The Browns and Ravens get things rolling Thursday night and we have an exclusive early bet to start the week but first, let’s have a look at the Dolphins vs. Cardinals in Sunday NFL action.
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MIAMI AT ARIZONA
The Dolphins came close to upsetting the Jets but couldn’t finish the job Sunday. Arizona had little trouble backing up its huge Week 2 upset over New England. The Cards are 3-0 SU for the first time since 1974 and odds makers at Pinnacle sportsbook offer the red birds as a 6-point favorite.
Miami’s top running back Reggie Bush (knee) was injured just before half-time against New York and his status is uncertain for Week 4. If Bush can’t start there will be added pressure on QB Ryan Tannehill but in his first three games the Dolphins rookie is averaging just 194 passing yards on 52-percent completions.
Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller will play a bigger role if Bush can’t go but the Cardinals are playing steady run defense (110 RYPG allowed), and that was against opponents who average 129 yards per game. Take Bush out of the mix and Miami do not stand up to the run-game of the Seahawks (Lynch), Patriots (Ridley) or Eagles (McCoy).
Early Buy: Take the Cardinals
Need to Know: When heading out on the road against a foe that won its most recent game, the Dolphins are 6-2 SU/ATS since 2001 when getting +3 points or less but increase the line (+4 to +7.5 points) and Miami’s record falls to 2-6 ATS (1-7 SU).
EARLY LINE MOVES – BROWNS AT RAVENS
Thursday night’s divisional game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens will be everyone’s first chance of the week to scream at NFL replacement officials and the opening NFL odds with sportsbooks favored the home squad by -12 but it’s already hit -13.
Baltimore is 10-3 SU against Cleveland since 1999 but just 6-7 against the spread, including 2-4 ATS the past six seasons. The Ravens have been favored in 12 of 13 meetings and the average line was more than a touchdown (-7.9) but even after building a nice first-half lead, Baltimore has not shown the killer instinct necessary to clear these colossal pointspreads.
Betting Tip: Fourth quarter comebacks are the norm this season and 7-plus road dogs have a winning record (6-5-1 ATS) after going 4-2-1 the past two Sundays. Baltimore is coming off a close one and they will look to put this game out of hand early but to protect against that dreadful backdoor cover that seems to be left swinging wide open more often than not, we suggest a different approach.
Pick: Take the Ravens -6.5 in the first-half
SU: Straight-up
ATS: Against the spread
O/U: Over/Under