It's a Trap: Which NFL Odds are Most Deceiving in Week 7?

In Week 6, the Los Angeles Chargers were a popular bet as three point underdog to the Baltimore Ravens. But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Chargers lost to the Ravens, 34-6. The +3 on the spread for Los Angeles Chargers pulled in a lot of bets, but the bettors were deceived. 

After head coach Dan Campbell shed tears during a press conference, people were taking the Lions to cover the spread against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Lions would lose, 34-11, and fail to cover. Only bettors would shed tears after Week 6, being deceived once again.

Which lines appear deceiving in Week 7?

Here are some lines that appear to be traps, odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers (-4)

Let’s start with the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Colts and 49ers. 

The Colts picked up a 31-3 win over the Houston Texans last week, covering their 10-point spread. Everyone expected Indianapolis to win, and they took care of business. 

The Colts have lost to the Los Angeles Rams by just three points and lost to the Ravens in overtime this season. They may be better than their 2-4 record indicates.

The 49ers lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, 17-10, but that loss was expected. They were down 10 points at halftime, and Arizona just sort of coasted to victory. That’s three straight losses for San Francisco now. 

Both of these teams stack up pretty close statistically, but Indianapolis just looks like the better football team. I don’t think the sportsbooks have adjusted to this mediocre 49ers team yet.

The Colts should get more respect after Week 7.

Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) vs. Miami Dolphins

The Falcons (2-3) may have a better record than the Dolphins (1-5) right now, but both of their wins came against the New York Giants and New York Jets. I’m not impressed.

Miami’s Week 1 win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough is more impressive to me than both of Atlanta’s wins combined.

The Dolphins have struggled to put points on the board this season, averaging just 16.5 points per game, but much of the season was played without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa looked solid in London last week, throwing for 329 yards and two touchdown passes. 

Just when he gets back to work, he has to start hearing Deshaun Watson trade rumors again? Tua will prove that he can be a franchise quarterback for Miami by torching the Falcons secondary in Week 7.

It’s a bounce back for the Dolphins.

Philadelphia Eagles (+3) vs. Las Vegas Raiders

The Eagles got beat by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, 28-22. That six-point losing margin is a lot worse than it looks. Tampa Bay was up 28-7 with a little over five minutes left in the third quarter remaining. The Bucs did whatever they wanted on offense, then basically relaxed for the rest of the game, while Jalen Hurts did as much as he could to redeem himself.

Hurts finished with three total touchdowns, one in the air and two on the ground. It sounds successful, but it was hard to watch. This Eagles’ offense is gross.

The Las Vegas Raiders actually looked like a better team with Rich Bisaccia as the interim head coach in their 34-24 win over the Denver Broncos last week. The offense spread the ball around, not just peppering Darren Waller with targets, and even though the defense allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Raiders still held a 31-10 lead when the fourth quarter started. 

This is a Raiders defense that held Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson in check in Week 1, allowing him to only score one touchdown. I have zero faith in Hurts to do any better.

The Raiders should cover easily.