Week 5 of the NFL regular season is the first bye-week for several weary teams. Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans and Washington all get a chance to lick their wounds while the remaining 28 clubs return to the trenches. This week’s highlight is Sunday’s marquee matchup (1:25 PM ET, FOX) in Arlington between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Most of the betting action has been on the Packers (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS), arguably the most popular team in the league today. They’ve moved from +2.5 on the NFL odds board to +2 at press time.

The Cowboys (2-2 SU and ATS) have been somewhat disappointing thus far on both sides of the ball. Much has been said about the lack of offense from running back Ezekiel Elliott, but the Dallas defense bears much of the responsibility here, and things will get worse if linebacker Sean Lee (hamstring) ends up missing Sunday’s game. Lee was seen going through rehab procedures during Wednesday’s practice. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens (knee) put in a limited session, as did cornerbacks Nolan Carroll (concussion) and Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring).

Here’s a quick look at some other games of note on the Week 5 NFL betting slate:
 

Thursday: New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8:25 PM ET, CBS)

The Patriots (2-2 SU, 1-3 ATS) are off to a slow start, but they’re 6-point road favorites at press time, up from –4.5 at the open. Tampa Bay (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) dropped the cash in each of their last four Thursday games. The 55.5-point total for this matchup is the biggest of the week.

 

Sunday: Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders (4:05 PM ET, CBS)

Quarterback Derek Carr will miss the next 2-6 weeks for the Raiders (2-2 SU and ATS) with a back injury. With EJ Manuel filling in for Carr, the Oakland Raiders are 2.5-point favorites to win. The Ravens (2-2 SU and ATS) dropped both their previous games against Carr straight up and against the spread.

 

Sunday: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans (8:30 PM ET, NBC)

Kansas City is the last undefeated team standing at 4-0 SU and ATS, and they’ve performed better than anyone else, but the Texans (2-2 SU, 3-1 ATS) have covered all three of their games with Deshaun Watson at starting quarterback. Lines are pending on this contest at press time.

 

Monday: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (8:30 PM ET, ESPN)

The NFL lines for this matchup will be posted once the Vikings (2-2 SU and ATS) figure out their starting quarterback situation; again, it looks like Case Keenum will start for the injured Sam Bradford, who’s out with a chronic knee issue. The Bears (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS) will give rookie Mitch Trubisky his first snaps as a pro after demoting incumbent starter Mike Glennon.

 

Sunday: Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants (1 PM ET, CBS)

The Chargers (0-4 SU, 0-3-1 ATS) and Giants (0-4 SU, 2-2 ATS) are both looking for their first wins here, but at least New York covered their last two games, losing close ones on the road. The G-Men have nonetheless moved down from –4 to –3.5 since the open.
 

 

*Odds as of October 5, 2017