Week 6 of NFL action is already upon us as the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos already faced off in an overtime thriller on Thursday Night Football. We’ll look ahead to Sunday’s (and Monday!) games as we try to figure out The Opening Script. The best NFL first half bets to place in Week 6.
In last week’s article, we hit three of the four plays. Jacksonville jumped up early on the Eagles in London but couldn’t hold the cover at halftime. Houston and New England easily came through, and the under in Saints/Vikings cashed as well. Let’s see if we can improve to a perfect four-for-four this week.
New England Patriots -3.5 (-120)
Keep riding the hot hand. They cashed for us last week, and we’re going right back to the well this week. New England is 4-1 ATS in the first half this season. This New England team is elite against bad teams. This week, they have the New York Jets on tap. Last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots poured it on early and often. Drake Maye has returned to his MVP-style form over the last two weeks against Buffalo and then Vegas. The Patriots have owned the Jets, winning 18 of their last 20 games against them. Drake Maye has been a part of that domination in all four games he’s played against the team. Patriots early and often again this week.
Buffalo Bills -3.5 (-115)
The Patriots ran it up on the Raiders last week; now it’s Buffalo’s turn. This Bills team has looked great to start the season, and is coming off a big win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. They are 3-2 ATS in the first half of games this season, and have yet to play a team that isn’t on a more elite level. The Raiders have been impressive early on, but they aren’t a juggernaut. Josh Allen and this Bills offense are a well-oiled machine. Like the Patriots last week, Las Vegas doesn’t have the firepower to keep up.
Steelers/Buccaneers Under 19.5 (+102)
We’ve had a lot of success with these first-half totals the last few weeks, and this week it’s the Steelers at Buccaneers. This one sets up perfectly to be a low-scoring game, especially in the first half. Pittsburgh has a stellar defense; they want to establish the run and slow the game down, not get into shootouts with Aaron Rodgers. On the other side, Tampa Bay is playing with backup quarterback Jalon Daniels. Their goal is also to establish the run and slow the ballgame down. Tampa Bay has only averaged 8.6 points per game in the first half, one of the lowest totals in the league. Give me some old-school slow football and grind that clock out!
San Francisco 49ers -4.5 (-105)
Let’s turn our attention to Monday Night Football on ESPN. The San Francisco 49ers welcome the Washington Commanders into Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. San Francisco has arguably been the best team in the league this season, starting the year a perfect 5-0 heading into Week 6. San Francisco has started games off well and kept their foot on the pedal.
The 49ers have faced a few pretty solid teams in the Rams, Seahawks, and Broncos. Yet they are 4-1 ATS in the first half of games this year. Washington has struggled to get things rolling early, going just 2-3 ATS at halftime. These are two teams on very different coaching and talent levels. Give me the clearly better team that has been taking care of business in The Opening Script.
