Atlanta vs. Denver Week 5 NFL betting picks and money line odds

Sunday, October 9 from 4.05pm at Sports Authority Field, Denver.

Season record:
Falcons: 3-1
Broncos: 4-0

Against the spread:
Falcons: 3-1-0
Broncos: 4-0-0

Money line odds:
Falcons +200
Broncos -240

Points spread:
Falcons +6
Broncos -6 at Bovada.lv

THIS game should be a classic case of offense vs. defense as the visiting Falcons bring their high-powered offense into Denver, which loves to play hard-nosed defense.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown for 1473 yards this season with 11 touchdowns, but the Broncos defense allows just over 147 yards per game through the air, so the Falcons might have to find other ways to win this game.

There are injury questions surrounding Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian, but by all accounts he should play for this offense which has scored 27.8 points per game.

That pales in comparison to the 38 points per game put up by the electric Falcons offense which has been humming on all levels and that should make for an exciting contest.

It’s the best game of week five of the NFL so sign up to Bovada.lv for some action of the big game.

Why the Falcons can win

The Falcons have been making typically good defenses look second rate. They put 48 points on the Carolina Panthers defense last week and that’s against a team which went to the Super Bowl last season.

45 points were put on the New Orleans defense and whilst that’s no mean feat, the Falcons were scoring on most possessions which made it almost impossible for the Saints to keep up.

The Oakland Raiders are synonymous with tough offense and playing well at home, but the Falcons won 35-28 and showed that they are a team to be reckoned with this season.

They have totaled 492.8 yards per game and it’s a balanced attack with 124.5 yards rushing.

All three wins for the Falcons this year have come as the underdog and the same situation arises this week. They have been a great team so far for bettors and quarterback Matt “Ice” Ryan is starting to live up to his name.

Ryan was under pressure in the off-season with the Falcons having under-performed since he signed a big contract, but he’s 101-140 in completed passes this season with 11 touchdowns and only two intercepts.

The Falcons clearly have the advantage at quarterback and running back Devonta Freeman is holding his own at that position.

The Falcons can win because they will attack through the air and put pressure on the defensive line to get to Ryan.

Why the Broncos can win

Not only are the Broncos perfect this season, but they have faced four potential playoff teams.

They defeated Carolina in the rematch of the Super Bowl and escaped with a narrow victory before putting away the Colts, Bengals and Buccaneers in impressive fashion.

The staunch defense was best shown against Tampa Bay last week when holding them to only seven points. The secondary has allowed only six passes of 20-plus yards and no passes of 40 yards or more.

If the Falcons are going to get past this secondary, they less likely to be completing the big passes which has been a feature in their offense this season.

The Broncos used both Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch last week and Broncos coach Gary Kubiak expects both quarterbacks to feature again.

“We’re probably going to need them both. It’s just kind of the nature of the business now-a-days,” Kubiak said. “Here we are, four weeks into the season, and we’ve used them both to get to where we’re at. It’s exciting to watch both of them grow and both of them prepare each week. I think they both have bright futures. That’s great for our organization.”

Vegas believes the Broncos are six-point favorites which is hard to argue with. We expect the Broncos to cover the -6 line at Bovada.lv and go 5-0 on the season.