The Jacksonville Jaguars can stay within one game of the AFC South division lead with a win when they host the free-falling Atlanta Falcons on Sunday as early 3-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The 5-8 Jaguars closed the gap on both Indianapolis and Houston in the tight divisional race with last week’s lopsided 51-16 win over the Colts, while the Texans were routed 27-6 by New England. The respective losses dropped both the Colts and Texans to 6-7 on the season ahead of their Week 15 clash in Indianapolis.
Jacksonville’s stunning victory ends a two-game SU losing streak and positions the club as intriguing 5/1 underdogs to win the division going into Sunday afternoon’s Falcons vs. Jaguars betting matchup at EverBank Field.
The Falcons travel to North Florida in the midst of a collapse that has seen them lose six consecutive straight-up decisions and their last nine against the spread.
Atlanta opened their 2015 campaign on a 6-1 SU tear, but have struggled with sloppy play, averaging just 14.3 points per game during their losing streak, which reached a new low with last week’s 38-0 loss to Carolina.
Betting trends are also of no comfort to the Falcons. Atlanta has won two of their last three against the Jaguars, but have never won in Jacksonville, who are 4-2 SU in their last six at home, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
With quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Bryan Hoyer both suffering injuries in their respective team’s losses, no early line was available for Sunday’s crucial Texans vs. Colts betting matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
However, Indianapolis owns the best record against division opponents, keeping them atop the odds at 2/3 to repeat as AFC South champions, followed by Houston at 19/10.
With both the Colts and Texans scheduled to face Tennessee down the stretch, the 3-10 Titans are poised to be kingmakers in the division. But Tennessee cannot afford to look past Sunday’s date with the Patriots, whom they visit as massive 14-point underdogs.
Tennessee is just 1-4 SU in their last five on the road following their blowout 30-8 road loss to the New York Jets last weekend, and are winless SU in their last five against the Patriots, 1-4 ATS.
In other NFL Week 15 betting action, the undefeated Panthers are 4-point chalk against the New York Giants, while the Jets visit the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday as 3-point favorites.