NFL Week 6 Pros vs Joes: Sharps all over the Cowboys as home 'dogs

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Before you make your NFL bets this weekend, it's worth knowing which side other bettors are backing, especially on games drawing sharp action.

We talked to Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, to see how sharps and public bettors are playing a busy Week 6 slate.

Cardinals (-1, 54.5) at Cowboys, Oct. 19 @ 8:15 p.m. ET

Sharps and squares are locked in dueling positions in a game involving the Cowboys, and the squares aren't the one behind America's Team.

Instead, wiseguys are targeting Dallas as a home underdog Monday night, laying big bets at +3 and +2.5 to bring the number down to 1 as of Saturday. The Cowboys are drawing 20 times as much money as the Cardinals, though Arizona had seen four times as many bet slips entering the weekend.

Bettors are also expecting a lower-scoring game than what oddsmakers projected early this week, betting the total down from 55.5 to 54.5. The Cowboys are 4-1 to the over this year, while the Cardinals are 4-1 to the under.

Washington at Giants (-3, 43.5), Oct. 18 @ 1 p.m.

The second-biggest liability entering this weekend is on Washington, which opened as a 3-point underdog and is still in that spot despite a bundle of sharp money on its side.

Washington has seen twice as many tickets but 50 times as much money, as sharps hammer the key number for the road 'dog. The team was priced at +3 (-120) on one sharp play, reached +3 (-130) by Friday, and even briefly touched +2.5 before some Giants money pushed this number back to 3.

If recent history means anything, this is a tough spot for Washington. Teams getting exactly three points in an NFC East matchup have lost six straight against the spread dating back to 2016, including three losses by Washington.

Chiefs (-4.5, 57.5) at Bills, Oct. 19 @ 5 p.m.

While sharp bettors have targeted the Cowboys as a Monday night value, public bettors are rallying around the Chiefs in the other Monday contest.

As of Friday afternoon, Rood said his book barely had any money at all on the Bills, while Kansas City was pulling 50 times as many tickets and 80 times as much money ahead of the weekend. The Chiefs are 6-1-2 ATS on Mondays under Andy Reid.

"Lot of public money there," Rood said. "Lot of public money on the parlays as well."

Ravens (-9.5, 46.5) at Eagles, Oct. 18 @ 1 p.m.

The Ravens are the biggest favorite this week, as bettors have flocked to bet them against the injury-plagued Eagles.

Baltimore opened as an 8-point favorite and was giving 7.5 points as of midday Friday. Then the market moved swiftly toward the Ravens, who jumped to -9 on Friday and were -9.5 as of Saturday afternoon. Heading into the weekend, they'd drawn twice as many tickets as the Eagles and 10 times as much money.

"Obviously, a ton of parlay activity going through the Ravens, too," Rood said.

How high could this line get? Rood says he thinks this game could reach -10, which might prompt some buyback at a key number on Philadelphia. At this rate, though, books will be needing the Eagles badly come Sunday.

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.

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