The first overall picks from each of the past two NFL drafts will be in the spotlight when the Cincinnati Bengals play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night as strong 7.5-point favourites on the NFL odds for Week 4 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Joe Burrow has shown no lingering effects of a knee injury that cut his rookie campaign short. Last year’s top pick has connected on seven total scoring passes while leading Cincinnati to a 2-1 start and a share of the AFC North division lead going into Thursday night’s matchup at Paul Brown Stadium.
Burrow’s performance has left the Bengals poised to close out September with a winning record for the first time since 2018. The former LSU star threw three touchdown passes in last weekend’s decisive 24-10 win in Pittsburgh. With the victory, the Bengals have now won and covered in four of their last six regular season outings.
Despite the growing signs of a turnaround after five straight losing seasons, though, the Bengals sit back at +12500 on the latest Super Bowl odds.
Conversely, the learning curve remains steep for this year’s top pick Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars pivot has shown flashes of his vast potential during his NFL debut, but has been unable to halt the epic 18-game straight-up losing streak that Jacksonville rides into Thursday’s contest.
The Jaguars have seen each of their past seven defeats come by double-digit margins. That includes last weekend’s 31-19 loss to Arizona in a game which they led by nine points in the third quarter. In addition, the Jaguars have lost outright in three of four primetime appearances since 2015.
Elsewhere on the NFL Week 4 odds at online betting sites, the Los Angeles Rams host the Arizona Cardinals as 4.5-point chalk in a clash of undefeated NFC West rivals. As well, the surprising Carolina Panthers look to open their season on a 4-0 straight-up run for the first time since 2015 when they visit the surging Dallas Cowboys as 5-point underdogs.
And Sunday Night Football features a homecoming of sorts for Tom Brady, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the New England Patriots as 7-point favourites. Brady has made steady gains on the NFL MVP odds while throwing for 10 scores to date, but was limited to just one scoring pass in last weekend’s loss in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, New England has struggled to generate offence during a middling 1-2 start. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones has found the end zone just twice while leading a Patriots attack that has averaged just 18 points per game so far this season.