NFL Week 5 Lines 2021: Point Spread Changes For Buccaneers, Vikings, 49ers, Chargers

A few games on the NFL Week 5 schedule have seen significant line changes as Sunday has gotten closer. The Minneota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers are bigger favorites than they were a few days ago. The Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers are smaller underdogs than they were to start the week.

Minnesota is tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the biggest favorites in Week 5. That wasn’t close to being the case shortly after the Week 4 games ended.

The line on Minnesota’s home game against the Detroit Lions has jumped from 7.5 points all the way up to 9.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook. The public is betting against the Lions, who are the NFC’s only winless team.

The Vikings are only a game ahead of the Lions in the standings with a 1-3 record. All of Minnesota’s losses have come by one score against teams in the early playoff picture.

Tampa Bay had been favored over the visiting Dolphins by 10.5 points. The point spread has dropped to 9.5 as the Bucs deal with several injuries to key members of the secondary.

After Tampa Bay’s 10-game winning streak ended in Week 3, the team barely escaped New England with a 19-17 win in Tom Brady’s first matchup against the Patriots. The Dolphins are on a three-game losing streak, during which they’ve been outscored by 48 points.

San Francisco has gone from a 5.5-point underdog to a 4.5-point underdog against the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona is the NFL’s only 4-0 team and leads the league in scoring average with 35 points per game.

Jimmy Garoppolo left the 49ers’ Week 4 loss with a calf injury. It’s unlikely that the quarterback will play, meaning rookie Trey Lance is probably headed for his first-ever NFL start.

The Chargers are favored by 2.5 points over the visiting Cleveland Browns. The point spread in that game has moved several times. Cleveland actually started the week as a short road favorite.

The line movement might be linked to Baker Mayfield’s injury. It’s been revealed that the quarterback is dealing with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. Mayfield can play through the injury, but it might explain why he failed to complete half his passes in the Browns’ Week 4 win over the Vikings.

The Browns are one of four teams that have a 3-1 record and are underdogs in Week 5.