A quarter of the way through the 2023 NFL regular season, there are only two teams standing in the pursuit of joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to go undefeated.
San Francisco and Philadelphia have started the season 4-0, but both are considered longshots by oddsmakers to go 17-0 in the regular season — a feat that has never been accomplished.
Circa Sports is offering +4400 odds on the 49ers going undefeated into the postseason and even longer +5000 odds on the Eagles doing so. By contrast, they are -7200 and -8000, respectively, to lose at least one regular-season game.
San Francisco has been the more dominating of the two thus far, scoring at least 30 points in every game while winning by an average of 16.75 points. The 49ers are in the marquee Week 5 matchup against the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys, with the 49ers favored by 3.5 points by the book.
Philadelphia nearly had its unbeaten streak snapped before escaping with an overtime win at home against Washington last Sunday, bringing its average margin of victory down to seven points. The Eagles play their next two games on the road — at the Rams and Jets — before returning home to face the 3-1 Miami Dolphins.
On the flip side, two teams remain winless at the quarter pole of the season.
Carolina and Chicago are both being offered at +3500 to be the first team in NFL history to go 0-17. Only the 2017 Cleveland Browns and the 2008 Detroit Lions have gone 0-16. Circa Sports is offering both the Panthers and Bears at -6000 to win at least one game.
The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0-14, are the only other team to fail to win at least one game in a non-strike-shortened season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
The Panthers are one of the biggest underdogs in Week 5, with Detroit a 10.0-point favorite at home to send Carolina to 0-5. The Bears are a 6.0-point underdog at Washington.
The two remaining winless teams face each other in Chicago on Nov. 9.
The biggest Week 5 spread at the book belongs to the Dolphins, who are 11.0-point favorites at home against the 1-3 New York Giants. The Giants are coming off a 24-3 loss to Seattle at home on Monday night and running back Saquon Barkley’s (ankle) status on a short week remains uncertain.
WEEK 5 NFL LINES (Circa Sports)
–Chicago at Washington (-6, 44.5)
–Jacksonville at Buffalo (-5.5, 48.5)
–Houston at Atlanta (-2, 41.5)
–Carolina at Detroit (-10, 44.5)
–Tennessee (-2, 43) at Indianapolis
–New York Giants at Miami (-11, 48.5)
–New Orleans at New England (PK, 40)
–Baltimore (-4, 38) at Pittsburgh
–Cincinnati (-3, 44.5) at Arizona
–Philadelphia (-4.5, 51) at Los Angeles Rams
–New York Jets at Denver (-1.5, 43)
–Kansas City (-4, 52.5) at Minnesota
–Dallas at San Francisco (-3.5, 45)
–Green Bay at Las Vegas (PK, 44.5)
–Field Level Media
