Remember when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady worked together and ruled the NFL world?
Well, both enter Week 4 as underdogs with their respective teams – and neither will be intimidated by the role.
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Belichick will likely be without his starting quarterback when the New England Patriots (1-2) are at Lambeau Field for a Sunday afternoon clash with the Green Bay Packers (2-1).
While Mac Jones (ankle) is telling teammates not to rule him out yet, it’s believed 36-year-old journeyman Brian Hoyer will be under centre for New England.
The Patriots have been listed at +9.5, which would be the second-largest underdog role Belichick has faced in two decades.
If the line creeps up a half point and closes at 10 or more, he’ll have the opportunity to match Lou Saban for most wins as a double-digit underdog in the Super Bowl era, including the playoffs.
At 7-5, Belichick is the only coach with a winning outright record as a double-digit underdog, with a minimum of 10 games in the role.
He is also an incredible 10-2 ATS as a double-digit dog.
Meanwhile, it looks like Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be slight underdogs when they host the Kansas City Chiefs, snapping a 22-game streak that saw the GOAT as a favourite.
Brady is 9-3 outright and 11-1 ATS as a home dog in his career.
Also relishing the role this weekend should be Lamar Jackson, whose Baltimore Ravens are currently +3 at home to the Buffalo Bills.
With Jackson at the controls, the Ravens are 7-3 outright and 9-1 ATS as a dog.
Elsewhere, the Carolina Panthers are +1.5 favourites at home to the Arizona Cardinals. That’s good news for the latter and bad news for the former.
The Cardinals have won seven straight games as a road underdog, while the Panthers have lost seven in a row as a favourite.
Coming to an end for certain will be the Detroit Lions streak of 26 consecutive games as an underdog.
Despite a number of injuries, they are currently listed as 3.5 favourites at home to the Seattle Seahawks.
– Don Brennan