XFL Week 5: Betting is down, but sportsbooks are still savoring the underdogs

The XFL season is halfway home, and the name of the game so far has been parity.

Betting saw a 50 percent downturn in Week 5 after more than a 10 percent bump at PointsBet last week, but the success of the underdogs has been mostly good news for the New Jersey-based shop and others.

"Despite overall handle being down, the book still saw a winning result," Patrick Eichner, PointsBet's director of communications, said via email.

The Houston Roughnecks have been the class of the league so far, but even they hit some minor speed bumps in Week 5.

The Roughnecks remained unbeaten with a 32-23 victory on Saturday against the Seattle Dragons (1-4) after trailing by two touchdowns early.

Houston was a 13.5-point favorite at most sportsbooks and was one of three favorites that failed to cover the spread, with two losing outright.

Favorites are 12-8 straight-up through five weeks, but just 9-11 against the spread. Home teams have won 14 of the 20 games and covered the spread in 11, while home favorites are 8-2 SU and 5-5 ATS.

League MVP front-runner P.J. Walker completed 71 percent of his passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the Roughnecks' victory, and receiver Cam Phillips caught 10 passes for 122 yards and two scores.

The only favorite to cover the spread on the weekend was the Los Angeles Wildcats (2-3), who fell behind by 17 points at home against the Tampa Bay Vipers (1-4) but rallied for a 41-34 victory.

Los Angeles, favored by 1.5, returned a fumble for the winning margin and came up with an interception late to seal it.

Eichner said that game had a larger handle than the other three combined, and late money and in-game betting on the Vipers made it a winner for the shop.

Longtime NFL quarterback Josh Johnson threw for 288 yards and four touchdowns for the Wildcats as it was the highest-scoring game in XFL history with the total set at 41. The Over/Under is 8-12 on the season.

There is a three-way tie at the top of the East division at the halfway mark after the DC Defenders (3-2) defeated the St. Louis BattleHawks (3-2) and the New York Guardians (3-2) defeated the Dallas Renegades (2-3).

The Defenders pulled quarterback Cardale Jones after a first-quarter interception, and Tyree Jackson replaced him and counted on the defense and running game to win it.  Coach Pep Hamilton said Jones will remain the starter and that the change was planned.

Jhurell Pressley rushed for 107 yards, and the Defenders made the big stops and limited MVP candidate Jordan Ta'amu to 174 passing yards.

"The DC Defenders' upset victory over the St. Louis BattleHawks certainly helped the cause, as almost 85 percent of the money on the side was backing the BattleHawks" Eichner said. "Likewise, the Wildcats' win/cover at home over the Vipers proved favorable as well, thanks to a flood of late pregame and live action on Tampa."

In Dallas, the Renegades' home woes continued as they dropped to 0-3 at Globe Life Park despite being favored by eight points.

Philip Nelson threw two interceptions in place of the injured Landry Jones (knee) for Dallas, and the Guardians outgained the Renegades 144-56 on the ground and returned one of those picks for a score.

With the league's only unblemished mark, the Roughnecks remain the favorite to win the XFL title at +110 at William Hill.

St. Louis is the second choice at +400, followed by Los Angeles (+500). New York and DC are at +600, with Dallas at +1000 and Seattle (+2600) and Tampa Bay (+2900) the long shots.

In Week 6, the Guardians will get a chance to knock off the Roughnecks on their turf Saturday, followed by St. Louis at Tampa Bay. On Sunday, the Defenders host the Renegades, and Seattle hosts Los Angeles.

As the XFL moves into the second half, check back here for analysis and picks from our red-hot expert before you make any decisions.