With Week 1 in the books, it's time to make our NFL Week 2 picks.
We saw some big surprises in the opening week, ranging from the Buccaneers' win over the Vikings, the Rams' absolute dominance in Seattle and the Bengals laying an egg in Cleveland.
Our NFL Week 2 picks involve teams from those three games. Check out the NFL Week 2 odds for those matchups and our bets below.
NFL Week 2 Picks
Tampa Bay closed as a five-point underdog and at +166 on the moneyline. Last season, the Vikings rated as one of our Luck Rankings' luckiest teams, and it seems some of that luck ran out to start this new season.
Even though they lost, the Vikings out-gained Tampa Bay by 87 yards and 171 passing yards. Their narrow loss can be attributed to their three turnovers, two of which were lost fumbles.
The Eagles came out on top against the Patriots, thanks to a pick-six early in the game. Take away this play, and you could argue that the Patriots would have came out on top. New England totaled 316 yards where Philadelphia had 251.
I think we are getting an overvalued Eagles team that's favored by too much against an unlucky Minnesota team. I bet Minnesota +8 and would make sure you bet the Vikings before the line reaches the key number of +7.
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The Bengals played their worst game of the Joe Burrow era, and it has given bettors a chance to grab value next week in their matchup with the Ravens.
When considering the weather conditions and the fact Burrow missed so much practice time in training camp, it was to be expected that Cincinnati might struggle in its first game of the season.
The story will be about the Bengals, but the Ravens didn't get out of their game unscathed either. Baltimore lost running J.K. Dobbins for the season and, more importantly, two key offensive linemen in Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum were banged up. The seriousness of their injuries has yet to be determined, but the Baltimore offense struggled to move the ball consistently for the duration of the game.
Running backs Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill combined for 24 carries and only gained 63 yards. The offensive line surrendered six pressures to Texans rookie stud Will Anderson, as well. The Ravens were out-gained in the game in total by Houston, as the score wasn't indicative of a dominant performance.
Simply put, if the Bengals' Week 1 performance was anything but abysmal, they would be laying more than a field goal in this spot next Sunday.
By Ricky Henne
The 49ers’ offense looked every bit the buzzsaw we expected in San Francisco’s 30-7 shellacking of the Steelers. Christian McCaffrey and company ran roughshod over a Pittsburgh defense that ranked ninth against the run a year ago. The 49ers totaled 188 yards on the ground while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Brock Purdy also proved last year wasn't a fluke, throwing for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns for a 111.3 passer rating.
San Francisco now faces a Rams defense that performed admirably in its season opener, giving up only 13 points on the road against the Seahawks. However, a peek under the hood shows we shouldn't read too much into it.
The Seahawks offense suffered a boatload of significant injuries during the game. They lost both starting tackles, and Tyler Lockett missed extended time while being evaluated for a concussion. Seattle didn’t score a single point in the second half — the Seahawks gained just 12 yards in the half! — after having its way with Los Angeles in the first. In fact, the Seahawks didn't punt in the first half.
San Francisco embarrassed a Pittsburgh defense that is far more talented than what Los Angeles will trot out in Week 2. I’d be surprised if the 49ers didn’t follow up with another massive performance.
On the other side, the Rams offense exceeded expectations with a 30-point outburst after averaging only 18.1 points per game a year ago. Matthew Stafford lifted the play of everyone around him, as rookie Puka Nacua caught 10 passes for 119 yards while Tutu Atwell caught six balls for 119.
San Francisco’s defense is a beast, so there’s zero reason to expect Los Angeles to score 30 again. However, even a mediocre performance by Stafford and company should be enough to help the over hit.
I jumped on the over at 42 immediately.
