PointsBet is offering no-juice parlays for Week 3 of the NFL season.
Typically, parlays provide low value since you're forced to stack the fees for each leg you add. With the juice pulled, though, we get a much better payout and can string together a parlay more in our favor.
That said, we don't want to get too crazy and put together too long of a list of games, so we'll focus on my three favorite spreads to parlay at PointsBet:
- Colts at Titans (-5.5)
- Falcons (+3) at Giants
- Bengals at Steelers (-3)
Colts vs Titans (-5.5)
Carson Wentz is expected to start on Sunday, but how effective he will be given injuries to both his ankles remains a question. If Wentz can't finish the game, Sam Ehlinger's injury would leave the Colts with third-stringer Jacob Eason or newly-signed Brett Hundley standing. Indy had already been lacking receiving options, but pairing those struggles with these questions at quarterback has me majorly questioning the passing attack.
If the Colts struggle to throw, they will not be able to take advantage of the Titans' porous pass defense.
The Titans, on the other hand, rebounded from their miserable Week 1 performance. Tennessee looked highly efficient in Seattle, gaining at least 50 yards on eight drives. Most importantly, we saw the connection between Julio Jones and Ryan Tannehill sync up. The commitment to grinding Derrick Henry paid off, as well, to the tune of three second-half touchdowns.
With the Titans offense looking back up to speed, they should return to last season's form moving forward — a high-powered offense that can run away with a lead thanks to their power back.
Pick: Titans -5.5
Falcons (+3) vs Giants
After falling behind 28-10 to Tampa Bay, Atlanta fought back to be down 28-25, showing their first signs of life. The game may have gotten out of hand after that, but finding a rhythm offensively was important.
The big change was the connection between Matt Ryan and Kyle Pitts, who led the Falcons in receiving with 73 yards. The rookie's continued production is a key to Atlanta's offensive success because it otherwise has no viable second option to Calvin Ridley.
The Giants offense also looked like it began finding its rhythm in Week 2. New York scored on five of its six drives in the second half against an impressive Washington defense.
However, there are a couple reasons to pump the brakes on excitement for the Giants.
First, New York failed to finish on its drives, even when it was clicking as four of its five scoring drives ended in field goals. Second, Daniel Jones leads the league in Aggressiveness per Next-Gen Stats. Aggressiveness is used to measure a quarterback's tendency to throw into tight windows. Despite this Jones still has zero interceptions on the year.
I expect the Falcons' improved play to carry over from Week 2, and also that we're going to get some regression from the Giants.
Pick: Falcons +2.5
Bengals at Steelers (-3)
Cincinnati's performance in Weeks 1 and 2 should be taken with a grain of salt.
In Week 1, Minnesota's offense took nearly three quarters to get up to speed. Once the Vikings offense got going, they came up with a fumble in overtime and overcame a 21-7 third-quarter deficit in overtime.
In Week 2, the Bengals were at the mercy of the Bears for most of the game and trailed 20-3 with 6 minutes and 40 seconds left. A couple big breaks went Cincinnati's way, and that game ended much closer than it should have.
For the Steelers, this will be Ben Roethlisberger's first chance to show he is not entirely washed.
Against the Raiders and Bills, Pittsburgh faced two of Pro Football Focus' top three teams in terms of creating pressure. With an offensive line that was rebuilt in the summer and facing imposing fronts, those were bound to be difficult matchups. Against the Bengals, the pressure should be more manageable.
We saw Cincinnati struggle against a Chicago defense that is not as tough as Pittsburgh's. The Bengals defense is also getting too much credit for keeping a weak Bears' offense in check. Pittsburgh's offense should be able to do what it needs to win and cover.
Pick: Steelers (-3)
