Week 2 means more money to be made and fewer question marks about the teams we bet on. Sure, it was just one week of football, but we got to see the team’s game plans and how they reacted when things go wrong. For example, the Arizona Cardinals couldn’t do anything offensively, but then they moved Kyler Murray around and opened up throwing lanes for him to jump-start the offense. The Houston Texans score a late touchdown, then poor defensive schemes allow Drew Brees to lead his team to an easy, last-second win. And out east, the New York Jets completely fall apart late, then quarterback Sam Darnold contracts mono from who knows who. It’s all about adjustments and, well, good decisions.
To make your Week 2 betting a bit easier and more successful, let’s make good decisions on these five best bets for NFL Week 2. The lines and odds are via our BettingPros consensus. See the consensus lines and odds for all games here.
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Dallas Cowboys (-6) at Washington Redskins (-107)
The Cowboys are the better team at nearly every single position. When it comes down to making plays to win divisional games, Dallas has a number of playmakers including Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and even Randall Cobb. For Washington, Terry McLaurin could be put into the category, as could tight end Jordan Reed if he is active, but they are certainly not in the same category as the players listed previously. Adrian Peterson will start Sunday for the injured Derrius Guice. In the last matchup between these teams, Peterson was held to just 35 yards on 12 carries. If this happens again, Washington has no chance of covering the spread.
The trends for both of these teams go in very different directions. Dallas has won nine of their last 11 games overall. They have covered the spread in each of their last five NFC East matchups and six of their last nine against the Redskins. Washington is 1-4 against the spread in their last five against divisional opponents, and they have won just one out of their last six home games against Dallas. Look for Dallas to continue their hot play.
Green Bay Packers (-2) vs Minnesota Vikings (-114)
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are absolute money at home, especially against the Vikings. Minnesota has beaten Rodgers and the Packers just one time since Brett Favre retired. In the seven games during this span, the Packers are 5-1-1, outscoring the Vikings by 14.1 points. The reason being that Rodgers doesn’t make mistakes in Green Bay. Over that same seven-game span, he threw 15 touchdowns to just two interceptions. On the other side, we have seen how Kirk Cousins makes bad mistakes when under pressure, and the Packers built their defense this offseason directly to compete with teams like Minnesota. The two big Smiths on the outside will get after Cousins, while Adrian Amos will patrol the middle of the field and be the Vikings’ nightmare all game.
The Packers are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 home games against the Vikings. This narrow of a spread indicates the game will come down to the final drives in the fourth quarter. With this in mind, I would pick Rodgers in Lambeau every single time over Cousins outdoors.
Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5) vs San Francisco 49ers (-109)
Neither team is especially great and many of the players to get most excited about will not be out there. This is why the spread is so narrow for this matchup. Essentially, the 1.5 points being given to Cincinnati is for home-field advantage. However, I think their offense is currently further along than the 49ers', with Andy Dalton passing for more than 400 yards in Seattle last week. Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo struggled against Tampa Bay and Jameis Winston threw more touchdowns for San Francisco than Jimmy G did. The young receiving corps for the 49ers is just not ready yet and the running game is weak. The underrated defensive unit for Cincinnati will be able to devote more energy to stopping the pass, which will give them the edge in this game.
When the spread is this close, I have two determining factors. One, which quarterback is better, and two, which team is home. The second is obvious, and honestly, I think Dalton in his offense is better than Jimmy G in his, as of right now.
Kansas City Chiefs (-7) at Oakland Raiders (-105)
The Raiders just lost star rookie safety Johnathan Abram, which is bad news when Patrick Mahomes is coming to town. Losing Tyreek Hill is a big loss to the high-powered Kansas City offense, but remember, the Chiefs already prepared for a Hill absence when they drafted Mecole Hardman. Hardman combined with Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce, Damien Williams, and LeSean McCoy will be too much for the Raiders defense to stop.
Points will be scored, with neither defense being particularly good. However, Oakland allowed Joe Flacco to complete 21/31 passes for 268 yards and what should have been two touchdowns (one dropped). Mahomes should be able to carve up this defense, with Kelce being a mismatch for this defense. The spread for Kansas City was off in Week 1, and we see a similar situation here. No need to overthink it.
Buffalo Bills at New York Giants (Under 44) (-114)
Both of these offenses struggled in Week 1. For Buffalo, they want to run the ball often and play solid defense. But after going scoreless in the first half last week, they were forced to pass the football and they ultimately completed the comeback over the Jets. But make no mistake, they would love to give the football to Frank Gore and occasionally Devin Singletary for four yards every play. The under has hit in 10 of Buffalo’s last 15 games and seven of their last eight on the road.
The Giants, on the other hand, pass the football a ton, but many of the routes are short, high percentage passes. Now, the team is expected to be without top receiver Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate is still suspended. This means extra attention to Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram, which could cause this offense to struggle even more than normal.
Barkley is the most talented player in this game. Buffalo will do what they can, on the road, to keep him off the field and control the game from start to finish, which will result in the under hitting.
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Zach Brunner is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Zach, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFlurry.