NFL Week 2 Betting Odds, Trends & Predictions

Sep 2015

POSTED IN Free Picks & Predictions + NFL Football | no comments

The 2015 NFL regular season got underway last week and anyone betting on my top picks cashed-in on all three games. After breaking down all of this Sunday’s NFL Week 2 matchups using betting odds from BetOnline, I will try and match that feat with the following Top 3 picks.

Sunday, Sept. 20

San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5)

The 49ers got off to a great start with their 20-3 victory over Minnesota as 2.5-point home underdogs in a late start on Monday night. The problem now is traveling to the East Coast to face a highly motivated and well-rested Pittsburgh team on a short week. San Francisco may be better than most football experts had predicted, but this would be a tall task for any team.

Compounding things in this matchup is a high sense of urgency with the Steelers after dropping their opener to New England 28-21 last Thursday in a game that ended as a PUSH. Pittsburgh’s defense had its issues containing Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense, but the offense still did a pretty good job of moving the ball down the field with close to 500 total yards.

San Francisco is 1-6 against the spread in its last seven games, while the Steelers have gone 5-2 ATS in their last seven games at home. Heinz Field is never an easy place to get a win under any condition and it only gets worse when you have to face the Steelers coming off a loss. Lay the 5.5 points in this one as Pittsburgh rolls in its home opener.

San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals (OVER 46)

Philip Rivers has been one of the most prolific passers for his entire NFL career and he was at his best last Sunday in the Chargers’ thrilling 33-28 victory against Detroit as three-point home favorites. He ended the day with 404 yards passing and two touchdown throws. San Diego also got a huge effort from Keenan Allen with 15 receptions for 166 yards.

The Bengals also got off to a solid start with a 33-13 romp over Oakland as three-point road favorites. Andy Dalton threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns while Cincinnati’s rushing attack added another 127 yards on the ground behind Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. The Bengals raced to a 24-0 lead at the half and never looked back in this one.

The total has gone OVER in four of the Chargers last six road games and it has gone OVER in five of Cincinnati’s last six games at home. There is just too much firepower with both of these offenses to keep this game from going OVER as well.

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants (-2)

Just about everything went Atlanta’s way this past Monday night in its 26-24 upset of Philadelphia as a 3.5-point home underdog and it still almost lost that game. A botched 44-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference. The Falcons started to break down in the final two quarters after building a 17-point halftime lead and this win was more a case of Eagles’ mistakes than anything else.

The Giants should have beaten Dallas last Sunday night, but they shot themselves in the foot in a 27-26 loss as seven-point road underdogs. Poor clock management highlighted their fourth quarter collapse, but this is still a well-coached team that knows how to fix mistakes and make the necessary adjustments. The two keys to this matchup will be New York’s ability to contain wider receiver Julio Jones, who had a field day against Philadelphia and its ability to exploit a Falcon’s defense that wore down as Monday night’s game wore on.

Atlanta is 4-12 straight-up in its last 16 road games and it is just 2-4 ATS in its last six games against the Giants. Look for New York to bounce back from a disappointing loss on the road with a much better performance at home that covers the two-point spread.