NFL Week 2 Betting Recap

NFL Week 2 Betting Recap

There were a lot of weird things that occurred in Week 2 that may have cost people betting pools, parlays, teasers and regular bets. Let’s take a look at each game and look at the betting implications that occurred and may also affect the line in Week 3 and beyond.

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(closing lines) (Home team in caps)

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Los Angeles Chargers (+3.5) over KANSAS CITY 24-27

This was a tight game throughout and it turned on a 99-yard interception return from Jaylen Watson in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs had a 27-17 lead with 3:20 left and the Chargers got the backdoor, scoring on a Justin Herbert 7-yard TD pass with 1:11 left in the game. Good fortune for the Chargers’ bettors, but bad luck on the late Herbert pick. Both picks were right there. The Chargers held Patrick Mahomes to 235 yards passing, while Herbert went 33 of 48 for 334 yards with three TDs. However, they still can’t run the football as Austin Ekeler with 39 yards.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Miami (+3.5) over BALTIMORE 42-38

This was one of the craziest endings in NFL history. Baltimore led 35-14 at the start of the fourth quarter and the Dolphins made one of the most remarkable fourth-quarter comebacks, scoring 28 points. Tua Tagovailoa threw six touchdown passes and 469 yards with two INTs to overwhelm the Ravens’ secondary. Lamar Jackson had a great game with 318 yards passing, three TDs and 119 yards rushing, including a 79-yard score. Baltimore’s injuries at cornerback are coming back to bite them again and should be checked before Week 3 and beyond.

NY Jets (+6.5) over CLEVALND 31-30

We go from Lamar Jackson’s team losing to Joe Flacco shocking the Browns. This was a really bad beat for Cleveland bettors. The Jets, who had lost 13 straight games in September, scored twice in the last 1:22 with no timeouts. Flacco somehow found an open Corey Davis for a 66-yard TD with 82 seconds left on second-and-one. The Jets recovered the onside kid at the New York 47. Flacco found rookie Garrett Wilson for a 15-yard TD pass with 22 seconds left. Flacco threw for 307 yards and four TDs with no picks. Jacoby Brissett threw for 229 yards and a TD. His pick came late in the game when there was little time left. An injury to watch out for is DE Myles Garrett (neck) for the Browns. DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle) is out for Thursday’s game with the Steelers. It appears that Joe Flacco will start against at QB with Zach Wilson (knee) not expected to play.

DETROIT (-1) over Washington 36-27

The Lions dominated this game early on, leading 22-0 at the half. They held on in the second half, despite allowing 27 points for their first win. The Commanders cut the lead to 27-21 with 10:39 and for some reason went for two. The Lions rebounded with an Armon-Ra St. Brown touchdown from Jered Goff with 7:00 to put the game away. Washington’s poor start doomed them, but it’s their horrific defense that’s the problem. They gave up 256 yards and four TDs to Goff and then St. Brown had another 68 yards rushing on two attempts an injured DeAndre Swift managed 56 yards on five carries. Washington has a lot of offensive weapons at receiver led by Terry McLaurin (75 yds, 4 rec). Washington lost starting center Chase Roullier (knee) for the season.

JACKSONVILLE (+3) over Indianapolis 24-0

So the Jags upset the Colts last season and ended their playoff run. They got rid of Carson Wentz and added aging Matt Ryan. He was outplayed by Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 235 yards and two TDs. Ryan was awful, completing 16 of 30 for 195 yards and three picks. Jonathan Taylor finished with 54 yards rushing on just nine carries. The Colts are a mess right now after producing just nine first downs against the Jags. The defense allowed 329 yards and didn’t play poorly against the run. Not having star LB Shaq Leonard, who might return this week, is not helping matters. But the offense is missing WR Michael Pittman, but that’s not enough of an excuse.

Tampa Bay (-2.5) over NEW ORLEANS 20-10

Speaking of disasters, let’s talk about the New Orleans offense. Jameis Winston was picked off three times and their leading rusher was the aging Mark Ingram II, who had a key fumble as the Saints were head to a score late in the third quarter. Now there’s no doubt, that they missed star RB Alvin Kamara (ribs), who is listed as questionable this week. Without Kamara, the Saints look lost offensively. The Bucs weren’t much better than the Saints as Tom Brady threw for just 190 yards on 18-of-34 passing. Mike Evans was the leading receiver with 61 yards on 3 catches. Evans was suspended for Week 3 due to fight that broke out between him and New Orleans CB Marshon Lattimore.

NEW YORK GIANTS (+1) over Carolina 19-16

Hard to believe that the Panthers were favored over anybody. The Giants are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 thanks to an improved defense. This was an ugly game as the Giants needed Graham Gano to make four field goals, including a 56-yarder with 3:34 to play. Daniel Jones was ordinary with 176 yards and a TD, but had no picks. Saquon Barkley had 72 yards rushing on 11 carries. The Panthers are 0-2, but at least Christian McCaffrey showed up with 102 yards and had a 49-yard run. Baker Mayfield did not show up as he completed 14 of 29 for just 145 yards and a TD. The seat continues to get hotter for Carolina coach Matt Rhule.

New England (-2.5) over PITTSBURGH 17-14

This line closed for many at 3, so some people pushed. But the Steelers’ offense was a major issue and that’s to be expected with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. He was 21 of 33 for 168 yards with a TD and a score. Pittsburgh fans are already calling for rookie Kenny Pickett. The problem for the Patriots was not their defense, which held the Steelers to just 241 yards of offense. It was an offense that put up just 17 points despite producing 376 yards going against a defense that lost All-Pro OLB T.J. Watt (pec). Mac Jones threw for 252 yards with a TD and an INT. Damien Harris rushed for 71 yards and a TD. Without Watt, the Steelers are going to need to score more points when they face explosive offenses.

Atlanta (+12.5) over LA RAMS

Another strange cover as the Rams nearly blew a 28-3 lead in the third quarter and a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter. One of the league’s top defenses allowed the Falcons, of all teams, to score the last 17 points to get the backdoor cover. However, the last TD came on a 26-yard blocked punt return from Lorenzo Carter with 4:57 left in the game. Marcus Mariota threw for 2 TDs and 2 INTs in an uneven effort. Matthew Stafford continues to struggle with 272 yards passing, three TDs and two INTs. Two of the TDs went to Cooper Kupp, who had 11 catches for 108 yards. However, he had a fumble late in the game that nearly cost the Rams the game. Star CB Jalen Ramsey intercepted Mariota in the end zone with just over a minute left to seal the game.

SAN FRANCISCO (-8.5) over Seattle 27-7

Jimmy Garoppolo returned to action after starter Trey Lance suffered a broken ankle late in the first quarter. Jimmy “G” completed 13 of 21 for 154 yards and a TD and also had a one-yard TD run. Seattle struggled against one of the best defenses in the game as expected. They amassed just 216 yards of offense and committed three turnovers. They also rushed for just 36 yards on 14 carries. Despite losing Elijah Mitchell (knee) last week, the 49ers rushed for 189 yards on 45 carries led by Jeff Wilson Jr. with 84 yards. It would help San Francisco if TE George Kittle returned this week from a groin injury. He’s listed as questionable.

DALLAS (+7) over Cincinnati

This was one of the more surprising results of the week, considering Dallas was playing with Cooper Rush at quarterback over the injured Dak Prescott (thumb). Rush outplayed Joe Burrow, completing 19 of 31 for 235 yards with one TD and a pick. He was able to get the Cowboys into field goal range late in the game and Brett Maher nailed a 50-yard field goal with no time left for the Dallas win. The Bengals’ issue right now is their offensive line and Burrow’s inability to get rid of the football. He was sacked six more times (seven in the opener to Pittsburgh), including two from Micah Parsons. At least Burrow didn’t throw any picks, but his completed 24 of 36 for just 199 yards. Joe Mixon ran for 57 yards on 19 attempts and Ja’Marr Chase was held to just five catches for 54 yards. The Bengals are 0-2 with a game against the Jets coming up. The only bad news for Dallas came when they lost TE Dalton Schultz (knee), who is expected to miss at least one game. However, WR Michael Gallup (knee) should play his first game this season.

Houston (+10.5) over DENVER

The Broncos just don’t look like the team many expected when Russell Wilson (14-of-31, 219 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) took over at quarterback. It’s been a struggle for him and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Fortunately for Denver, they played Houston, who has a young QB in Davis Mills (19-of-38, 177 yds). He doesn’t have a lot of talent surrounding him so this season is going to be rough. The Texans defense did a solid job against the Broncos, but it is tough to tell whether that’s due to the dysfunction on the coaching staff or that Wilson is “cooked” instead of “cooking”. Denver lost CB Pat Surtain II (shoulder) and WR Jerry Jeudy (ribs). Both are considered questionable this week.

ARIZONA (+5.5) over Las Vegas Raiders 29-23ot

Another stunning win as the Raiders start out 0-2. Las Vegas started out 20-0 in the first half and scored just three points in the second half. Arizona and Kyler Murray found a way to climb back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter thanks to Murray’s amazing agility. In the overtime, WR Hunter Renfroe fumbled twice and the last one was scooped up by Byron Murphy Jr., who returned it 59 yards for the game-winner. It’s hard to figure the Raiders out with Davante Adams, who went from a million targets one week to seven with just two catches and one TD. So much for his comments about Derek Carr being comparable to Aaron Rodgers as future Hall of Famers. Committing 10 penalties didn’t help, though that’s the Raiders way. For Arizona, they found a defense in the second half and just gutted it out. RB James Conner (ankle) didn’t play in the second half and is listed as questionable for their next game.

GREEN BAY (-10.5) over Chicago 27-10

Not a lot to mention here. The Bears took an early lead at 7-3 on a Justin Fields 3-yard run in the first quarter. They would score just three points after that. Fields threw just 11 points and had a pick. David Montgomery ran for 122 yards. Aaron Rodgers completed 19 of 25 for 234 yards with two TDs. He was helped by Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, who rushed for a combined 193 yards and a score. Green Bay put it on cruise control in the second half, scoring just three points.

Monday, September 19, 2022

BUFFALO (-10) over Tennessee 41-7

The Titans were competitive….in the first quarter. The Bills scored 34 straight points after Derrick Henry ran it in from two yards with 5:23 left in the first quarter. The Bills took out many starters in the fourth quarter and still gave up no points. Josh Allen did his thing with 317 passing yards and four TDs in three quarters. Ryan Tannehill struggled for the Titans, completing just 11 of 20 for 117 yards and two picks. Henry was held to 25 yards on 13 carries. The only negative for the Bills was that starting CB Dane Jackson (neck) was injured early in the game. He’s listed as questionable for Week 3. The Titans lost starting LT Tyler Lewan to a knee injury. Reports are that he might miss the season. https://titanswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/20/titans-taylor-lewan-feared-out-for-season-report/

PHILADELPHIA (-2.5) over Minnesota 24-7

This was supposed to be a barn burner. It turned out to be a rout as Jalen Hurts amassed two rushing TDs and one passing TD, while throwing 333 yards. The story was Hurts in the first half and the Philly defense, which held the Vikings to just 264 total yards. Kirk Cousins had another poor MNF showing with 221 yards, one TD and three INTs. CB Darrius Slay had a monster game for the Eagles with two picks and held star WR Justin Jefferson to just six catches for 48 yards, after grabbing nine for 184 yards and two scores in Week 1. Check the status of Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith (concussion) for the Vikings.

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Ben Hayes

Ben has been a sports writer for over 35 years, dabbling in college and pro basketball, college and pro football, baseball, college lacrosse, minor league baseball and even college gymnastics. He's also been involved in the gaming industry for nearly 30 years and has been looking to beat the books since he was 13! Ben has had great success in handicapping college football, the NFL, college basketball, the NBA and MLB for 27+ years. His Twitter handle is @BenHayesWAW