Betting Recap – Week 2

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Overall Notes

National Football League Week 2 Results
Wager Favorites-Underdogs
Straight Up 14-2
Against the Spread 7-9
Wager Home-Away
Straight Up 11-5
Against the Spread 8-8
Wager Totals (O/U)
Over-Under 11-4-1
National Football League Year-to-Date Results
Wager Favorites-Underdogs
Straight Up 24-8
Against the Spread 16-16
Wager Home-Away
Straight Up 19-13
Against the Spread 17-15
Wager Totals (O/U)
Over-Under 20-11-1

The largest underdogs to win straight up

  • Raiders (+4, ML +175) vs. Saints, 34-24
  • Rams (+2, ML +120) at Eagles, 37-19

The largest favorites to cover

  • Buccaneeers (-8.5) vs. Panthers, 31-17
  • Ravens (-7.5) at Texans, 33-16
  • Cardinals (-7) vs. Washington, 30-15
  • Packers (-6.5) vs. Lions, 42-21

The Biggest Disappointment of the Week

The Carolina Panthers were catching nine points from Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the first half it was looking like a Tampa Bay rout. However, the Panthers struck back midway through the third, slicing the lead to 21-7. RB Christian McCaffrey notched his second rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-14, and it was the first time since late in the first quarter that the Panthers were covering.

Bucs PK Ryan Succop booted a 33-yard field goal with 6:13 left in regulation, and the Panthers were again trailing 24-14. But it wasn't over. QB Teddy Bridgewater engineered a scoring drive, despite McCaffrey leaving with an ankle injury. PK Joey Slye kicked a 23-yard field with 1:57 to go, and the Panthers were covering yet again. It should've ended there. It didn't.

The Panthers attempted the onside kick, and it was recovered by the Bucs. It should've ended there. It didn't.

The Bucs handed the ball to RB Leonard Fournette, and he galloped 46 yards on the first play of the drive for the touchdown, and the Bucs were up 31-17. It should've ended there. It didn't.

The Panthers had one last gasp, and Bridgewater and the Panthers drove it back into the end zone, looking for the backdoor cover. With a handful of ticks on the clock, Bridgewater hit FB Alex Armah. He rumbled down inside the 5-yard line, but instead of going out of bounds at the 3, setting up one final play, he inexplicably stayed in bounds and the clock ran out, with the Panthers about nine feet from the cover. It was like losing twice.

In the Sunday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks was a barn burner. The Seahawks were laying -4.5, and they led 35-30 in the final moments of the fourth quarter. QB Cam Newton tried to run it in from the 2-yard line, and he was upended, dashing the hopes of the Patriots, as well as any New England moneyline bettors and side bettors alike.

Total Recall

The two lowest totals on the board were the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers (41), as well as the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets (41.5). Each of those games hit, although it took a double-digit point total in the fourth quarter to push things over the top. The Broncos were on the short end against the Steelers, 26-21, but at least they did end up with the cover. Denver is now 2-0 ATS, while splitting the over/under in the first two games. For the Steelers, they moved to 2-0 SU/1-1 ATS. More importantly, after a low-scoring Week 1 road win against the New York Giants they posted their first over result of the season.

For the 49ers-Jets game, it's surprising that San Francisco had enough bodies to finish. They lost QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Raheem Mostert and DE Nick Bosa to injuries, and they were already without TE George Kittle. San Francisco is the walking wounded, but they do have depth, and the reserves came on and still finished with 31 points and an over result.

The third-lowest total on the board also hit, as the Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins (42.5) game saw a late flurry. There were 30 total points on the board, and the over needed help. The Bills and Dolphins combined for 29 points to easily cash. Buffalo hit the under in 12 of 16 games last season, but they're 2-for-2 on the over so far. The over is also a perfect 4-0 in the previous four meetings in this series.

On the flip side, there were two games with totals in the 50's. Each of those games hit, too. The Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers (51) battle saw a total of 63 points. The Lions fired out of the chute with a 14-3 lead after 15 minutes. The teams combined for at least 14 points in each of the four quarters. In the Atlanta Falcons-Dallas Cowboys (53.5) battle, we saw at least 14 points in each quarter, too. There was a total of 39 points on the board at halftime, and over bettors never were worried. Side bettors, on the other hand, some weren't pleased in the end.

In the three primetime games, the totals all went over. The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals rolled up 65 total points with a total of just 44.5. In the Sunday Night Football game at Century Link Field, the Patriots and Seahawks (45) both could have hit the over themselves with a little extra time. The Seahawks won 35-30 in a very entertaining game. In the final game at the pristine Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a.k.a. "The Big Al", the Las Vegas Raiders (still getting used to it) topped the New Orleans Saints 34-24.

So far this season the over is 4-3 (57.1%) across seven primetime games. In 2019, the 'over' was just 17-31-1 (35.4%) during primetime games.

Looking Ahead to Week 3

Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars (Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET)

The Dolphins are searching for their first victory of the season after getting dumped 31-28 at home by the Bills. At least they were able to pick up the cover, moving to 1-1 ATS. The over-under is also 1-1 so far for Miami, so it's hard to figure who will show up Thursday on a short week. The Jaguars came up short in Nashville against the Titans, losing 33-30. QB Gardner Minshew II came up just short, but Minshew Mania is alive and well after he tossed three more touchdowns with 339 yards. The Jaguars are 1-1 SU/2-0 ATS to date, and the 'over' is 2-0, too.

Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET)

The Bears moved to 2-0 SU with a 17-13 win over the New York Giants, but they're 1-1 ATS and 1-1 over/under so far. It's uncertain which team will show up. They're averaging 22.0 PPG on offense and allowing 18.0 PPG on defense. As far as the Falcons are concerned, they have averaged 32.0 PPG to date, which is great. However, they slipped to 0-2 SU/1-1 ATS through the first two games because they cannot stop anyone. They blew a late 39-30 lead, were victims of an amazing onside kick, and they fell 40-39 in a crazy Week 2 game in Dallas. The Falcons have seen a ridiculous average of 71.0 PPG through the first two weekends.

Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET)

The Chiefs were pushed to the test against the defensive-minded Chargers at brand spanking new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. They entered as a nine-point favorite, similar to Week 1 when they were favored by 9.5 points. The Bolts took them to overtime before PK Harrison Butker booted a 58-yard game-winning field goal, winning it 23-20. The Chiefs are now 1-0 SU/0-1 ATS on the road, and the under cashed. They hit the road again on Monday night in a potential AFC Championship Game preview. The Ravens covered and won for the second straight game, and they're averaging 35.5 PPG through two outings. Monday night should be fun.

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