NFL Week 2 Betting Trends: Teams Looking to Avoid 0-2 Start to Season

For those NFL teams that lost their season opener and still hope to get into the playoffs, the pressure is already mounting in the week leading up to their second game.

That’s because the odds are stacked against them making the postseason following an 0-2 start. Since 2007, less than 10 percent of teams have done just that, including one that came within a game of the Super Bowl last year—the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts face the prospect of losing their first two games for the second consecutive season heading into their Monday night matchup with the New York Jets as consensus seven-point home favorites.

Last year, Indianapolis fell to the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles in successive weeks to open the year, the latter loss also coming at home on a Monday night. The difference this time around is that the Jets are not viewed as the same caliber of opponent despite winning their first game convincingly.

New York routed the Cleveland Browns, 31-10, last week as a 3.5-point home favorite.

Other teams that were viewed as potential playoff contenders going into the season that cannot afford to lose in Week 2 include the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.

The Vikings host the Lions as three-point home favorites on Sunday, so one of those teams is at least guaranteed to earn their first victory.

In addition to Detroit, Baltimore and Seattle must try to get their first win on the road as well. The Ravens have the easier task of the two, visiting the Oakland Raiders as six-point chalk, while the Seahawks take on the Green Bay Packers as 3.5-point betting underdogs.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, the New York Giants and New Orleans all have the luxury of going for their first victory at home as favorites.

The Steelers (-5.5) host the San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles (-5) meet the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants (-2.5) face the Atlanta Falcons and the Saints (-10) square off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The lone opponent of those teams that also did not win in Week 1 was Tampa Bay.