NFL Picks Week 2: Top Underdog Odds, Money-Line Advice and Predictions

If you thought betting on NFL games in Week 1 was difficult, best of luck in Week 2.

After all, we really don’t know much more than we did in August with a one-game sample size, and it’s difficult to decide how much weight we should grant early upsets like the Buffalo Bills over the Chicago Bears or the Miami Dolphins over the New England Patriots.

We can still offer some advice going forward, even if we are treading in uncertain water. With that in mind, here is a look at predictions based on the spreads listed on Odds Shark as of Wednesday evening.

Away Team	Home Team	Spread	Pick
Pittsburgh Steelers	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -2.5	PIT
Miami Dolphins	Buffalo Bills	Even	MIA
Detroit Lions	Carolina Panthers	CAR -2.5	CAR
Atlanta Falcons	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -5	ATL
New Orleans Saints	Cleveland Browns	NO -7	NO
New England Patriots	Minnesota Vikings	NE -3	MIN
Arizona Cardinals	New York Giants	ARI -2.5	ARI
Dallas Cowboys	Tennessee Titans	TEN -3	TEN
Jacksonville Jaguars	Washington Redskins	WAS -7	JAX
Seattle Seahawks	San Diego Chargers	SEA -7	SEA
St. Louis Rams	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -7	TB
Kansas City Chiefs	Denver Broncos	DEN -13.5	DEN
New York Jets	Green Bay Packers	GB -9.5	GB
Houston Texans	Oakland Raiders	HOU -2.5	HOU
Chicago Bears	San Francisco 49ers	SF -7.5	SF
Philadelphia Eagles	Indianapolis Colts	IND -3	IND

Underdog Advice and Predictions

There are two games in particular that jump out if we are going to focus on the Week 2 underdogs.

The first is the Atlanta Falcons' trip to Cincinnati to battle the Bengals. While Cincinnati could be a legitimate contender in the AFC, there were some worrisome issues that emerged in the opener against Baltimore.

In fact, the Bengals allowed 329 passing yards to the Ravens, and the secondary nearly cost them the game when it let Steve Smith haul in an 80-yard touchdown catch late in the second half. The problem heading into Week 2 is the fact that the Falcons have more weapons all over the field than Baltimore does.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

In fact, Atlanta racked up an incredible 568 yards in Week 1, which was good enough for a franchise record. The new-look offense features Matt Ryan under center, who threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns, Julio Jones on the outside, who notched 116 receiving yards and Roddy White as the veteran leader, who scored a touchdown.

Jacquizz Rodgers and Steven Jackson combined to run for 86 yards and a touchdown as well, but it was the emergence of Devin Hester that makes this offense truly dangerous.

Hester hauled in 99 receiving yards and was the ideal speedster next to the Jones and White combo. Head coach Mike Smith commented on all the offensive options, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN.com): “That’s really what it’s all about when you have playmakers. The more you have, the better opportunity you have to move the football and score points.”

Look for the Falcons to score plenty of points against a Bengals secondary that was exposed a bit in the opener. 

Prediction: Atlanta 35, Cincinnati 24

The other game on our radar is the Minnesota Vikings' home tilt against the New England Patriots.

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

The Pats gave up 191 rushing yards in the opener against the Miami Dolphins, and Knowshon Moreno in particular was a problem. He ended up with 134 rushing yards and a touchdown behind a revamped offensive line that completely pushed New England’s defensive front off the ball.

To make matters worse, Tom Brady struggled and finished 29-of-56 passing and fumbled twice.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The reason we see this as a potential upset is because there are few teams in the entire league set up to expose New England’s shoddy run defense better than the Vikings. For one, Adrian Peterson is an absolute star, which is alarming for New England after being dashed by Moreno.

The more yards Peterson racks up, the faster the clock will tick away. If Peterson can get his team an early lead, the Patriots will quickly run out of time to mount a comeback.

What’s more, Cordarrelle Patterson is the perfect option to make the defense pay if it stacks the box to stop Peterson. Patterson tallied 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in the opener and could mix in a reverse or two if there is too much focus on the interior from New England.

Of course, Minnesota could always use Patterson on deep routes off of play action as well.

The Patriots won’t be able to stop the Vikings offense when it matters most, and Brady and company will be off to a concerning 0-2 start. 

Prediction: Vikings 23, Patriots 20

Follow me on Twitter:

Follow @ScottPolacek