In the wonderful world of NFL betting, a team that was battered mercilessly and looked horrible one week can be the biggest favorite on the board the next week.
Welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers, crushed 35-7 by the Ravens in Week 1 and who turned the ball over seven times. The punishment for this horrible loss? You open as 15.5-point home favorites against the Seahawks in Week 2.
On paper, it’s a rematch of Super Bowl XL, but on the field, oddsmakers see it as a glorified practice for Pittsburgh to get themselves back on track this year.
Beware Seattle as a big dog however. Remember they took out New Orleans in the playoffs last year as 10-point home dogs. But usually, they are a reliable fade play in this spot (1-8 ATS past 9 times).
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There are three double-digit favorites on the Week 2 NFL Sportsbook lines slate, counting the Packers (-10) at Carolina and the Jets (-11.5) at home to Jacksonville. Both the Jets and Packers are 8-3 ATS the past 11 games as a big favorite.
A week after OVERs dominated 12-4, there over-unders seem to be very high in Week 2. But after the QB performances of Week 1, maybe they are deserved.
The total opened at 50 in the Chargers at Patriots game and the Eagles at Falcons game. It pushes into the high 40s for the Packers game and the Saints game as well. Baltimore at Tennessee is the lowest Sportsbook total at 37.5 points.
For Week 1, favorites were 7-9 ATS while the home teams were 10-6 SU.
Key matches with Week 2 Odds courtesy of Sportsbook:
Eagles -1.5 at Atlanta – Michael Vick goes ‘home’ in the Sunday Nighter. Eagles have long dominated the Falcons, 10-1-1 ATS past 12 meetings.
Chargers +6 at New England – The biggest total of the week so far, both teams were Week 1 Sportsbooks but San Diego struggled while the Patriots were on fire in Miami. But Chad Henne threw for 416 yards against the pats defense. Could this one go over 100 points?
Kansas City +9 at Detroit – Are the Chiefs as bad as they looked against the Bills? Can the Lions win again even if they don’t play well, as in Tampa last Sunday? An awful big number to entrust to the Lions.
Browns -2 at Indianapolis – Can this be true? The Colts as home underdogs to the Browns? Both teams looked shitty in Week 1, but trusting the Browns as road chalk?
