Well, there is no other way to say; Week 1 was a betting disaster. We lost both our best bets in games that would have to be categorized as nonsense. Our first bet was a two-team, seven-point teaser in which the Vikings were getting a point and the Saints were laying 2.5. While Minnesota won a game that still felt closer than it should have been, the Saints lost a 48-40 shootout to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being led by a 35-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick. Our second bet was parlaying the Rams moneyline to the Titans laying a point. The Titans lost 27-20 to the Miami Dolphins in a game which broke the record for the longest game in NFL history due to nearly four hours in rain delays and saw three of the Titans best players leave with injury. Absolutely no way to predict that when placing bets. The only bright spot of the week was that we were able to correctly pick the upset special as the Cincinnati Bengals came from behind on the road to defeat the Indianapolis Colts. Time to get back on track with the Teaser King predictions for week #2 NFL.
Season Total: $-210
Upset Special: 1-0
Best Bets:
Teaser of the Week (3 Team 10-Point):
Los Angeles Chargers (+3) over the Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots (+10) over the Jacksonville Jaguars
OVER (39.5) in the New Orleans/Cleveland game
Bet $128 to Win $100
The Chargers and Bills both lost in Week 1 but to say those team gave similar performances would be a grave error. The Chargers looked rusty but were a few dropped passes away from beating a talented Chiefs team, whereas the Bills looked like they should be in a different league as they lost 47-3 to the Baltimore Ravens. The Chargers always seem to find a way to lose close games but based on what we saw from Buffalo last week, it’s hard to imagine they will win a single game this season.
The Patriots are the defining sports dynasty of the last two decades. We saw them defeat Jacksonville in a close game to reach the Super Bowl and, while I will not claim to know the outcome of this game I do believe it will be close enough for ten points to cover the result. The Jaguars like to slow the game down with their rushing attack and ferocious defense and I think that will work to our advantage regardless of who wins.
The Saints gave up 48 points to Ryan Fitzpatrick last week. Is that really not enough to bet the over? How about the fact that the Saints also scored 40 points. If the Saints defense is as bad as it looked last week and their offense is as good as it always seems to be, taking any over at under 40 points feels great.
Philadelphia Eagles (ML -175) over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New York Jets (-2.5) over the Miami Dolphins
Bet $100 to Win $206.80
The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the two teams that ruined our bets in Week 1, but it isn’t revenge that has me parlaying their losses here. In truth, I believe both of this teams are going to struggle this season and can’t imagine either starting the season 2-0, especially against the defending Super Bowl Champions and a Jets team that looked great on Monday night as the dominated the Detroit Lions. Looking to make up our losses and set the record right with this bet.
Upset of The Week:
Carolina Panthers (+5.5) over Atlanta Falcons
Last week I would never have picked the Panthers to beat the Falcons but with the loss of both Keanu Neal and Deion Jones I now have serious concerns over the Atlanta defense. Jones was so immensely important to every aspect of how the Falcons had chosen to play defense and while it will be hard to replace Neal, it is impossible to replace Jones. Meanwhile, the Panthers looked pretty good last week as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys. I think Carolina wins a very close game on Sunday.
Nick Sparrow is a Wannamakeabet.com Staff Writer