The only favorite to lose this weekend in the NFL was the Eagles, with huge wins elsewhere for the Ravens, Cardinals and Packers.
Although the big story of the early slate of Week 2 NFL games was injuries, with several star players exiting games, the impact of the injuries wasn’t felt by bettors at BetRivers.com and PlaySugarHouse.com.
Week 2 provided several wild finishes and perhaps the most entertaining game of the young season. It also provided a ton of winners, with just one ML underdog pulling off the upset and ten of 14 games hitting the over, up from seven in Week 1.
Sunday Night Football Update:
Seahawks 35, Patriots 30: Despite falling behind 7-0 and 14-7, Russell Wilson spun three second-half touchdowns, five total, en route to win for the Seahawks (73% of total handle). A high-scoring second half led to winning tickets for Over 44.5 (73% of O/U bets) Seahawks ML (70% of ML bets), and Seahawks -4.5 (69%) the latter of which having to hang on for dear life at the end. Cam Newton had four cracks at paydirt from just outside the red zone with under 20 seconds remaining. A designed run from Newton was stopped on the goal line as time expired, leading to a win for Seahawks bettors.
Late Afternoon Game Updates:
Chiefs 23, Chargers 20 (OT): The most exciting game of the 4 p.m. ET slate was Pat Mahomes moving to a perfect 9-0 in the month of September with a come from behind, overtime win for the reigning Super Bowl champs. Chiefs ML was the second most popular NFL bet of the weekend, and only the Packers had a larger percentage of the total handle than Chiefs, resulting in plenty of winning wagers for bettors on Sunday.
Ravens 33, Texans 16: The Ravens were backed by 84% of the total handle, and spread bettors (87%) were able to breath easy most of the game thanks to the Ravens’ unstoppable offense and the Texans’ struggles on both side of the ball. The Ravens are averaging 35.5 points through their first two games.
Cardinals 30, Washington 15: There wasn’t much pre-game line movement here and there wasn’t much of an effort put up by Washington Football Team, good news for the 82% of bettors on Cardinals ML and 81% of bettors on Cardinals -6.5.
Washington rookie DE Chase Young continued to look like the real deal (+200 Rookie of the Year), with five tackles, two QB pressures and one sack. Kyler Murray looked every bit the part NFL MVP (+2200) candidate with 278 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Early Afternoon Game Updates:
Cowboys 40, Falcons 39: The most exciting and gut-wrenching game of the day. The backing swung late on the Cowboys, with 67% of ML bets and 66% of spread bets on Dallas, up from 54% and 51% respectively despite the line dropping from -7.5 to -3.5.
The fireworks display from both teams rewarded the 77% of bettors who backed the Over, despite a jump from 50 to 53.5 leading up to kickoff. Atlanta dominated the majority of the game, and had a win probability of 98.2% with nine minutes left, leading by 15 points. But Dak Prescott never quit, scoring his third rushing TD with under two minutes to go. The Cowboys recovered the onsides kick and Greg Zuerlein drilled a 46-yard FG at the gun for an improbable comeback.
Bears 17, Giants 13: Giants RB Saquon Barkley exited the first quarter with a knee injury, and Bears RB David Montgomery, who hauled in the first of two Mitchell Trubisky TD passes, missed two quarters with a neck injury. The Bears, backed by 71% of ML bets, got an early lead and looked to be in control at the half. But New York scored 13 unanswered points to make it 17-13 with under two minutes to play. The close result was also good for the 55% of spread bets on Giants +5.5 and 48% of Under bets.
Trubisky (+125 o1.5 TDs) finished 18-28 for 190 yard, two touchdowns and two interceptions, hitting Under 215.5 Passing Yard (-105).
Steelers 26, Broncos 21: The Steelers entered Week 2 with 82% of the total handle backing them at home against the Broncos, and things looked strong for Pittsburgh bettors when Denver QB Drew Lock exited the first quarter with a shoulder injury. But Denver did not go away, outscoring the Steelers 18-9 in the second half, enough to spoil the day for 82% of bettors who bet Steelers -7, but enough to win it for Over 41.5 bettors (70%).
Ben Roethlisberger’s 84-yard TD pass to Chase Claypool was a winner too, with several bets on the Notre Dame rookie to catch a TD (+450).
Packers 42, Lions 21: The most bet-on Sunday NFL game by both total handle (29%) and total bets (34%), was much closer than expected. The Packers entered -6.5 favorites and -265 ML, the most popular single bet on Sunday, against the Lions, but found themselves down 14-3 early. But just as they did last week, allowing 21 unanswered points from the Bears, the Lions gave up 24 unanswered points to the Packers.
Over 50 was the most popular O/U bet of Sunday, and bettors were able to rest easy for the entire fourth quarter.
49ers 31, Jets 13: Bettors didn’t back off the 49ers on the road despite the absence of George Kittle, with 92% of game bets backing San Francisco against the New York Jets, with 49ers ML receiving the second most ML bets of any Sunday side. Then DE Nick Bosa exited the game with an ankle injury, and QB Jimmy Garoppolo followed with a shoulder injury. But backup tight end Jordan Reed (+550 to score TD) caught not one, but two TDs, rewarding bettors in-tune with Kyle Shanahan’s play-calling philosophy.
The Jets’ defense wasn’t expected to do much, but early miscues put the game out of reach early, meaning garbage-time TDs were on the horizon. Each team scored in the fourth quarter to hit Over 42.5, adding a late-win for the 49% of bettors who went against the public.
Rams 37, Eagles 19: The Eagles opened as -4.5 favorites and closed as -1.5 favorites, despite the line moving all the way to Rams -1.5. Los Angeles, backed by 75% of total game handle, raced out to an early lead and withstood a second-quarter rally to win outright and hit Over 45.5 (79% of O/U bets).
Colts 28, Vikings 11: After a road loss to the Jaguars in Week 1, the Colts were not a popular wager among bettors. Despite being slight favorites (-3, -167 ML), only 18% of game bets were on Indianapolis. But Jonathan Taylor, who is making a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year (+2500) recognition, finished with 101 yards on 26 carries and a TD. The Colts trailed 3-0 early, but took the lead and never allowed the Vikings to get close.
Bills 31, Dolphins 28: Bills ML was the sixth most popular ML bet of Sunday, but a weather delay and some late-game moxie from Ryan Fitzpatrick made Sunday afternoon a painful viewing experience for Bills bettors. ML bettors could rest easy, but not Bills -5.5 bettors. Josh Allen found Stefon Diggs in the end zone with three minutes to go, giving the Bills a double-digit lead, and some breathing room. But with under a minute to go, Fitzpatrick found Mike Gesicki in the end zone, and tacked on a two-point conversion for the backdoor cover.
Buccaneers 31, Panthers 17: Tom Brady and the Buccaneers were backed by 84% of total money, and the Panthers didn’t offer much of a fight. But the Panthers did follow through on 17 second-quarter points, enough to hit the over but not enough for the backdoor cover. A winning ticket for anyone who bet Bucs ML, Bucs spread or the over.
Titans 33, Jaguars 31: The Titans and Jaguars put on a shootout in Week 2, bringing a smile to the faces of 61% of bettors who stayed on the Over despite late steam. For the second straight week, the Titans won on a late field goal, moving to 2-0 on the season but 0-2 ATS.
