It’s definitely better to act with some more information. And perhaps we have more after Week 1 of the NFL season.
But does that information deceive us a little? It’s a fine line we walk, as after some experience you find out that the NFL is a league in which teams have a tendency to “bounce back” after a tough performance.
Check out our NFL week 2 ATS picks and NFL week 2 over/under picks.
NFL Parlay Predictions for Week 2
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers Preview
Time: Sunday, September 19tth at 1 PM ET
ATS Odds: New Orleans Saints -3.5 (-110) vs. Carolina Panthers +3.5 (-110)
The Play: PANTHERS +3.5
So maybe it wasn’t a bad idea on the part of Sean Payton to award the starting quarterback job to Jameis Winston over Taysom Hill. And maybe it wasn’t a bad idea for Winston to spend a season backing up Drew Brees and learning what Brees and Payton had to offer.
Winston went through a whole game without throwing an interception, and tossed five touchdown passes in a ridiculously easy 38-3 win over Green Bay. But a closer look tells us that Famous Jameis had only 148 passing yards, and 55 of those came on a single play to Deonte Harris when the outcome was more or less decided. The fact is, he didn’t have to air it out all that much in that romp.
Surely the jury will be out on Sam Darnold until further notice, but in his first regular season game under Joe Brady’s tutelage, he had 279 yards through the air. And with apologies to Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey is the most potent offensive weapon on the field – he stepped up with 187 all-purpose yards against the Jets.
What doesn’t help the New Orleans cause is that six assistant coaches have been flagged for COVID. The offense is not going to operate at full capacity without Michael Thoimas, and he wasn’t playing anyway, but he’s been out on the COVID list as well.
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins Preview
Time: Sunday, September 19th at 1 PM ET
ATS Odds: Buffalo Bills -3.5 (-110) vs.Miami Dolphins +3.5 (-110)
The Play: DOLPHINS +3.5
Miami was outgained 393-259 by the Patriots last week. But they benefited from a lot of penalty yardage on the part of New England and forced a couple of timely turnovers. Meanwhile, the Bills outgained Pittsburgh by 120 yards and got 30 completions out of Josh Allen, but lost with an abundance of penalty yards (81) and a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.
Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t incredibly productive last week, but he was steady and was able to improvise a little. He gets Will Fuller back as well, after he sat out the first game on suspension. Jaylen Waddle wasn’t too bad in his NFL debut, hauling in a touchdown pass. This defense may be a little better than I thought it was, and it’s got a bone to pick with Buffalo, which scored 56 points in the last meeting.
Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars Preview
Time: Sunday, September 19tth at 1 PM ET
ATS Odds: Denver Broncos -6 (-110) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars +6 (-110)
The Play: BRONCOS -6
I believe that until further notice, the Jags may be in the “go-against” category. When you are so thoroughly dominated by an opponent that was perceived to be the weakest in the NFL, it requires re-examination; that is, if you considered J-Ville to be a potential “breakout” team.
And some of the reports out of the camp don’t sound good; not necessarily as it regards Trevor Lawrence and his growing pains. After all, you have to expect that he is going to throw it a lot and consequently he’ll be picked off a lot (three times vs. Houston last week). But Urban Meyer is the guy who is having the rough adjustment period. He’s reportedly brought too much of a “college” into the proceedings, and many of the players are turned off to that. And it’s not a good start.
Denver coach Vic Fangio makes youngsters like Lawrence very uncomfortable, as he has a bag of tricks like few others in terms of presenting riddles with coverages.
New England Patriots at New York Jets Preview
Time: Sunday, September 19tth at 1 PM ET
ATS Odds: New England Patriots -5.5 (-110) vs. New York Jets +5.5 (-110)
The Play: PATRIOTS -5.5
As we mentioned earlier, the Pats outplayed the Dolphins in many respects last Sunday, but made the kind of mistakes that Bill Belichick teams don’t make very often.
Yes, they fumbled the ball twice – the second time killing what would have been a high-percentage field goal opportunity to win the game. And with 84 penalty yards, they did quite a bit to beat themselves.
But they did some things right. The defense gave up only 259 yards. Quarterback Mac Jones looked very solid in his first starting assignment. And the Pats were able to run the ball (Damien Harris with 100 yards on ground).
Jets’ rookie QB Zach Wilson hung in admirably last week. But he was sacked six times. And he will have to do without left tackle Mekhi Becton, a first-round pick last year who pushed everyone around as a rookie (sprained MCL).
Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks Preview
Time: Sunday, September 19tth at 4:25 PM ET
ATS Odds: Seattle Seahawks -5.5 (-110) vs. Tennessee Titans +5.5 (-110)
The Play: SEAHAWKS -5.5
There are any number of things we could look at in the way of explaining Tennessee’s no-show against Arizona last week. Ryan Tannehill certainly didn’t help himself by getting shelved with COVID during training camp. That took away from the time he could spend with Julio Jones, who had 29 yards in receptions. The offensive line didn’t work at all (six sacks). Some may point to the transition after offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s departure, but his Falcons also failed to show up for their game, so his genius must have gotten lost in between destinations.
Potentially, the Titans have the most potent weapons on the field in Derrick Henry. But the well-coached, underrated Seahawks looked much more prepared to begin the 2020 season. And they really got some balance in the offense (143 rushing yards). It comes down to who looks more reliable.
