Coach Rick battled back from a tough Week 1 to deliver four out of five wins in Week 2. Baltimore’s narrow 36-35 win over Kansas City was the only loss of the week.
We head to Week 3 on the lookout for the best bets against the spread. Here are the top five NFL Week 3 ATS picks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Timing is everything on this one. The line on Sunday’s Bucs-Rams game opened with LA as a 1.5-point favorite. You could find it as high as -2.5, but the line continues to shift as the money flows in on Tampa Bay as an underdog. What’s not to love about that?
The defending Super Bowl champs are 2-0 with a Tom Brady-led offense putting up over 30 points a game. The Rams are also 2-0, but didn’t look as good in Week 2 in their win over Indianapolis. As much as you want to rave about Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, it just doesn’t approach Brady and the Bucs.
Yes, the Rams are one of the best defenses in the NFL. Yes, the Rams won last year, but the Bucs are 10- 0 straight up in their last ten games and 4-1 ATS in their last five. Whenever Brady has been an underdog since 2010, his teams are 12-3 ATS. Remember last year’s Super Bowl?
BEST ATS PICK: BUCCANEERS +1
Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants Best Bets
The only thing worse than the Giants after two weeks is Atlanta. Well, there’s more, but for purposes of this game, the Falcons have been awful in Weeks 1 and 2. Last week, Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense actually outgained Tampa Bay, but two pick-six touchdowns led to a 48-25 loss.
The Giants lost last Thursday on a last-second field goal. They actually looked good, which is par for the course for New York. They play well on the road and suck at home. With Daniel Jones at quarterback, the Giants are 10-4 ATS on the road. At home with Jones, they are 4-10 ATS.
The G-men are laying a field goal here, which might be a bit much. Don’t forget. Jones has thrown 22 picks and lost 30 fumbles in just 29 career games.
BEST ATS BET: FALCONS +3
New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos
Betting this game comes down to one thing – Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback for Denver. Sure, the Broncos are 2-0 and the Jets are two games into another dumpster fire of a season, but it’s Bridgewater that is the key.
Bridgewater has started games for four NFL teams – his current one, Denver, New Orleans, Carolina, and Minnesota. In 51 career starts, Bridgewater’s teams have covered 73 percent of the time. That’s an ATS record of 37-14.
The line on this game opened at Denver -7.5. It has slowly crept up reaching the Broncos -10.5. At game time, that spread is still likely to be double digits. Doesn’t matter. Denver with Bridgewater covers.
BEST ATS PICK: BRONCOS -10.5
Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions
There is a reason why the Ravens are an 8.5-point favorite over Detroit this week. Part of the reasoning was evident in the first half of the Lions’ Week 1 loss to San Francisco. The other part was their follow up on a Monday night in Week 2.
The Lions were outscored 31-10 in the first half against the 49ers and then lost 35-14 to Green Bay on Monday night. The Ravens have won 13 of their last 17 games on the road and they happen to be 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games. Detroit won’t have an answer for the Ravens running game which put up 251 yards on the Chiefs last week.
BEST ATS PICK: RAVENS -8.5
New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots
Bill Belichick’s defense has been outstanding thus far this season. That has allowed him and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to take it slowly with QB Mac Jones. Now, the Patriots will go up against New Orleans.
Belichick will surely get after Saints QB Jameis Winston who followed up his five-touchdown performance in Week 1 with a more Jameis-esque two picks and four sacks in a loss to Carolina. This should be a close one but keep in mind New England is just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite. The Saints, meanwhile, are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games.
BEST ATS PICK: SAINTS +3
