Five underdogs won outright in Week 2. Coach Rick only nailed one of those – Baltimore. The Ravens provided plenty of excitement in their win over Kansas City.
Underdogs (What Is an Underdog?) have covered in 21 of the 32 games thus far this season. They have won outright 14 times. You know there are a handful of upsets waiting to come to fruition in Week 3. Here’s where we think they will come from.
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants
Yes, Atlanta looked awful last week. Matt Ryan threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns within eight minutes of each other. The Falcons only scored six points in Week 1, so the 25 they put up against Tampa Bay was an improvement.
Now, the Falcons aren’t doing themselves any favors by giving up 40 points a game, but their Week 3 game against New York is the perfect spot to take a chance on the Dirty Birds. The reason? The Giants are terrible at home, especially with Daniel Jones at quarterback.
New York is 10-4 ATS on the road with Jones running the offense. The Giants went to Washington last week and actually had a win until a last-second field goal did them in. They covered the spread though.
Bring the Giants back to East Rutherford and everything changes. With Jones as the starter, the Giants are 4-10 ATS at MetLife Stadium. The kicker is this and it’s why Atlanta pulls the upset. In 29 career games as the Giants’ starter, Jones has thrown 22 picks and has fumbled 30 times.
Best Moneyline Pick: FALCONS +140
Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings
This is a tough one. Seattle can’t really lose two in a row, can it? The Vikings were a missed field goal at the end of regulation away from picking up their first win last week. Now, they are 0-2 and they can’t really lose three in a row, can they?
Somebody’s going down and, well, it’s going to be Seattle. It’s about time Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer wins a game his team isn’t supposed to win. The Vikings are 2-7 straight up in the team’s last nine games as a home underdog.
The Vikings have only covered once in their last nine games, but the total has gone Over in eight of their last nine games played at U.S. Bank Stadium. With Russell Wilson and the Seahawks along with Kirk Cousins and the Vikes, this one is going to be a shootout. Only this time, the Vikings come out on the right side of a late field goal.
Best Moneyline Pick: VIKINGS +111
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
One look at this matchup and most just see the surface. They see the Week 1 debacle the Packers had at New Orleans. They see the 49ers two wins over the Packers in 2019, including the NFC championship game. They see a healthy Niners defense and a game played at Levi’s Stadium.
That’s all great, but this a primetime game. Over the past two-plus seasons, Green Bay has played in 12 such games. They are 10-2. In last year’s game – won by Green Bay – Packers WR Davante Adams had 10 catches for 173 yards. The Niners have some injuries in the secondary too.
San Francisco also has running back issues. Raheem Mostert is done for the season, JaMichael Hasty is out indefinitely, and rookies Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell are both questionable. This is a perfect situation for Green Bay to prove it’s still a Super Bowl contender.
Best Moneyline Pick: PACKERS +160
