NFL Best Bets Week 2 : Sidelines’ Top NFL Betting Lines to Follow

With Week 1 in the books, it’s time to turn our attention to NFL Week 2 picks and predictions. Last week saw a ton of betting movement at sportsbooks across the nation, and there were significant surprises along the way. Underdogs proved to be the best NFL bets in Week 1, going 12-4 against the spread. Road teams bucked the NFL odds, posting a 9-7 mark against the spread in their first game away from home. Totals hit the under in nine of 16 games as well. 

For this week, the thought might be to ride those early season trends, but there are some solid NFL Week 2 betting lines to consider. The odds this week seem to favor last week’s winners in a big way, with some notably wide spreads.  But there are 10 games on the weekend slate that feature a line of four points or less.  

So let’s take a look at some of the best NFL bets this week. 

NFL Best Bets Week 2

Los Angeles Rams at Indianapolis Colts

Best Bet : Rams -4/-110 (BetMGM)

The Los Angeles Rams looked very much like a potential NFC Conference champion after their comfortable Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears. The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, struggled to contain Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in their opener. Matthew Stafford looked right at home piloting Sean McVay’s offense. His second pass of the game went for a 67-yard touchdown to Van Jefferson. 

The Rams ultimately scored on six of their nine drives against a solid Bears defense. Stafford dismissed any potential chemistry concerns that lingered after the veteran didn’t play a single snap in the preseason. Stafford hit long passes to Jefferson, Cooper Kupp (57-yard touchdown) and Tyler Higbee (37 yards), ultimately throwing for 321 yards. 

Defensively, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald had a sack and David Long Jr. had an end zone interception of Andy Dalton. The Ram held Chicago to just 14 points.

The one concern for LA’s offense, though, was a lack of production from the ground game. The Rams managed just 18 rushing yards through the first three quarters of the contest. Darrell Henderson Jr lead the Rams in rushing with 70 yards, but most of that came late. 

But for as good as it went for the Rams in Week 1, the opposite is true for Indianapolis. The Colts aimed for another postseason run by reuniting Frank Reich and Carson Wentz, but the offense lacked any explosiveness in the opener. Playing from behind the entire game prevented Indy from establishing any semblance of a ground game. And the defense looked susceptible to the big play considering Wilson connected on touchdown passes in three of his first four offensive series against the Colts D. 

Combine Indy’s lackluster offensive effort with Los Angeles’ high-powered passing attack, and the Rams look like the best bet on paper. 

The Rams enter as road favorites, and while it may be tempting to lean toward the home team avoiding an 0-2 start, LA arrives with all of the weapons to feast on that weak Colts secondary. The Rams sport a 10-4-1 record against the spread in September games since McVay took over as head coach in 2017. They’re 12-3 straight up over that span as well. 

The Colts, meanwhile, are 0-4 against the spread as home underdogs under Reich. Wentz went 6-4 as a home underdog while with the Eagles, but lost as a home dog last week. What’s more, Indy is 1-6 against the spread in its last seven home games. 

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins 

Best Bet : Miami +3.5/-115 (FanDuel)

The Miami Dolphins welcome the Buffalo Bills for their Week 2 matchup in South Florida. The Dolphins have a chance to grab a strong hold of the AFC East if they can manage a straight up win in this one. But the recent history of this matchup is one-sided, in favor of the visiting Bills. And Buffalo has the added motivation of trying to avoid an 0-2 start, which would seriously hurt those that played the Bills’ solid futures odds ahead of the season. 

The Dolphins were one of eight underdogs in Week 1 to win their game straight up. The 17-16 victory over the New England Patriots covered the 3.5-point spread, something Miami faces once again, this time as home underdogs. 

Although the offense didn’t look great, the Dolphins defense came to play once again. Miami snagged two turnovers, including a game-sealing fumble late in the fourth quarter against the Patriots. The Dolphins are now a league-leading 12-5 against the spread since the start of last season. What’s more, Miami has covered the spread in five straight games as an underdog, and are currently riding a 6-0 streak against the spread at Hard Rock Stadium. Tua Tagovailoa holds a 4-0 record against the spread as an underdog

All that said though, the Bills have dominated this matchup in recent years. Buffalo’s won five in a row in this series, including a 56-26 win in Week 17 last year. However, in their Week 2 game last season, the Bills managed just a three-point victory, 31-28, which could be the case in this one. 

The Dolphins defense stymied New England’s offense, and has the secondary to match up against Buffalo’s receiving corps. Although Josh Allen is 5-1 straight up against the Dolphins, he struggled in Week 1 against the Steelers. Miami sports a solid special teams unit, with one of the top kickers in the league in Jason Sanders, and has an opportunistic defense. The Dolphins should keep this one close at home. 

New England Patriots at New York Jets

Best Bet : New England -5.5/-115 (PointsBet)

Best Bet : Under 42.5/+100 (FoxBet)

This AFC East divisional matchup between the New England Patriots and New York Jets features two of the NFL’s best bets for this week. The Patriots come to this one after suffering a disappointing Week 1 loss, both straight up and against the spread, to the Dolphins. The Jets enter after struggling against their former quarterback Sam Darnold in his Carolina Panthers debut. 

The story of this matchup remains how one-sided it’s been of late. New England has won 18 of the last 20 games in this series, including the last 10 in a row. They are, however, just 7-11 against the spread in matchups with New York over the last 10 seasons. The Jets have covered four of their last five games as a home underdog, but failed to cover each September game last season. New York sports a 6-11 mark against the spread since the start of last season. 

Further complicating matters for New York is Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s record against rookie quarterbacks. Since 2000, Belichick holds a 21-7 mark against rookie QBs. And Jets rookie Zach Wilson struggled to get the offense going in Week 1, managing a paltry 252 yards of total offense. The Jets put up just 4.2 yards per play over 60 plays last Sunday. The Panthers manage to sack Wilson six times along the way. 

The Patriots offense didn’t fare much better in Week 1, putting up just 16 points. New England’s only touchdown came courtesy of a questionable roughing the passer penalty that wiped away a third down sack. The Pats scored just one TD in four trips to the red zone. The Jets, meanwhile, made just one trip to the red zone in Week 1. 

Both defenses enter having surrendered less than 20 points. New England’s offense isn’t built to attack the weakness in the Jets’ defense, which is the secondary, but the Patriots should be able to get at least a touchdown advantage in this one. 

With two conservative offenses and two rookie quarterbacks, the under seems like a solid play here. The under has hit in four of the last five games in this matchup, and since 2016 with the Patriots on the road, the under has hit 27 times. 

Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers 

Best Bet : Over 55.5/-105 (FanDuel) 

The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers face off in what might be the most exciting NFL Week 2 game on the books. The Cowboys enter coming off a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Dallas hung with the defending Super Bowl Champions to the very end. The Chargers are set to host their home opener after securing a road win against the Washington Football Team. Both of these teams feature high-powered offenses that shouldn’t have a problem scoring, especially considering both defenses here are susceptible to points.

Dak Prescott attempted 58 passes in his return from injury and flashed MVP-potential. Prescott tossed for 403 passing yards and three touchdowns, demonstrating important chemistry with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb along the way. Prescott preyed on Tampa Bay’s defensive backs, and although the Chargers sport a more solid secondary, there should still be plenty of room for him to operate. 

Justin Herbert went to Washington and also looked good. Coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign, the second-year quarterback showed little evidence of a sophomore slump as he slung the ball 47 times for 337 yards and a touchdown against the vaunted Washington defense. Although he did turn the ball over twice, one was a freak tipped pass attempt fumble that went forward 15 yards and through the back of the end zone. 

Neither team had sustained success on the ground, with Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliot managing just 33 yards on 11 carries and the Chargers just 90 rushing yards as a team. While both will likely try to establish the run in Week 2, the strength of these offenses remains with their quarterbacks. 

These two offenses combined to make 10 red zone trips in Week 1, but came away with just three touchdowns between them. Working in their favor though, the offenses face defenses far less stout in Week 2, and should be able to put up plenty of points.