Expert NFL Picks Against the Spread Week 2

• Get our top against the spread picks for this weekend from September 17-18, 2023
• Are the Lions a good ATS pick as 4.5-point home favorites? Who are our experts taking in the AFC North showdowns between the Ravens and Bengals and Browns vs Steelers?
• Read on for our expert NFL picks against the spread for Week 2 below

NFL Week 2 features a ton of short spreads and a few heavy favorites, to go with five divisional rivalries. Will the Chiefs start 0-2? Can the Bengals rebound after a poor Week 1 performance? Who are the best bets for this week’s two Monday Night Football matchups. Read on for this week’s expert NFL picks against the spread.

NFL Expert Picks Today

Our most popular expert  NFL picks against the spread in the table above for Week 2 goes to Joe Burrow and the Bengals at home to the Ravens. Elsewhere, we have expert ATS picks on the Jags, Chargers, Lions, Raiders, Browns, Colts and Panthers.

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Ryan Metivier Expert NFL ATS Picks

Jaguars +3.5

Kansas City and Jacksonville met twice last season. First in the regular season in Arrowhead where the Chiefs won 27-17. Trevor Lawrence threw two passing touchdowns for the Jags and Patrick Mahome had four for the Chiefs.

They met again in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, again in Kansas City and again the game played to a similar score with KC winning 27-20. Lawrence had one passing TD, while Mahomes had two, and Chad Henne in limited duty after a Mahomes injury also threw for one.

Going back to last season and including the playoffs, the Jags are now 8-2 SU after their 31-21 win in Indianapolis last week. The Jags have some offensive line concerns this week, but are loaded at the skill position spots. While we saw in the season opener, that without the injured Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes has little else to work with. You can never count Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Chiefs out, and they very well could get Kelce back and rebound in Week 2. But either way, I see Jacksonville keeping this close in my NFL expert picks against the spread and perhaps even pulling the outright upset.

Chargers -2.5

The Chargers had 30 first downs and over 400 yards of offense in Week 1 but still came up short in losing 36-34 at home to the Dolphins.

The Titans played to a much lower scoring game also coming up short, losing 16-15 on the road in New Orleans. The Saints held Ryan Tannehill to just 198 passing yards, no touchdowns and picked him off three times. They also contained Derick Henry only allowing the star running back to rush for 63 yards. While the Titans got to Saints’ QB Derek Carr four times, he still threw for over 300 yards and Chris Olave (112 yards) and Rashid Shaheed (89 yards, 2 touchdowns) each had big days.

The Titans ranked dead last in passing yards allowed per game last season and they didn’t look much better in Week 1. With both Amani Hooker and Kristian Fulton both set to miss Week 2 with injuries in the secondary, this high-powered Chargers offense could have a big day.

Bengals -3

The Ravens final score looked good from Week 1, a 25-9 win over the Texans. But it was only 7-6 at the half. What doesn’t look good is the Ravens’ long list of injuries that includes Mark Andrews, Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Trayvon Mullen, Marcus Williams, Marlon Humphrey and JK Dobbins.

Lamar Jackson could have limited targets if Andrews can’t go. He also wasn’t great in Week 1 averaging just 4.6 air yards. The Ravens as a whole also averaged the lowest average yards per carry in Week 1.

The Bengals lost badly 24-3 to Cleveland but I’m expecting a bounce-back performance from Joe Burrow who missed the preseason. The home team won all three meetings last season between these teams and Cincinnati has won four of the past five as well.

Joe Burrow = the young Tom Brady? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/skEbbyP6M1

— theScore (@theScore) September 15, 2023

Bob Duff Expert NFL ATS Picks

Lions -4.5

Winning last week as a road underdog at Kansas City, this is the second year in a row that Detroit is set as an early-season home favorite against Seattle. It didn’t turn out well for the Lions last season. In Week 4, Detroit fell 48-45 to the Seahawks as the 3.5-point home chalk.

However, the times are changing for Detroit. This is the fourth successive home game in which the Lions are favored. They’re 3-0 ATS in the previous three games.

Raiders +8.5

For starters, the Buffalo Bills are coming home to face the 1-0 Las Vegas Raiders on a short week following Monday’s road game against the New York Jets. Buffalo was 0-1 ATS with a rest disadvantage last season.

Secondly, the Bills are opened as 9.5-point home favorites over the Raiders. Buffalo has failed to cover as a favorite of 9.5 points or more in five successive games. That includes the club’s last three home games. That number has since come down but Buffalo as a heavy favorite has rarely cashed of late.

Browns -1.5

The Cincinnati Bengals are favorites to win the AFC North in the NFL Divisional odds. However, thanks to the Cleveland Browns, the Bengals are 0-1 on the 2023 NFL season.

That game was in Cleveland. In Week 2, the Browns are heading into what for them has proven to be the abyss. They are 1-19 SU and 2-6 ATS at Pittsburgh. Yet the opening NFL lines for this game were Cleveland -1.5. It’s the first time since 1989 that the Browns are favored in Pittsburgh.

Every Steelers player not named TJ Watt should be hanging their head in shame following their Week 1 embarrassment, a 30-7 home loss to San Francisco. It’s going to be much worse after the Browns leave the Steel City with a rare victory.

Zach Reger Expert NFL ATS Picks

Colts +1.5

Sunday will be the first of many AFC South battles between rookie quarterbacks CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson. Despite the loss, Richardson showed flashes and looked like Indianapolis’ quarterback for the future. CJ Stroud struggled against Baltimore’s defense, which is understandable, but it will not get much easier against Deforest Buckner and co. on Sunday.

The Colts defense will limit what the Texans can do on offense, and the Colts offense will make more plays than the Texans. Give me the Colts as a slight dog.

Seeing Anthony Richardson's family celebrate his first NFL touchdown is everything 🫶

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/9fct4Q7yAy

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 10, 2023

Bengals -3

The Bengals looked horrendous in Week 1. There is no denying that, but it is a new week now and Joe Burrow got the rust of not playing in the preseason out. Cincinnati will be able to move the ball well against Baltimore’s secondary, especially with Marlon Humphrey questionable for Sunday.

While the Ravens won and covered last week, it was against the Texans. Baltimore looked sloppy on offense and now will be without JK Dobbins for the remainder of the year. The Bengals know this team and will be hungry to bounce back. I like the Bengals to win by at least a field goal for my expert NFL picks against the spread.

Panthers +3

Despite the loss and a couple of interceptions, I thought Bryce Young looked all right in his NFL debut. He showed poise, made some throws down the field, and now has a full game under his belt. The Saints are coming off a one-point victory over the Titans at home and now go on the road for Monday Night Football.

The Panthers sneakily have a really good defense, and I expect them to make things difficult for the Saints. Bryce Young and the offense should be able to do just enough to stay in this one. I am backing Carolina as a home divisional underdog in my Week 2 ATS picks.