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Nick Mangold Bets Against the Spread in Week 2 of Sports Betting Journey

Nick Mangold

by Nick Mangold in NFL Football

Updated Apr 3, 2020 · 3:00 PM PDT

Nick Mangold
Nick has gotten off to a hot start in his sports betting journey, nailing each of his first three bets.
  • Nick Mangold continues his sports betting journey after nailing his moneyline pick in Week 1 and going 2-for-2 on his Monday Night Football props
  • Nick takes on the spread in Week 2
  • See his ATS lock of the week below

Well, well, well … it looks like this retiree might still know a thing or two about football!

With the help of SBD teaching me the ropes of sports betting, I’ve managed to start the season 3-0 with my picks – I hit Baltimore on the moneyline in Week 1 and then 2-for-2 on my Texans vs Saints props.

But we’re just one week into the season, so now is not the time to start celebrating, especially since we are only up 1.86 units. What’s a unit, you ask? (Good thing SBD taught me this before I wrote this article.)

A unit is basically a universal way of showing your winnings/losses. Since everyone has a different sized bankroll, $100 may not be much money to some, while it may be someone else’s entire bankroll. So instead of saying, “I’m up $186 this season,” which leaves for a lot of questions, you use units.

Generally, a unit is 1-5% of your bankroll. So in betting one unit on each of my three bets so far, I have won a total of 1.86 units.

Heading into Week 2, it’s time to stop taking the safe plays and start making some money. So we’ll be betting against the spread.

What’s the spread? It’s basically the sportsbooks’ way of evening the playing ground so you can feel better about betting underdogs, while also getting better odds when betting favorites. This will be a little easier to understand once you have an example in front of you, so let’s dive into my ATS (against the spread) lock for Week 2.

(If you’d prefer to continue learning about the spread before seeing my pick, check out SBD’s great guide that explains betting against the spread in full.)

Mangold’s ATS Lock of the Week

The game I’m honing in on for Week 2 is the Buffalo Bills vs New York Giants. This game features two teams who played a similar quality of football in Week 1, but came out with very different results.

The Bills were awful for three quarters in Week 1, turning the ball over four times. But my Jets let them off the hook and allowed them to score 14 points in the fourth quarter to come away with the victory.

The Giants, on the other hand, got off to a hot start in their Week 1 tilt with the Cowboys, taking a 7-0 lead on their first possession. But that was basically the only positive they can take away from Week 1, as Dallas crushed them 35-17.

Looking to this Week 2 matchup, I really don’t believe the Bills are a team who should be favored on the road. They’re not going to get lucky two games in a row, and New York will come into this one screaming after the poor performance last week.

Bills vs Giants Week 2 Spread

Team Spread
Buffalo Bills -2 (-109)
New York Giants +2 (-109)

All odds taken September 14.

As you see above, the Bills are listed at -2. This means they are “laying” two points. So if you want to bet them against the spread, they have to win by at least three points. (Simply winning by two would result in a push, which is a fancy sports betting term that means a tie.)

If they don’t, then you lose your bet.

Conversely, if I wanted to bet the Giants, which I do, I would be getting two points. In this case, New York doesn’t even have to win the game for me to win my bet against the spread. They just cannot lose by more than two points.

The numbers in the brackets you see next to the spreads are just the odds, which are there to tell you how much you’d win if you made that bet.

So mark me down for the Giants +2 against the Bills in Week 2.

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