NFL Week 2 Betting Roundup: AFC North Goes South, Wilson MVP Bet Paying Off
- AFC North clubs were 0-4 both straight up and against the spread during Week 2 of the NFL season
- It’s time to sell on Russell Wilson NFL MVP futures
- Read on for all of the biggest betting stories in the NFL Week 2 betting roundup
If there was one aspect that stood out from the Week 2 NFL betting roundup, it was how suddenly the AFC North’s weekend went south.
The defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens were a combined 0-4 both straight up and against the spread on Sunday. And it took the Browns and Ravens staging epic fourth quarter collapses to make it so.
A dismal start for the Denver Broncos has PointsBet Sportsbook feeling sorry for anyone who bet Broncos QB Russell Wilson to win the NFL MVP.
Those were just some of the biggest betting stories that came out of the second week of the NFL season. Let’s take a deep dive into each of these wild outcomes in our NFL Week 2 betting roundup.
The East Does In the North
Not only did the AFC North take a spectacular pratfall during Week 2, but all four teams were also victimized by squads from the East. The Bengals, a 7-point road favorite, fell to the reigning NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys 20-17, even though it was #2 QB Cooper Rush at the helm of America’s team.
Each of the other AFC North teams fell to clubs from the AFC East. The Browns, 6.5-point home favorites, were leading the New York Jets 30-17 with barely two minutes left in regulation. Then the Jets, with washed-up vet Joe Flacco at the controls, engineered two late TD drives to win 31-30.
Joe Flacco is on pace for *checks notes* 5236 yards and 43 TDs
Do with this information as you wish
— NYJ MIKE (@NyjMike) September 18, 2022
In Baltimore, the Ravens entered the fourth quarter leading 35-14. Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa threw for four fourth-quarter TDs and the Dolphins won 42-38. It was the first time since 2011 that a team rallied from a deficit of 21 or more points entering the fourth quarter. Prior to Miami’s win, teams facing that scenario had gone 0-711 SU.
Pittsburgh lost at home to the favored New England Patriots 17-14, but at least that one was expected. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is now 14-4-1 ATS all-time when facing the Steelers.
Imperfect NFL Tens
Four teams took the field during Week 2 as the 10-point chalk in their games. Two of those teams managed to cover.
Buffalo crushed the Tennessee Titans 41-7 as a 10-point home pick. The Bills, favored in the Super Bowl odds, are 2-0 with wins over the defending Super Bowl champs (Los Angeles Rams) and reigning AFC #1 seed (Tennessee).
Aaron Rodgers maintained his mastery over the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay Packers covered as 10-point home favorites, beating the Bears 27-10. Rodgers is now 22-5 SU at 18-9 ATS in his last 27 games against Chicago.
Everyone should love something in life as much as Aaron Rodgers loves crushing The Chicago Bears https://t.co/3o0gFrYb79
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 19, 2022
The Rams weren’t as fortunate. A 10-point choice over the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams won but didn’t cover with a 31-27 triumph. Marcus Mariota and the Falcons are 0-2 SU but 2-0 ATS.
Speaking of covering, the Houston Texans are 0-1-1 SU but also 2-0 ATS. They went to Denver as 10-point underdogs and covered while losing 16-9 to the Broncos.
While it might seem that 10 points is a lot to give another NFL team, research compiled by Radar360 shows that in fact more often than not, NFL teams favored by 10 points do cover. Between 2017-2022, there have now been 31 NFL games in which a team was favored by exactly 10 points. Favorites are 17-13-1 ATS in those games.
Rus-Sell-ing the NFL MVP Future
If you were one of those folks who opted to place a future book bet on new Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson in the NFL MVP odds, today is your lucky day.
RUSS IS COOKED 🚨
Russell Wilson has played so poorly to start the season that we're giving a FREE BET to everyone who placed a bet on Russ to win MVP! pic.twitter.com/f9RrdLUE6X
— Fanatics Sportsbook (@FanaticsBook) September 18, 2022
Wait, what? Isn’t Wilson having a dreadful year? Yes he is. Wilson has thrown for two TDs against one interception. His passer rating is 86.5.
So what’s good about that? Well, it just so happens that PointsBet is feeling your pain. The sportsbook is offering all bettors holding a Wilson MVP ticket with them a free bet as consolation.
Lions Roar
The Detroit Lions still haven’t been favored in 25 NFL games. Sunday’s game with the Washington Commander ended up kicking off as a pick’em. Detroit won 36-27 and one DraftKings bettor cashed a major parlay on that game.
D'Andre Swift 🤝 Hitting rushing yards OVER in the first quarterpic.twitter.com/wVKfO6b7a8
— PFF NFL Podcast (@PFFNFLPod) September 18, 2022
The play was a $25, 11-leg parlay, and the payday was $25,050. Check out the latest DraftKings Sportsbook promo code to make your NFL Week 3 bets here.
Here are the winning legs:
- Total Points – 1st Quarter: Over 9.5
- DET Lions to Win by 5+ in 1st Quarter
- Carson Wentz Over 224.5 Passing Yards
- Carson Wentz 2+ Passing Touchdowns
- Antonio Gibson Under 74.5 Rushing Yards
- D’Andre Swift Over 49.5 Rushing Yards
- Amon-Ra St. Brown Over 49.5 Receiving Yards
- D’Andre Swift Over 19.5 Receiving Yards
- DET Lions Over 19.5 Total Points
- WAS Commanders Under 29.5 Total Points
- DET Lions 3+ Sacks Made
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
