NFL Week 2 Predictions: Cardinals vs Vikings Odds and 6 Best Bets

Thursday evening’s WFT vs NYG game demonstrated the dilemma NFL point-total gamblers are in as the 2021-22 season gets underway.

Offenses – and quarterbacks – typically rule the roost fresh out of the NFL preseason as QBs and WRs are healthy, playbooks are newly modified, and the club hasn’t had to use an emergency lineman or a 3rd-string RB just yet. Defense takes command once skill players are wounded and the leaves are falling down. We’ve already seen a change in that pattern in several noteworthy FBS point-total outcomes of late summer, as college defenses don’t look overwhelmed at all, even squads like Ole Miss who gave up a thousand points in 2020.

Anyone who thinks the trend can’t extend to NFL games doesn’t understand sports psychology. NFL offense is a science, best produced through maximum practice hours and group preparation. Defense is gang warfare.

Defenders can train on their own, collaborate remotely about their plans and tactics, and show up ready to rock on Day 1, even in the COVID era. NFL defenses specialize in chaos, anyway – if the plays don’t look organized and pretty that’s actually good news.

But as we’ve discussed often on the Daily Double, such angles are like the weather. Some NFL teams are well-prepared to score TDs after a very weird year and a half. Others don’t have a defense that can take advantage when their opponents aren’t refined. The variable of shut-down defense in summer ’21 ebbs, flows, and arrives unexpectedly like storm clouds.

Mr. Goddell’s first name isn’t Noah, and the rain won’t ever last for an entire season, an entire week, or even for 4 quarters. Under gamblers held-out hope that the Washington-New York game would stay under a cautious (41) point total when the teams started kicking 3rd-quarter field goals in plus-territory. But the New York ground game finally woke up just enough to give QB Daniel Jones room to operate, and unheralded Taylor Heinicke of Washington Football Team somehow matched Jones throw-for-throw as the game devolved into a slugfest, ended when Fantasy star Dustin Hopkins kicked a joyous winning field goal for WFT.

The Washington vs New York total was beaten by 20 points, quite unlike the anxious nail-biters (and easy low-side gambling victories) in D.C., Carolina, and New England last week.

What’s the trick to picking O/U outcomes in Week 2? Ironically, there are less variables of actual weather to worry about. Bookmakers’ #1 mistake in setting odds and lines on Week 2 of the NFL season appears to be an eagerness to handicap games as normal again, much like Americans are eager to get back to normal life.

The time hasn’t yet come to assume underdog NFL clubs will be demoralized in the 2nd half, or that QBs and their supporting casts have 60:00 worth of tricks and TDs in the tank that can be executed without follies. Those are angles for Thanksgiving handicaps, not betting on point spreads set for battles waged in the sunshine, and not while every NFL roster brims with optimism over a ledger of un-played games.

NFL Odds, Lines, and Picks: Best Bets on Week 2

Sunday 1 PM EST: Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Las Vegas Raiders (+5.5) prevailed in Week 1 largely thanks to Jon Gruden’s exceptional player-motivation skills when working in a crisis. Vegas blew a chance to score and make short work of the Baltimore Ravens in OT, as the Raiders failed to punch into the end zone from a 1st and goal on the half-yard line. Unruffled, the Silver & Black defense forced a turnover on the next Baltimore possession, and Vegas finally scored the winning TD in what may go down as the wildest game of the season’s early span.

Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opening win was less “sexy” but no less impressive. Pittsburgh dominated the 1st half against Buffalo and coasted to a 23-16 win on the road.
Under bets are ruling the early action on Steelers vs Raiders.

The O/U line of (47) appears high especially given the defensive power of each team. That being said, neither the Raiders nor the Steelers fared all that well on the ground in Week 1, leading bookmakers to believe Sunday’s game will be an aerial shoot-out between revitalized passer Derek Carr and “Big Ben” of the Black & Gold.

While it is often considered a disadvantage to have played on the previous Monday night in autumn NFL games, such a slate might help Las Vegas stay in a groove and produce a better game in early September, when conditioning is a bigger issue than fatigue.

Recommended wager: Raiders (+5.5)

Sunday 4:05 PM EST: Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals

The Big Red’s roster of wide receivers is earning lots of hype thanks to Kyler Murray’s 4 touchdown passes in the team’s opening win. But Arizona’s form on defense is the key to Murray’s success or failure in the desert.

In a shoot-out NFL game against an all-time efficient passer like Tom Brady, the NFC West QB’s diminutive height and daring style put him at a disadvantage. In a grudging defensive battle tied 14-14 in the 4th quarter, however, Murray’s rocket arm and lightning speed make him a threat to score the winning TD at any moment.

With 5 crushing sacks dotting his Week 1 performance, Chandler Jones’ record-tying effort paced the Arizona defense. That’s the best trend pointing to a positive season for Murray and an offense that is still learning to play without Larry Fitzgerald. Arizona is a (-4.5) favorite over Minnesota, and an optimistic (51) point O/U total suggests that Sin City hasn’t considered the above angle, or head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s reasons for restricting Murray’s pass attempts prior to the midseason stretch.

Recommended wager: Under

Sunday 4:05 PM EST: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers

For bookkeepers and fans alike, it seems like the Dallas Cowboys are either overrated or the unluckiest football team on earth, as the Silver Star almost always winds up ranked above other NFL clubs with the same W/L records. Now, it may be time to double-back on that theory as the Cowboys appear to be undervalued by Las Vegas as a (+3) underdog against the Chargers. Bolts fans are excited about Justin Herbert and a 1-0 record, but Big D proved more in a close defeat to Tampa Bay than the Chargers showed in a 4-point win over Washington Football Team.

Recommended wager: Cowboys as a (+3) pick

Sunday 4:05 PM EST: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bruce Arians knows that he can’t overtax Tom Brady en route to another playoff bid, but the wise old skipper also understands that opposing teams know that. Brady’s stat line from Week 1 was more than a winning effort, it was a statement aimed at the rest of the conference.

Arians sent a message to every defense on Tampa Bay’s schedule that the Bucs can open up and score through the air at any time to help keep heat off the Tampa backfield while coaches look for ways to increase the team’s runs-to-passes ratio.

Look for Tampa’s lower-scoring trend to begin soon, perhaps even against the visiting Atlanta Falcons in a game where the O/U line of (55) seems to be ballooning quickly.

Recommended wager: Under

SNF: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens

A vanishing NFL preseason hurt Baltimore in Week 1. Leading the Las Vegas Raiders by a substantial margin in the 4th quarter, the Raven defense began to grow tired and was too exhausted to tackle in an ill-fated overtime period.

While it won’t get easier in Week 2 as the Ravens try to contain Pat Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (-4), defenses that lapse due to fatigue in Week 1 are often far better conditioned for the next week’s game.

The Raven’s offense is explosive and better from behind than they are usually given credit for due to stereotypes of option playbooks. Kansas City, meanwhile, should score in spurts against an aggressive-but-imperfect Baltimore secondary after winning a classic over Cleveland in Week 1.

Live-betting opportunities could prove profitable at long odds against whichever club lives large in the 1st half, since holding a lead will be a challenge for both teams.

Recommended wager: Live (+) Points ATS or Underdog Moneyline

MNF: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers

In the most exaggerated ATS betting line of Week 2, Green Bay is a huge (-11) point spread favorite over Detroit. Speculators expect yet another dreary season in Motor City after the team allowed a San Francisco mid-game rally that resulted in a 41-33 loss. In contrast, though, there’s nothing mysterious about Green Bay’s 35-point loss to New Orleans in Week 1.

The New Orleans Saints picked off Aaron Rodgers twice and romped in the 2nd quarter despite playing with Jameis Winston instead of Drew Brees behind center. Green Bay would have better prospects to demoralize a losing blood rival on December’s frozen tundra compared to a September game played in nice weather.

Recommended wager: Lions (+11)