Mike Lundin
Titans vs. Jaguars
Play: Under 42
The Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the Texans 29-7 at Houston in Week 1 while the Tennessee Titans suffered a 26-16 home loss to Oakland.
The Jaguars held Houston to only 203 total yards in their victory and sacked the Texans QB no less than 10 times! The Titans struggled against the Raiders and QB Marcus Mariota left the gridiron completing 25-of-41 passes for 256 yards with no touchdown passes. It's concerning that they struggled to crack the Raiders D which is nowhere near the top of the league, and I don't see them having much success here against a much stronger Jags D.
The Titans did a decent enough job defensively last week considering what they were up against; a team that ranked 6th in total yards last season. I don't think they'll have any trouble shutting down Blake Bortles who completed only 11-of-21 passes for 125 yards with one touchdown last week. The Titans 22-year old rookie running back Leonard Fournette rushed for 100 yards on 26 carries in his debut, but I wouldn't count him being consistent with the big boys just yet.
Ray Monohan
Browns vs. Ravens
Play: Browns +9
The Browns actually looked like a real football team in Week 1 against the Steelers. They're worthy of a flyer here on them Sunday.
Cleveland had Pittsburgh on the ropes late, in what was eventually a 3 point loss. However, there were plenty more bright spots in this game than maybe in any game the Browns played in last season.
Defensively, they did cause a lot of issues for the Steelers attack. They kept the run game down and really never let any of these Pittsburgh receivers behind them.
Offensively, Kizer looked solid too. He threw for 222 yards and had this Browns offense really putting together some nice drives. If now has the confidence with the full game action and after facing that Steelers defense in Week 1, it will certainly prove valuable here.
Some trends to note. Ravens are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game. Ravens are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win of more than 14 points.
Cappers Club
Arizona at Indianapolis
Play: Arizona -6½
This play just missed out on our premium card. The Cardinals and the Colts face off on Sunday and with the line less then a touchdown, they have great value.
The Colts looked terrible in week one against the Rams losing by a final score of 46-9 and Andrew Luck won't be walking through the door this week.
They are turning to Jacoby Brissett who has just come over to the Colts and still doesn't have a full understanding of the offense.
The Cardinals aren't that great either, but they have Carson Palmer and I think he will have no issue running up the score.
Jesse Schule
San Francisco at Seattle
Play: Seattle -13½
Seahawks fans were besides themselves after a 17-9 loss to Green Bay in Week 1. The Hawks had a TD called back on a blown call in the first half, and Jeremy Lane was ejected for a punch that was never thrown. Many people had predicted that Seattle would return to the Super Bowl this season, and while their defense certainly lived up to the hype, their offense sputtered. They held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers scoreless in the first half at Lambeau, but the offensive line was a complete disaster. I expect Seattle's offense to continue to struggle this week, despite facing an inferior opponent. The 49ers held the Panthers to a respectable 287 yards in Week 1, but lost 23-3 at home. A similar result should be expected here in Seattle. Brian Hoyer threw for 193 yards and an INT on 24-of-35 passing in that game, and San Fran only managed 51 rushing yards on 15 carries. It won't get any easier here in Seattle, and this game has blowout written all over it. The 49ers are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six at Seattle, and they've covered just once in their last 11 games versus the Seahawks.
Jeff Allen
Packers vs. Falcons
Play: Over 53½
This is the third meeting between these two teams in less than a year. The Falcons won both meetings last year, a 33-32 decision on October 30th and then 44-21 in the NFC Championship Game in January that saw Matty Ice torch the Pack for 392 yards. Both teams got off to slow starts in their respective openers before coming up with big second halves. Pack/Rodgers will be fired up as will Ryan (7 TD passes in two games) as NFC heavyweights open up the new Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Fireworks before and during the game, play the Over.
Dennis Macklin
New York at Oakland
Play: Oakland -13
Many of the sports radio talking heads here in Las Vegas have this game headed North past two touchdowns and possibly close to 16-17 by game time. The Jets could manage just 216 yards of total offense in their opener at Buffalo and are just 1-5-1 in their L7 as an away dog. How bad are the Jets ??? Their season win total in some places closed at 3 and there was a prop that made their over/under on touchdowns 14.5 ... FOR THE YEAR! The Raiders were very impressive in their 26-16 Week One win at Tennessee. The defense was especially sharp tackling and locking up Mariota and his wide outs for the most part. Carr, Marshawn, and Co. should rip and tear at will here against the hapless Flyboys and with this being Oakland's only home game in September, Del Rio will likely feed the beast in the Black Hole with a big win.
Brian Hay
Browns vs. Ravens
Play: Ravens -8
Yes Cleveland played very well in last Sunday in game one against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin coached teams are known to play down to their competition when they play average to below average teams. Baltimore Ravens Coach Harbaugh is on the hot seat as his team did not go to the playoffs last season. Baltimore had a dominate performance against division rival Cincinnati in the opening game winning 20-0. We are getting line value here with Baltimore as the Cleveland Browns nearly beat the Steelers. The Browns will face a reality check as the Ravens will not take this team lightly. This is a division game and Baltimore desperately wants to move to 2-0 on the young season. The real Cleveland Browns show up Sunday and get demolished by well coached Ravens defense on a mission this week.
Marc Lawrence
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Play: Chicago +7
Edges - Bears: 35-17 SU and 32-19-1 ATS in this series since 1980… Bucs: 0-6 ATS season openers versus non-division foes; and 1-6 SU and 0-6-1 ATS as home favorites in season opening games… With NFL teams that were featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks series just 3-8 SU and 3-7-1 ATS in season opening games, we recommend a 1* play on the Chicago Bears.
Jack Jones
Titans vs. Jaguars
Play: Jaguars +2
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team on the rise. Yes, they went just 3-13 last year, but they were much better than that record would indicate. They went 2-8 in games decided by a touchdown or less. So they were way more competitive last season, and they were much closer to an 8-8 team than a 3-13 one.
This is a Jaguars defense that is going to be one of the best in the NFL this season. They have consistently drafted talent on defense over the last few seasons, and it started showing signs of being a great unit in the second half last year. Now they are a year older and more experienced on that side of the ball. This is a defense that will keep them in most ball games.
The defense added CB A.J. Bouye, DE Calais Campbell and SS Barry Church, three starters that will only add to a talented group that includes recent first-round draft picks Dante Fowler, Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack. The offense added RB Leonard Fournette and LT Cam Robinson in the first round rounds of the draft this year, and both are starters.
I cashed in the Jaguars +6 in Week 1 in a dominant 29-7 win at Houston. This defense showed their teeth by limiting the Texans to just 203 total yards and forcing four turnovers. Campbell has four of a franchise-record 10 sacks against the Texans and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Fowler returned a fumble 53 yards for a touchdown.
The offense didn't have to do much, but I did come away impressed with the running game as Fournette rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown. This running game will take pressure off of Bortles, so he won't be asked to do nearly as much as he has in the past in constantly playing from behind.
I do think the Titans will be fine after their 26-16 home loss to the Raiders last week. But I think these teams are pretty even, and there's no way the Jaguars should be home underdogs if that's the case. Plus, the Jaguars will be extra motivated to put on a show for their home fans, who have had to deal with record flooding in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Last year, Jacksonville crushed Tennessee 38-17 at home while racking up 415 total yards against a suspect Titans defense. The Jaguars were 4-point home dogs in that game. The Titans are 13-35-3 ATS in their last 51 division games, including 0-6 ATS in their last six AFC South road games. The Jaguars are 4-0 ATS in their last four division games. The home team is 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings. The Titans are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six trips to Jacksonville.
Sean Murphy
49ers vs. Seahawks
Play: 49ers +14
I’ll grab the points with the 49ers on Sunday as they aim to hang tough against what will be a hungry Seahawks squad coming off an opening week loss.
San Francisco could muster only three points in its opening week loss to Carolina. The 49ers weren’t able to do much playing from behind for the majority of the game. While they may be in a similar situation in Seattle on Sunday, I don’t expect to see them get quite as rattled and abandon the run game so quickly. Keep in mind, last week’s contest was the team’s first under the guidance of rookie head coach Kyle Shanahan.
There were positives to take away from that game as the defense performed well, keeping a good Panthers ground game in check all day. On offense, Carlos Hyde managed to gain five yards per rush, but had only nine attempts.
Seattle didn’t look sharp in last week’s loss in Green Bay. The Seahawks will simply be looking to bounce back with a win here – winning by margin would be nice, but I feel they’ll just be aiming to earn a ‘w’ and move on in what could be considered a flat spot in their schedule before traveling to Tennessee next week.
Seattle’s ground game isn’t going to intimidate anyone this season and I think its inability to consistently move the chains is a big reason why the 49ers will hang around for 60 minutes in this game.
John Martin
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Play: Under 43½
The Chicago Bears lost their top two wide receivers to season-ending injuries in Kevin White and Cameron Meredith. They are going to struggle to score points moving forward. They are up against a Bucs defense that is probably going to be a Top 10 unit in the NFL this year. The Bears did a nice job of holding a high-powered Falcons offense to just 23 points last week. The Bucs have been out of sync all preseason offensively, averaging just 10.8 PPG. But the Bucs were impressive on defense in the preseason, allowing only 14.3 PPG. I think the books have set the number too high here Sunday.
Jimmy Boyd
Redskins vs. Rams
Play: Rams -2½
I like Los Angeles in this one. I was high on this Rams team coming into the year, picking them to go 9-7 and be right there for a shot at the Wild Card. It was all about the addition of McVay, who didn’t get near the respect he deserved for turning the Redskins offense into a juggernaut with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback.
We saw in Week 1 just how much Washington missed McVay’s play calling and how it impacted the Rams offensive attack. Washington’s offense was responsible for just 10 points. In fact, the defense scored before they did, returning an interception 24-yards midway through the 2nd quarter. The Redskins offense managed just 264 yards and committed 4 turnovers. Keep in mind Washington had won the previous 5 games against the Eagles.
Sure the Rams got two defensive TDs and a safety, but the offense was still responsible for 30 points. That’s with having to settle for 3 field goals. Jared Goff looked nothing like he did as a rookie, going 21 of 29 for 306 yards. While Todd Gurley struggled on the ground, he had 96 total yards and a score.
I think a lot of people will just call that a fluke and credit their success more of a result of their opponent than their own doing. I think they are forgetting just how bad the Rams offense was last year. They didn’t even score a touchdown in the first two weeks of last season.
Same thing with LA’s defense. With Aaron Donald not playing, most will just credit that great showing to how bad the Colts are without Luck at QB. I again think that’s a mistake and with Donald ending his holdout and likely to play this week, they are only going to be that much better on that side of the ball in Week 2. Donald is an All-Pro type player that would take any defense to a different level with him on the field. He and the rest of the Rams defensive front should feast on the weak offensive line of the Redskins.
Something else to consider here is that McVay has a great understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Washington’s team on both sides of the ball. Add in home field advantage and I just think this is too good a line to pass up on Los Angeles.
Teddy Covers
Eagles vs. Chiefs
Play: Over 47
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We tend to think of the Kansas City offense as a sluggish one; what it’s been for the majority of the time that Andy Reid and Alex Smith have spent together as a coach/quarterback duo. But that public perception is flat out wrong, as clearly evidenced by KC’s explosive production against the Patriots in their Week 1 road win.
KC hung 42 points and 537 yards on the Pats in Foxboro, with both Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt showing all kinds of big play, quick strike potential. And KC has now produced four TD’s or more in five of their last seven regular season games; an under-rated offense.
The Eagles are at their weakest defensively in the secondary, a stop unit that is clearly vulnerable to big plays. Three different Redskins receivers catching passes of 28 yards or longer last week. Starting cornerback Ronald Darby will be out for at least a month and safety Corey Graham is very questionable for Sunday. No surprise here if we see another ‘surprisingly’ strong offensive showing from the Chiefs in their home opener at Arrowhead.
But the Eagles offense is no joke. Carson Wentz completed passes to eight different receivers last week, showing Philly’s diversity of weapons. The Eagles offensive line is healthy, with tackle Jason Peters upgraded to probable. And KC has all kinds of injury problems on the defensive side of the football. The headliner, of course, is the Eric Berry injury, but it’s certainly not the only one. Andy Reid is dealing with cluster injuries in his back seven, opening the door for what should be a wild, high scoring shootout.
Ben Burns
Titans vs. Jaguars
Play: Titans PK
Admit it. The Jags looked pretty good last week. The defense was dominant. Blake Bortles and the offense put up points. That result and effort had to come as a huge relief. The Jags had been taking a lot of heat in the offseason and a poor preseason by Bortles didn't help matters. Perhaps no starting QB entered the season feeling as much pressure.
Before jumping on the Jacksonville bandwagon, lets keep things in perspective. First off, it was only one game. Second, the Texans' QB situation was a mess last week. Savage was terrible and Watson wasn't ready.
The Titans figure to provide a much tougher test. This is a Tennessee team which expects to make the playoffs. While the Jags may be ripe for a "letdown," the Titans are going to be extra motivated, as they're off a loss against the Raiders. Knowing that they face a strong Seattle team next, followed by two road games, figures to add to the Titans' urgency. Provided the line stays below a field goal, take a look at the road team.
Chip Chirimbes
Vikings vs. Steelers
Play: Steelers -6
It is said my everyone every year after Week One not to over-react to who you saw the first week, and then they go out and over-react. Minnesota is coming off a National TV Monday night trouncing of the Saints and everyone just jumping on their wagon heading into week 2. Pittsburgh slept-walked through their 20-18 win over Cleveland and will be ready for a Vikings club has a quarterback who should condition is questionable.