Betting Recap - Week 2
By Daniel Dobish
VegasInsider.com
Overall Notes
Favorites-Underdogs
Straight Up 7-8
Against the Spread 7-8
Home-Away
Straight Up 9-6
Against the Spread 9-6
Totals (O/U)
Over-Under 7-7-1
The largest underdog to win straight up: Buccaneers (+9, ML +350) at Saints, 26-19
The largest favorite to cover: Steelers (-6) vs. 49ers, 43-18
All about the road favorites
The second weekend of the NFL regular season was rather topsy-turvy. The defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks are 0-2, and the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins each have a better record than the champs after all winning in Week 2. Is it snowing in hell? Well, no, not quite. The Seahawks had a very difficult, perhaps unfair, start to the season with trips to St. Louis and Green Bay.
Suicide Kings
If you're in a suicide pool, you'll likely notice that you have a lot less company if you made it through. With the nine-point underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning outright, the six-point underdog Oakland Raiders taking care of business and the five-point Jacksonville Jaguars jumping into the win column, it wasn't a good week to be a road favorite. Just ask the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams, who not only did not cover, but they head home with losses. In fact, road favorites were just 1-3 SU/ATS, with only the Arizona Cardinals taking care of business in their road trip against the Chicago Bears.
Total Recall
Vegas did a poor job of predicting the track meets in Week 2. The Dallas-Philadelphia (53.5) game was expected to be a shootout, but it turned into a defensive battle, especially once Tony Romo (collarbone) left the game for good. The Atlanta-N.Y. Giants (49.5) and Seattle-Green Bay (49.5) games were also supposed to be high-scoring battles, but each went 'under', too.
The six games with the lowest totals, Baltimore-Oakland (42.5 - over), Denver-Kansas City (42 - over), Houston-Carolina (41 - push), Miami-Jacksonville (42.5 - over), Tennessee-Cleveland (41 - over) and St. Louis-Washington (41 - under), went 4-1-1.
In the four primetime games in Week 1, the under went 3-1, and so far in Week 2 the under is 1-1. It's a complete role reversal from last season when the over went 33-17 (66%) primetime games, and the over was 28-22 (56%) in 2013.
Injury Report
There were plenty of key players to go down with injuries in Week 2, changing the face of a few of the games.
Bears QB Jay Cutler (hamstring) was injured near the end of the first half, suffering a hamstring injury while attempting a tackle on a pick-six against Arizona. WR Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) was inactive for the loss.
Cowboys QB Tony Romo (collarbone) left the game at Philadelphia, and X-rays revealed a fractured left clavicle which will sideline him for at least eight to 10 weeks. With Romo on the mend it is QB Brandon Weeden who takes the reins of the Dez Bryant-less offense in Big D. Ouch.
Dolphins RB Lamar Miller (ankle) checked out of the Week 2 game in Jacksonville due to an ankle injury. TE Jordan Cameron (groin) also left with a groin injury and will be re-evaluated.
Falcons RB Tevin Coleman (ribs) left in the first half with an injury to his ribs and he was unable to return.
49ers RB Carlos Hyde (head) was lifted from the game in Pittsburgh in the second half due to a head injury. Reports say he could have returned, but due to the lopsided score of the game Hyde was held out as a precaution.
Lions QB Matthew Stafford (chest, ribs) was banged up in the loss in Minnesota and needed X-rays after the game.
Packers RB Eddie Lacy (ankle) was carted off in the first quarter against the Seahawks and he was unable to return. X-rays were negative. Teammate WR Davante Adams (ankle) also had ankle issues, missing approximately one quarter before returning to finish up.
Titans QB Marcus Mariota (ankle) was treated for an ankle injury after the team's 28-14 setback in Cleveland. TE Delanie Walker (wrist) was inactive for the loss.
Bad Beats
The Buccaneers-Saints (47) game got off to an extremely slow start, with just three total points in the first quarter. Scoring picked up in the second half with 28 total points, but Drew Brees just missed a receiver in the end zone in the final minute and the game ended up going under with a total of 45 points.
After 27 total points at halftime the Lions and Vikings combined for a total of just 15 points in the final two quarters.
The Giants led 20-10 after three quarters, but the Falcons outscored them 14-0 in the final quarter to turn a Giants win and cover into a road win for the underdogs.
Looking Ahead
The Redskins and Giants meet on Thursday night. The Giants won each meeting last season with New York covering both games. The total split 1-1 with the under hitting in New York in mid-December. The Giants have won four straight in the series, and they're 3-1 ATS. The under is also 6-1 in the past seven meetings.
The Colts travel to Nashville to meet the Titans. Indianapolis has won and covered seven in a row in this series since their last setback Oct. 30, 2011, a 27-10 Titans victory in Nashville.
The Bengals hit the road for Baltimore in Week 3. They have knocked off the Ravens in four of the past five, going 4-1 ATS during the span. The under has cashed in each of the past two meetings in Baltimore, too.
The Cardinals and 49ers get together, and San Francisco looks to maintain their dominance in the series. The 49ers have won 10 of the past 12 meetings, going 8-4 ATS during the span.
The Bills travel to South Florida looking to exorcise some demons. Buffalo is just 2-5 in their past seven trips to SunLife Stadium, and they're also 2-5 ATS during the stretch. In their past nine visits to Miami the under is 6-2-1.