Both of these teams won last week avoiding those dreaded 0-2 starts that make playoff seasons difficult. Green Bay was looking unstoppable on offense against Washington last week while Cincinnati looked very solid against a Pittsburgh team that is in for a rough season.
Both of these teams split their first two games and both have realistic (sort of) aspirations of making it to the playoffs. Whichever wins this one will certainly be on their way, especially St. Louis, who will not only collect a road win but prove they are capable of beating a decent team outside of their own division.
The underdogs had a slight edge against the spread in Week 2 of the NFL regular season, covering in nine of the 16 games and the total line was evenly split 8-8 for the second week in a row. Looking ahead to Week 3, I have uncovered a couple of matchups that come together perfectly to form my NFL parlay of the week based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′].
Pointspread: Carolina -1
Total Line: 45.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
The Giants started the season as most sportsbooks favorite to win the NFC East, but a stunning 0-2 start has put an early dent in those plans. Turnovers and a lack of a running game have killed New York so far, but there are also some issues on defense that has given-up a total of 77 points in these two games. The main thing in the Giants’ favor is a proven ability to circle the wagons when things go south.
Carolina is another team in that dreaded 0-2 boat with losses to Seattle at home and Buffalo on the road to start the year. It will be interesting to see how this team responds this week after losing to the Bills on a last second touchdown throw by rookie EJ Manual. The jury is still out on Carolina’s third-year quarterback Cam Newton, who has thrown for 354 yards while completing just over 60 percent of his passes.
When you look at a matchup between two teams that are both in desperate need of a win, I would always defer to the more talented one which in this case would be New York. The Giants are 4-1 both straight-up and ATS in the last five meetings including a 36-7 rout last season as 2.5-point road underdogs. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Stick with them to get that much needed win in the front-end of this parlay.
Pointspread: Minnesota -7
Total Line: 40.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
Cleveland diverted attention away from its 0-2 start both SU and ATS by trading away running back Trent Richardson, who was the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, to Indianapolis for the Colts first round pick in next year’s draft. Does that mean they are already raising the white flag on this season after just two games? With a grand total of 16 points in losses to Miami and Baltimore that just might be the case.
The Vikings went 10-6 last season which was good enough for a wildcard berth, but as expected by many experts, they appear to have returned to form with a 0-2 start both SU and ATS. With Adrian Peterson in the backfield Minnesota can still run the ball, but the passing game with Christian Ponder at quarterback is ranked 20th in the NFL.
The Browns will be going with Brian Hoyer as their starting quarterback for this game in place of an injured Brandon Weeden. With Richardson now running the ball for the Colts, it is hard to see this offense scoring more points than it did in the first two games. The total has stayed UNDER in five of Cleveland’s last six road games and in nine of the Vikings last 13 home games against a team with a losing record on the road. This all adds up to a final score that stays UNDER 40 points to complete the back-end of this week’s parlay play.
David and Goliath Game of the Week – Jags visit Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks get a little bit of a break this week – a “mini-bye” when they host the worst team in the NFL – the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. The Hawks could use it after an impressive beat-down of perhaps the best team in the NFL – the 49ers in Week 2.
The New England Patriots did not look impressive in their first three games of the season. Now they’ll get a desperate Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad that enters with their backs against the fall, staring an 0-3 start to the season right in the face.
The New Orleans Saints got their coach back and were hoping to fly out of the gates this season. A couple hard fought wins inside the division will have to do, and they now get a tough Arizona Cardinals team that is looking to get a second win themselves.
The Tennessee Titans were as close as can be to jumping out to a 2-0 start to their season, but the team could not hold off the Houston Texans. Now they will host a San Diego Chargers team coming off a big road win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
These are two winless team so this is definitely a critical game for both this week. Probably more so for the Giants who definitely entered the season with playoff expectations. Lucky for them the NFC East hasn’t shown very well this season so a win will have them right back in the race.
The Cleveland Browns received shocking news this week when star running back Trent Richardson was traded away suddenly. Now they’ll have to get their emotions in check in a hurry as they make the trip out to Minnesota to face a tough Minnesota Vikings squad that’s desperate for a win.
AFC West Battle of the Haves and the Have-Nots – Oakland Visits Denver
The Super-Bowl favorite Denver Broncos have been as advertised so far this season- undefeated and looking virtually unstoppable on defense. Unfortunately the Oakland Raiders are also as advertised – a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars while nice, hardly acted to squash the notion that the Raiders are among the league worst teams.
The No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies will have to get past their loss to Alabama quickly, as they face a formidable foe on Saturday in the Southern Methodist Mustangs. The Aggies have dominated the series in recent years, but they could be in some trouble in a possible letdown spot.
The No. 16 Miami Hurricanes dropped a spot in the AP Top 25 poll during their bye week, which surely left many of the players and coaches irked, but they’ll get a chance to move back up in the standings by beating up on the lowly Savannah State Tigers.
Arkansas State is among the group of contenders in the Sun Belt Conference this season, after winning the title last year. This program has been on the come for the last couple of seasons but they have to win this game on the road to show that they are really developing as a program not just feasting on the Sun Belt.
The Baylor Bears are scary on offense. For the third year in a row they have had a different quarterback pulling the strings but they are putting up the kind of numbers you usually only see when you an experienced QB, not a sophomore first time starter.
This is Arkansas’ final game before they start the gauntlet that is the SEC – they will be playing 4 games in a row against teams that have been ranked in the Top 10 at one point or another this season.
You might have noticed that Northwestern was in the preseason Top 25 but you might have lost track and not seen that they worked their way into the teens (#16) by getting off to a 3-0 start.
