The Detroit Lions are looking to start the 2013 NFL regular season 2-0 for just the fourth time in 13 years when they travel to Arizona to take on a Cardinals team that lost their opener despite racking up a ton of yardage in St. Louis.
Bad penalties, including one that set up the winning score, killed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who lost their season opener to the New York Jets last Sunday.
Last weekend produced the tale of two Mannings, with Peyton playing lights out in the Broncos home opener against the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, while little brother Eli struggled to overcome a mass of early Giants mistakes in a loss to the Cowboys in Dallas.
Last week we got our first real look at all 32 NFL teams in action and while most of the favorites held true to form straight-up, there were some golden opportunities to cash-in on some bad lines against the spread. That is bound to hold true again this week so here is my two-team NFL parlay for Week 2 based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′].
Pointspread: Green Bay -9
Total Line: 49.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
Washington is going to have to quickly rebound from a stunning 33-27 loss to Philadelphia this past Monday night as a three-point home favorite. The total in that game went OVER the 51.5-point line. It found itself down by as many as 26 points before rallying to keep the scoring closer than this game really was.
The good news is that Robert Griffin III finished on a strong note after looking extremely rusty in the first half.
Green Bay had a four-point lead with eight minutes to play in its season opener against San Francisco, but it could not hold on in a 34-28 loss as a five-point road underdog. The total in this matchup went OVER a closing line of 47 points.
Aaron Rodgers had no problem moving the ball up and down the field through the air against one of the best defenses in the league, so look for him to have another big day this Sunday as well.
Both of these teams come into this game with a number of question marks on defense, which should translate to quite a few points on the scoreboard.
The total has gone OVER in four of Washington’s last six games and in four of the 49ers’ last five, so I am going with the OVER 49.5 in this game as the front-end of this week’s parlay. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Pointspread: Seattle -2.5
Total Line: 44
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
Everyone wondered if Colin Kaepernick was the real deal after leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl last season and the third-year quarterback answered that question with 412 yards passing and three touchdowns on opening day.
These numbers are impressive but the 49ers are going to have to do a much better job running the ball to win this game after gaining just 90 yards on the ground against Green Bay.
Seattle has already proven it knows how to win ugly and that was clearly the case last week in a 12-7 victory over Carolina as a three-point favorite on the road.
The Seahawks were held to just three points in the first half and did not find the end zone until five minutes into the fourth quarter. The good news is that Seattle’s defense looked to be in mid-season form; holding the Panthers to 253 yards of total offense.
San Francisco is 1-5 against the spread in its last six trips to Seattle, which is one of the toughest places in the league to get a win.
The Seahawks went a perfect 8-0 at home last season and given that the half point on the spread in in their favor, I am going with Seattle covering the 2.5 points as the back-end of this parlay.
Things didn’t go the way the Atlanta Falcons planned in their opener against New Orleans. They didn’t play that terribly poorly but the result was the same, they just have trouble beating the Saints in that building and it looks like having Sean Payton on the sidelines is going to make a difference for New Orleans.
Every team in the AFC North lost their opening game last week but not all of those losses were of equal concern. Baltimore went into Denver with the best of intentions but didn’t have an answer for Broncos QB Peyton Manning, it looks like few will this season.
This is definitely not among the marquee matchups but based on the oddmakers outlook it looks like everyone is expecting a very close contest between these two teams to start the season.
NFC North divisional battle to start the season for both of these clubs with different sets of expectations based on last year’s performance.
Though it is not a feature game in terms of television this should be one of the better contests of the opening week. Cincinnati enters the season on the hunt for a third straight visit to the postseason while Chicago is looking to quickly erase last year’s second half collapse.
Its week 1 and these familiar opponents are ready to do battle even if there are a lot of unfamiliar faces on both sides of the ball for both teams.
The 2013 NFL regular season gets underway this week which presents the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a few bad lines with a two-team parlay that can add an instant boost to the bankroll.
Here are my top two plays for Week 1 in the NFL based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′] .
Pointspread: Chicago -3
Total Line: 41.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
For the past two seasons Cincinnati continued to live in the shadows of Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but still managed to work its way into the playoffs as a wildcard team.
The tide is about to change in this division as the Bengals are more than ready to ascend to the top of the heap against a couple of former heavyweights that are starting to show their age.
Chicago went 10-6 last season but still decided to make a change at the top by naming offensive guru Marc Trestman as its new head coach. It is a bold gamble considering that most of his success as a coach came north of the border in the CFL.
The thought here is that Trestman will be able to get the most out of quarterback Jay Cutler through an offensive scheme that finally fits his skill set.
The big question for the Bears is how their defense will react to the loss of long-time leader Brian Urlacher.
The Bengals are built to win right out of the gate with the likes of Andy Dalton throwing the ball to AJ Green complementing a defense that was ranked sixth In the NFL last year.
It could take the Bears a couple of weeks to come together on both sides of the ball making this a perfect opportunity jump all over a road underdog that wins the game straight-up. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Pointspread: Washington -3
Total Line: 51.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
There has been a changing of the guard in Philadelphia as well with Chip Kelly taking over for Andy Reid as head coach. Much has been made about Kelly bringing his fast-paced, up tempo style of play from the collegiate level to the pros.
The one thing in his favor in this season opener is the element of surprise as nobody knows what to expect on Monday night.
Robert Griffin III burst onto the scene as a rookie last season to lead Washington to its first playoff appearance since 2007 with his electrifying play both throwing and running the ball.
This past offseason all the talk has centered on his ability to come back from major knee surgery and from all indications he is ready to pick up where he left off under the prime time lights of Monday Night Football.
The one thing to expect from this classic NFC East showdown is the ability for both teams to put points on the board.
The Eagles are still loaded with playmakers on offense with a healthy LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson leading the way and RG III will come up with his fair share of big plays against a very porous Philadelphia defense.
All this adds up to a gift on the OVER play in this game to round-out the back-end of this parlay.
The St. Louis Rams will look to turn things around after going 7-8-1 in their first campaign under head coach Jeff Fisher last year, with a win over NFC West Division visiting rival, the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.
The San Francisco 49ers will have one goal this season — to get back to the Super bowl. And the journey begins this Sunday with a matchup against a Green Bay Packers team whose playoff run ended earlier than expected last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans are set to kick off on Sunday in the Steel City as they open their 2013 NFL football seasons.
These two teams met last year in the playoffs, a game famously won by the Ravens on their way to winning the Super Bowl last season. Less than a year later there will be a lot of new faces on the field when they kick off the NFL season on Thursday Night.
As we inch closer and closer to the start of the football season, it’s getting more and more difficult to avoid seeing the game mentioned just about everywhere.
