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Week 2 of the NFL season is underway and you can great a great set of predictions of what would be some smart bets to make, including matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Take a look at what we believe to be the most likely outcomes as well as those that are fairly likely to occur.
- Touchdown – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Spread: Pittsburgh – 4 (-110)
Total: Over/Under – 52.5 (-110)
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off an impressive debut by quarterback Patrick Mahomes where he threw for four touchdown passes in a 38-28 victory over the San Diego Chargers. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh gave up 14 fourth-quarter points to tie the Cleveland Browns, 21-21.
The Steelers enter this contest as a four-point favorite, but that’s simply not a smart bet. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions in NFL week 1 and the offense struggled despite having a 100-yard rusher, a 100-yard receiver, and a 300-yard passer.
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Historically, Pittsburgh holds a 7-3 record against the Chiefs, and they are 4-1 against the spread in the last five games in the series. The Chiefs enter this game 5-1 ATS in their last six games and are 11-4 ATS on the road in their last 15 games. Meanwhile, the Steelers are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games and are 0-5 ATS in their last five games at home.
Mahomes is a quarterback who is similar to Cleveland Browns starter Tyrod Taylor, whom the Steelers did not play well against when it mattered most. That isn’t a good formula for pulling off a decisive victory. Pittsburgh will likely win, but this should be a close contest.
How You Score: Take Kansas City Chiefs and the Points
- Field Goal – Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers
Spread: Green Bay – 1.5 (-110)
Total: Over/Under – 46.0 (-110)
This is one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL and should have a lot more animosity to it as these are the two teams who will likely be battling for the NFC North championship. Both of these teams enter the contest at 1-0, with the Vikings dominating San Francisco 24-16 in the Packers having to rally against Chicago to win.
The big factor in this game should be the play of new Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has been lights out against the Packers and his two career starts. Cousins has completed 65.8% of his passes for 704 yards and zero interceptions. That included a 375 yard, three touchdown performance in 2016 against Green Bay.
Minnesota is 8-1 ATS in their last nine games in September and they are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games. Meanwhile, Green Bay is 1-5 ATS in their last six games at home and are 0-4 ATS in their last four overall. The Vikings are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams and the underdog has won five of the last seven against the spread.
How You Score: Take Minnesota and the Points
- Extra Points – Three Games You Want to Take a Look At
The over/under in the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game is set at 42.5. Consider that in the last two seasons these teams have only reached the 40 point total once, last year when Dallas defeated New York 30-10. In their home contest last year, the Cowboys defeated the Giants 19-3 and lost to the Giants at home two seasons ago, 20-19.
This used to be a rather high-scoring set of contests, with the total reaching 50 or better in five of the seven contests from 2013 to 2015, but that is no longer the case. Dallas has gone under in each of their last five games and the Giants have gone under in seven of their last eight overall. These are no longer two dynamic powerhouse offenses.
How You Score – Go with the Under
The Chicago Bears are coming off an extremely tough loss where they were leading the Green Bay Packers 20-0 before losing, 24-23. Seattle comes off a three-point loss at Denver but, for some reason, oddsmakers see the Bears as the better team, as they are favored by three.
While it is true that Chicago is 4-1 ATS in their last five games and are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 at home, consider that Seattle is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams and 4-1 ATS in the last five in Chicago.
How You Score – Take Seattle and the Points
After scoring just three points in their first game of the new NFL season, oddsmakers still believe that the Buffalo Bills are worthy of combining with the Los Angeles Chargers to produce 42.5 points as the over/under. Buffalo’s two quarterbacks combined for 70 passing yards and were sacked six times in their 47-3 loss to Baltimore.
This is a horrific offense, which should generate no more than six points in this game. They are then concluding that Los Angeles will score at least 37. Not likely to happen.
How You Score – Go with the Under