Week one full of surprises… more of the same in week two?
THAT’S a good question to ask so early in the season. Traditionally Week One of the NFL has always been difficult to predict as teams compete with the opening-day jitters and players are not yet fully comfortable.
The pre-season games notwithstanding, there are no clear indicators of things to come in the regular season. The players are not the only ones with the opening-day jitters; the pundits have their fair share too. Case in point: my colleagues and I who compete weekly and, hopefully, who provide you with some guides to make your bets on the NFL with JustBet.
Andre Hutchinson did not do too badly and was a respectable 9-7, followed closely by Peter Lindo with 8-8. Yours truly was off to his usual shaky start with a 5-11 record, and the big gun and defending picks champion from last season, Mark Archer, did not fare well at all and cashed in at 4-12. But, mark my word (no pun intended), Archer will come on strong and perhaps will start his usual surge this week.
There was a Thursday night game last night, a clash between the impressive Kansas City Chiefs and the not-so-impressive Denver Broncos. The Chiefs are coming off a 27-20 win over the Texans, while the Broncos squeezed past the Ravens 19-13. The Broncos’ senior citizen quarterback, Peyton Manning, is showing his age, and although it’s too early to dismiss this Hall of Famer, it is clear that his arm strength has diminished. At the time of writing I don’t know the result of last night’s game, but I think that the Chiefs may prove too much for the Broncos.
Just a few more Week One observations, which in all probability may have no bearing on the rest of the season. The Tennessee Titans’ 42-14 whipping of the Tampa Bay Bucs showcased the talents of the rookie starting quarterback Marcus Mariota. The rookie looked good in his debut and posted a 13 of 16 passing game for a total of 209 yards and four touchdowns. Impressive numbers, to say the least. On the flip side of the coin, the Bucs’s rookie signal caller Jameis Winston looked like he didn’t belong in the big league. It’s still early though.
The defending NFC champions, Seattle Seahawks, surprisingly lost to the St Louis Rams and are facing the Green Bay Packers this week in a rematch of that thrilling NFC Championship game from last season, in which the Packers were leading, but choked, and the Seahawks prevailed to move on to the Super Bowl. It’s not an easy road and the spectre of 0-2 looms large for the Seahawks as the Packers will certainly be looking for revenge.
The games to watch out for in Week Two: The Eagles, who lost last week, are at home to the Cowboys, who capitalised on some awful late-game decision making by the Giants in their match-up with them last week; the Buffalo Bills and their tenacious defence are up against the defending champs New England Patriots — this game could be a really good affair; and of course, the Green Bay Packers versus the Seattle Seahawks, in what should be an exciting grudge match.
Pay close attention to the picks because I strongly believe that my fellow tipsters and I are going to have a much better Week Two.
So we’re off and running this season and things are bound to get very interesting. Enjoy the games folks, and make sure to place your bets on the games with JustBet!
To find out more about JustBet, including how to bet and where to place your bets, visit www.justbetja.com, ‘like’ us on facebook at www.facebook.com/justbet, ‘follow’ us on twitter at www.twitter.com/justbet_ja, watch our youtube channel at www.youtube.com/justbetja or call our help line toll-free at 1-888-SUPPORT (1-888-787-7678).
NFL WEEK 2 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET POINT SPREADS
*Point Spread (or handicap) – number of points that one team is favoured over another.
*Under/Over (U/O) – A bet on whether the combined points in a game will be greater or lesser than a particular number
Thursday Sept 17
DEN BRONCOS + 3.5 at KC CHIEFS vs U/O 42.5
Sunday Sept 20
NE PATRIOTS at BUF BILLS + 1.5 vs, U/O 44.5
HOU TEXANS + 4.5 at CAR PANTHERS, U/O 40.5
ARI CARDINALS at CHI BEARS + 2.5, U/O 45.5
SD CHARGERS + 3.5 at CIN BENGALS, U/O 46.5
TEN TITANS at CLE BROWNS + 1.5, U/O 41.5
DET LIONS + 3.5 at MIN VIKINGS, U/O 43.5
TB BUCCANEERS + 10.5 at NO SAINTS, U/O 47.5
ATL FALCONS + 2.5 at NY GIANTS, U/O 51.5
SF 49ERS + 5.5 at PIT STEELERS, U/O 45.5
STL RAMS at WAS REDSKINS + 4.5, U/O 41.5
MIA DOLPHINS at JAC JAGUARS + 6.5, U/O 41.5
BAL RAVENS at OAK RAIDERS + 6.5, U/O 42.5
DAL COWBOYS at PHI EAGLES + 5.5, U/O 55.5
SEA SEAHAWKS + 4.5 at GB PACKERS, U/O 48.5
Monday Sept 21
NY JETS + 7.5 at IND COLTS, U/O 47.5
*Handicaps and Under/Over are subject to change before kick-off
EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD
Andre Hutchinson’s Week 2 Picks (in bold)
BRONCOS at CHIEFS
PATRIOTS at BILLS
TEXANS at PANTHERS
CARDINALS at BEARS
CHARGERS at BENGALS
TITANS at BROWNS
LIONS at VIKINGS
BUCCANEERS at SAINTS
FALCONS at GIANTS
49ERS at STEELERS
RAMS at REDSKINS
DOLPHINS at JAGUARS
RAVENS at RAIDERS
COWBOYS at EAGLES
SEAHAWKS at PACKERS
NY JETS at IND COLTS
Last week’s record: 9-7
Season record to date: 9-7
Peter Lindo’s Week 2 Picks (in bold)
BRONCOS at CHIEFS
PATRIOTS at BILLS
TEXANS at PANTHERS
CARDINALS at BEARS
CHARGERS at BENGALS
TITANS at BROWNS
LIONS at VIKINGS
BUCCANEERS at SAINTS
FALCONS at GIANTS
49ERS at STEELERS
RAMS at REDSKINS
DOLPHINS at JAGUARS
RAVENS at RAIDERS
COWBOYS at EAGLES
SEAHAWKS at PACKERS
NY JETS at IND COLTS
Last week’s record: 8-8
Season record to date: 8-8
Tony Scott’s Week 2 Picks (in bold)
BRONCOS at CHIEFS
PATRIOTS at BILLS
TEXANS at PANTHERS
CARDINALS at BEARS
CHARGERS at BENGALS
TITANS at BROWNS
LIONS at VIKINGS
BUCCANEERS at SAINTS
FALCONS at GIANTS
49ERS at STEELERS
RAMS at REDSKINS
DOLPHINS at JAGUARS
RAVENS at RAIDERS
COWBOYS at EAGLES
SEAHAWKS at PACKERS
NY JETS at IND COLTS
Last week’s record: 5-11
Season record to date: 5-11
Mark Archer’s Week 2 Picks (in bold)
BRONCOS at CHIEFS
PATRIOTS at BILLS
TEXANS at PANTHERS
CARDINALS at BEARS
CHARGERS at BENGALS
TITANS at BROWNS
LIONS at VIKINGS
BUCCANEERS at SAINTS
FALCONS at GIANTS
49ERS at STEELERS
RAMS at REDSKINS
DOLPHINS at JAGUARS
RAVENS at RAIDERS
COWBOYS at EAGLES
SEAHAWKS at PACKERS
NY JETS at IND COLTS
Last week’s record: 4-12
Season record to date: 4-12