2014 NFL – Week 2 Preview and Betting Picks
Hello and welcome to week 2 of Before You Bet’s NFL previews and picks. For those of you who followed in week 1, you may have been worried after the first two half a point losses. I’m here to tell you there will be many more gut-wrenching losses coming by the way of half a point. This is just how tight the NFL is handicap. So don’t be discouraged, just stick to your sports betting bankroll management rules and keep working hard on the right information. In the end, our Monday night big bet of the week covered and we started the NFL season on a positive note, so let’s keep it up as we look at five more games in Week 2 of the 2014 NFL season.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (Friday at 10:25am AEST)
Pittsburgh will travel to M&T Bank Stadium in what’s shaping up as very interesting game vs old rivals the Ravens. You might have heard the Ravens in main stream media this week as they suspended Ray Rice indefinitely for punching his wife. Why the NFL didn’t do this in the first place is beyond me but let’s not get into that. So what does this mean for the Baltimore Ravens in a football sense? It means they will be chasing their tails all year in establishing a run game. This in turn puts pressure on Joe Flacco and the receivers, which then filters all the way through the football team from defense to special teams and even coaches. This is not to say the Baltimore Ravens won’t win any football games but it’s very detrimental to a team when it’s distracted in such a way.
These teams love to play tight games as 9 out of 10 regular season meetings have been decided by 3 points or fewer. The line is currently at Ravens -2.5. Last week, Flacco went 35/62 with a TD and a INT and the Ravens also had an NFL-worst six dropped passes. They had nothing going for them on the ground either. Bernard Pierce is probably their best pick and he had 6 carries for 17 yards and a fumble that resulted in a return touchdown. I could see Flacco throwing 2-plus interceptions and chasing their tail all night. The Steelers will establish their run game early which will free up big Ben Roethlisberger throughout the game. Take Pittsburgh and the points.
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (Monday at 3:00am AEST)
You would have to go all the way back to 2005 to find these two teams both at 1-0 to start their seasons. Buffalo are coming off a gutsy 23-20 overtime victory on the road against the Chicago bears - a win that isn’t getting the respect I believe it should be. This is evident by the opening line that has the Miami dolphins at -1.0 favorite. Dolphins will be all the rage this week after beating the Patriots 33-20. They trailed the patriots by 10 points at the half then outscored the Patriots 23-0 in the second half. To me this line is begging for your Miami tickets. This is going to be a classic AFC East battle. Bills also won both games against Miami last season including a 19-0 shutout at home. I see an overconfident Miami leaving Orchid Park with their heads down.
Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals (Monday at 3:00am AEST)
Atlanta are going to be another buzz team this week and my hat is off to Matt Ryan who set a franchise record against Super Bowl favorites the New rleans Saints passing for 448 yards. I am going to tune into this game purely for the wide recievers on display. Julio jones, Roddy White and AJ green are all in great form. This games line opened at CIN -5.0 and it looks like the public crunched it into -4.0 due to the impressive performance Atlanta displayed in the opener. However the money is now coming for CIN and its now at -5.5. The public will bet Atlanta but we are smarter. Lets eat some chalk and take the Bengals.
Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers (Monday at 10:30am AEST)
These two teams will meet for the 63rd time with the 49ers holding a slight lead 32-29-1. Last week the 49ers beat up the most inconsistent team of all time, led by Tony-interception-Romo. Therefore we are not going to read too much into that win. I believe the 49ers stocks are high and the Bears stocks are low, as the bears went down to the Bills in overtime time. Jay Cutler was hot and cold as he threw for 349 yards 2 TD’s and a pair of interceptions. Brandon Marshall was solid with 71 yards and a touchdown but also had a fumble. Most of the Bears turnovers resulted in a Bills score, 13 points in fact. If Cutler and the Bears can keep the turnovers off the stats sheet they will have a decent shot at stealing a win. I can’t take any side on this game but believe a high scoring affair is in order. Let’s take the OVER total game score.
Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts (Tuesday at 10:35am AEST)
Monday night football looks like an exciting one. Two teams that will finish above .500 and two quarterbacks that are meeting for the first time but already have a history. Andrew Luck and Nick Foles played each other back in September 2011 when Stanford defeated Arizona 37-10. Will history repeat itself or can Foles even the ledger? Colts won’t start this season 2-0! Colts -3.0 is my pick.
2014 NFL Week 2 Best Betting Picks
Pittsburgh Steelers at the line (+2.5) - $1.92 at Luxbet **
Bufallo Bills at the line (+1.0) - $1.90 at Luxbet **
Cincinnati Bengals at the line (-5.0) - $1.91 at Luxbet **
Bears / 49ers Over total game score (47.5) - $1.91 at Luxbet***
Indianapolis at the line (-3.0) - $1.91 at Luxbet*
