Ricky Dimon
The 2025 NFL regular season is less than a month away. Only 2 more weeks of the preseason remain, and we might as well enjoy it even though the games are relatively meaningless. Heck, it’s football! And following a long offseason, we will take whatever we can get. All 32 teams will once again take the field, with 16 games spanning Friday (2), Saturday (11), Sunday (2) and Monday 1). Yes, we have 4 straight days of football!
Here are my 3 best bets for Week 2 of the 2025 NFL preseason.
Atlanta Falcons +5.5 over Tennessee Titans (-108)
My lone ATS pick in Week 1 was the Philadelphia Eagles getting 6.5 points against the Cincinnati Bengals. That cashed easily, as Philadelphia won outright (34-27). I’m generally not a big fan of giving many (if any) points in the preseason; there is simply too much uncertainty. I’m going right back to the well and backing a couple of underdogs in Week 2, including the Falcons. They lost 17-10 at home to the Detroit Lions this past weekend, but backup quarterback Easton Stick looked good. Stick completed 15 of 18 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Tennessee compiled a 3-14 last season, tying 2 other teams for the worst record in the entire league and earning the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Enter Cam Ward, who completed 5 of 8 attempts for 67 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in a 29-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Titans are favored because they are going to play some of their starters (including Ward), but they could once again be among the worst teams in the NFL. Their starters might not even build a lead against the Falcons’ backups.
Detroit Lions +3.5 over Miami Dolphins (-110)
I’m also taking the points in Miami vs Detroit on Saturday afternoon. Joint practices have been taking place this week and more than a couple of reporters on the scene have talked about how “lopsided” they have been in the Lions’ favor. I know we’re talkin’ about practice, but apparently it has been so extreme that you might actually have to put some stock in it. Regardless of what has been going on earlier in the week, I like the Lions. They bounced back from a 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame Game to prevail at Atlanta 17-10 in Week 1. Kyle Allen went 7-of-8 for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns and the defense played well. The Dolphins opened with a 24-24 tie against the Chicago Bears, hardly a defensive masterpiece even against the Bears’ backups. Miami is favored because Tua Tagovailoa and other starters will probably take the field, but this is one of the league’s most oft-injured quarterbacks we are talking about. He isn’t going to be in the game for long.
Buffalo Bills vs Chicago Bears Over 39.5 (-105)
The Bills played one of the highest-scoring games in Week 1, losing to the New York Giants 34-24. Buffalo made Jaxson Dart, Tommy DeVito and Jameis Winston look like Pro Bowlers – not easy to do for a rookie and 2 perennial backups. They combined to go 29-for-44 with 291 yards; al 3 threw a touchdown pass. Meanwhile, Buffalo’s Mitch Trubisky and Mike White combined to go 17-for-26 with 250 yards and 3 scores. As mentioned above, Chicago tied Miami 24-24. The Bears’ defense wasn’t any good even though Tagovailoa played only 1 series and left with the score still at 0-0. As for the offense, now led for all intents and purposes by new head coach Ben Johnson, it has a pair of serviceable backups behind Caleb Williams. Both Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum know what they are doing out there on the NFL field. I’ll happily roll with the over.
