Caleb Wilfinger
Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and what a week it was. There was plenty of drama across the slate, including an early candidate for Game of the Year between the Ravens and Bills. More importantly, I cashed in on my Week 1 mega parlay at +2512 odds! Can we make it 2 in a row this week? It’s time to find out.
With the Week 2 slate on the horizon, let’s get right into my NFL Week 2 mega parlay that pays out at over 27/1 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Patriots ML (+110)
Colts ML (+102)
Ravens -11.5 (-108)
Jaguars vs Bengals under 49.5 (-115)
Falcons +3.5 (-115)
Parlay odds: +2755
New England Patriots ML (+110) over Miami Dolphins
Few teams looked worse than the New England Patriots in Week 1, as Mike Vrabel’s team appears to have a long way to go if it wants to achieve the lofty preseason goals some pundits had for New England. Thankfully for Drake Maye and the rest of the Patriots, one of those teams just happened to be the Miami Dolphins, who couldn’t do a thing right on either side of the ball against the Colts. Things appear to be a mess in Miami, and the Dolphins have already turned to having “players only meetings” after just one week of the season. With that in mind, while the New England offense has struggled to this point, Maye and his bevy of young receivers should find a bit of a rhythm against a Dolphins defense that could be one of the league’s worst units this season. I’ll take New England as a short road ‘dog.
Grab our expert’s anytime TD scorer bets for NFL Week 2
Indianapolis Colts ML (+102) over Denver Broncos
Indianapolis was one of the pleasant surprises in Week 1, as the Colts dominated the Dolphins in emphatic fashion on both sides of the ball in an easy victory at home. It remains to be seen if the Colts can translate this level of success into another game, but the floor should be relatively high with Shane Steichen as the head coach and play caller for this offense. Daniel Jones has a much tougher test ahead of him this week against the excellent Broncos defense, but Denver has its own issues that it needs to sort out following a disappointing Week 1 showing against the Titans.
As for the Broncos, Sean Payton’s offense looked completely out of sorts against Tennessee, and if it wasn’t for the Denver defense forcing Cam Ward into a number of mistakes, the Broncos could’ve easily lost their home opener. Bo Nix began his sophomore season with a horrendous showing at home, and I have little confidence that he’ll suddenly improve and increase his average depth of target against a much improved Colts defense. If the Broncos are unable to establish any sort of running game, this team could be in real trouble in what should be a close game throughout.
Baltimore Ravens -11.5 (-108) over Cleveland Browns
Baltimore sure looked like the best team in football for the vast majority of its game against the Bills in Week 1, but like we’ve seen before with this Ravens team, it all fell apart for Jim Harbaugh’s team in the final 5 minutes, as the Bills scored 16 points in the waning moments of the game to steal a win. However, this sets up Baltimore for an obvious bounce-back spot as Lamar Jackson and company are set to return home for a matchup against a Cleveland Browns team that should be overmatched from the opening kickoff in this contest. Baltimore should score 30+ points in front of its home fans and win comfortably, offsetting the bad taste in their mouths from last week’s defeat.
Read our full Ravens vs Browns predictions
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Cincinnati Bengals under 49.5 (-115)
It was a bit of a role reversal for the Bengals in Week 1, as Cincinnati averaged 2.9 yards per play on offense, but held the Browns to just 16 points on the other side of the ball. That has to be the most encouraging performance for this unit in quite some time, and it should carry over into this week. On the other side, Jacksonville can also feel good about its defense after it limited Carolina to 4.2 yards per play while inducing 3 turnovers out of Bryce Young in Week 1. And while the Jaguars may be able to move the ball this weekend, their drives could certainly be run-heavy slogs like what we saw against the Panthers last week. Even if points are put on the board, the clock should be moving consistently, so I’d much rather have the under in a game with a couple of vastly improved defenses.
Don’t miss our full Jaguars vs Bengals predictions
Atlanta Falcons +3.5 (-110) vs Minnesota Vikings
The Falcons were one of the unluckiest teams in Week 1, as Atlanta suffered a 3-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite the fact that the Falcons outgained the Buccaneers by 100 yards, had 7 more first downs and controlled the time of possession. Now, Michael Penix Jr. and this Falcons team should be in a good position to bounce back against a Vikings side that benefited from playing an unprepared Bears team on Monday. Rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy struggled for most of the game and while he did break out in the fourth quarter, I’m still not sold on him stringing together a consistent performance in what will be his second week as a starter. Ultimately, I’m confident in the Falcons’ ability to move the ball and keep this one within a field goal.
