NFL Week 2 Opening Lines, Odds & Best Bets: Panthers visit Falcons in winless NFC South

We enjoyed four different days of professional football in Week 1, and now Week 2 of the 2026 NFL regular season is on the immediate horizon. It kicks off with Thursday Night Football between the Lions and Bills, while the other primetime matchups are Colts vs Chiefs on Sunday Night Football and Giants vs Rams on Monday Night Football. Vikings vs Bears, Steelers vs Patriots and Bengals vs Texans also headline a jam-packed slate. 

Make sure you check out our NFL predictions as we add our picks on the side and total for every game throughout the week – and throughout the entire season. Also, don't miss the NFL best bets page for our top picks. For now, let's break down the NFL Week 2 opening lines and give our best early bet to make.  

NFL Week 2 Opening Lines and Odds  

Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing  

• Detroit Lions +4.5 (-112) vs Buffalo Bills -4.5 (-108) - Thursday Night Football 
• Carolina Panthers -1.5 (-108) vs Atlanta Falcons +1.5 (-112) 
• Minnesota Vikings +5.5 (-110) vs Chicago Bears -5.5 (-110) 
• Philadelphia Eagles -7 (-110) vs Tennessee Titans +7 (-110) 
• Pittsburgh Steelers +5.5 (-110) vs New England Patriots -5.5 (-110) 
• Green Bay Packers -4.5 (-108) vs New York Jets +4.5 (-112) 
• Cleveland Browns +8.5 (-110) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers -8.5 (-110) 
• New Orleans Saints +8.5 (-110) vs Baltimore Ravens -8.5 (-110)    
• Cincinnati Bengals +3 (-115) vs Houston Texans -3 (-105) 
• Jacksonville Jaguars +2.5 (-102) vs Denver Broncos -2.5 (-118) 
• Las Vegas Raiders +7 (-115) vs Los Angeles Chargers -7 (-105) 
• Seattle Seahawks -4.5 (-105) vs Arizona Cardinals +4.5 (-115) 
• Washington Commanders +3.5 (-112) vs Dallas Cowboys -3.5 (-108) 
• Miami Dolphins +13.5 (-115) vs San Francisco 49ers -13.5 (-105)  
• Indianapolis Colts +6.5 (-110) vs Kansas City Chiefs -6.5 (-110) - Sunday Night Football  
• New York Giants +7 (-105) vs Los Angeles Rams -7 (-115) - Monday Night Football 

NFL Week 2 Early Best Bet: Carolina Panthers ML over Atlanta Falcons (-122)  

Carolina’s defense was admittedly abominable in Week 1, but that was against a high-powered Chicago offense. To say that the Falcons aren’t the Bears would be a laughable understatement. Atlanta opened with a 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh in which the visitors amassed 238 yards of total offense (only 118 through the air) and averaged 4.2 yards per play. Third-string quarterback Cooper Rush was under center for the Falcons, whose situation at the most important position in sports will be disastrous again in Week 2 regardless of who is running the offense. The only options are Rush, an injured Tua Tagovailoa (probably still out with a back problem), a rusty Michael Penix (has not played since November due to a torn ACL) and undrafted rookie Jack Strand. 

The Panthers’ offense, on the other hand, appears to be in midseason form with Bryce Young at the helm. It wasn’t enough against the Bears, but Young torched them for 361 passing yards and four total touchdowns (one rushing) en route to a 37-point output. Anything close to that should be more than enough against the Falcons. Carolina is 3-0 SU in the last three installments of this NFC South rivalry matchup and 6-2 ATS in the last eight. 

We'll have NFL picks for every game in Week 2, including Lions vs Bills on Thursday Night Football