It was a wild Week 2 in the NFL as the Super Bowl futures took a noticeable shift once again. While the New England Patriots have moved up slightly (+500), teams like the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers have all slid thanks to losses in the opening weeks. Here’s a look at Week 3’s most important matchups:
Houston Texans @ New England Patriots
Odds: Texans -2.5
The Patriots will be down to their third-string quarterback on Thursday as Jimmy Garoppolo injured his shoulder in the Patriots’ 31-24 win over Miami. It looks like Jacoby Brissett will be in line to start and he’ll be running into a Houston defense that was excellent in a 19-12 win over Kansas City to get to 1-1.
The 2-0 Patriots are 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five against the Texans but Houston’s defense can give the Patriots some problems, and remember Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler beat New England twice last season with Denver, so this won’t be new to him. It’s not often that the Patriots are an underdog or a home underdog, but they are 7-1 ATS in their last eight as an underdog and 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 as a home dog of three points or less.
Arizona Cardinals @ Buffalo Bills
Odds: Cardinals -4
The Cardinals were upset by New England in Week 1, but are now 1-1 after blasting Tampa Bay 40-7. The defense forced five turnovers out of Jameis Winston while Carson Palmer threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns with no picks. Meanwhile, the Bills are 0-2 after losing 37-31 to the New York Jets on Thursday night. Going into the season, head coach Rex Ryan was thought to be on the hot seat but after a couple of ugly outings, the front office fired (read: scapegoated) offensive coordinator Greg Roman. We’ll see if he was in fact the problem or whether the flaws are greater than him.
Palmer could have a field day against the Bills after Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 374 yards last week. Ryan might not make it to Week 6 at this rate.
Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers
Odds: Packers -7.5
Both NFC North teams are 1-1 as the Lions lost 16-15 to Tennessee last week while the Packers were felled 17-14 by Minnesota. Both quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers, didn’t have their best games in Week 2 and will be looking to bounce back this week. The Packers had beaten the Lions 24 times in a row at home before losing 18-16 last year to Detroit.
Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
Odds: Giants -4.5
This rivalry game comes from the NFC East where the Redskins are 0-2 after losing to Dallas 27-23, while the Giants are 2-0 after edging New Orleans 16-13. This game will take on an added spark as the Redskins now have cornerback Josh Norman, who got into it with Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. when he was in Carolina last season.
While most of the attention will be on Norman and Beckham, it should be on an improved Giants defense. Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins has struggled to start the season – especially in the red zone. The Giants are 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last ten against the Redskins and are favored to get the win in this spot.
San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Odds: Seahawks -10
The 49ers are coming off a loss to fall to 1-1. They stayed with Carolina for a while, but ended up losing 46-27. The Seahawks are 1-1 after a surprising 9-3 loss to Los Angeles. Their offense has been terrible this season so far; they could easily be 0-2 right now.
San Francisco is 3-7 SU and 0-10 ATS in their last ten against the Seahawks. They might not win this game, but with the way that Seattle’s offense has looked (one touchdown in two games) and a banged-up Russell Wilson, the 49ers could cover the spread.