Despite it being the NFL preseason, and with so many starters out, the opening full week of NFL football turned in some great performances, great games, and great opportunities to make money wagering.
NFL preseason Week 2 should be more of the same, but better, as each team begins to narrow in on its best players, and they begin to open the playbook just a little more.
Chicago Bears (+3.5) at Seattle Seahawks – Thursday
There is disappointment in Seattle, as the quarterback competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock takes a pause for at least one week, with Lock out due to a COVID-19 positive test.
So that means that instead of seeing Lock as the starter against the Bears – Smith was the starter in Week 1 – we’re getting more Smith, followed by Jacob Eason.
That gives the edge to the Bears and Justin Fields, who won at the end in Week 1 at home and are a much better bet to cover the spread late against Eason, who has no chance at regular season playing time in Seattle.
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots (+2) – Friday
Beware the home underdog. As was mentioned in this space before last week’s games, in the preseason, the underdog wins outright and against the spread at a much higher rate than in the regular NFL season, and this is especially true of home underdogs.
The Panthers will trot out two former starting quarterbacks to play in this game, with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold engaged in two more weeks of quarterback competition. Beyond Mac Jones, the Patriots have Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe, who should never see the field in New England in the regular season.
But it’s time for the Patriots to get a win, and beating the Panthers at home would be a good start.
San Francisco 49ers (+4.5) at Minnesota Vikings
One of the big winners from Week 1 of the preseason was the 49ers. Trey Lance displayed the arm that had them moving up to take him in the 2021 draft, and it has become clear that he is a top candidate to be a breakout star in 2022.
We’re buying all of the Lance stock we can get, and especially when he and the Niners are more than a field goal underdog in the NFL preseason.
San Francisco won 28-21 in Week 1, and that was with 25 starters resting. So there is no reason to think that they can’t put up a similar performance against the Vikings, who have Kirk Cousins coming off a bout with COVID.
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