NFL Week 2 Picks 2023: Top Picks, Predictions & Best Bets To Back Today

Week 2 of the NFL betting season offer a chance at quick redemption for those who stumbled in Week 1. 

Chief among the NFL quarterbacks looking for their Lourdes in Week 2 are Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. Both the Chiefs and Bengals slipped out of the gate in Week 1, despite their short odds to win the AFC. 

Mahomes was mauled by the Lions in the season-opener on Thursday in a 21-20 loss. Burrow limped his way to an embarrassing 24-3 defeat against the Cleveland Elves. 

Elsewhere, the national late-afternoon game features Aaron Rodgers  Zach Wilson and the Jets. Both teams are coming off prime-time wins at MetLife Stadium. The Cowboys demolished the Metropolis Giants Sunday night. The Gotham Jets lost Rodgers for the season but rallied to upend Buffalo Monday night.

The week begins Thursday night with an interesting NFC matchup between the Eagles and Vikings in what could well be a playoff preview. There are two games on Monday night: New Orleans visits Carolina at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN, and the Steelers play host to Cleveland at 8:15 p.m. on ABC. 

NFL Week 2 Picks – Now What?

Here are our Week 2 best bets to back on betting apps. Things are subject to change.

Thursday, September 14

Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)

This is a rematch of a Week 1 Monday night 2022 game won by the Eagles 24-7. Both teams made the playoffs last season. This game could well serve as a preview of the upcoming postseason. Jalen Hurts will hear it quick and loud if the Eagles struggle early, given the large bag of cash he received in the offseason. 

The Eagles were 10-10 overall ATS last year despite winning the NFC. But Philly finished 8-3 at home against the line. Look for movement on this number especially after Week 1. The Vikings got a taste of Mayfield Magic in Week 1 and didn't like it. We liked the Eagles at -6. We'll sweat this one out at -7.5 

Best Bet: Eagles -7.5 (-110) at DraftKings

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Sunday, September 17

LA Chargers at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. (CBS)

If Justin Herbert can adjust his body clock to the Central Time zone, the Chargers could score scores of points. The Titans are navigating in Middle Earth with Ryan Tannehill at QB. The “First Coach Fired” clock will be ticking on both Mike Vrabel and Brandon Staley. The Hot Seat gets plugged in following an 0-2 start. This line moved a bit after Sunday. All the more reason to back the Bolts.

Best Bet: Chargers -3 (-110) at DraftKings

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Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. (CBS)

The Bengals are slight favorites over the Ravens to win the AFC North. The Bengals remain a value play to win the AFC at +800 and to win the Super Bowl at +1400 even after their Week 1 disaster. The Ravens will be playing their second consecutive game on the road to start the season. This will be Cincinnati’s home opener. 

The teams split straight up and ATS last season. If this was a Week 1 matchup, the Ravens could steal it. But any wrinkles in those Cincy stripes will be gone by Week 2. This line moved a half-point in the Bengals' favor after Week 1. 

Best Bet: Bengals -3 (-110) at DraftKings

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Las Vegas Raiders at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. (CBS)

The Bills head into their home opener coming off a Monday night road loss to Aaron Rodgers the Jets defense and Zack Wilson. This will be the second road game for Josh McDaniels and the Raiders, who stole one in Denver in Week 1. Sometimes, starting on the road is a positive for a team when it comes to eliminating distractions. And the Raiders have plenty. 

Allen was picked off three times Monday and lost a fumble. The Bills underperformed badly on the line last season, as well, going 8-9-1 (including the playoffs), despite finishing 13-3 straight up as AFC East champs. Even worse, they were 3-6 as home favorites. This line is too steep. Just Cover, Baby!

Best Bet: Raiders +8.5 (-110) at DraftKings

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Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. (FOX)

The Green Bay Jordan Love rebuild got off a to roaring start in Week 1 at Chicago. The Falcons over-performed against the spread last season (9-8), and went 3-2 as a home underdog. 

The NFC South is wide open this season. The Falcons have the options on offense and depth and strength on defense to make a run at the flag. These are must-win home games for any team that hopes to reach the playoffs. The Falcons showed some flash on offense in Week 1. This one could be a surprising offensive shootout. 

Best Bet: Falcons Moneyline (-105) at DraftKings

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Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. (FOX)

The Lions will have an extended break after beating Kansas City on Thursday in Week 1. Detroit has become everyone’s favorite longshot in the NFC. The Lions have been the King of The Jungle when it comes to covering the spread. 

Detroit was .702 ATS during the past two seasons, the best in the NFL. They won and covered with ease as underdogs at KC in the season-opener. We grabbed Detroit with this line was 2 points. It as since spiked to 5.5. The Lions were 3-1 as home favorites in 2022. "Grab this number while you can. It will only be moving in one direction as kickoff approaches." We wrote that in May. 

Best Bet: Lions -5.5 (-110) at DraftKings

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Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. (FOX)

The Buccaneers had Tom Brady and the worst record against the spread last season, finishing 4-13-1 on the line. Disaster all around for Bucs bettors. Baker Mayfield has been given the wheel of the Pirate Ship. Tampa won as a 5-point underdog at Minnesota. This game opened with Chicago as 1.5 point road favorites. The line has since moved 4.5 points to where Tampa Bay is now favored by 3. 

Tampa Bay is Mayfield's fourth team in since 2021. Chicago QB Justin Fields began his pivotal third season and got crushed by Green Bay. The Bucs' defense looks as good as it ever was. We're jumping ship on the Bears and going with the Bucs at home. 

Best Bet: Tampa Bay -3 (-108) at DraftKings

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Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. (CBS)

The Chiefs have 10 days off heading into this playoff rematch from last season. The Chiefs beat Jacksonville 27-20 in the AFC Divisional round. The Jaguars scored a backdoor over on the 9-point line at Kansas City. Kansas City opened as a 3-point favorite. This line tightened to 2.5 points after Week 1. 

The difference here might be the weather. This 1 p.m. start in North Florida in mid-September calls for rain and humid weather with temperatures in the mid 80s as Hurricane Lee rages 300 miles to the East. Will Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champions begin the season 0-2? Kadarius Toney played his college ball at Florida so maybe he'll hold on to the ball this time. The Jaguars (+3) were 5-0 ATS as home cats, er dogs, last season. We like them to win outright. Duuuuuuvallll. 

Best Bet: Jaguars Moneyline (+120) DraftKings

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New York Giants at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. (FOX)

The Giants head West to the Valley of the Sun in what will certainly sound like a home game for Big Blue. Expect a multitude of Giants fans in the stands at State Farm Stadium. The Cardinals are pegged for an NFL-worst 4.5 wins this year. Kyler Murray is out until at least Week 4. 

Daniel Jones just wishes he was out until Week 4. Danny Dimes was drawn and quartered by the Cowboys in a 40-0 loss Sunday night. The Cardinals played Washington tough in Week 1 on the road and nabbed a back-door cover. We're looking for value and shifting to the home team. 

Best Bet: Cardinals +4.5 (-110) at DraftKings

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San Francisco 49ers at LA Rams, 4:05 p.m. 

The 49ers won both matchups last season and scored easy covers on unreasonably tight lines (SF won 31-14 twice despite being a 1-point favorite in both games). 

San Francisco is the second-favorite out of the NFC. Brock Purdy didn't surprise anyone when he and the 49ers thrashed the Steelers in Pittsburgh 30-7. Meanwhile, the underdog Rams shocked the Seahawks with a 30-13 win in Seattle. The Rams were 3-1 last year as home underdogs, that covered 60% of their overall victories. In Week 1, This line has moved from San Francisco -4.5 to -7 points. Despite the pro-49ers crowd expected at SoFi, we like the "home" team to cover here. 

Best Bet: Rams +7 (-110) at DraftKings

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Washington Commanders at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

Sean Payton and Russell Wilson hopefully flushed the screwups out of their offensive system in Week 1 in their loss to Las Vegas. We don't expect any onside kicks to start this one. The Commanders afford them the opportunity to go full-throttle on what aims to be a major turnaround from last season’s tepid offense that generated an NFL-worst 16.9 points per game. 

The Commanders have made second-year passer Sam Howell their QB of the present and future. Howell had just one start last season, a win in a meaningless game against Dallas in Week 18. Howell will be tested by the Broncos defense and the Mile High crowd. Don't horse around. Back the Broncos at home. 

Best Bet: Broncos -3.5 (-108) at DraftKings

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New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

The CBS national game was supposed to feature Rodgers coming back to Big D to face his long-time nemesis Dallas. The Jets and Cowboys have gone 54 and 27 years respectively without winning a Super Bowl. Dallas played like a Super Bowl contender in Week 1 and wrecked the Giants 40-0. The Jets pulled off a minor miracle at MetLife, picked off Josh Allen three times, and ran back a punt to win in overtime. 

The Jets will be riding their defense, Zack Wilson, and a prayer for the the foreseeable future. Dallas ended Tom Brady’s career in the Wild Card Round in January before getting stumped by a rookie QB a week later. 

Not surprisingly, the line on this game was shattered after Rodgers' injury Monday. The Cowboys moved from -3 to -7.5. The total tumbled from 45.5 to points. And the moneyline tightened on Dallas -165 to -345. The Jets fell from +140 to +275.

Best Bet: Over 42 points (-110) at DraftKings

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Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

How this game snagged the Sunday Night spot in Week 2 is a mystery. Sure, the Patriots-Dolphins rivalry has produced plenty of drama over the decades. But New England is slotted for just 7.5 wins according to online sportsbooks, and Miami is just 2 wins better. These teams could well finish 2^nd and 3^rd in the AFC East. 

So what gives? Tua Tagovailoa lit up the Chargers delivered big for prop bettors and fantasy managers in Week 1. He zapped the Bolts for 466 yards and 3 TDs in a 36-24 win at LA. The Patriots played slap-stick football in falling behind 16-0 to Philly, before making it close in 25-20 loss. New England's defense more-or-less clamped down on Jalen Hurts. Can they slow down Hurts' former Alabama teammate? If the Patriots can eliminate (most of) their mistakes, they have a chance at a cover - if not win - at home.

Best Bet: Patriots +2.5 (-110) at DraftKings

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Monday, September 18

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)

This is the first game of the Monday Night doubleheader. An early-season NFC South matchup that – given how this division fell last season – could prove pivotal come playoff time. 

The Saints have a used Derek Carr at quarterback, while the Panthers have opted for a brand-new, fresh off the lot, version of Bryce Young. An interesting piece of betting data: The Saints and Panthers were 0-5 combined as road favorites and home underdogs respectively last season. The Panthers and Young appear to be at the bottom of a very steep learning curve.

Best Bet: Saints -3 (+110) DraftKings

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Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. (ABC)

The Elves appear to finally have stability at quarterback for the first time since they chose Baker Mayfield with the first pick of the NFL draft five years ago. 

Deshaun Watson is back for a full season and has a new offensive coordinator in veteran coach Bill Musgrave. Watson has immense potential. He and the Browns saw a glimpse of it in their 21-point Week 1 win over the Bengals. This line has flipped from the Steelers at 1-point home favorites, to them being 1.5-point home underdogs. Kenny Pickett may not be the answer. The Browns could continue to surprise on the upside this season in this tough-as-nails division by going 2-0 against AFC North opponents. 

Best Bet: Browns ML (-115) DraftKings

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