Phil Agius
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The underdog covered in the opening game of NFL Week 2, and might have won outright but for an effective 14-point swing on the Chiefs’ 99-yard pick 6, but which other dogs will bark on Sunday’s slate? In this article we’ll be looking for three underdogs that could perform better than the sportsbooks expect this weekend.
We’ve selected the games in which the team getting points could have a better chance than the odds suggest. Let’s take a look at our best underdog bets for Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season.
We have NFL picks for every game on the Week 2 slate
Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5 (-112) over New England Patriots
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Steelers made an early bid to be an underdog backer’s best friend with their 23-20 upset of the Bengals in Week 1 and they may not be finished yet with another big performance possible in their home opener. That’s right — Mike Tomlin’s team are underdogs at home in Week 2. They must be playing a team who looked great last week then, right? Well, not so much, they’re playing the Patriots, who were frankly awful in their 20-7 loss in Miami.
There are reasons to be cautious about Pittsburgh’s prospects of a 2-0 start, or even losing by 1 or 2 points, which would cover this line. They benefited from plenty of misfortune for the Bengals last week, including multiple missed kicks, although they were full contributors to winning the turnover battle 5-0. However, it was something of a pyrrhic victory for the Steelers as it came with the cost of losing Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt with a pectoral injury. Even so, they showed they are not willing to be written off despite the retirement of QB Ben Roethlisberger.
The Patriots looked a mess on offense and the Steelers defensive line, even without Watt, could give Mac Jones another tough afternoon. It seems either the sportsbooks or the public, or both, are simply not willing to believe that the Patriots are in decline with a lot of work to do to get right, but that could be shown to be the case again on Sunday.
Be sure to check out our full New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers predictions
Chicago Bears +10 (-110) vs Green Bay Packers
Odds available at BetMGM Sportsbook at time of publishing
Double-digit dogs are always worth considering and the best option of the biggest underdogs this week could be the Bears. Yes, it’s true that Aaron Rodgers has ‘owned the Bears’ for a long time, but it’s also true that Rodgers and the Packers’ offense looked worse than they have for a long time in Week 1. The danger of Week 2 NFL betting is always not to read too much into the Week 1 results, as the sportsbooks will have taken them into account already. The Bears covered as underdogs last week and the Packers were beaten favorites, so there’s a concern about being a victim of recency bias.
However, there’s a lot of wriggle room for the Bears not to be as solid as they were in their weather-affected win over the 49ers and the Packers to improve from their loss to the Vikings and Chicago to still stay within 10 points of the Packers. Green Bay did not live up to its preseason billing on either side of the ball. The Packers may well step up and look great this week, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.
We went 4-0 on NFL best bets last week! Get the top picks from each of our experts for Week 2
Minnesota Vikings +2.5 (-110) vs Philadelphia Eagles
Odds available at PointsBet Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Vikings looked extremely impressive in Week 1, with Justin Jefferson running free all game, and they would be feisty underdogs against any team this season. The Eagles also started out fast against the Lions but would have frustrated their spread supporters by giving up a backdoor cover to the lowly Lions, and they are facing a sterner test this week.
The home crowd should be an advantage to the Eagles after Nick Sirianni’s team started 1-0, but things could quickly turn if they don’t start well against the Vikings. The Minnesota players really seemed to be enjoying life in their first game under new head coach Kevin O’Connell and if their offense can stay injury-free they should remain a menace for all opponents this season. It’s no surprise to see that Andrew Wilsher made the Vikings +2.5 a 3-star play in his Vikings vs Eagles preview.
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