NFL Week 2 betting tips, points spreads, accumulators and best bets

NFL betting tips: Week Two

2pts Travis Kelce & Calvin Ridley 1+ receiving touchdown each at 11/4 (Sky Bet)

2pts Christian McCaffrey 1+ rushing touchdown & 49ers to win at 6/5 (Sky Bet)

2pts New Orleans Saints (-3.5) to beat the Carolina Panthers at 11/10 (Sky Bet)

2pts Cleveland Browns (-2.5) to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at 10/11 (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Sporting Life NFL Accumulator

49ers, Saints & Browns all to win

Saints @ Panthers

• Tuesday 1215 BST

A feast of Monday night action kicks off with a team I selected last week. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS won their match-up but failed to cover the spread due to a late, consolation field goal.

A disappointing beat, but I saw enough from the Saints to go to the well again this week, in a game that should suit them more than last Sunday’s clash with the Titans.

Football is a simple game when it comes down to it. The team that can score more points than their opponents wins and, in this case, I’m convinced the New Orleans Saints can score more points than the Carolina Panthers.

Bryce Young showed some nice flashes in his NFL debut, but the new Panthers quarterback struggled to put any sustained offence together. He did manage to involve tight-end Hayden Hurst in a fleeting second-quarter drive that created the team’s one and only touchdown of the game but, outside of that, it was a pretty pedestrian outing from Frank Reich’s men. No receiver outside of Hurst racked up more than 26 yards.

All-in-all, the Panthers scored 10 points as they fell to an Atlanta Falcons team that are showing promise, but still far from the finished article themselves.

That’s a big problem for Carolina, as New Orleans look primed to entertain their adoring, Louisiana fans this season.

The Saints aren’t going to be perfect and it’s tough to set them genuine expectations, but they certainly have intent on the offensive side of the ball and that’s something to latch onto.

Second-year receiver Chris Olave looks like a bonafide star and Saints were equally buoyed by the performances of Rashid Shaheed and the returning Michael Thomas.

Throwing the ball to them was Derek Carr on debut, and it was the Derek Carr that many know and love. The former Raider did throw a loose interception, but he was otherwise excellent, going for over 300 yards and completing almost 70% of his passes.

It was high-powered and aggressive from Carr’s Saints and evidence that – with Alvin Kamara not quite ready to re-enter the fold – New Orleans aren’t about to sit around and rest on their laurels.

With Jaycee Horn injured on the Panthers’ secondary, Monday night could be a long one for Carolina. They’re up against too much firepower and I suspect they’ll be quickly overwhelmed by the Saints’ passing game.

• CLICK HERE to back Saints -3.5 with Sky Bet

Browns @ Steelers

• Tuesday 0115 BST

The week two finale features an AFC North battle that I believe can go the way of the visitors.

I went against the CLEVELAND BROWNS in the season opener, but their handling of the Cincinnati Bengals was eye-catching and (regardless of how effectively Cincinnati shot themselves in the foot at times) the Browns should be commended on their victory.

They head to Pittsburgh on Monday night and I believe the key in this particular match-up is the Cleveland run game.

Nick Chubb might just be the best pound-for pound running back in the NFL and it’s abundantly clear that if you can’t stop Chubb’s progress up the field, you’re probably heading for a beating.

Pittsburgh’s defence is historically stubborn and they pride themselves on dealing with these situations, but reputation alone won’t stop Nick Chubb. He had over 100 yards against the Bengals last week and the concern for the Steelers is their recent history against Cleveland when Chubb’s been able to get hot.

He has two 100-yard games against Pittsburgh on his record and on both occasions, Cleveland ran out winners. Just over a year ago, a 113-yard performance with a touchdown from Chubb went a long way to securing a twelve-point victory for the Browns.

With Kenny Pickett at the helm of their offence and a squad lacking in experienced, top-level receiving talent, Pittsburgh are going to struggle plenty when going behind this season and I think this will be the case on Monday Night Football.

Christian McCaffrey had his way with the Pittsburgh defence last week on his way to surpassing 150 rushing yards and with star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward now on the injured reserve list, this could be a long night of Pittsburgh defenders trailing in the dust of Nick Chubb as he marches up the field.

I don’t think the Steelers will be able to close the gap once Cleveland take a lead and – with the line set at an appealing 2.5 points, just inside the field goal parameters – I love the Browns’ value on the spread.

• CLICK HERE to back Saints -3.5 with Sky Bet

Sunday's previews

49ers @ Rams

• Sunday 2105 BST

After a 40-0 divisional victory, it’s fair to say that the Dallas Cowboys were the most impressive victors of week one, but I do think there’s a close second.

Like many, I was sceptical of Brock Purdy’s ability to enter his second season in the same style that secured him overnight stardom in his rookie year, particularly as he’s recently recovered from a nasty elbow injury.

Well, how wrong was I?

Purdy was immaculate, piecing up the Steelers to his heart’s content. He’s not a player that’s going to have regular 400-yard games in his career and he likely isn’t capable of the magic we’ve become accustomed to from Mahomes and Burrow, but that’s not a problem. He doesn’t need to.

Remarkably, it appears San Francisco have stumbled upon the missing piece of Kyle Shanahan’s offence, almost by accident.

With talent simply littered all over the field, the role of the 49ers quarterback is to look after the football, facilitate the stars and have just enough ability to execute a scoring play when it counts. On the basis of San Fran’s week one win alone, Purdy ticks all the boxes.

With a reliable quarterback in situ, the focus can turn to San Francisco’s superstars and no one on the list is more electrifying than CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY.

The explosive running back was back at it again in week one, rushing for 152 yards and a touchdown in the big win over Pittsburgh.

I’m expecting a similarly impressive performance against the Rams who, despite keeping Seattle to 85 rushing yards on Sunday, allowed a hefty 5.3 yards per carry to Kenneth Walker and don’t have a great recent track record against the Niners.

In fact, LA’s last meeting with their cross-state rivals came in only McCaffrey’s second outing for his team – and he butchered them, scoring a couple of touchdowns (rushing and passing) along with 183 all-purpose yards.

It’s the kind of match-up that McCaffrey relishes and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone confident that he won’t score on Sunday. I also believe the 49ers will justify their favouritism and get the job done.

It’s a hefty spread for a reason and with the likes of Cooper Kupp and Jalen Ramsey on the sidelines, LA just simply don’t have the troops to cope with a star-filled 49er roster.

San Francisco have won the last eight regular season meetings between the two sides and I suspect that number will read nine by Monday morning, with McCaffrey playing his part to perfection.

• CLICK HERE to back the selection with Sky Bet

Chiefs @ Jaguars

• Sunday 1800 BST

The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs were humbled on opening night, falling to a Detroit Lions side that threw the kitchen sink at them in Arrowhead Stadium.

It was a hugely disappointing result for a team that had raised a Super Bowl banner in the stadium that very evening and I suspect the likes of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes will not have taken it kindly.

Of course, Reid’s play-calling and Mahomes’ quarterback skills were not the deciding factors on Thursday night.

Detroit were tenacious, but ultimately it was the Chiefs’ wastefulness that let them down. The Kansas City receiving group was downright terrible and they were eventually responsible for five drops during the game. For context, their average (which is pretty much the average in the NFL) is two.

Their young receiver room doesn’t appear up to it at this early stage and therefore the calls for TRAVIS KELCE to make his season debut this weekend are deafening.

The signs are good and further setbacks aside, Kelce is set to go.

The tight-end is regarded as one of the greatest ever in his position and that’s largely due to his freakish production levels in the passing game. Kelce has had seven-straight 1000-yard seasons and has racked up 69 regular season touchdowns.

He’s set an absurd standard and, even coming off an injury, he’ll be expected to deliver on Sunday in the absence of a quality set of wide receivers around him. In two meetings with the Jaguars last season, Kelce found his way into the end-zone on three occasions. The form is strong and the Jacksonville defence didn’t blow anyone away last week against 21-year-old Anthony Richardson and the Colts.

Indianapolis tight-end Kylen Granson picked up a respectable 39 yards from four catches against the Jags and, with respect to Granson and the rookie throwing him the football, the connection of Mahomes and Kelce is in another stratosphere.

With the Chiefs under a bit of pressure, they’ll go back to what they know – and what they know is that throwing the ball to Kelce in scoring positions tends to win football games.

As for the Jaguars’ offence last week, one name lit up the box score in that 31-21 win in Indiana.

Coming off his season-long suspension, CALVIN RIDLEY looked like an absolute superstar.

The former Atlanta Falcon had his way with the Colts secondary, chalking up big play after big play on route to 101 yards and a touchdown.

Kansas City handled the Jags relatively routinely last season, utilising a lot of man-coverage in the absence of a true, number one receiver in the Jacksonville ranks. Ridley changes that dynamic completely, however, and goes into this game as a genuine threat.

Trevor Lawrence has been crying out for an athletic receiver who can run the routes of a top-end player and Ridley certainly fits the bill. Assuming Kelce plays and the Chiefs get rolling in their usual style, Jacksonville will probably need to put up another 30 points (at least) in this game to secure the win and that opens up the big possibility of back-to-back touchdowns for Ridley.

At some point in this game, Lawrence will take a shot towards the end-zone and he’ll be aiming for the man with the curious number of ‘0’ on his back. If last week’s form is anything to go by, I think he’ll come down with it, and the Kelce-Ridley double at close to 3/1 looks good.

• CLICK HERE to back Kelce & Ridley double with Sky Bet

Posted at 1800 BST on 16/09/23

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