NFL lines, Week 3 2018: 5 best bets

Recap of Weeks 1 and 2 from the NFL season and my five best bets for Week 3.

After back to back weeks going 3-2 to start the season, my record with picks is a respectable but not overly impressive 6-4.

Week 1

• Winners:
  • Panthers (-3) vs. Cowboys
  • Cowboys at Panthers – under 42.5
  • 49ers at Vikings – under 46
• Losers:
  • Cardinals (even) vs. Redskins
  • Bills at Ravens – under 40.5

Week 2

• Winners:
  • Chiefs at Steelers – over 54
  • Rams (-13.5) vs. Cardinals
  • Chargers (-8) at Bills
• Losers:
  • Panthers (+6) at Falcons
  • Seahawks (+3.5) at Bears

Heading into Week 3, there are seven teams with 2-0 records (Dolphins, Bengals, Jaguars, Chiefs, Broncos, Bucs, Rams). Of the seven, six are also 2-0 against the spread, the one exception being the Broncos who beat Oakland by only one point last week. The Chiefs, Bengals and Bucs have all gone over the point totals in their two games. The Rams, in spite of their potent offense, have gone under in both their games.

Six teams are 0-2 (Raiders, Giants, Lions, Seahawks, Cardinals, Bills). Of those six, three (Giants, Cardinals, Bills) are 0 for against the spread as well. The Cardinals and Giants have each gone under twice and the Bills, surprisingly, are 2-0 hitting the over.

It’s still early and with two ties already, there are more teams at or around .500 than there are at 0-2 or 2-0. But of the teams that have started the season either undefeated or winless, there are several teams we can categorize with relative certainty as being really good or really bad. With that in mind, this week’s theme is 2-0 / 0-2. All of my picks involve teams that are either 0-2 or 2-0 straight up, against the spread or against over/under.