If you want to win money betting NFL games then you need to be willing to take teams no one else wants to bet. I refer to these teams as ugly dogs and you really have to hold your nose sometimes when you bet on them, but history has shown that going against the public works. We opened up the NFL season by going 3-2 against the spread last week. It is on to Week 2, with four games we’ll look at. Let’s take a look at the Week 2 Ugly Dog picks.
Week 2 Ugly Dog Picks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +6.5 at Carolina Panthers
There was a lot of optimism in Tampa this season that Bruce Arians would get the best out of Jameis Winston but after one week it appears that nothing can fix Winston. He threw three interceptions in a loss to San Francisco last week. The Panthers weren’t great last week either, as they were beaten at home by the Rams, but at least Carolina looked competent. Thursday games are oftentimes tough to predict, but the public likes the Panthers. We’ll take the points with the Bucs as an ugly dog.
Arizona Cardinals +13.5 at Baltimore Ravens
Not many people want any part of the Cardinals this week as Arizona goes into face a Baltimore team that put up 59 points last week against Miami. The Cardinals were horrible in the first half against Detroit a week ago, but they came alive in the second half and ended up getting a tie. The Ravens rolled over a pathetic Miami team last week and the public always remembers what they saw last. This is a perfect example of an ugly dog, as the public wants nothing to do with the Cardinals on the road against a Baltimore team that looked great last week. We’ll take the Cardinals plus the big points as an ugly dog.
Miami Dolphins +19 vs. New England Patriots
We said last week that we better get used to having the Dolphins as an ugly dog pick this season on a regular basis and it is even worse than we thought. Miami was simply pathetic in a home loss to Baltimore. There are reports out of Miami that players are already requesting trades. Right now the Dolphins look like one of the worst teams in recent memory and now they have to play the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots who looked great last week in a win over Pittsburgh. The wise guys and the public are both on the same side in this one, as they are laying the points with New England. Inexplicably, oddsmakers opened up this game with New England as just a 15-point favorite. The number is now up to 19 and there is no indication that there will be any buyback on the Dolphins. This is as ugly as it gets, but we’ll take the points with the Dolphins as an ugly dog.
Jacksonville Jaguars +8.5 at Houston Texans
The Jaguars were thought to be a contender in the AFC South this season, but everything changed last week when quarterback Nick Foles suffered a broken collarbone. He is out for months, so the Jaguars are counting on Gardner Minshew to lead them. He played well last week in the loss to Kansas City, but the public doesn’t have much confidence in Jacksonville this week. The Texans are coming off a loss last week, but their offense looked great against the Saints. This is an interesting game because it could be that the Jaguars are still a good team, even without Foles, while the Texans might be overrated. This fits the ugly dog category simply because the Jaguars are going with a backup quarterback and the public is all over the Texans. We’ll take the points with Jacksonville as an ugly dog.
Check out the latest Week 2 NFL odds at BookMaker.eu.
