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We had a decent start to our NFL best bets for the 2023 NFL season, going 2-3 to open things up.
Hopefully we'll get to profitability this week with 4 picks from our team of experts for Week 2, including a juicy moneyline dog.
Below you'll find our picks for the best NFL bets to make on Sunday (9/17) for Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. Remember, you can always compare NFL lines and odds by sportsbooks here.
Best NFL Week 2 Betting Picks
Baltimore Ravens Moneyline (+150) @ Cincinnati Bengals – 1 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
The Bengals got rocked last week in Cleveland in what was a surprise disappointment for a Bengals offense with a lot of high expectations.
Joe Burrow passed for just 82 yards, and the rushing attack wasn't much better, only totaling 75 yards on 20 combined by the team. It was an embarrassment for Cincinnati, who will be looking to start fresh this week against the Ravens.
This is a pattern for the Bengals; they've only won once in Week 1 since 2019, and unfortunately for them, the pattern looks even worse in Week 2. They haven't won a Week 2 game since 2018. This is unusual for a team as dominant as the Bengals have been for the last few years, but it just seems to be the case that the Bengals struggle early in the season.
The Ravens, on the other hand, tend to play well at the start of the season and should fare well after a relatively easy win over Houston last week.
Lamar Jackson is a strong 6-3 against the Bengals in his career, and their running game shouldn't be too hurt with the season-ending injury to J.K. Dobbins last year. They still have Lamar Jackson (6.8 yards per carry last year), Gus Edwards (5.0 yards per carry last year), and Justice Hill (5.3 yards per carry last year).
I have the Ravens upsetting the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Detroit Lions -4.5 vs Seattle Seahawks – 1 pm ET
Rob O’Connor is a veteran sports handicapper. He broke into the industry in 2002 and has continued to provide high quality sports handicapping advice ever since.
The Seahawks did not look good at all during Week 1 against the Rams in a 30-13 loss at home.
Now they travel on the road to face a Lions team that won their opener at Kansas City last Thursday and has had a few extra days than Seattle to prepare for this one.
Seattle struggled to establish the run in Week 1 gaining just 85 yards on the ground. It will get even harder for them in Week 2 with both starting offensive tackles likely to be out with injuries. That will allow Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions' defense to bring the pressure early and often to stop the run and disrupt the timing on the Seattle passing game which did not look good at all in Week 1, as QB Geno Smith threw for just 112 yards.
Seattle also allowed 334 yards through the air to a Rams passing attack that was missing star WR Cooper Kupp. That should lead to big games for Josh Reynolds and Amon-Ra St. Brown who had a combined 10 catches for over 150 yards last week.
The Seattle injuries will be too much to overcome and there is no reason to think their offense will improve dramatically from Week 1 to Week 2 against a Lions team that held Kansas City to just 20 points last week.
Play Detroit -4.5.
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Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars OVER 51 – 1 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
Much like the Dolphins and Chargers game last week, this one seems destined to be a barn burner.
On one side, you have Trevor Lawrence and a Calvin Ridley-infused air raid offense coached by the always trigger-happy Doug Pederson. On the other side, you have perennial MVP candidate Pat Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl Champs including Travis Kelce (hopefully).
The Chiefs had a hard time getting their offense going without Kelce last week, but it appears as though he will be ready to play at least a little on Sunday. If not, even as a starter, he should be able to get in there and be a decoy in a few plays.
The Jaguars played decent last week and put up 31 points against the Colts in Indy. They should be able to match or better that total at home this week when they match up against the very talented but still extremely young and relatively inexperienced Chiefs secondary.
I expect this game to be full of big plays both on the ground and especially in the air. We should see the scoreboard light up several times, and it could be a high-scoring neck-and-neck game, just like the Dolphins Chargers game last week.
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals UNDER 46.5 – 1 pm ET
Rob O’Connor is a veteran sports handicapper. He broke into the industry in 2002 and has continued to provide high quality sports handicapping advice ever since.
This is a matchup between two teams very familiar with each other.
The Bengals offense looked all out of sorts against the Browns last week. You could clearly see the impact the Joe Burrow calf injury had on the start of the Bengals season. They managed just 3 points and Joe Burrow only threw for 82 yards. It wasn’t any better on the ground where the Bengals put up just 75 yards rushing.
The Ravens defense looked good to start the season against the Texans, not giving up a touchdown in a 25-9 win at home. They brought the pressure on Texans QB C.J. Stroud, sacking him 5 times.
That will be a problem for the Bengals, as Joe Burrow still does not appear to have 100% mobility.
In the last 10 games between these two teams, they have combined for over 46.5 just three times.
Both teams are 7-3 to the under in their last 10 games respectively as well.
Look for that to continue Sunday and play the UNDER.
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