NFL Week 2 Odds Report: Aaron Rodgers’ Injury Changes Everything
Road teams were very successful in Week 1 of this NFL season with 10 total wins. Only two other seasons had more: 1983 with 12 and 2006 with 11. A total of 12 teams will play their first road game this week, including Minnesota in a 34-28 loss on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Jets at Cowboys
-3 to -9, total from 45.5 to 38.5
When Dallas destroyed the New York Giants 40-0 last Sunday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the biggest shutout win in the history of the series and Cowboys’ biggest shutout victory in any game, they opened as around 3-point favorites with a total of 45.5 for Week 2 against the Jets. They also played at MetLife Stadium in Week 1 on Monday and upset Buffalo but lost Aaron Rodgers to a season-ending torn Achilles tendon on just the fourth offensive snap of the season. A historically devastating injury, although Rodgers says he plans to return in 2024. Zach Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, returns to the starting role. He played decent in relief in leading the win over the Bills with a very conservative game plan but is 8-14 as a starter in his career and had the league’s worst QB rating in both 2021 & ’22, the first QB since the merger to do that. The Jets average just 17.2 points per game when Wilson starts, the third lowest in the NFL among QBs since he entered the league in 2021.
Chiefs at Jaguars
+2.5 to +3.5
Perhaps consider betting the Chiefs to score exactly 27 points here. They did in both wins last year over the Jaguars, including playoffs – although both were in Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 4-0 vs. the Jaguars in his career and has yet to even trail in a game. Incidentally, Sunday is Mahomes’ 28th birthday. That’s not why this has ticked up. Most likely it’s because Kansas City’s other two most important players, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones, are trending toward playing after missing the Week 1 loss to Detroit. Jones will go as he was simply holding out and got his new deal. Kelce suffered a knee injury a couple of days before Week 1. He’s not a sure thing for Sunday, but the Chiefs also can’t afford to fall to 0-2. Only four previous Super Bowl champions have done that and none this century.
Browns at Steelers
-1 to +2.5
Second game of a Monday night doubleheader. Pittsburgh was arguably the NFL’s most disappointing Week 1 team after a perfect preseason as it was dominated in a 30-7 home loss to San Francisco. That result certainly played a role in this spread move but more so that the Steelers lost No. 1 wideout Diontae Johnson and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cameron Heyward to injuries that will keep both out multiple weeks. Cleveland did lose Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jack Conklin to a season-ending injury but was stellar defensively in a 24-3 win over Cincinnati. Pittsburgh has won 19 straight regular-season home games against the Browns, the second-longest streak in league history.