In the latest Home Dog Alert, half of the Week 2 schedule features home dogs including somewhat desperate teams like the NY Jets, NY Giants, Washington Redskins, and Miami Dolphins that started the season 0-1 and hoping to avoid another win while facing a superior opponent.
Eight games on the slate feature home dogs. Contrarian bettors have an opportunity to cherry pick a slew of home dogs. Only the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions did not start the season with a loss. The Lions tied the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona last weekend in a heartbreaking finale that felt like a loss for Matt Patricia’s crew.
Superchargers in the Big D
LA Chargers (1-0) at Detroit Lions (0-0-1) +3… The Chargers are spotting the Lions only a field goal, which seems too good to be true. Sure, the Chargers are without their starting tight end and Melvin Gordon is still not playing. Then again, backup Austin Ekeler looked like an All-Pro in Week 1. Do not get fooled with the Chargers on the road. They essentially play 16 road games a season. Not too many old-school San Diego fans make the trek to the LA burbs to cheer on the relocated Chargers, who play their home games in a soccer stadium. Phil Rivers and company are used to playing in hostile territory.
You Couldn’t Pay Me to Bet This Game
Buffalo (1-0) at NY Giants (0-1) +1.5… This game opened a pick’em and the public made the Giants a home dog. The Bills are riding high off a win over the LOL-Jets. The Giants put up a good fight against the Cowboys for a quarter before Dak and company took over and blew them out of the water. The Giants are not as bad as you think, while the Bills should have lost to the Jets if they actually had a kicker.
Wicked Bad Tankers
New England Patriots (1-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-1) +18.5… The line opened at +15 and keeps going higher and higher than Brett Favre on a Vicodin binge. The suits running the Miami Dolphins are tanking this season to secure the #1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The players are not exactly on board. Rumors out of South Beach suggest a mutiny. But if the players want a real mutiny to derail the higher ups, wouldn’t they try to win in order to disrupt the plans to suck for Trevor Lawrence? Ah, let’s not over think this situation. Flat out, the Dolphins suck even as a big home dog. The Patriots have no qualms about running up the score so long as they don’t tip their playbook.
The Scary Terry Show
Dallas Cowboys (1-0) at Washington Redskins (0-1) +5.5… This matchup is always a fierce NFC East battle no matter how good/bad the teams are. The Skins held their own against the Philly Eagles last week thanks to some serious bombs from Case Keenum and his new favorite target Scary Terry McLaurin. The Cowboys better not overlook the rookie WR. This game smells like a backdoor cover for the Skins after the Cowboys get complacent in the second half.
Bay Area Beatdown Coming?
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) at Oakland Raiders (1-0) +7.5… The Raiders beat a bad Broncos team on Monday Night Football in a nationally televised game in which they had something to prove in the wake of the Antonio Brown drama. Now the Raiders are a home dog by a touchdown. Jon Gruden gets to play a real team that should beat them by double digits. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are banged up. They lost speed demon, Tyreek Hill, to a shoulder injury. But they have rookie WR Mecole Hardman ready to step up.
Steezy Bears
Chicago Bears (0-1) at Denver Broncos (0-1) +2.5… The Bears were embarrassed by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the season kickoff last Thursday night. Mitch Trubisky and the Bears had extra time to prepare for the Broncos, who lost to the Raiders on Monday Night Football. Joe Flacco and the offense struggled against the Raiders and now face the Monsters of Midway. Bettors historically backed the Broncos in the thin air of Denver whenever there was a home dog alert. However, it’s wise to stick with Da Bears. The total is 40.5 and plenty of money has come in on the under since Week 2 lines opened on Sunday night.
Cheesebirds in Hotlanta
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-1) +2… Two franchises are passing each other on Sunday Night Football. The Falcons are a team in flux while the Eagles are trying to stay relevant atop the NFC. The Eagles didn’t exact impress anyone when they barely beat the Skins last week. Then again, the Eagles know how to win ugly games.
Fade the LOL-Jets
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at NY Jets (0-1) +7… This Monday Night Football game opened at 2.5 but shot up to almost a touchdown when word broke on Thursday morning that Sam Darnold would be out indefinitely with mono. The Jets defense is dinged up with linebacker Sam Mosley and first-round pick Quinnen Williams both out. Baker Mayfield and the Browns have no excuse in this clunker of a MNF broadcast. If you are ever going to actually bet the Jets, it would be during a Monday Night Football home dog alert. But it’s foolish to throw any money at Gang Green with a backup at the helm.