As Jalen Hurts once said, "You win or you learn." It was a slow start for us on the betting season, but we did find out a few things about some teams around the league. Betting on Deshaun Watson, and Bryce Young may not have been the greatest way to make money, so let's turn the page this week.

Season Record: 1-3-1, 25 W/L %

Las Vegas Raiders @ Baltimore Ravens, 1:00, CBS

The Ravens were quite literally inches (and a two point conversion) away from opening up their season by upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on opening night. It looked like their offensive line struggled to protect Lamar, but all that meant for the offense was over 100 yards on the ground for their star quarterback. They’ll face a good defensive line in Vegas, but a much shorter task overall. The Raiders offense couldn’t get much of anything going against the Chargers in week one, and now face a Ravens unit with the capability to do much of the same in terms of shutting this lackluster group down. Ravens take this one by double digits.

PICK: Ravens -8.5 (Pick made with Thursday lines)

New York Giants @ Washington Commanders, 1:00, FOX

Well, the Giants may be exactly what a lot of us believed they were going to look like heading into the 2024 season. While I will admit the game wasn’t called masterfully by head coach Brian Daboll, Daniel Jones did not look like an NFL starting quarterback. His footwork was sloppy, his confidence wasn't there, he doesn’t look down the field anymore, and he has the pocket presence of a high schooler. Now, it can be acknowledged that there is a precedent to take the road team here. Daniel Jones in his career against Washington is 5-1-1, with a 10-3 TD Int ratio. However, he’s coming into this one perhaps not in the best place mentally, in order to tough out a road win. Jayden Daniels showed some flashes in their week one loss in Tampa Bay, and was an absolute nightmare to deal with, using his legs. He accumulated nearly 100 yards on the ground and scored twice. Take Washington here to get a rare win against their divisional rival.

PICK: Commanders -2 (Pick made with Thursday lines)

New York Jets @ Tennessee Titans, 1:00, CBS

The Jets looked absolutely outmanned on the defensive side of the ball in their opener in San Francisco. Jordan Mason went for nearly 150 yards on the ground, and Brock Purdy was finding wide open receivers all night. They get a much easier task here, against an offense that was dominated by Chicago last weekend. The Titans had a 29% pass block win rate in Week 1 per ESPN, which was far and away the worst in the league. The Jets only had the ball on offense for 21 minutes in their opener, with no time for Aaron Rodgers to establish any kind of rhythm. He did certainly look accurate in his full game in over 20 months. Bet on the Jets here to dominate on both sides of the football, today.

PICK: Jets -3.5 (Pick made with Thursday lines)

Los Angeles Chargers @ Carolina Panthers, 1:00, CBS

I had mentioned last week that this team could be making a lot of appearances in these articles for weeks to come. It was like we were watching an entirely different team when the Chargers took the field last Sunday in their 22-10 win over the Raiders. The pass protection was great, the run game was fantastic with JK Dobbins, and for once, the game wasn’t dependent on Justin Herbert’s heroics. The Panthers on the other hand, will hopefully end up being my worst pick of the 2024 season over with, in week one. They couldn’t do anything right, on either side of the ball. Bryce Young simply looks like he lacks the athletic ability to make up for his physical shortcomings. And the weapons, although they added to the room this off-season, are still nothing to write home about. Take the Chargers here to beat Carolina by more than a touchdown.

PICK: Chargers -5.5

San Fransisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings, 1:00, CBS

It was the year 1992, the last time the 49ers went into Minnesota and picked up a win, with their most recent meeting in Minnesota being one of San Fran’s five regular season losses last season. As mentioned previously, the Niners dominated the Jets on offense in week one. They were able to easily establish the run without Christian Mccaffrey, who will miss this game as well. Additionally, quarterback Brock Purdy looked as smooth as ever, taking the easy throws and stepping up to make the difficult ones when needed. Minnesota looked amazing on both sides last week as well, but how much of that was the Vikings being dominant, versus the Giants perhaps being incompetent. This number would’ve been in the 6-7 range week one, so I’ll gladly take it here at below expected.

PICK: 49ers -4.5

BONUS PLAYER PROPS

Season Record: 2-3, 40% W/L

Aaron Rodgers O 225.5 passing yards @TEN

- Expect more early passing work this week
- The “leash” could be extended here after week 1 loss, pressure on OC Nate Hackett
- Titans secondary pedestrian at best, new pieces still adjusting

Garrett Wilson O 5.5 receptions @TEN

- Rodgers has mentioned he wants to feed Wilson
- Had 52.3% target share with Rodgers at Qb in week 1
- Jets will want to get the ball in his hands early, could see a 8-10+ catch game in this one

Amon-Ra St Brown O 6.5 receptions vs. TB

- Last weeks disappointing performance allowing us for a lower number in this game
- Hit this total in 6/8 last games
- Jameson Williams could be hindered by injury

Mark Andrews O 3.5 receptions vs. LV

- Another low number to take advantage of
- Ravens will look to involve Andrews early on, and have the matchup to do so
- Chiefs made it clear they wanted to eliminate Andrews from last weeks game, leaving all the work for Likely

Terry Mclaurin O 3.5 receptions vs. NYG

- One more low number…
- Mclaurin should be moved around the field more than he was last week
- Giants less than average secondary
- He’s hit this number in 3/4 prior to last week

All odds according to DraftKings Sportsbook