It's time to find your week two best bets, and the heavy hitters from Bet the Board--Payne Insider and Todd Fuhrman--are here to give you everything you'll need to put money in your pockets should Clay's Blood Bank guarantee go awry. From their thoughts on Monday Night Football's clunkers to money management to big game breakdowns, don't invest a dollar before listening to the podcast.
Four gambling storylines to follow:
Are the Houston Texans for real?
Beating the Bears is one thing; getting playoff revenge against an AFC contender is something very different. Brock Osweiller showed flashes in his Texans debut but Lamar Miller was far from excellent. Kansas City proved they have more offensive fire power than anyone expected battling back from a 17 point deficit in the fourth quarter but showed some vulnerability defensively. KC lacks a viable pass rusher without Justin Houston...something they'll need to find if they're to take pressure off the secondary.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me
New England took us all by surprise; beating the Cardinals in their opener 23-21 as 9.5 point underdogs. Jimmy G wasn't anything special but he did stay within himself dinking and dunking his way to the W. Miami now has footage of the young quarterback and will make life more difficult for him in his home debut. Mr. schedule maker did the Phins ZERO favors sending them to Seattle to start the season and then up to Foxboro Week 2. It will be interesting to see if Adam Gase forges a gameplan capable of putting pressure on a revamped Patriots stop unit that looked vulnerable at times against the Cardinals.
Revenge is a dish best served...in Pittsburgh.
Cincinnati saw their season come to a premature end last year at the hands of the hated Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals get a chance for revenge this weekend but the stakes won't be nearly as high. Andy Dalton is back under center and has the benefit of an extra day compared to his Steeler counterparts. Pittsburgh did what they do best on Monday Night; get the football to Antonio Brown. AB went bonkers, absolutely abusing Bashaud Breeland en route to a commanding 20+ point W. Cincinnati knows what it's like to face Brown and will do everything in their power to make someone else wearing black and gold beat them.
Will the real Rams step-up?
You rarely see performances as pathetic as that of what the Rams put forth in their season opener. Los Angeles looked ill-equipped to do anything positive on offense, getting shut out by the "defensive juggernaut" know as the 49ers. Case Keenum looked terrible; Todd Gurley couldn't find running lanes; the much ballyhooed defense was overmatched by a San Francisco ground attack. In this business a team is never as good or as bad as they look in a one game sample size but there isn't a team in the league under more pressure to bounce back week 2 from their opener than Jeff Fisher's Rams. Keep in mind Fisher is now the odds on favorite to be the first head coach fired in 2016 after that forgettable and embarrassing debut, but should be confident in a team that's had some success recently against the Seahawks.
