Are you fired up yet for the Week 2 slate of games? We most certainly are! There are a ton of interesting games for all pigskin-lovers to take in. Here are 2 NFL Best Bets for Sunday, September 15.
Best of luck! Let's attempt to build on our 2-0 start to the NFL season! Enjoy the games!
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens host the Raiders on Sunday afternoon following their loss to the Chiefs in Week 1. The Ravens were in a position to tie or win their season opener, but Lamar Jackson couldn’t connect with his receivers before Isaiah Likely couldn’t keep his feet in bounds on the final play of the game.
While the outcome was disappointing for Ravens fans, I don’t think there’s any reason to downgrade them based off that performance, as we’ve already adjusted for a weaker offensive line. On the other hand, the Raiders looked abysmal in their Week 1 loss to the Chargers.
Mainstream media has been extremely critical of Antonio Pierce’s fourth-down decision-making in that game, so I won’t belabor the point, but it’s worth noting the serious discrepancy in coaching ability in this matchup.
While Jon Harbaugh ranks among the league’s best, Pierce is clearly bottom five. While the Raiders were expected to have a middle-of-the-pack defense with potential, I think the talent disparity is too great between them and the Ravens.
Best Bet: Ravens -8.5 (-115) *2 units
We saw some interesting market movement on this one as the initial line was Ravens -8, which I bet on Sunday night. We saw the line get pushed out to -10 by Wednesday before buyback started coming in on the Raiders.
There was a slight concern about Lamar Jackson as he was on the injury report earlier this week, but it proved to be nothing, and the market didn’t seem to care at that time.
Given the extra rest for the Ravens and the west-to-east travel for the Raiders, I think -8.5 is still a good price to bet the Ravens. I’d also recommend using the Ravens as a teaser leg now as I would imagine this line crosses back over nine by Sunday.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Green Bay Packers
The big story in this game is Jordan Love’s injury and whether the market has over-adjusted for his absence. Before Love’s injury the Packers looked good in Brazil against the Eagles. Obviously, the QB position is the most impactful on the game and the drop off from Love to Malik Willis is massive.
The lookahead line on this game was Packers -5, so seeing Indy -3 in the market is implying an 8-point difference from the QB swap. Despite Willis performing at an extremely low level in his limited opportunities, an 8-point swing is heavy.
My argument for the Colts here is that the Packers line was inflated at -5. I think the preseason expectations on the Colts were too low, as we haven’t seen Shane Steichen’s full offense with Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor only playing one game together in 2024.
Best Bet: Colts -3 (-105) *1 unit
From what we’ve seen from Richardson, we know he is a big boom or bust player. He has the ability to make game changing plays but also can struggle with the simple stuff.
That being said, I think the Colts are a more deserving favorite than -3 especially with their ability to control clock with their run game. The market has tested -3.5 on this game but has been bought back every time. I bet -3 (-110) but there’s -105s available now.
