NFL Week 2 best bets: Go with Saints, Lions, Packers

A look at the best places to put your money in Week 2:

New Orleans Saints @ New York Giants (-4.5)

The Giants shut down Dez Bryant (only one reception for six yards) but still allowed multiple offensive opportunities to the Cowboys while eking out a 20-19 win last week. That “bend but don’t break” style won’t fly vs. Drew Brees and the Saints on Sunday. New Orleans had the No. 1 rated pass attack in football last season, and they showed no signs of slowing down in a narrow home loss to the Raiders last week (419 yds). The Giants will put up their fair share of points (they scored 49 in a shootout loss in New Orleans without Victor Cruz last year), but it may not be enough. This spread should be closer to even, so getting 4.5 points with the Saints feels like a bargain.

The pick: Saints +4.5

Tennessee Titans @ Detroit Lions (-5.5)

Detroit went into Indianapolis and scored 38 points while winning their first game in the post-Calvin Johnson era last week. The Lions pounced on Andrew Luck twice and hit him five times, which should be no surprise to those who tracked the stats last year; the Lions had 43 sacks in 2015 (8th best in the league). That spells trouble for the Titans, who allowed a league-worst 52 sacks last year. Tennessee’s O-Line woes don’t appear to have been solved in the offseason, as they allowed two sacks and five QB hits to the Vikings last week. Marcus Mariota was also forced into an interception. The Titans limited Adrian Peterson to 31 yards rushing last week so Ameer Abdullah may be held in check in this game, but Matt Stafford can air it out with the best of them when the matchup is in his favor. Expect Detroit to post a convincing victory against one of the worst teams in the league.

The pick: Lions -5.5

Green Bay Packers (-2.5) @ Minnesota Vikings

It’s highly likely the Vikings will have their home opener spoiled by their hated division rivals. Both the Packers and Vikings started their seasons with a road win, but Minnesota had the benefit of two defensive touchdowns over the Titans last week. They are unlikely to force Aaron Rodgers and company into those types of mistakes, regardless of the venue. After all, the Packers have had their number of late (7-2-1 record in their last ten meetings), and are a solid road squad (5-2 ATS in their last seven games away from home). I’ll make Green Bay my best bet of the week.

The pick: Packers -2.5

Best of the rest (picks inbold)

Dallas Cowboys @Washington Redskins(-2.5)

San Francisco 49ers @Carolina Panthers(-13.5)

Baltimore Ravens(-6.5) @ Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals @Pittsburgh Steelers(-3.5)

Kansas City Chiefs @Houston Texans(-2.5)

Miami Dolphins @New England Patriots(-6.5)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers@ Arizona Cardinals (-6.5)

Seattle Seahawks (-6.5) @Los Angeles Rams

Atlanta Falcons @Oakland Raiders(-5)

Indianapolis Colts @Denver Broncos(-6)