NFL betting tips: Week 2 best bets including Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

NFL betting tips: Week 2

1pt Chargers -5.5 & Ladd McConkey over 4.5 receptions at 11/4 (bet365)

3pts San Francisco 49ers (-4.5) to beat the Vikings at 5/6 (General)

2pts Anthony Richardson (Colts) to score a touchdown at 6/5 (General)

1pt Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) to score a touchdown at 13/8 (Sky Bet)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

A tricky opening week is in the rear-view and we head into week two with a catalogue of actual football to analyse and numbers to crunch.

We’ll kick things off in the early window, with a rookie who caught the eye in week one but still represents some real value.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

• Sunday, 2125 BST - live on Sky Sports NFL

"Speed. That's about it. He can run straight."

These were the words of Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt this week, heading into their clash with Kansas City.

He was discussing the Chiefs’ rookie receiver XAVIER WORTHY, who went for 68 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in his debut NFL game against the Ravens.

• CLICK HERE to back Worthy with Sky Bet

Will they ever learn?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a place for trash-talk in sport and the Bengals have been embroiled in something of an AFC rivalry with the Chiefs in the past couple of seasons.

But taking a swing at Patrick Mahomes’ latest impressive weapon – a few days removed from an embarrassing opening-day defeat to the (likely) basement-dwelling Patriots – is a bold strategy to say the least.

The Bengals’ secondary did, admittedly, only concede 120 passing yards to Jacoby Brissett and New England in week one, but they shipped just as many yards on the ground as they allowed Rhamondre Stevenson to have his way with them.

It was not a good display from Cincinnati’s defence and they’re about to face something pretty special when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium.

Xavier Worthy was electric in his opening game and you can’t put his display down to the element of surprise. Worthy broke the 40-yard-dash record at the NFL Combine in the spring, running a rapid 4.21, so he’s been on the radar of the wider football public for some time.

Everyone also knows what Mahomes can do with a speedster in his line-up, as it’s in Kansas City where Tyreek Hill first rose to prominence. The Ravens knew Worthy was coming. They just couldn’t stop him.

I’m sure the former Texas Longhorn would have been a big part of the Chiefs’ offensive plans this weekend regardless, but you can almost guarantee it now the gauntlet has been thrown down.

He’s 13/8 to find the endzone for a second successive week and I don’t think that kind of price will hang around for long. He looks like a serious threat and it may not be long before he’s a consistent odds-on TD selection on Sundays.

If Mahomes does indeed use him as much as most suspect, Cam Taylor-Britt may soon come to regret his comments.

EARLIER PREVIEWS

Los Angeles Chargers @ Carolina Panthers

• Sunday, 1800 BST

LADD MCCONKEY – on his first career start – caught five catches from Justin Herbert, but he was actually targeted seven times in the Chargers’ win over Las Vegas. That accounts for a large 28% of the Chargers’ total target share.

With Keenan Allen out of town, it’s clear that Herbert has wasted no time in selecting a new favourite receiving option and it’s difficult to find a reason why we won’t see a repeat performance this week.

The Raiders they faced aren’t exactly the ’85 Bears defensively, but they certainly showed up better in week one than Carolina.

There really is nothing to sugarcoat. The Panthers are downright awful and any hopes of an uptick in Bryce Young’s sophomore season came crashing down swiftly as New Orleans piled on 47 points in their opening game.

It was dismal from the Panthers and – just to make matters worse – they’ve now lost Derrick Brown, who is likely out for the season.

Brown received Carolina’s sole Pro Bowl invitation last season and is by far their best player on the defensive side of the ball.

Even with him playing all but six snaps last week, they shipped almost 50 points. Without him this week, the Chargers could – and probably should – feast.

Nonetheless, the book has been kind to us and many of the lines in this game look generous.

The Chargers to win by six points at 5/6 is a steal and every price attached to McConkey is more than fair.

I wouldn’t be against any number of singles in this market, but the best option looks to be a bet builder, combining the Chargers to again beat the spread and McConkey to again catch at least five passes.

Odds of 11/4 for some déjà vu, against a weaker team? Count me in.

San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings

• Sunday, 1800 BST - live on Sky Sports NFL

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers were in dominant mood on Monday night, despite the last-minute drop-out of star running back Christian McCaffrey.

In true San Francisco style, Kyle Shanahan called the number of the next man up and he delivered. Jordan Mason took the starting job and racked up 147 yards and a touchdown.

The Niners accumulated 32 points at something of a canter and the Jets never really looked to be in the contest, despite the return of Aaron Rodgers who was firing passes with the same velocity we’ve come to expect over the past decade.

New York were kept at an arm’s length from the midpoint of the second quarter and Mason’s score early in the third iced things, well ahead of the final whistle.

It was an ominous display from San Francisco and evidence that they will once again be in the hunt for the championship this season. They’re simply too good not to be.

With that being said, the handicap in the Niners’ clash with Minnesota this weekend surprised me a little. Yes, the Vikings are at home and they are themselves coming off a win, but a 4.5 point line looks slender.

• CLICK HERE to back the 49ers -4.5 with Sky Bet

San Francisco just beat the Jets by 13 points and if I was given handicapper duties for a hypothetical Jets-Vikings game, I’d be giving Minnesota a couple of points to play with.

Don’t get me wrong, there were bits and pieces to like about the Vikings’ week one victory.

Road wins in the NFL are always worth a little extra, Sam Darnold had one of his better performances in recent seasons at quarterback and Aaron Jones had a successful first outing as Minnesota’s bell-cow, picking up 94 rushing yards and a score.

However, the quality of the opposition has to be valued and this latest iteration of the New York Football Giants looks pretty poor. They managed just 3.5 yards per play (compared to Minnesota’s 6.1) and the slow-death of Daniel Jones’ career as a starting NFL quarterback looks to be in full effect.

The Giants were bad, and a far cry from the challenge that the 49ers pose.

San Francisco faced the superior New York team in week one, and yet they managed more passing yards than Minnesota, more rushing yards and seven more first downs. The Niners also conceded three fewer penalties and punted just once, whereas Minnesota had to bring the special teams unit onto the field four times to get them out of trouble.

All told, San Francisco look more than capable of beating a full-strength Minnesota by five points on Sunday – but they won’t even have to do that.

Receiver Jordan Addison has been deemed inactive for this game already, which means the Vikings will have to rely almost solely on Justin Jefferson in the pass game.

Jefferson might be the best in the league at his position, but even the elite need help against the best defences. San Francisco – coming off a game where they restricted Aaron Rodgers to less than 200 passing yards – will have the luxury of double-teaming Jefferson all night long.

He’ll still have some success, because he’s that good, but I don’t believe it’ll be enough to drag his team close to an impressive 49ers side.

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers

• Sunday, 1800 BST

ANTHONY RICHARDSON’s return to NFL action on Sunday had a little bit of everything.

• CLICK HERE to back Richardson with Sky Bet

The young Colts quarterback made some errant throws, some smart decisions and he was responsible for one of the crazier long-range touchdowns you’re ever likely to see.

His outrageous lob down the field to Alec Pierce is the play that grabbed the headlines and sat atop the highlight reels this week, but there was another scoring play that grabbed my attention.

Despite the presence of Jonathan Taylor alongside Richardson in the back-field, head coach Shane Steichen called something that was really telling in the latter stages of the game.

With just two minutes remaining on the clock, Indianapolis found themselves in a must-score position.

Fourth and goal at the three-yard line, with the Colts nine points down and in desperation mode, Indy opted to snap the ball to their quarterback in shotgun and let him do his thing.

Richardson would not be denied. The six-foot-four quarterback used every ounce of his strength and athleticism to avert the first defender and carry the second over the line. It wasn’t the prettiest QB run, but if anything that made it more impressive. The ultimate compliment I can give the play is that it looked Cam Newton-esque.

The score took Richardson to five rushing touchdowns in as many games as a starting NFL quarterback. The fact that Steichen and the Colts were so comfortable in calling this play in that situation makes me think that 100% record is set to continue.

His price to score a touchdown isn’t the biggest, but it’s a good plus-money selection and all the evidence points to it landing. Due to Jordan Love’s injury, the Colts are favoured over a Malik Willis-led Green Bay and the Packers have already shown that they are susceptible to conceding points, after shipping 34 to Philadelphia in week one.

The Colts run a similar kind of offence to the Eagles, with the threat of a mobile quarterback always looming over the opposition, and this match-up looks to be a nice one for the Colts and their touchdown-hungry quarterback.

Posted at 1700 BST on 14/09/24

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