Patriots listed as one point favorite at Buffalo for NFL week 2
(PHOTO: Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 3 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
(PHOTO: Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 3 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports) While it was only one game, apparently Buffalo’s upset victory against the over-hyped off-season champion Indianapolis Colts was enough to push the needle a bit with the betting public.
After the Patriots opened as 1½ point favorites, in a matter of hours the line moved down to at least one point, and as low as a pick’em depending on the which book you shop at. The Buffalo defense dominated an overwhelmed Indianapolis offensive line in Sunday’s 27-14 win at Orchard Park, constantly getting pressure on Andrew Luck to force hurried or off balance throws. A whopping 32 of the 55 times Luck dropped back to pass resulted in a play of zero yards gained or worse: two sacks, two interceptions, four penalties, one completion for a loss of yardage and 23 incomplete passes.
Two other games have had a noticeable movement since the initial line was listed. Denver has gone from a 1½-point favorite to a 3-point underdog at Kansas City after the Chiefs’ win at Houston, and Miami has vaulted from a 4½ point favorite at Jacksonville to 6 (and in several locations 6½) point favorite off the combination of their win at Washington and the Jags’ home loss to Carolina.
There are a total of four road teams listed as favorites this week. Besides the Patriots and Dolphins, the others are Arizona (at Chicago) and St. Louis (at Washington). I was slightly surprised to see that Tennessee (after winning 42-14 on the road) did not join that group playing at Cleveland, who were beat like a drum by the Jets.
Here is a look at the consensus NFL week two lines as of Monday:
Denver at Kansas City (-3), (over/under 42); Thursday night on CBS and NFLN
Houston at Carolina (-3), (o/u 40½); early Sunday game on CBS
Tampa Bay at New Orleans (-10), (47½); early game on FOX
San Francisco at Pittsburgh (-6½), (45); early game on FOX
Detroit at Minnesota (-3), (44); early game on FOX
New England (-1) at Buffalo (45); early game on CBS
Arizona (-2½) at Chicago; early game on FOX
Tennessee at Cleveland (-2), (41½); early game on CBS
San Diego at Cincinnati (-3½), (45½); early game on CBS
St. Louis (-3) at Washington (41½); early game on FOX
Atlanta at New York Giants (-3), (50); early game on FOX
Baltimore at Oakland (no line yet due to Derek Carr injury); late game on CBS
Miami (-6) at Jacksonville (41½); late game on CBS
Dallas at Philadelphia (-3); late game on FOX
Seattle at Green Bay (-3½), (48½); Sunday night on NBC
N.Y. Jets at Indianapolis (-7), (47); Monday night on ESPN
Moving on to the next game, here are some early links to reading material regarding next week’s contest at Buffalo:
Boomer Esiason: Bills Will Be ‘Major Challenge’ For Patriots | CBS Boston
Patriots Notebook: Bills’ Tyrod Taylor will be a headache | Boston Herald | Karen Guregian
Rex Ryan: ‘I’ll go home early’ because Bills’ plan for Patriots is ready | ESPN | Mike Rodak
AFC’s top contenders already falling behind Patriots, but Bills could reel them in | Sporting News
Bills’ Rex Ryan looks ahead to Patriots (5 takeaways from Monday press conference) | Syracuse.com
And why am I not surprised by this one? CHB retreads his oft-used ‘tomato can’ column to passive-aggressively disparage the Patriots. For Shank, it’s a win-win: if he is correct he gets to pat himself on the back; if he is wrong then he gets what he really wants, which is to write a column denigrating the Patriots. And in case you are wondering: yes, true to form, he inserted a mention of the Red Sox in a metaphor in his piece.
After Patriots, AFC East is still a trio of zeros | Boston Globe | Dan Shaughnessy
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