Sports betting is as popular as it has ever been. Pretty much all of my friends who watch football place some sort of bets on it, even if it’s just $5 on their favorite team to win every week. Betting makes watching football more entertaining, and if building +1000 parlays every week is your type of entertainment, that’s fine, but if you want to make money sports betting, you have to be a bit boring with it.

Straight bets are the easiest way to make money betting, but it’s also the least entertaining. Nobody likes betting $10 to win $8, but it’s how you keep your bankroll up. As someone who bets on the NFL, every week I’ve been going through the odds and giving you my five favorite spreads from the week, and my goal is just to go 3-2 or better every time. So far, I’ve managed to do that.

Week 2 Results:

New England Patriots (-5.5) ✅

Philadelphia Eagles (-7) ❌

Houston Texans (-3) ❌

Minnesota Vikings (+5.5) ✅

Carolina Panthers (-2.5) ✅

2026 Season Record: 6-4

It hasn’t been a stellar two weeks by any means, but a profit is a profit. Let’s see if we can keep the above .500 streak going in Week 3.

Note: Odds are subject to change.

Carolina Panthers (-2.5) at Cleveland Browns

Last week it felt like bait. The Carolina Panthers were 2.5-point favorites over the Atlanta Falcons, and I almost didn’t take it because it felt like Vegas trying to trick the public, but Carolina won by 31. Now, that same team goes to Cleveland to face another one of the worst teams in the sport, and once again they’re 2.5-point favorites. This may be Vegas trying to pull one over on us, but after last week, I’m willing to take the risk.

Cleveland’s defense ranks 22nd in the NFL in points per game allowed (26.5). They gave up 34 to Jacksonville and 19 to Tampa Bay, and I think Carolina’s offense is pretty much right in the middle of those two offenses in terms of skill level. They should be able to put up something like 24-28 points on Cleveland, and do we really think Deshaun Watson is going to outscore them against a Carolina defense that is better than Tampa’s?

This could be a bit of a trap game for Carolina, who is coming off a major win and has to host Detroit the following week, but they should win this game by more than a field goal. I’m not overthinking this one.

Seattle Seahawks (-7) at Washington Commanders

The Seattle Seahawks have the best defense in football. They’ve held two really good offenses – New England and Arizona – to a combined 17 points through two weeks, and with Jayden Daniels out, this Washington offense isn’t anywhere near those two. They’ll be lucky to score 10 points in this game.

Am I a bit worried about a slow start for Seattle? Yeah, I am. It’s a cross-country road trip with what is essentially a 10 a.m. start time for the Seahawks, but defense tends to travel no matter where you go. If Drew Lock and that offense can just score 20 points – which they should be able to do after a really strong outing last week – they can easily win this game by a touchdown.

Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints (-3)

The Las Vegas Raiders may be 2-0 while the New Orleans Saints are 1-1, but the Saints are the better team. There’s a reason they’re favored in this game. Vegas has played Miami and Los Angeles, while the Saints have had to go on the road to Detroit, where they lost by one in overtime, and Baltimore, where they pulled off the upset as 8-point underdogs. This is not me hating on Vegas, because they’re a good team, but the Saints are the better squad, in my opinion.

Offensively, Tyler Shough and Co. need to start faster, because if they do, they can be one of the most dangerous offenses in football. We’ve already seen what they can do in the second half, averaging 21 points per game in the third and fourth quarter (and if you add overtime, that number jumps to 24 PPG), so if they can just score 10 in the first half, they’ll be alright.

Defensively, Brandon Staley has this defense flying around and playing very well. Kirk Cousins, who has already thrown three picks this season and doesn’t have much power behind most of his throws, is going to have to be careful, because one turnover could flip the script in New Orleans’s favor in their home opener, and that’s what I’m betting happens.

Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos (+2.5)

I know the Los Angeles Rams looked really good on Monday Night Football, but they did that against a bad New York defense and a Jaxson Dart-less offense. Now, they have to go on the road to Denver to face one of the best defenses in the league, and you’re telling me I can get points on the Broncos? I’ll take that every day of the week and twice on Sunday (nights).

Bo Nix and Denver’s offense only scored 20 points last week, but they looked much better against a very good Jacksonville defense. With the Rams struggling to put pressure on the quarterback, Nix should have more time to survey the field and get the ball to his receivers. I know RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins could miss this game, but I believe Jonah Coleman will be sufficient in the run game.

Defensively, it’s going to be hard to stop Los Angeles’s offense, but Denver’s pass rush should be able to put pressure on Matthew Stafford, who, statistically, is the worst quarterback in the league when pressured this year.

I’m not doing it for this article because it would be cheating, but if you’re going to take Denver +2.5, just buy it up to +3 to be safe. You won’t lose much money, and it’ll make you feel way better if it’s tied and LA has the ball with 30 seconds left.

Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) at Chicago Bears

Hurry up and bet on this game RIGHT NOW!

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles were 3-point favorites, and the line is already up to 4.5 points. Caleb Williams is extremely unlikely to play in this game, and Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol, meaning the Bears may have to start Case Keenum on Monday Night Football. If that happens, the Eagles might win by 30.

Even if Bagent plays, the Eagles -4.5 is free money. The line is only going to keep moving, but I’ve already bet on the Eagles in this game, so I’m locking in -4.5 as the official pick. If you wait around and bet it on Sunday, it might be as much as a touchdown.