Odds boosts are exactly that: Promotions from sportsbooks where they move tin your favor on certain bets. Many of them are prop bets, hoping you’ll put a few dollars on someone to hit a home run or a certain team to score a certain number of goals and still win. Our job is to highlight some of those odds boosts and give you some NFL picks to bet on, assuming it’s smart to buy into what the sportsbooks are selling. We scour the internet trying to find the best odds boosts for you every day from every sport.
The second week of NFL action is upon us with 28 more teams playing their second games of the season Sunday. There are a plethora of NFL odds boosts for Sunday’s Week 2 action, and we scanned all of them to make sure we brought the ones that provide you the best value. In this edition of NFL picks, we examine the reigning league MVP, one of the NFL best running backs and one of its up-and-coming quarterbacks. All of these odds boosts can be found on OddsShopper, so let’s dive into what we found on Awesemo’s odds comparison tool today.
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NFL Odds Boosts
Lamar Jackson & Deshaun Watson Score 4.5+ Touchdowns (+125 DraftKings)
Let’s start with Lamar Jackson and what he has been able to do over the last season and a game in the regular season. He’s averaging almost 2.5 touchdowns per game between his passing and rushing, and we saw against Cleveland last week how much he’s improved throwing the football. Last November, Jackson threw for four touchdowns in a win over Houston, though the Texans did allow him to rush for 79 yards on 10 carries as well. I’ll give the Texans credit for keeping Patrick Mahomes to 211 passing yards last week, but he did throw for three touchdowns against that secondary.
If Jackson contributes the same three touchdowns he had last week against the Browns, Deshaun Watson only needs to score twice in order to win this bet. That will certainly be a challenge against this Ravens defense, but it’s not impossible for a quarterback like Watson. He’ll be able to extend plays better than Baker Mayfield did and he is more accurate than Mayfield, which means he could be able to use Will Fuller’s speed to test the Ravens’ secondary. Watson didn’t play well last year against the Ravens, but he could turn it around and help Houston score a touchdown or two in this one — especially late in the game if Baltimore goes conservative.
Jackson only has one rushing touchdown in his last eight games, including the playoffs, but there’s an NFL odds boost for those who think he has a chance to break through against the Texans. PointsBet is offering +180 odds on Jackson scoring a rushing touchdown, and that might be a good play given Houston allowed nearly five yards per carry to the Chiefs last week. Some designed runs for Jackson, especially around the red zone, could lead to an easy score for the fleet-footed quarterback.
Ezekiel Elliott Gains 100+ Rushing Yards (+110 PointsBet)
Ezekiel Elliott nearly ran for 100 yards in last week’s season opener with the Rams, so he’ll definitely be eager to break the century mark in Week 2. He had seven 100-yard rushing performances last season, almost all of those coming against the weaker teams and defenses on Dallas’ schedule, and Atlanta fits that profile. Dallas also needs to establish Elliott as a weapon in order to open up its passing game, which struggled at times in protecting Dak Prescott. With a less ferocious defensive line starting across the line of scrimmage this week, the Cowboys should be riding Elliott to victory.
The Falcons did a great job limiting Seattle’s rushing attack last week, but the Seahawks don’t have a running back like Elliott in the backfield. In his only other game against Atlanta, he ran for 122 yards on 23 carries back in 2018. Atlanta was a middle of the road defense against the run last year, and Elliott should be able to exploit some of those holes like he did last week against the Rams. Dallas will run the ball more often than the 20 times Seattle did last week, and that might take effect in the third and fourth quarters.
Zach Ertz Scores Touchdown (+230 PointsBet)
Carson Wentz loves to target his tight ends and there’s nobody he targeted more last year than Zach Ertz. Wentz targeted Ertz seven times last week against Washington, but the tight end only caught three passes for 18 yards. Yet one of those catches was an early touchdown, one of two Wentz threw to his tight ends last week. Ertz now has at least one touchdown catch in three of his last four regular-season games and four of his past six after a slow start to last season. He’ll once again play a critical role in whatever offensive gameplan the Eagles roll out in Week 2 against the Rams.
The Rams didn’t really have to cover a tight end against Dallas because the Cowboys rarely utilize them in the gameplan. It will be interesting to see how the Rams decide to cover Ertz and Dallas Goedert because they will be the main focal points of the Eagles’ passing game. Ertz is a mismatch wherever he lines up on the line, and that is something Wentz understands well, which is why he targets Ertz so often. The fact Philadelphia can’t actually protect Wentz in the pocket is even more reason Ertz could be targeted often as he’ll run the shorter routes and be the receiver Wentz uses when he’s under pressure.
Josh Allen Throws 2+ Passing Touchdowns (+130 PointsBet)
It’s easy to nitpick one or two bad throws from Josh Allen and say he hasn’t matured as a passer, but he was very efficient and effective last week against the Jets. He completed more than 70 percent of his passes and he had one ball that he put in harm’s way. Miami presents a far better passing defense than the Jets, but the Bills also have one of the better receiving corps in the league, plus a dynamic tight end and running back who are threats. Allen will still have plenty of chances to help the Bills score with his arm instead of his legs.
The Bills will not throw the ball nearly as much against Miami as it did against the Jets, but don’t expect them to completely abandon the passing game. They will try some deep balls with John Brown and Stefon Diggs, and if Miami isn’t careful, Allen will hit one of them for a touchdown. Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has really highlighted what Allen does well and implemented it into the Bills passing attack through formations and route combinations, so he’ll find ways to do the same thing against the Dolphins.
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