The first week of the H-Bomb big underdog season was a good one for yours truly and Jess Root.
Only three games were eligible (a point spread of at least 6.5 points), and two of them came through.
Root's selection, the New Orleans Saints as seven-point underdogs against the Detroit Lions, almost produced a direct hit (outright victory). The Saints scored an overtime touchdown to cut the Lions lead to 31-30, but their try for a two-point conversion failed. Still, it was a win for Jess because the Saints covered.
The Cardinals' win over the Los Angeles Chargers was good for me, with Arizona a 9.5-point underdog. The one favorite that covered was the Jacksonville Jaguars (-8.5), beating the Cleveland Browns easily, 34-10.
Week 2 has seven games with
at least a 6.5-point spread, and not surprisingly the Browns are there again.
Here are the eligible games:
Week 2 big-underdog games
- Baltimore Ravens (-8.5) vs. New Orleans Saints
- Philadelphia Eagles (-7) at Tennessee Titans
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-8.5) vs. Cleveland Browns
- LA Chargers (-6.5) vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- San Francisco 49ers (-13.5) vs. Miami Dolphins
- Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5) vs. Indianapolis Colts
- LA Rams (-7) vs. New York Giants
The Giants and Raiders are the only underdogs that won last week, with the Giants beating the visiting Dallas Cowboys by eight, and the Raiders beating Miami by 14.
In addition to the Dolphins, three other H-Bomb underdogs lost by double digits in Week 1: the Jets beat the Titans by 13, the Jaguars beat the Browns by 24 and the Ravens had an 18-point win over the Colts.
Jess and I are on the same page this week. With the Los Angeles Rams getting their bearings after the loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, we both believe the Giants will at least cover the seven points and possibly engineer an upset victory.
H-Bomb standings
Direct hit record in parentheses
- Howard, 1-0 (1)
- Jess, 1-0 (0)
- Big underdogs overall, 2-1 (1)
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL Week 2 big underdogs picks of the week
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