When it comes to betting on the NFL, the time to lock in your bets is not five minutes before kickoff. If you want to find legitimate value and further your dollar, you keep an eye on these lines over a week ahead of time.
Take this upcoming week, for example. If you knew the Denver Broncos were going to come out and kick the New York Giants in the teeth, then you would have jumped on them at -3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. It’s a much more favorable line than the -6 Denver is currently sitting at — and it may not be done moving.
As an NFL bettor, I’m always looking ahead at Caesars Sportsbook. Every Friday, we take a look at the NFL lines a week in advance to determine if we should put money down now in order to get the best bang for our buck. Depending on what happens in Week 2, all of these lines could change before we reach Week 3, so we want to go ahead and get our bets in if we see a nice opportunity for an upset or to jump on a favorite before the line moves even more in their favor.
Before we jump into some early bets to consider, here are the lookahead lines for Week 3. All NFL odds come courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
Week 3 lookahead lines
Panthers (-3.5) at Texans
Bears at Browns (-9.5)
Bengals at Steelers (-7)
Washington at Bills (-9) (Before TNF)
Falcons at Giants (-2.5) (Before TNF)
Cardinals (-6.5) at Jaguars
Ravens (-7.5) at Lions
Saints at Patriots (PICK)
Colts at Titans (-3.5)
Chargers at Chiefs (-6.5)
Jets at Broncos (-9)
Dolphins at Raiders (-1)
Seahawks (-2.5) at Vikings
Buccaneers at Rams (-1.5)
Packers at 49ers (-3.5)
Eagles at Cowboys (-3.5)
Picks to consider
Cardinals (-6.5) at Jaguars
The Jaguars dropped their season opener to who we all assumed would be the worst team in the NFL in the Texans. Now, they have to face a tough Broncos squad while their head coach, one game into his first NFL season, is somewhat being tied to a college job. If the Jags lose Sunday and fail to cover, I bet this spread increases.
As for the Cardinals, they absolutely dominated the Titans in Week 1. Kyler Murray accounted for five total touchdowns and the defense recorded three takeaways as well as six sacks on Ryan Tannehill. I’m not saying the Cardinals are Super Bowl-bound just yet, but they have an opportunity to solidify themselves as one of the most impressive teams through the first few weeks on the 2021 NFL season with a win over the Vikings on Sunday. In my mind, Jacksonville loses again while Arizona wins. That should translate into this spread increasing, so grab it now.
Seahawks (-2.5) at Vikings
Shane Waldron and Russell Wilson, the new dynamic duo. While the Colts don’t appear to be very good in the secondary, Russ looked incredible with his new offensive coordinator, and threw four touchdowns while recording just five incompletions. That’s a whole different level of efficiency. The Seahawks play another sorry secondary this week in the Titans, and then get the Vikings — who rookie wideout Ja’Marr Chase torched in Week 1. If the Seahawks roll in Seattle this Sunday, this spread will increase. The Vikings, on the other hand, play a tough Cardinals team on the road, which is another reason this spread should eventually move even higher.
Packers (+3.5) at 49ers
Just sprinkle a couple of dollars on this one. So, the Packers got destroyed by the Saints in Week 1. Even if they go on to win the Super Bowl — or completely fall apart — it won’t make that loss look less surprising. Whether you’re a supporter or detractor, I think we all understand the Packers are better than the team that showed up to Jacksonville last Sunday. They have a bounce-back opportunity against Detroit at home in primetime this week.
Was anyone else put off by the 49ers allowing a Lions comeback? They almost gave up a 24-point lead in the span of two minutes. Now they get a feisty Eagles team that appears to have turned over a new page with Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni. I’m leaning towards an upset potentially occurring in Philly this week. If that happens, along with the Packers rolling the Lions, won’t you be happy you got Green Bay at +3.5?
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