NFL Picks 2019: 5 Best Bets Against The Spread For Week 1 Include Giants, Patriots, Jets, Broncos

There is value to be had on both New York football teams on the first NFL Sunday of the year. The defending Super Bowl champions should pick up where they left off in the season opener. Don’t be surprised if both road teams find a way to win in the “Monday Night Football” doubleheader.

There’s no such thing as a “sure thing” when it comes to gambling, but here are the five best bets against the spread for Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season. These are the betting odds from the Westgate Las Vegas Super Contest.

New York Jets (-3)

The point spread indicates that the Jets and Buffalo Bills are even on a neutral field. It shouldn’t take too many games to figure out that New York is actually the much better team, starting with Sunday’s opener at MetLife Stadium.

Sam Darnold showed in the final month of last season that he’s ready to have a breakout sophomore campaign. Le’Veon Bell gives Darnold and the Jets the best playmaker on the field by a good margin. Josh Allen went 1-5 on the road as a rookie with four touchdown passes, six interceptions and a 63.5 passer rating. Unless the Bills’ quarterback is able to have another one of his 100-yard rushing games, Buffalo will have a tough time starting the season with a win on the road.

New York Giants (+7)

Now that Ezekiel Elliott has reported to the Dallas Cowboys, the team is being viewed as a top Super Bowl contender in the NFC. Maybe the defending NFC East champions will make a deep playoff run, but they will be tested by the Giants in Week 1.

New York is going to have a better offense than people think. Even during Golden Tate’s four-game suspension, the Giants have a decent group of playmakers in Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard. Most importantly, the offensive line will be much improved from last season. Dallas beat New York 20-13 last September when they sacked Eli Manning six times. Expect things to be different Sunday with Demarcus Lawrence coming off offseason shoulder surgery. The Cowboys could get off to a slow start with Lawrence, Elliott, Tyron Smith and Amari Cooper all having missed the preseason.

New England Patriots (-5.5)

You usually can’t go wrong when betting on the Patriots. That’s especially true when New England is at home. Look for the defending champs to take care of business Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

New England could be even better in 2019 with one of the NFL’s best receiving tandems and a potential top-five defense. The Patriots went undefeated at Gillette Stadium in 2018, failing to win by at least a touchdown in just one of those games. Tom Brady has never lost in Foxborough to the Steelers, who are 4-12-1 against the spread in their last 17 games with the Patriots, according to OddsShark. Pittsburgh will have to wait a week to get in the win column, visiting a team that’s unbeaten with a 16.8-point average margin of victory over their last 12 home games.

Houston Texans (+7)

Monday night’s contest between the Texans and New Orleans Saints could end up being the best on the Week 1 schedule. After making some key additions late in the summer, Houston has a real chance to pull off the upset on the road.

Deshaun Watson is in a prime position to start an MVP campaign in the season opener. Having posted a 103.0 passer rating in both of his NFL seasons, the quarterback has arguably the league’s best receiver at his disposal in DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans finally got someone to protect Watson’s blind side by trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil. There were signs toward the end of last season that Drew Brees might be declining a little bit, opening the door for Houston to steal a win in New Orleans.

Denver Broncos (PK)

The Oakland Raiders are far and away the biggest mess in the NFL. Getting the chance to bet against them without laying any points is a gift, even if it means risking your money on Joe Flacco in a road game.

All reports indicate that Antonio Brown won’t play, whether he’s suspended or outright released by the Raiders. That means Tyrell Williams will be the No.1 option for Derek Carr against a Broncos’ defense that should have a bounce-back season under Vic Fangio. Von Miller and Bradley Chubb could wreak havoc on a poor Oakland offensive line. Phillip Lindsay will have a big night against last year’s 30th ranked run defense.