After Two Weeks, Which NFL Teams Are Trustworthy to Bet On?

Last week, I questioned how anyone could trust Buffalo or Baltimore after their Week 1 game in which the Ravens were blowing out the Bills, only to let the come back and win. Why were the Bills getting thumped? How could the Ravens, once again, choke?

So, I thought I’d take a look around the NFL after two weeks of action to see who I trust, or not, to bet on. Obviously, I can’t watch every team or every game, so give me your thoughts on social media. (See @BetLifeBlog on X and I’m working on the Facebook page.) The criteria isn’t set in stone, but I’m not looking at this as an early peek at who will cover next week. I’m thinking about which teams I trust to play well going forward.

Trustworthy Teams

Packers: After two solid wins against the Commanders and Lions, I’ll put Green Bay in my top spot of trustworthy teams. Even with two offensive lineman out Thursday, they handled Washington, a team some consider up and coming. The Packers were up 27-10 late in the game. They opened the season beating Detroit, a team that was a contender last season, and that game was even more in hand late. Jordan Love isn’t “lighting it up” stat wise, but as everyone knows they added Micah Parsons to a pretty good defense right before the season began.

Bills: Everybody says the NFL is a week-to-week list, and this selection proves it. The Bills decided to play defense last week, and dominated the Jets. James Cook had a big day. Josh Allen wasn’t great, but I have to think he’ll bounce back.

Eagles: It would be tough not to have the defending champions on the “trustworthy” list. As one guy in Philly that I follow said, they do what they do. I think the “tush-push” is garbage, but it’s legal and virtually impossible to stop.

Chargers: I’ll admit I don’t focus on west coast teams enough. The Chargers are 2-0, beating the Chiefs and the Raiders. Justin Herbert has put up solid numbers. Admittedly, their rushing attack doesn’t look great.

Tempted to Trust

Rams: They’re another 2-0 L.A. team, having beaten the Texans and Titans. This is the first team on the list I haven’t seen yet, but Matthew Stafford has decent numbers. Their rushing game is statistically slightly better than the Chargers’ ground game.

Lions: At 1-1, Detroit lost to my top trustworthy choice, Green Bay, on the road, and crushed the Bears. This is another team I haven’t been able to watch. Jared Goff has some solid numbers, though he likely got some cheap passing yards when they were way behind against the Packers. So far, by the numbers, they have a decent running game with two backs getting the attempts in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

Losing Trust

Cowboys: They at least covered in Philadelphia, but then they needed OT to beat the Giants. Dak Prescott ended up with big numbers after a wild fourth quarter against New York, and wasn’t great against the Eagles – admittedly with some big drops. Every time I think they’re going to be good, they’re just not.

Steelers: C’mon! They finally have a quarterback to go with the offensive weapons, and they squeak by the Jets and lose to the Seahawks. Ok, the secondary was banged up going into Sunday’s game, but 3 points in the second half is ridiculous.