With week two of the NFL betting lines preseason set to kick off on Thursday, here is a quick look at where teams from the AFC stand.
The New England Patriots are the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl in 2011, and after a 47-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in week one of the preseason with the majority of their starters watching from the sidelines, it is easy to understand just why that is. The Patriots head to Tampa Bay on Thursday to face a Buccaneers’ team that also won big in week one, and it will be interesting to see how they handle things with their starters in the lineup. Things didn’t look so good for the rest of the AFC East in week one after the rest of the division went 1-2, with the Miami Dolphins’ win over the Atlanta Falcons coming after the starters left the field. The Dolphins will debut Reggie Bush at home this week against the Carolina Panthers, while Shawne Merriman and a revitalized Buffalo Bills’ pass rush are on the road to take on the Denver Broncos. New York Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan wasn’t happy with his team’s execution in a close loss to the Houston Texans week one of the preseason, and will be expecting more at home against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Those same Bengals were blown away by the Detroit Lions 34-3 in their preseason opener, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens also lost to leave the Cleveland Browns as the only sports betting winners from the AFC North in week one. The Browns took down the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers 27-17, and will head home hoping to do better against the Lions than Cincinnati did. Meanwhile, the rest of the AFC North wraps up with the Steelers clashing against the Philadelphia Eagles in an in-state showdown, while Baltimore battles the Kansas City Chiefs at home.
In the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts will look for a better effort from their backups in their second game without Peyton Manning in the lineup, and after a 33-10 blowout loss to the St. Louis Rams there may be nowhere to go but up. The Colts will host a Washington Redskins’ team that made betonline life difficult for the Steelers a week ago, while the Houston Texans host the New Orleans Saints, and the Tennessee Titans travel to take on the Rams on Saturday. The Jacksonville Jaguars are at home against the Atlanta Falcons.
The AFC preseason week two schedule rounds out in the AFC West where the Broncos will continue to watch the battle between quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow despite the fact that a decision has already pretty much been made against the Bills. The San Diego Chargers are at Dallas to face the Cowboys, while the Chiefs will look to bounce back from their opening week sports betting bonus disaster against the Ravens. The Oakland Raiders will also travel in-state, as they get set to clash with the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.
