OK, we all know betting on sports is illegal in 49 states, so don't do it unless you're in Sin City, but if you're going, you can make these bets for me.
1. Kansas City at Detroit (-8), Sunday, noon — Based off last week's performances, this game should be about 100-10. But the first week of the NFL season with shortened training camp probably isn't a completely fair gauge of talent. Either way, the Lions should win this game pretty easily behind Matthew Stafford and the Chiefs defense that let Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Buffalo Bills absolutely torch them last week.
2. St. Louis at New York Giants (-6), Monday, 7:35 p.m. — St. Louis was banged up horribly last week. Stephen Jackson went down, Danny Amendola dislocated his elbow and Sam Bradford even got banged up. Jackson is likely out, Amendola is out and Bradford is questionable. The Giants are coming off a loss to Washington so they should be hungry to get a win in their home debut in primetime. The Rams will struggle to score in this one.
3. Seattle at Pittsburgh (-14), Sunday, noon — Normally, a 14-point spread in the NFL is pretty much an open invitation to take the underdog with the points, but this is an exception. The Seahawks fell to a mediocre San Francisco team last week and have Tavaris Jackson under center. The Steelers were embarrassed by Baltimore in the opener and have a proud defense that has been doubted this week. The Seahawks have the dreaded curse of a West Coast team playing on the East Coast with an early kickoff. Those teams rarely cover spreads. Take the Steelers and hope they turn things around this week.
4. Cleveland at Indianapolis (+2.5), Sunday, noon — Yes, you read that correctly. The Cleveland Browns are a road favorite against the Indianapolis Colts. The Browns didn't look good last week in a loss to the Bengals. The Colts looked like the worst team in football in a blowout loss to Houston in their first game in eternity without Peyton Manning under center. The Colts won't be world beaters this week by any means, but I expect them to come out pissed off and ready to make up for last week, and the Browns just aren't that good.
5. Dallas (-3) at San Francisco, Sunday, 3:15 p.m. — Some folks are calling this a trap game for the Cowboys. But I always thought a trap game was when a superior team played an inferior one and came in overconfident. Last I checked, the Cowboys are 0-1 and the Niners are 1-0. The Cowboys' backs are against the wall after blowing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead in Sunday's opener against the Jets. The Niners didn't look good on Sunday in a win over Seattle, needing a punt return and a kick return for scores from Ted Ginn Jr. That won't happen every week, or ever again. Dallas wins this game by two scores.
