NFL Week 2: Teams to buy, sell

There were plenty of storylines leading up to this year's NFL season, and opening weekend delivered even more. The Ravens and Cowboys looked like juggernauts, the AFC East (non-Patriots edition) looks as bleak as ever, and the Browns played like... the Browns?

Each week during the season, we'll break down which teams you should be buying and selling based on betting-market value, with Super Bowl odds listed.

Ahead of Week 2, let's start with the prime-time winners from Sunday.

Buy

New England Patriots (9-2)

How could you not buy the Patriots after the events of the last two days? On Saturday, they signed disgruntled All-Pro wideout Antonio Brown, adding him to what seemed like a depleted receiving corps. Thirty hours later, they dismantled the Steelers' secondary and looked like a supercharged version of last year's Super Bowl-winning squad.

The real buy here is the Patriots' defense, which shut down JuJu Smith-Schuster (78 receiving yards) and James Conner (21 rushing yards) while justifying offseason optimism about the unit being one of Belichick's best since the early days of the team's dynasty. New England has now put together seven straight impressive defensive performances dating back to last season, and the team will get Kyle Van Noy back - and add Brown on offense - ahead of six games vs. likely non-playoff squads.

Love or hate it, the Patriots are here to stay. And there's little reason to think their price will get cheaper anytime soon.

Baltimore Ravens (30-1)

Even if Lamar Jackson was actually a glorified running back, the Ravens were a bargain at 35-1 for all of the reasons we mentioned last week: an elite defense, a potent running game, and a diverse receiving corps. It's clear Jackson is much more than that after finishing 17-for-20 passing for 324 yards and five touchdowns, asserting himself as a difference-maker even while rushing just three times for six yards.

The Dolphins are unmistakably bad, but Jackson put his accuracy on display against tight coverage, and the Ravens' swarming defense helped make Miami look like a high-school squad. Only eight teams over the last 30 years have won a game by at least 49 points, and the Ravens kneeled in the red zone to run out the clock. Buy, buy, buy.

Indianapolis Colts (65-1)

The Colts were three missed kicks and an unlucky coin toss away from snatching a cross-country road win against the Super Bowl-contending Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Yet somehow they're still 65-1 long shots ahead of three winnable games against Tennessee, Atlanta, and Oakland.

Jacoby Brissett's play was encouraging under center, Marlon Mack (174 yards) was nothing short of a revelation, and the pass rush looked much improved from a year ago.

Indianapolis was a sharp favorite in the futures market before Luck's injury. If Brissett can steady the ship, the Colts will provide massive value at anything longer than 50-1.

Sell

Cleveland Browns (15-1)

This would be a different story if the Browns were reasonably priced to begin with. Cleveland is certainly more talented and possesses higher upside than Sunday's loss would suggest.

But futures bettors were originally overzealous when treating the Browns as upper-echelon Super Bowl contenders, and their value is still lacking after Week 1.

Cleveland's offensive line showed its warts on Sunday, with youth and experience contributing to 18 penalties for 182 yards. Baker Mayfield also killed his team's chances with three turnovers - a continuation of his turnover-prone ways from 2018.

It could get worse before it gets better for the Browns, with tests against the Rams, Ravens, and Patriots on their upcoming schedule.

Green Bay Packers (15-1)

Remember four whole days ago when the football season opened with a resounding thud on Thursday night? Green Bay was one half of that, with the Packers delivering defensively but sputtering on offense under new play-caller Matt LaFleur.

The Packers' defense did look better than the team's 2018 iteration, but it's hard to ignore just how poorly Mitchell Trubisky played while producing plenty of unforced errors. If Chicago's QB performed competently on Thursday, it's hard to imagine Green Bay entering Monday as a 15-1 contender, which feels far too short for the second-best team in the NFC North.

Pittsburgh Steelers (20-1)

Maybe losing two All-Pro offensive stars will affect the Steelers after all.

Ben Roethlisberger logged 161 passing yards entering a mostly meaningless fourth quarter in Sunday's loss, and running back James Conner was neutralized on his 10 carries. The Steelers' offense simply looked listless without a second option alongside Smith-Schuster, and Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore took him out of the game.

New England isn't the only team with a top-flight cover corner, as division rivals Cleveland and Baltimore each boast their own. So Pittsburgh could struggle mightily to score if Donte Moncrief and James Washington can't ascend to true No. 2 status.

Oh, and that defense? It could be a long year for the Steelers' secondary, which entered the season as a major question mark.

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.