NFL Week 2 action report: Public bettors love the Browns

There's typically a lot of overreaction to the first games of a new season, so Week 2 offers bettors value if they know where to look. Where is the sharp money? Which lines are moving the most? Each week throughout the NFL season, we'll track the games drawing the most interest from sharp and public bettors.

All lines courtesy of theScoreBet.

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

Line: Patriots -19

How bad are the Dolphins? They're getting 19 points at home in Week 2. New England opened at -14.5 and moved all the way to -20 at some sportsbooks earlier this week. As of Saturday, the Patriots were favored by 19 at theScoreBet in New Jersey.

If the line closes at -20, the Dolphins will be historic underdogs this early in the season; the 1968 New York Jets (-20 against the Buffalo Bills) are the only team in the Super Bowl era to be favored by 20 points or more in September, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, said both shops took all Patriots money until the line moved to -19, prompting some bettors to grab the points with the home underdog.

"This one is, as you'd expect, getting a ton of square action on New England," Rood said. "The game opened at -17, all New England, -18 all New England, -18.5 all New England. At -19, we're pretty much dead even and the money is $9 apart at that number.

"Overall, money is 3-1 to New England because of great two-way action at -19. Taking quite a few small bets on Miami ML at +1250, +1200 too."

There is some good news for the Dolphins this week. Tom Brady is just 7-10 straight up all-time on the road in Miami. The Dolphins upset the Pats at home as 10-point underdogs last season and the visiting team is only 3-14 against the spread in these clubs' last 17 meetings.

Arizona Cardinals at Baltimore Ravens

Line: Ravens -13.5

The Patriots aren't the only big favorites in Week 2. The Ravens are laying close to two touchdowns at home after blasting the Dolphins 59-10 in Week 1. Holding fairly steady at -13.5 throughout the week, this line is a bit of an overreaction to Baltimore's season-opening win. The Cardinals are bad, but they aren't at Miami's level.

Bettors haven't been as afraid to pounce on the underdog in this matchup as they have been with Dolphins-Patriots. Rood said the ticket count is 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals but the bigger bets are on Baltimore, suggesting sharp bettors are laying the points in this matchup.

"This one is a little more level than I thought it might be," Rood said. "The ticket count is leaning to Arizona but the money is about 2-1 in favor of the Ravens.

"Money wagered on the average ticket is about twice as high on the Ravens as it is on the Cardinals. At -13.5, expects more people to hit the Ravens closer to game time."

Home favorites coming off 45-point wins are 6-1 ATS over the past three decades, covering by an average of 17.4 points in those victories. The Cardinals, meanwhile, used a late comeback to tie Detroit in Week 1, and road clubs coming off ties are 1-11 ATS in the last 12 games.

Cleveland Browns at New York Jets

Line: Browns -6.5

The big mover of the week is Cleveland. The Browns opened at -1.5 and the number lengthened to -3. But Baker Mayfield and Co. then moved to 6.5-point road favorites for Monday's contest, with bettors hammering Cleveland after the Jets announced starting quarterback Sam Darnold has joined Gang Green's list of walking wounded and will miss the game with mono.

"It's 100% Browns," Rood said. "Almost exclusively, the ticket count is in favor of the Browns at nearly at 10-1. The money is 20-1 in favor of the Browns. Even at -6.5, we're seeing very little support for the Jets. We took a couple early bets at +2.5, but I'm sure those individuals are disappointed."

Cleveland got out blown out 43-13 at home against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. The Browns are just 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a double-digit home loss.

Other games

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

Line: Packers -2.5

"We took a couple of early plays on the Packers at -2.5 flat, but we're seeing good play on the Vikings at +2.5 even, and the ticket count is 2-1 in favor of the Vikings," Rood said. "Not necessarily Pros versus Joes, but the guy playing the Packers early was probably looking to play a little value thinking that could slip up to 3. So far, it hasn't."

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders

Line: Chiefs -8

"Game opened Chiefs -8.5 and got bet down to -8 after we took some early money on Oakland," Rood said, "We're literally $12 apart in money and the ticket count is two in favor of Kansas City (as of late Friday).

"It looks to be all public play on KC. Lots of parlay and teaser money. That's the main teaser game this week. We have three times the amount of teaser money on KC than the next closest team (Cowboys)."

Thomas Casale is theScore's Supervising Editor of Sports Betting. He's been following the sports betting industry for almost 30 years. A devoted fan of the wishbone offense, Thomas bets on all sports but specializes in college football, NFL, and college basketball. Find him on Twitter @TheTomCasale.