
It began on Thursday night with the Miami Dolphins. They were favored in their game against AFC East rival the Buffalo Bills by 3.5 points, but lost straight up to the Bills by 21 points.
And that was just the beginning of a trend that hit a fever pitch on Sunday, with seven favorites outright losing their games.
The Saints Go Marching
The New Orleans Saints were big Week 1 winners, but that was against the Carolina Panthers. On the road at the Dallas Cowboys, they were 6.5-point underdogs to a team coming off a road win at the Cleveland Browns.
But in Big D, there was no D, as the favored Cowboys were routed by the Saints, 44-19, a 31.5-point swing from the spread. Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns for the Saints, Dak Prescott threw two interceptions for the Cowboys, and the Saints averaged 7.7 yards per play.
It is the Saints, and not the Cowboys, that came out of the game with a 2-0 record.
Detroit Dominates, but Loses
The Detroit Lions were favored by a touchdown in their playoff rematch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Detroit dominated them by almost every measure. The Lions had 26 first downs to 14 for Tampa Bay. They ran 83 plays for 463 yards, while the Bucs had just 47 plays for 216 yards. Detroit averaged more than five yards per rush, a full 2.1 yards more than the Bucs.
But on the scoreboard, it was Tampa Bay coming out on top, 20-16.
Jahmyr Gibbs was great, Amon-Ra St. Brown was great, and Aiden Hutchinson was historic, recording 4.5 sacks – the second-most in a single game in the history of the Lions. But Jared Goff threw a pair of interceptions and had no touchdowns, as one of the Super Bowl favorites in the NFC dropped to 1-1.
Sam Darnold Emerging
As a New York Jet, Sam Darnold was stuck with terrible offenses. Last year with the San Francisco 49ers, he was stuck behind Brock Purdy. Now he is the main man in Minnesota, thanks to an injury to rookie J.J. McCarthy, and this might be where he sticks as a starting quarterback.
The 49ers began the week favored by six points at Minnesota, and were still favored by four after it was confirmed that Christian McCaffrey wouldn’t play for San Francisco. But it was Darnold and the Vikings that were the winners, 23-17.
Darnold threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, and the Vikings defense sacked Purdy six times and forced back-to-back turnovers during a critical third quarter stretch.
The 49ers are still +275 favorites to win the NFC. But at the moment, they sit behind the 2-0 Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West.
Welcome to the Season, Marvin Harrison Jr.
Last week, the much-anticipated debut of Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was a dud. He caught one pass for four yards, and it was hard to remember seeing him on the field.
His game against the Los Angeles Rams, who were favored by one point by the time the game kicked off, will be remembered for quite some time. Harrison caught four passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including one that went for 60 yards. Even before an injured Cooper Kupp left the field for the Rams, Harrison was the best wide receiver in the game.
The Rams were obliterated by the Cardinals, 41-10, and they are now winless through two weeks.
AFC North Upside Down After Week 2
The bottom of the AFC North was supposed to be a battle between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, and the top was going to be a battle between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. The current odds say that is still how the season will end, but after two weeks, the opposite is happening.
The Bengals were the biggest favorite in Week 1, but they lost straight up to the New England Patriots. This week, the Ravens were the biggest favorite, with a point spread of as much as 10 points against the Las Vegas Raiders.
But Maxx Crosby had two sacks for the Raiders, Gardner Minshew finished with more passing yards than Lamar Jackson, and Davante Adams reminded us why he is eventually headed to the Hall of Fame. The Raiders beat the Ravens, 26-23, and it was a win they clearly deserved.
The Ravens are now 0-2 for the first time since 2015.
Colts and Jaguars Drop to 0-2
The sixth and seventh favorites to lose on Sunday were the Indianapolis Colts (-3) and Jacksonville Jaguars (-3.5).
The Colts were coming off a narrow loss to the Houston Texans, and were getting backup quarterback Malik Willis in the ultimate get-right game. Instead, Anthony Richardosn threw three interceptions, Willis completed 12 of 14 passes, and the Colts allowed 261 yards rushing to lose the game, 16-10.
In Jacksonville, the Jaguars were getting a beaten-up Browns offensive line and a quarterback in Deshaun Watson fighting for his job. Watson wasn’t great, but Trevor Lawrence was worse. And even with 13 penalties against Cleveland to just six for Jacksonville and no turnovers, the Jags never looked like the better team.
And maybe they aren’t, now that they are 0-2.

With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.