My weekly NFL underdog best bets are back in a fresh, new locale.
The drill is the same and to the point: We’re picking three NFL point spread ’dogs each week and explaining how we arrived there with a quick and dirty matchup analysis.
First-time customers can follow these bet underdog bet recommendations while taking advantage of our top sportsbook promo codes which are currently worth up to $5,000 in welcome bonuses (see below).
Best Week 1 NFL underdog bets: Las Vegas Raiders (+3 BetMGM) at Los Angeles Chargers
This is an old rivalry dating back to the AFL’s inception in 1960.
But there’s a whole lot of newness in this particular game, particularly on the Chargers’ side with head coach Jim Harbaugh jumping back into the NFL ranks.
The starting skill position players surrounding quarterback Justin Herbert also are almost completely new as is the plantar facia issue the QB has been dealing with this preseason.
In short, Harbaugh, Herbert and the Bolts are going to need some time to adjust and acclimate.
And in a coin-flip division rivalry game where the Raiders and their underrated defense will actually have the home-field advantage in L.A., we’re going with the Silver & Black to win outright.
Best Week 1 NFL underdog bets: Denver Broncos (+6 bet365) at Seattle Seahawks
Seattle certainly is a deserving favorite playing at home at raucous Lumen Field with a new, highly-regarded defensive-oriented head coach in Mike Macdonald squaring off against an unproven rookie quarterback in Denver’s Bo Nix.
But these certainly aren’t the Legion of Boom Seahawks of old who dominated most all comers to the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle is a pedestrian 13-12 at home over the last three seasons, and in their past 17 games overall as a 6-point-plus favorite, the Hawks are only 4-12-1 against the spread.
Take the points as we think the Broncos will be quite competitive Sunday with proven head coach Sean Payton mentoring Nix, who is seasoned beyond his rookie designation, having logged the most starts (61) by a QB in NCAA history.
Best Week 1 NFL underdog bets: New York Jets (+4.5 DraftKings) at San Francisco 49ers
The Niners still might possess the most talented roster in the league, but there are a number of factors working against coach Kyle Shanahan’s crew in the Monday Night Football opener.
It’s been a disjointed preseason by the Bay with the just-resolved Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams holdouts commanding headlines along with a calf injury that sidelined stud running back Christian McCaffrey for most of August.
Then throw in the dreaded Super Bowl loser’s hangover and a talented Jets team in their own right which should have aging but still-plenty-potent-until-proven-otherwise QB Aaron Rodgers at the helm for more than four snaps this season.
On the other side of the ball, Jets coach Robert Saleh knows Shanahan’s offense well, having served as his defensive coordinator from 2017-20.
Add it all up and we’re expecting a tightly-contested game decided by a field goal at the very minimum.
