If you want to win money betting NFL games then you need to be willing to take teams no one else wants to bet. I call these teams, ugly dogs, and you really have to hold your nose sometimes when you bet on them. There will be weeks during the NFL season that we are taking some really bad teams and it won’t be easy to do, but history has shown that the ugly dogs do really well against the spread. This is Week 1 and we don’t really know which teams will be truly bad, but we can definitely make a few assumptions. We’ll take it a bit cautiously this week, but we have five Week 1 Ugly Dog picks.
Week 1 Ugly Dog Picks
Miami Dolphins +7 vs. Baltimore Ravens
Get ready to see the Dolphins in this column a lot this season. The Dolphins went on a purge in the offseason and traded away or simply released a lot of players. There are very few people that want anything to do with Miami and it would not be surprising to see this line go up to 7.5. The Ravens have a young quarterback in Lamar Jackson and a head coach in John Harbaugh who is well respected, while the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and a new head coach in Brian Flores. This is a perfect example of the ugly dog pick. We’ll take the points with Miami.
Washington Redskins +9.5 at Philadelphia Eagles
The Redskins could also become a fixture in this column, but it is just Week 1 and time will tell. What we do know is that the Redskins are tied for being the biggest underdog in Week 1, as they are getting 9.5-points at Philadelphia. The Redskins are stuck going with Case Keenum at quarterback and they go on the road against a Philadelphia team that could be a Super Bowl contender. This one is ugly, but that is the idea with these picks. We’ll take the Redskins plus the points.
Cincinnati Bengals +9.5 at Seattle Seahawks
The Bengals are not expected to be very good this season and they are without wide receiver A.J. Green. They visit the toughest venue to play at in the NFL in Seattle and not many people are giving them any chance to win. This is another perfect example of the ugly dog pick, as we take a team that no one gives much of a chance. We’ll take the points with the Bengals in this game against the Seahawks.
Indianapolis Colts +7 at Los Angeles Chargers
The Colts are getting very little respect from the public, as not many people want to bet on them since they lost Andrew Luck. This may not be a true ugly dog pick because we really don’t know if the Colts are going to be a bad team, but we do know that the public is all over the Chargers. Indianapolis is being virtually ignored by everyone and it would not be a shock if Jacoby Brissett plays well and the Colts win this game. We’ll take the points with the Colts as an ugly dog pick.
New York Giants +7 at Dallas Cowboys
This is another game where we really don’t know yet how good or bad the Giants will be. The Giants could easily end up as an ugly dog pick on a regular basis, as they still have Eli Manning at quarterback and they have defensive problems. What we do know is that the Cowboys are a popular team and that the public will want to bet against Manning and the Giants. The Cowboys may not have Ezekiel Elliot for this one and this is a rivalry game, so perhaps the Giants can stay in it. We’ll take the Giants as a Week 1 ugly dog pick.
Check out the latest Week 1 NFL odds at BookMaker.eu.
