3 takeaways from NFL Week 2, including why it is time to worry about the Bengals

Week 2 ended up being better than advertised, thanks to some incredible comeback victories that turned the Sunday slate on its head.

Fans of the NFL know that it is a week-to-week league, and we tend to overreact to what we just saw. That’s why it is important to sleep on it, and then take a fresh look at everything that transpired before assessing what mattered and what didn’t.

I plan to do that each week with a few takeaways from the week that was, and how we can use that when placing bets in the future. Remember to place your bets at Caesars Sportsbook, which is the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports.

We can worry about the Bengals now

It was always easy to see regression coming for the Bengals, who won the AFC Championship in Joe Burrow’s second season. The Bengals were fortunate to be on the right side of several coin-flip games during their magical playoff run, but there were lingering concerns about how this roster was constructed.

Those concerns have been at the forefront of this 0-2 start. The offensive line is still a problem, as Burrow has been sacked a league-leading 13 times thus far. A lot of that is his doing, of course. Head coach Zac Taylor continues to lean on the rushing attack on early downs, counting on Burrow and his talented receivers to save the day on third down. That worked in the playoffs, but it hasn’t worked through two weeks.

The Bengals were never as good as their magical playoff run would have indicated, but they are not as bad as this 0-2 start would suggest either. The problem is that these games were supposed to be the layups for a team that has a daunting schedule to end the season. Consider me concerned about the Bengals’ chances of getting back to the postseason.

Move the Colts down, but not too much

After replacing Carson Wentz with Matt Ryan, the Colts were favored to win the AFC South and considered a sleeper team to make a run in the postseason. They have failed to record a win through two weeks, despite playing a pair of AFC South opponents to begin the year.

It is safe to bump the Colts down in your power ratings, though I wouldn’t go too crazy. This is a team that didn’t have wide receiver Michael Pittman on Sunday and have historically struggled in Jacksonville. The Colts also dominated the opener from a yards per play perspective, but their lack of execution in the red zone led to a tie with the Texans.

The Colts welcome the Chiefs to town for their home opener, setting up a good opportunity to buy low on this team. It is up to you to decide if you are willing to take the risk, especially since the Chiefs get 10 days to prepare for this one after playing on Thursday Night Football.

Move the 49ers up, but not too much

It was a bummer to watch Trey Lance get injured in Week 2, as his first season as QB1 was cut way too short. I had the 49ers lower than consensus with Lance at QB because I expected there to be growing pains, with the idea that this team would peak later in the year.

Now that Jimmy Garoppolo is back under center, it is hard not to move the 49ers higher up my power ratings. After all, the 49ers made it to the NFC Championship game with Garoppolo and were one half away from being a Super Bowl favorite just nine months ago.

I still question if Garoppolo is the guy to get the 49ers over the hump, but this team certainly deserves plenty of respect in the betting market at this point in the year. That was never more evident than when the 49ers’ Super Bowl odds were moved from +2500 to +2000 at Caesars Sportsbook following the injury news about Lance.