Parlaying These 3 Teams To Start 2-0 Would Have Won You $5450

Hot Starts

After two weeks of NFL Football there are several teams we expected to cruise to 2-0 starts

• Tampa Bay Bucs

• San Francisco 49ers

• Los Angeles Rams

• Arizona Cardinals

However, there are three teams, all with two wins, who look primed to pass their preseason projected win totals

• Las Vegas Raiders

• Denver Broncos

• Carolina Panthers

Let’s take a look at how each of these teams got to this point, and some potential bets to ride if you believe they can keep the magic going

Carr’s Raiders

Carr and the Raiders are easily the biggest surprise of 2021. Entering this season, Las Vegas was projected to win seven total games, one of the worst in the league. Take a look at a few of the teams they were being compared to

• Jets: 6 wins

• Eagles/Bengals/Jaguars: 6.5 wins

• Giants/Raiders: 7 wins

Not only are the Raiders 2-0, but they’ve strung together back-to-back impressive wins vs potential playoffs teams

• Week 1: beat the Ravens 33-27 in overtime

• Week 2: beat the Steelers 26-17

And, after a few shaky seasons, Derek Carr has looked like a potential MVP candidate. In fact, his 817 total passing yards are the most in a 2-game span in Raiders franchise history. With several winnable left games on the schedule, such as the Bears, Bengals and the entire NFC East, look for the Raiders to easily pass their preseason win line

CMC’s Panthers

After two games, CMC has 324 total yards and is one of the few RBs in the NFL involved in almost every one of their team’s offensive plays. In addition, Sam Darnold looks more poised in Carolina’s system. Both players are in the running to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year

• Christian McCaffrey: +600

• Sam Darnold: +1600

While Carolina’s Week 1 win vs the Jets isn’t something to write home about, they looked awfully impressive yesterday’s 26-7 win over the Saints

• Darnold threw for 300+ yards

• The Saints had less than 200 total yards of offense

• Carolina had 4 sacks and 2 INTs

Like the Raiders, no one was high on the Panthers entering this season. Vegas projected their win total at 7.5, but Carolina already has two and still gets to take on the weak NFC East, Atlanta and Houston

After a four straight losing seasons, things are finally starting to look up for Carolina

Teddy’s Broncos

Teddy Bridgewater has definitely bounced around the NFL, as the Broncos are the fifth teams he’s played for in the last five seasons. However, he’s always been productive when give the opportunity, and through two games he’s been rather impressive

• 592 passing yards

• 4 TDs, 0 INTs

• .77% completion percentage

Again, Denver’s two wins haven’t come against the cream of the crop, but in the NFL, a win is a win

• Week 1: beat the Giants 27-13

• Week 2: beat the Jaguars 23-13

The Broncos entered this season at +140 to make the playoffs, but still have to play six divisional games vs the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders. Either way, Denver is off to a nice start in hitting the over on their 8.5 win total

The What If Parlay

Harping on the past isn’t the best way to gamble, but this parlay is too good to ignore. If you had placed $100 on the Broncos, Raiders and Panthers to all start 2-0, you’d be looking at a $5,447 payout. If only…

But, there’s still time to ride it out with these teams, as all three of them have favorable Week 3 matchups

• Panthers vs Texans

• Broncos vs Jets

• Raiders vs Dolphins

While lines will likely move throughout the Week, parlaying the teams above money-line should net you around $300. Rewind two weeks and I highly doubt anyone expected us to be talking about these three teams!