The Baltimore Ravens are looking to stay perfect as they head to Houston to take on the Texans for Week 2. The Ravens are fresh off decimating the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 while the Texans are still licking their wounds from a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Though the Texans are no slouch, having gone deep in the playoffs last season, the Ravens are heavy favorites opening this week. According to BetMGM, Baltimore is a 7-point favorite for Week 2.
That isn’t the biggest spread of the week thus far but it’s a pretty impressive one for a few reasons. The game is in Houston, and while fans won’t be in attendance, the home team typically gets a little boost to the point spread to compensate for it. Secondly, the Texans are a strong team that went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs for most of their Week 1 contest. Considering the Ravens were 7.5-point favorites over the Browns and ended up beating them 38-6, that’s quite a lot of confidence to place in Baltimore this week.
Then again, there’s also some solid reasons for BetMGM having that level of confidence.
The Ravens looked like the same regular-season team that was so dominant last season. They played hard-hitting defense and while the run game didn’t gash Cleveland, it did a fair job of picking up yards and first downs when needed. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is already making a serious run at winning back-to-back MVP awards, posting the highest passer rating of Week 1.
Baltimore also blew Houston out of the water in their matchup last season. In Week 11, the Ravens beat the Texans 41-7 in a game that was effectively over by halftime. Baltimore turned on the jets in the second half and gained a massive lead over Houston, benching Jackson at about the midpoint of the fourth quarter to coast the rest of the way with backup Robert Griffin III.
That makes this a tough Ravens bet to call. With such a massive spread, the odds aren’t exactly on Baltimore’s side here. But with how dominant they were in Week 1 and how they beat up on Houston last season, there’s little reason to believe this won’t be another slaughter.
If you really believe in the Ravens, or just really don’t believe in the Texans, a $100 bet would return $91. Make sure you get over to BetMGM to lock in the spread now before it potentially changes later this week and the Ravens’ odds get worse.
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