It is too late to get in on the action for the 2022 NFL season opener as the Buffalo Bills took care of business against the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night, 31-10. The rest of the Week 1 slate features plenty of excellent games and a wide range of markets for bettors to enjoy, many of which can be combined to form NFL parlay bets.
The risk is exponentially greater depending on the number of legs in your NFL parlay bet. But so is the reward. The following are some of our favorite NFL parlay picks for Week 1 including a same-game parlay bet on Colts-Texans.
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What is an NFL Parlay Bet?
Parlays are a type of wager that take two or more bets (called legs) and combine them to form one wager. To win a parlay bet, you have to win each leg of the bet. The more legs you have in the parlay, the harder it is to win. That is why the odds grow exponentially with each leg.
Let’s take a look at a two-leg parlay featuring a pair of Week 1 games on Sunday (odds via DraftKings):
- Packers to beat the Vikings via the moneyline (-120)
- Raiders-Chargers total to go over 52.5 (-110)
A $100 bet on the Raiders-Chargers total would result in a $190.91 payout (you win $90.91). Bet $100 on the Packers to beat the Vikings, and the payout would be $183.33 (you win $83.33). But as a parlay, the odds would be +250, resulting in a payout of $350, with you winning $250.
So, if you make two $100 bets, you stand to win about $175. But if you make one NFL parlay bet and risk $100, you can win $250.
For More Information: Parlay Betting Odds
NFL Parlay Picks: Week 1
Parlay No. 1
Now that we’ve covered what a parlay is, let’s talk about a couple you can make involving Week 1 games. Let’s start with one featuring the picks made by one of our writers in an article posted this week. While the post features the best odds for each selection across multiple sportsbooks, we’ll use odds from Caesars for this parlay:
- NFL Week 1 Picks & Betting Predictions: Two Totals and a Moneyline
- Ravens-Jets: Over 44.5 (-110)
- Jaguars-Commanders: Jacksonville on the moneyline (+115)
- Steelers-Bengals: Under 44.5 (-110)
- Parlay Odds: +684
At +684, a $100 wager would result in a payout of $784, your stake plus $684 in winnings.
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Parlay No. 2
Let’s make one consisting of prop bets. Odds via PointsBet:
- Jonathan Taylor to Get 125+ Rushing Yards (+230)
- Joe Mixon to Get 75+ Rushing Yards (+110)
- Derrick Henry to Get 100+ Rushing Yards (+100)
- Aaron Rodgers over 255.5 Passing Yards (-125)
- Parlay Odds: +2394 (with the daily booster — +2669)
Risk $100 on this parlay, and you stand to walk away with a payout of $2,494, your $100 stake, and $2,394 in winnings. But is there any reason to believe this one might win?
Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 and 145 yards against the Texans last season. Houston had the second worst run defense in the league (142.2 yards/game), but only allowed four 100+ yard individual performances. While they’ll want Matt Ryan to get some work in, the Colts are a run-first team, and Taylor is their bell cow back.
Mixon has run for 75+ yards the last three times he faced the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s run defense was the only one worse than Houston’s last season.
The Giants allowed four 100+ yard individual rushing games in 2021, but gave up an average of 129 yards/game. Derrick Henry is the most powerful running back in the game. While the Titans may take it easy on him in his first game back from injury, they’ll need a good day from him to lock up a win.
Aaron Rodgers has averaged 252 passing yards/game against the Vikings during his career and had 288+ in his last four. His receiving corps is a concern, but this is Rodgers we’re talking about. Like Tom Brady, Rodgers is a pro at making unknown receivers look better than they are.
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Parlay No. 3: A Week 1 Same-Game Parlay
If you are a fan of one team rather than the whole league, you may find same-game parlays more to your liking. This week, let’s look at a SGP for the Indianapolis Colts-Houston Texans game (odds from FanDuel):
- Jonathan Taylor– Any Time Touchdown Scorer (-240)
- Dameon Pierce– Any Time Touchdown Scorer (+140)
- Matt Ryan – Passing Yards Over 237.5 (-114)
- Jonathan Taylor Over 99.5 rushing yards (-114)
- Dameon Pierce 60+ Rushing Yards (+168)
- Parlay Odds — +2176
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It’s no secret—the Colts are a run-first team. While Indianapolis did acquire a future Hall of Fame QB in the offseason, the team will go as far as Jonathan Taylor can carry it. Houston had the second worst run defense last season but only allowed four 100+ yard rushers — and Taylor had two of them.
In four career games against the Texans, Taylor has scored at least one touchdown in each.
While the run game will be the focus of the Colts’ offense, the team will also want Matt Ryan to flex his muscles. That shouldn’t be too hard against a Houston secondary that gave up 255 yards a game last season.
Pierce’s production is more of a question mark since he’s a rookie and has yet to face a legit NFL defense. While the Colts’ defense is not the best in the league, it is one of the better ones. But Houston had the fewest passing attempts in the league last year, and it would not be surprising if that were the case this year as well. Expect Pierce to get enough carries to potentially go for 60+ yards and score his first career touchdown.
Should this parlay turn into a winner, your $100 bet will result in a payout of $2,276, your $100 stake and $2,176 in winnings.
Also read: The Vegas Line: Sportsbooks See Betting Action on Cowboys, Dolphins, and 49ers | NFL Week 1 Player Props & Anytime TD Bets | Bookies Battle NFL Week 1 Picks
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