What a fun evening of Sunday night football! Free football and both of our touchdown scorers get home. We had an excellent Sunday overall, going 3-0 on prop bets (with one void) and hitting three longshot touchdowns. Let’s keep our NFL betting success rolling for Monday Night Football in a fun matchup between two teams — the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams — with surprising records heading into the final game of the second week. Rams receiver Puka Nacua (hip) is inactive. Bet on Monday Night Football at DraftKings, where new users get $150 in bonus bets after they spend $5+:

New York dominated the Cowboys in Week 1 to secure John Harbaugh’s first victory, while the Rams, despite being the prohbitive preseason Super Bowl favorite, laid a complete egg against the 49ers in Australia. I’d expect the Rams to come out fired up for this one and it sure looks like the 49ers might be a complete truck, so their loss isn’t quite as bad as maybe it seemed when you couple it with the travel mistakes Down Under. The Cowboys also looked awesome in Week 2, though, so let’s not shortchange what the Giants did last week. Get a $55 bonus after $25 in trades by claiming the latest Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 here:

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Best bets for Monday Night Football

Rams -6.5

Although Week 2 was brutal for a lot of heavier favorites (the Ravens, Bucs and Chargers all lost outright, dooming a lot of survivor entries), I’m not going to shy away from what I think is the right side here, as long as it’s under seven points. The Rams are still the Rams, and even though Myles Garrett isn’t there, they’ll be getting Aaron Donald for some snaps in this one. 

Matthew Stafford will be without Puka Nacua Monday night, which is certainly concerning. But the Rams can control the ball with their elite run game and I expect a good game from Davante Adams.

The Rams will come out sharp, get a lead, get the ball out of Cam Skattebo’s hands and make the Giants throw a ton. I know Donald is only playing around 30 snaps, but I really do expect them to be meaningful and produce at least one game/spread-swinging pressure or turnover. 

Monday Night Football player props

Malik Nabers Over 5.5 receptions (-114, DraftKings) 

Malik Nabers didn’t think he was going to play in Week 1 until John Harbaugh decided to tackle him before the game and scare him into playing. Coming off a torn ACL, he still had six catches on nine targets against the Cowboys. And while this matchup is significantly tougher for the second-year pro, I think the confidence of playing, coupled with the Giants potentially in a negative gamescript, bode really well for Nabers producing, particularly in the second half. Once he starts having big Nabers games, we won’t see lines this low.

Blake Corum Over 10.5 carries (+126, DraftKings)

Let’s lean into the narrative that the Rams are going to have a lead for much of this game and target their “backup” running back Blake Corum, who clearly is going to see something along the lines of a 60/40 time share at minimum with Kyren Williams. If the Rams have a double-digit lead, I can assure you Sean McVay is going to feed Corum and he’s also a decent bet for some high-value, short-yardage carries to keep the tally going. Bet on NFL player props and more at BetMGM:

Monday Night Football anytime touchdowns

Isaiah Likely (+290, FanDuel)

I don’t really understand this price? Isaiah Likely scored twice last week and is clearly a breakout candidate this season without having to share targets at the tight end position. He’s got a coaching staff that loves to draw up plays for him, a quarterback who trusts him and there’s a decent chance the Giants are throwing a lot in the second half. Likely is coming off an eight-target, eight-catch game. I guess the argument is the spread and the team total, but the Giants are expected to score close to three touchdowns. I’ll happily take almost 3-1 on this.  

Davante Adams (-120, FanDuel) 

After hitting some longer shots in our weekly column, we’re going to eat some chalk here on the Rams and Davante Adams. He’s -125ish across the best betting apps so it’s not an insane price and McVay will want to make his star wide receiver happy. Plus, this isn’t really pricing this as if Puka Nakua isn’t playing — I’d think Adams would close closer to -140 once we know that Puka is out. And even if Puka plays, it’s fine, because Adams is such a lethal goal line weapon. There’s no way they can keep him off the field around the goal line again after the disaster in Australia.