Public likes Eagles, Bucs in VSiN’s Average Joe Contest

Picks are locked in for Week 2 of the Edge Boost/Average Joe Contest at VSiN. Through the first two weeks of the contest, more than 50,000 picks have been submitted.

The contest includes NFL and college football picks and has an 8 a.m. PT deadline Saturday.

VSiN uses lines from Circa Sports as of 10 a.m. PT on Fridays, and all contestants pick from those numbers. You can read more about the free contest rules here.

Here are the most popular spreads and totals for NFL Week 2. These are the most popular games by consensus, so they may not be the most-picked sides by volume. However, they have the highest percentage of picks on those particular games, allowing you to decide whether to ride along with the “public” Average Joes or go against them.

Eagles -7 (92 percent) vs. Titans (600/654)

It would seem that losing to the Jets doesn’t garner much support in the court of public opinion. Even though the Eagles had all sorts of issues with the Commanders, the Joes were unconcerned about laying a touchdown in the Music City. Given how bad Cam Ward and the Tennessee offense looked in Robert Saleh’s second crack at being a head coach, it is hardly surprising to see this pick make the cut as one of the most popular, though the percentage is a bit staggering. The Eagles were the second-ranked consensus team last week when they failed to cover.

Buccaneers -8.5 (87 percent) vs. Browns (456/524)

Another team that had a terrible Week 1 showing is getting picked on again. It should be mentioned that six of the seven most popular picks this week are favorites, and three of the top four are favored by seven points or more. The 49ers are the fourth-ranked consensus pick at 78 percent.

Back to this game, though, as Baker Mayfield looks to exact revenge against his former team. More importantly, he’s looking to bounce back from a turnover-plagued effort against the Bengals, a game the Bucs lost by only six points despite four lost fumbles. As for the Browns, well, LOL.

Broncos -2.5 (81 percent) vs. Jaguars (738/913)

Call it hive mind, call it groupthink, call it whatever you want, but the most popular picks of the week are usually pretty predictable. This one was not on my bingo card. Typically, public players find numerous faults with teams that stink up the joint in premier prime-time games. The Broncos did that by getting pushed around by the Chiefs in a game that did not inspire confidence in Denver’s ability to repeat as AFC West champion. But all the Jaguars did was beat the lowly Browns, so the jury of Average Joes is still out on them.

Commanders-Cowboys Over 50.5 (92 percent) (187/203)

While the Broncos being a top spread selection was unexpected, the Cowboys being part of the top over selection was not. This was a trend we saw a ton in last season’s contest, and we see it again here. Dallas was not among the top three last week, but that probably had to do with some uncertainty surrounding John Harbaugh’s debut with the Giants. Here, with two known commodities, this is the most lopsided total of the week.

Saints-Ravens Over 46.5 (89 percent) (131/148)

Here’s another one that was easy to project. The Ravens nearly scored this many points themselves against the Colts in Week 1, and the Saints played a game against the Lions that produced 61 points, though 13 were scored in overtime. Tyler Shough threw 56 times in that game.

What’s interesting is the correlation with the Saints being the most popular underdog, receiving 77 percent of the spread picks at +8.5. Based on what we saw last week, a higher-scoring game would benefit the Saints’ chances of covering.

Panthers-Falcons Over 43.5 (88 percent) (96/109)

All is right in the Average Joe world — three favorites and three overs in the consensus. Last week, we saw three unders, a rare occurrence. Two of the three picks went under, but that wasn’t enough for the Joes to root against points this week. It’s only fair when one of these teams was involved in a game that produced 96 points.

Ironically, picking against Cooper Rush was extremely popular last week, as the Steelers were the top against-the-spread target. This week, the Joes are rooting for him to put up some points.