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Kipp Heisterman's Monday Night Football betting predictions, best MNF prop bets, and odds analysis for Week 2. Free Monday Night Football picks and player props for tonight's games.
Hello everybody, and welcome to Week 2's edition of Monday Night Football bets and props! The NFL season finally kicked off last week, and we here at RotoBaller could not be more thrilled to bring you some of the best content in the market. We are excited to bring betting content to all those interested in every slate in any given week.
This weekly article will focus on the Monday night slate, and I will provide several different betting angles for the games scheduled. I will typically provide at least one play on the game's total or spread, as well as at least three player or game props, including at least one touchdown prop. Although this article will be published each week on Monday mornings, you can always feel free to check out our Discord Channel to see plays posted throughout the week.
This week's Monday night slate features two games, including a matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, as well as the Los Angeles Chargers at the Las Vegas Raiders. These two matchups should provide plenty of goodies for us to try to take advantage of. Each of these teams has soft spots in their defense that we can look to take advantage of as well. Without further delay, let's get into tonight's picks for Week 2 of Monday Night Football!
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Week 2 Monday Night Football Betting Odds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Houston Texans
Spread: Texans -2.5
Total: 42.5
In our first Monday night matchup, we have two teams with very high aspirations in the Texans and the Buccaneers. Both teams are coming off division titles, and each team lost its playoff opener in the wild-card round. While the Bucs have started the season 1-0 with a win over division rival Atlanta, the Texans are 0-1 after falling to the Los Angeles Rams last week.
Los Angeles Chargers @ Las Vegas Raiders
Spread: Chargers -3.5
Total: 46.5
In our second Monday night game this week, we have a tale of two different teams. The Chargers are coming off a playoff berth under their first-year head coach, Jim Harbaugh, and are looking to make a run at the AFC West title. The Raiders, on the other hand, finished in last place in the AFC West and are looking to improve drastically under new head coach Pete Carroll.
Week 2 Monday Night Football Betting Picks
Points figure to be hard to come by when the Bucs travel to Houston, given that the total is currently set to 42.5, which is the fourth-lowest total on the board. At first glance, this total looks like something we should be looking to go over with; however, that may not be the best way to attack this one.
It is well-known that the Texans have a rather stout defense, as they allowed the 11th-fewest rushing yards to running backs last season by allowing an average of just 86 yards per game. What is not as obvious is that the Bucs had an even better run defense by allowing just 73 rushing yards per game to running backs.
While Tampa Bay will likely want to try to run the ball with Bucky Irving to set up their pass offense, this will be a difficult task, given that the main strength of this Houston D is their ability to defend the pass, as last season, they allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards to the quarterback position.
While the Bucs can be attacked through the air, having allowed the second-most passing yards to quarterbacks in 2024, this is a Houston offense that has sputtered at times to move the ball through the air. This tells me points will likely be at a premium with both teams struggling a bit to do what they want.
The Pick: Buccaneers @ Texans UNDER 42.5 (-110 DraftKings)
Week 2 Monday Night Football Player Props
Justin Herbert OVER 253.5 passing yards (-111 DraftKings)
While I do not have a particular play on the side or total in our second Monday night game, there are a few props out there I like, and Justin Herbert's passing yards are one of them. Herbert got off to a great start last week against the Chiefs, where he threw for 381 passing yards and three touchdowns on 34 attempts.
He should be able to have similar success against a Raiders' defense that allowed Drake Maye to throw for 287 passing yards, completing 65% of his passes. Last season, the Raiders also struggled against the pass, allowing an average of 250 passing yards per game, which ranked them eighth-worst in the league.
In two contests against the Raiders last season, Herbert combined to throw for 490 passing yards and three touchdowns. In his Week 18 matchup against the Raiders, Herbert threw for 346 yards on 36 attempts.
justin Patrick Herbert pic.twitter.com/PlfZ5CLiCE
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 6, 2025
Keenan Allen ANYTIME touchdown scorer (+200 DraftKings)
I am not going to lie, I kind of wish we were getting better odds here on Allen, so one might take a look at the first touchdown scorer prop at +1100 if they want an additional shot at a touchdown play with higher odds. In any event, we are going to stick with his anytime touchdown against a Raiders' defense that allowed 16 touchdowns to wide receivers in 2024 and allowed one to start the season last week, a la DeMario Douglas.
Douglas lined up in the slot on a majority of his snaps last week, which is where we should likely get used to seeing Allen line up. Last week, he lined up in the slot on more than half of his snaps, making for a big target over the middle for Herbert to find in the red zone. Last week, Allen was targeted in the red zone just once, but he hauled that in for an 11-yard touchdown reception.
Allen and Herbert picked up where they left off, and I would expect to see them continue to develop their rekindled connection over the course of the season. This game currently has a total sitting at 46.5, which is on the higher side for games this week, so some scoring should be expected as well.
"What y'all want to see this?"
You gotta see @Keenan13Allen on the sideline after his touchdown. 😂 (via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/zeJHoKK62h
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2025
Nick Chubb UNDER 50.5 rushing yards (-110 DraftKings)
I will be completely honest in saying Nick Chubb did more than I thought he would last week against the Los Angeles Rams when he toted the rock 13 times for 60 rushing yards. I thought he would be a bit slower and less involved, but he saw almost twice as many snaps as Dare Ogunbowale and four times as many snaps as Dameon Pierce.
That being said, this is an extremely tough matchup for running backs against this Tampa Bay defense. In 2024, Tampa allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards to running backs and allowed just 4.2 yards per carry. Last week, they kicked their season off by holding Bijan Robinson to just 24 rushing yards on 12 carries. Overall, they held all Falcons' backs to just 48 rushing yards on 22 total carries.
It does not feel like a great spot for Chubb to keep the wheels turning. While Houston will ultimately try to get the ball to Chubb to set up their offense, they may need to look to throw early and often against a Tampa defense that can be beaten a bit through the air. I would also expect the Texans to get the other running backs involved if Chubb does struggle to move the line early in the game.
