(Cover Photo credit: The Diamondback; Image above credit: Bleacher Report)
Howdy y’all! It’s Mike back with my Week 2 picks. There were definitely some surprises after the first week of games. Let’s jump right into it:
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals (-5.5)
Both of these teams looked dreadful last week. QB Andy Dalton had one of the worst games by a quarterback ever, throwing 4 interceptions. And Houston benched its QB by the second half and the offensive line allowed 10 sacks to the Jaguars. The Texans will likely roll with rookie QB Deshaun Watson this week. There is no way Dalton is that bad again. Road teams on Thursday night tend to struggle.
Final Score: Bengals 24 – Texans 14
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)
Cleveland kept it very close against Pittsburgh and if it wasn’t for a blocked punt for a touchdown early in the game, they very well might have won. Rookie QB Deshone Kizer played pretty well. Baltimore took advantage of the awful QB play of Andy Dalton and shutout Cincinnati. Another division rival will lead to another hard fought game. Once again, Cleveland covers.
Final Score: Ravens 20 – Cleveland 14
Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7)
Chicago almost pulled off the upset in week one against the Falcons, so they should feel pretty confident heading into week 2. Tampa Bay had their bye week because of Hurricane Irma, so this will be their first game. They have had extra time to prepare. They prove too much for Chicago.
Final Score: Buccaneers 30 – Bears 20
New England Patriots (-7) at New Orleans Saints
After a surprisingly poor effort by the Patriots in week one where their defense got torched, they travel to take on New Orleans. The Saints have a very good offense as well, but there is no way the Patriots look that bad again. The Saints defense was very bad against the Vikings last week as well. The Saints defense is always bad though. Patriots bounce back and look like the team we all thought they would be.
Final Score: Patriots 38 – Saints 24
Arizona Cardinals (-7.5) at Indianapolis Colts
The Cardinals lost all pro running back David Johnson for multiple weeks, and that is a huge blow. The Colts looked like the worst team in the league last week after getting steamrolled by the Rams. The Colts will most likely switch to recently acquired QB Jacoby Brissett since Scott Tolzien just sucks. The Cardinals defense should be able to stop the Colts and win despite not having their star running back.
Finals Score: Cardinals 23 – Colts 13
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs (-4.5)
I will be in attendance at this game. I predicted a loss when we did our breakdown of every game. After the first week where the Chiefs looked really good beating the Patriots, I am going to stick to that prediction. The Eagles also played well in a victory over Washington, but going to Arrowhead is always tough to play. Both teams lost key members of their defense when Chiefs All-Pro S Eric Berry was lost for the year and offseason acquisition for the Eagles CB Ronald Darby will miss multiple weeks. They are both big losses and could factor into the game. The Eagles need to figure out a way to slow down WR Tyreek Hill. I will do my best to make sure the Eagles hear me.
Final Score: Chiefs 20 – Eagles 10
Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6)
The Vikings blew out the Saints on Monday night football, while the Steelers struggled to beat Cleveland. That says a Vikings victory right? The Steelers favored by six seems to high, but they are back at home and the terrible towels will be flying. They will get after Sam Bradford all game as this will be a low scoring game since the Vikings have a good defense.
Final Score: Steelers 17 – Vikings 14
Tennessee Titans (-1.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars
The reason this line is so close is because of the way Jacksonville played last week. They got after Houston all day. The Titans are a better team and will look to bounce back after a hard fought loss to Oakland. Look for the run game of Tennessee to get back on track.
Final Score: Titans 16 – Jagaurs 13
Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers (-7)
Both teams played teams that will most likely be at the bottom of league all year. So we didn’t really get to see who these teams actually are. Cam Newton started off slow for Carolina last week, but finished strong. Buffalo still isn’t a great team, but they played the Jets in week one. The Bills will look to feed their only source of offense in RB Lesean McCoy, but Carolina knows that and has a good enough defense to limit him.
Final Score: Panthers 20 – Bills 10
New York Jets at Oakland Raiders (-14)
14 points is a lot, but that goes to show you how different these teams are. Oakland is a Super bowl contender, while the Jets are the favorites for the 1st pick. Nothing more needs to be said.
Final Score: Raiders 31 – Jets 13
Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers (-4.5)
The Chargers could have beaten the Broncos last week, but got the game tying field goal blocked as time expired. Once again, they are losing close games like they did last year. Miami is playing their first game of the year and travelled to LA to practice since Irma was flooding Miami. Chargers are a sneaky good team this year and will need to win to keep pace in the division.
Final Score: Chargers 27 – Dolphins 20
Washington Redskins at Los Angeles Rams (-2.5)
I don’t think the Rams are as good as they looked last week in blowing out the Colts. QB Jared Goff looked really good, and maybe they do have something in him. The Redskins fought back from an early deficit against the Eagles, but costly turnovers cost them the game. New Head Coach Sean McVay knows the Redskins since he was their offensive coordinator last year. The Rams pull out another game and go 2-0 to start the year.
Final Score: Rams 23 – Redskins 17
Dallas Cowboys (-2) at Denver Broncos
Both teams are entering this game at 1-0 and look to keep the momentum going. It looks as though RB Ezekiel Elliott will play again this week, and he is the engine that makes the Cowboys go. Denver has arguably the best defense in the league and has two shutdown cornerbacks to cover the outside. They will focus in on Elliott, and hope that their offense can score enough to win. The Cowboys only let up 3 points last week, but their defense is not that good.
Final Score: Broncos 20 – Cowboys 14
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (-13.5)
Both teams are coming off losses, but the Seahawks are still one of the best teams in the NFC and will likely win their division. The 49ers are in the rebuilding process and will have a top pick in the draft. The Seahawks offensive line is still not very good and Wilson was scrambling for his life last week, and that could happen a lot. The Seahawks defense should have no problem with the 49ers offense, and it is their home opener, so the crowd will be electric.
Final Score: Seahawks 21 – 49ers 10
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5)
This is a Sunday Night affair and a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game. It is also the home opener for the Falcons at their brand new stadium. Both teams are also coming in 1-0 and the winner of this game is probably the early favorite to represent the NFC in the Super bowl. The Falcons barely survived the Bears last week, while the Packers handled the Seahawks. Both teams have high powered offenses. I think QB Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers get their revenge from last year’s championship game and move to 2-0.
Final Score: Packers 34 – Falcons 27
Detroit Lions at New York Giants (-3.5)
This is the Monday Night game. The Giants looked terrible last weekend, as they were only able to muster 3 points against the Cowboys, and Cowboys don’t exactly have an all-world defense. They were without star WR Odell Beckham, but still. Everyone knew the Giants offensive wasn’t going to be good, and that proved to be the case in week one. The Giants still have one of the better defenses in the league though. The Lions meanwhile, beat the Cardinals and looked pretty impressive while doing it. I don’t think the Giants will look as bad, especially getting Beckham back, but I like this Lions team and the way QB Matt Stafford is playing.
Final Score: Lions 23 – Giants 13
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