Week 2 of the NFL season is here with plenty of exciting matchups on this week’s slate. There are two potential shootouts on the schedule this week as the Patriots take on the Saints and the Packers battle the Falcons. Both games have point spreads of over 53 points as of this writing, so if you’re into high scoring games I’d recommend watching those two.
Last Week’s Results:
9-6 Straight Up
6-9 Point Spread
Note: The point spreads I use come from VegasInsider. All times listed are in the eastern time zone.
Houston (0-1) @ Cincinnati (0-1) -6 [8:25pm THU]
Both teams got their butts kicked in Week 1 and they don’t get much time to lick their wounds, which may be a good thing. Bengals QB Andy Dalton looked horrible against the Ravens and now he plays another good defense in the Texans. I think teams know that after WR AJ Green, the Bengals don’t have a lot of weapons on offense. Maybe rookie RB John Ross can be a difference maker with his speed, but he’s hurt right now. Texans are going with rookie QB Deshaun Watson hoping he’s going to get that offense going a bit. I liked him a lot in college because of his ability to improvise when the play breaks down. I’m going with the Texans to win because of that defense and Watson doing just enough to win. The Pick: Houston 16-13
Tennessee (0-1) -2 @ Jacksonville (1-0) [1:00pm SUN]
I went into the season thinking the Titans were going to win the AFC South, so I picked them to beat the Raiders last week. That didn’t happen. Is it time to overreact? Absolutely not. The Jaguars defense looked awesome against the Texans, but that was also a worse offense than what they are dealing with on Sunday. What I liked about the Jags offensively is they fed rookie RB Leonard Fournette 26 times for a 100 yard game and a TD. I guess you have to do that when Blake Bortles is 11 for 21. It’s hard to pick Bortles to win anything, so I’ll go with the Titans in a close game thanks to better QB play from Marcus Mariota. The Pick: Tennessee 20-17
Cleveland (0-1) @ Baltimore (1-0) -7.5 [1:00pm]
That spread seems low to me. Only 7.5 points when the Ravens crushed the Bengals on the road 20-0? I assume that it’s not higher because the Browns avoided getting blown out by the Steelers, but that was a home game for them. The Ravens defense should feast on the porous Browns offense by forcing a few turnovers and QB Joe Flacco is good enough to capitalize on mistakes by putting points on the board. I like the Ravens to win comfortably here. The Pick: Baltimore 31-10
Buffalo (1-0) @ Carolina (1-0) -7.5 [1:00pm]
When I watched the Panthers game last week I wanted to see how well the passing attack was. It didn’t impress me that much with QB Cam Newton throwing for only 171 yards against the Niners with just three combined catches for WR Kelvin Benjamin and TE Greg Olsen. They need to be better than that. The good news for the Panthers is the defense looks really good like they did two years ago after a lot of injuries last year. The Bills offense won’t scare anybody due to a lack of options, so I’ll roll with the Panthers here. The Pick: Carolina 27-17
New England (0-1) -6.5 @ New Orleans (0-1) [1:00pm]
The Patriots come into this game angry after blowing a lead against the Chiefs where they gave up 42 points. They’ve had over a week to rest up for this game against what is potentially the worst defense in the NFL. The Saints defense is so bad they make every QB look like a Pro Bowler and now they have to face angry Tom Brady and this offense? It won’t be fun for the Saints. With that said, the Saints should be able to put up a lot of points as well because QB Drew Brees plays much better at home and it’s not like the Patriots defense is great at this point. This feels like a 4 TD game for Brady and former Saints WR Brandin Cooks is now a Patriot that could go nuts with a 150-yard game for a couple of scores. I don’t think the Saints have the personnel to really stop them. The Pick: New England 48-31
Arizona (0-1) -7.5 @ Indianapolis (0-1) [1:00pm]
This game should be awful and I doubt I’ll watch any of it since Cardinals star RB David Johnson is out for the next 2-3 months. That’s a fantasy football killer. It’s also a reality killer for the Cardinals because their offense revolves around him. The Colts have major problems on both sides of the ball and I think the Cardinals defense should dominate. The Pick: Arizona 24-10
Philadelphia (1-0) @ Kansas City (1-0) -5 [1:00pm]
Both teams are coming off impressive road wins with their offenses looking dominant. My biggest problem with the Eagles is they don’t have a lot of consistency with RB since they paly three backs and don’t have a clear #1 runner. The Chiefs have that in rookie RB Kareem Hunt, who had the best Week 1 game for any rookie RB ever. I was also impressed by the Chiefs willingness to throw it downfield. Great job by QB Alex Smith finding WR Tyreek Hill down the field and I hope they don’t let up. Eagles QB Carson Wentz also impressed me a lot. They spread the ball around well. I’m going with the Chiefs to win a close game, but it’s far from a sure thing. The Pick: Kansas City 33-27
Chicago (0-1) @ Tampa Bay (0-0) -7 [1:00pm]
It’s going to be hard for me to pick the Bears in any games this year, especially on the road. The Bears deserve some credit for only losing to the Falcons by six last week (of course I had Falcons -7), but moral victories don’t really count. The Bucs had to sit out last week due to Hurricane Irma and they are clearly the better team. Look for Bucs QB Jameis Winston to have a big game with star WR Mike Evans and perhaps a deep pass will connect to new WR Desean Jackson as well. The Bucs may have some rust since it’s their first game, but they should handle the Bears easily. The Pick: Tampa Bay 31-13
Minnesota (1-0) @ Pittsburgh (1-0) -6.5 [1:00pm]
This should be one of the better games of the week because the Vikings have the kind of fast defense that can match up with the Steelers incredible offense. While I don’t expect the Vikes to shut them down because it’s hard to do that especially when Pittsburgh is at home, there should be some drives where the Steelers struggle. I was very impressed by Vikings QB Sam Bradford spreading the ball around on Monday and then rookie RB Dalvin Cook finished things off with a strong run game. They needed a guy like Cook because they had RB issues last year.
I like the Steelers at home because they’ve got the ability to beat teams in different ways whether it’s RB Le’Veon Bell dominating all over the field (he had an off game last week) or QB Ben Roethlisberger spreading it around the field. It was interesting how the Steelers offense struggled a bit against the Browns until Ben focused on WR Antonio Brown and AB had a big game. The Vikes may key on Brown a lot, which should free up WR Martavis Bryant. It’s hard for me to go against the Steelers at home. The Pick: Pittsburgh 27-20
Miami (0-0) @ LA Chargers (0-1) -4.5 [4:05pm]
The Chargers feel like the kind of team that is going to have close games most of the year. They have the kind of offense that will always be in games because QB Phil Rivers is so resilient and a healthy group of WRs makes them dangerous along with star RB Melvin Gordon. Defensively they have a lot of young talent with potential. The Dolphins come in fresh after the Week 1 “bye” they never wanted. I think the teams are pretty even and it will be a close game that the Chargers win late, but I have the Dolphins covering the spread. The Pick: LA Chargers 26-24
NY Jets (0-1) @ Oakland (1-0) -14 [4:05pm]
This one feels easy because I don’t expect to pick the Jets to win in any game this year while the Raiders are one of the best teams in the NFL and they’re also at home. Seems like an easy call to me. The question is, do the Raiders cover the two TD spread? I think so. Big day for QB David Carr along with WRs Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Perhaps “Beastmode” RB Marshawn Lynch will get a score or two as well. The Pick: Oakland 37-6
Washington (0-1) @ LA Rams (1-0) -2.5 [4:25pm]
The Rams offense looked impressive last week while the Washington defense looked terrible, so that should mean a high scoring game from the Rams leading to a home win, right? Not necessarily. I think there will be a sense of urgency from Washington to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start and I think they’ll have QB Kirk Cousins throwing downfield early. The problem with Washington is their lack of a run game. The Rams defense should shut down the run especially with star DT Aaron Donald back in the lineup and I feel like they may force Cousins into throwing an INT or two. If that happens then the Rams should win because I like the offense a lot better this year with QB Jared Goff looking comfortably with more weapons (WRs Watkins, Kupp & Woods) and a much better OLine. Don’t forget about Rams head coach Sean McVay knowing Washington very well since he was their offensive coordinator for a few years. Can my Rams make it to 2-0? I sure think so. LA Rams 27-23
Dallas (1-0) -2 @ Denver (1-0) [4:25pm]
Tough game to pick because I think Dallas is the better team, but Denver is very good when at home. The Broncos pass defense can slow down opposing team wideouts for most of the game although the Chargers got some late TDs to nearly come back on them last week. The difference for Dallas will be their strong running game with RB Ezekiel Elliott wearing down the Broncos defense enough to open up the passing attack. I’m also not that confident in the Denver offense right now. Cowboys win by a field goal. The Pick: Dallas 23-20
San Francisco (0-1) @ Seattle (0-1) -13 [4:25pm]
The Seahawks are angry after struggling on the road against the Packers, especially on offense. The Niners defense isn’t as bad as some of the terrible teams, but they clearly have issues offensively since they scored three points in their home opener. This has blowout potential with QB Russell Wilson having a big game and that Seattle defense should be dominant. The Pick: Seattle 31-3
Green Bay (1-0) @ Atlanta (1-0) -3 [8:30pm]
This game has the second highest O/U number at 53.5 points. Both offenses are high powered with a lot of weapons and two of the best QBs in the game with Aaron Rodgers taking on Matt Ryan. Perfect kind of game to put on Sunday night. Picking a winner is difficult because I think both defenses are going to struggle to slow down their opponents. The Packers surprised with how well they played defensively against the Seahawks, so I’m leaning in their direction because they might be better than I thought prior to the season.
The Falcons are playing in a new stadium for the first time in this game. Their crowd should be fired up for that reason among many other reasons. I think the key for them is to establish the run game with RBs Freeman and Coleman leading to WR Julio Jones having a monster game. The Packers offense should be able to do what they want for the most part too because that O-Line protects Rodgers so much and they have a lot of weapons. I’m going Packers in a shootout. It’s a gut feeling and a belief in Rodgers wanting to prove he’s the best QB in the league. The Pick: Green Bay 30-27
Detroit (1-0) @ NY Giants (0-1) -4 [8:30 MON]
Going into this season I was high on the Giants thinking they would win the NFC East, but then they played terribly in Week 1 with the offense struggling a lot without WR Odell Beckham. As of this writing, I’m not sure if Beckham will play and if he does, he will probably be limited. I can’t stop believing in the Giants, though. They’ve got a lot of talent and will be motivated to avoid the 0-2 start with a primetime home game. The Lions are a pesky team will stay competitive in every game. I expect no different here, but I’m going with Beckham to make some big play late and for WR Brandon Marshall to have much more of an impact as well. They have too much talent to struggle on offense as much as they do. The Giants will figure it out. The Pick: NY Giants 23-17
My Fave Five Bets Of The Week
I went 2-3 in this space last week. The Falcons won by six when I needed seven and SD/Den finished at 45 due to two scores late by the Chargers when I needed it to be 43. Welcome back NFL, where losing bets in the last few minutes is going to happen every week. Here are my five favorite bets for this week.
@ Baltimore -7.5 Cleveland
@ Tampa Bay -7 Chicago
San Francisco @ Seattle UNDER 42.5
New England -6.5 @ New Orleans – I feel like that line is going to go up to 7.5 later in the week.
Miami @ LA Chargers OVER 45
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back for more next week. Enjoy the games.
