On to week two!
There are bound to be plenty of overreactions after week one (are the Bills the worst team of all time? Have the Lions already quit on Matt Patricia? Is Aaron Rodgers going to ascend directly into heaven when he retires?) but with each week we’ll start to learn more about what these teams will be.
Here are the picks.
GAME OF THE WEEK – New England Patriots (1-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0), NE by 2 – A rematch of the AFC title game, this time in Jacksonville. Call me crazy, but the Patriots always tend to have a couple early-season upsets. The Jaguars are going to be hot in this one, wanting to prove themselves. My head is telling me New England, but my heart is saying Jacksonville scores an upset and gives the Patriots what will be one of like two losses they get this year. UPSET! – Jaguars 24, Patriots 23
THURSDAY NIGHT – Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-0), PUSH – Tough pick here—the Ravens looked unstoppable against the Bills, and the Bengals went into Indy and ruined Andrew Luck’s return to football. Divisional game on a Thursday night, gotta go with the home team. Bengals 20, Ravens 17
Indianapolis Colts (0-1) at Washington (1-0), WAS by 5.5 – If Adrian Peterson keeps up his production from week one, he’s going to end up being the steal of free agency (and fantasy football drafts everywhere). Washington was looking like a really balanced team last week in an impressive win against the Cardinals. The Colts have talent and will give them a challenge, but fuck it, I’ll go off of what I saw out of Washington last week. Washington 24, Colts 17
Carolina Panthers (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-1), ATL by 5.5 – The Falcons and Panthers both had some offensive difficulties in week one, but the Falcons have more talent on that side of the ball. If Sark gets out of his own offense’s way, the Falcons can still be a potent team. I’ll take them at home to edge out the Panthers. Falcons 27, Panthers 20
Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Green Bay Packers (1-0), MIN by 1 – With Aaron Rodgers’ injury, who knows if this will end up being a game of the week or a dud of the week. If Rodgers does play, one has to think his motion will be extremely hampered, but this is also a revenge game for the Packers, as the Vikings knocked Rodgers out for the year last year and ruined what could have been a Super Bowl campaign. I think the Vikings are probably the best team in the NFL at the moment, even if I’m not a huge believer in Kirk Cousins… that roster is just so strong all around. I’ve got to pick them, even in Lambeau and even if Rodgers plays. Vikings 23, Packers 19
Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-1), LAC by 7.5 – The Chargers didn’t look particularly impressive, but the Bills could very well be the worst team in football this season (as I think I predicted in my picks last week). Give me the Chargers. Chargers 30, Bills 9
Houston Texans (0-1) at Tennessee Titans (0-1), HOU by 2.5 – Disappointing start for both teams. The Texans came back from a rough start to the game against New England to finish respectably close against a better team. The Titans had to deal with numerous delays and fell short against Miami. Both of these teams figure to be in the hunt in the wild card race this year, which means this game could have some importance come December. Right now, I think the Texans are just farther along than the Titans. Texans 24, Titans 16
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1), PIT by 5 – Oddsmakers are really giving the Steelers a pass on their horrendous performance against the Browns. The Steelers are playing at home this week, and they do tend to play to the level of their competition, but the Chiefs were the much more impressive team in the opening week of the season and even if John Conner continues to put up Leveon Bell-like numbers, I don’t think it’ll be enough to overcome what looks like a very explosive Chiefs squad. UPSET! – Chiefs 30, Steelers 20
Miami Dolphins (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0), NYJ by 3 – Uh… that happened. 31 points in a single quarter for the Jets, and they’re 1-0 in the Sam Darnold era. Don’t count on the Jets being able to pick off five passes every week, but there’s a whole lot to like there if you’re a Jets fan. Coming off that momentum and playing at home against an average Dolphins unit, give me the Jets to get off to a surprise 2-0 start. Jets 24, Dolphins 20
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0), PHI by 3 – The Buccaneers were probably the biggest surprise of the week in week one, but there’s almost no chance they can replicate that performance. Give me the defending champs. Eagles 27, Bucs 17
Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) at New Orleans Saints (0-1), NO by 8.5 – Even though the Browns are off to a blazing hot start (their best since 2004), I don’t think it’ll be enough to overcome an angry Saints squad that just got embarrassed in their own house by a divisional rival everyone thought to be inferior. Saints 34, Browns 10
Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at Los Angeles Rams (1-0), LAR by 12.5 – The bigger and badder Rams didn’t disappoint in week one—this looks like a team that’s going to be a contender this year. While divisional games always have an element of craziness to them, give me the Rams to take the win. Rams 30, Cardinals 16
Detroit Lions (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (0-1), SF by 5.5- What the hell happened to the Lions? Matt Stafford looked like a JV high school quarterback, the team absolutely imploded within the span of about eight game minutes and suddenly there are a whole lot of questions about this team. Heck, Jimmy G threw 3 INTs against the Vikings, but at least he remained poised and kept his team in it until the end. Give me San Fran. 49ers 29, Lions 20
Oakland Raiders (0-1) at Denver Broncos (1-0), DEN by 6 – The Raiders were off to a good start against the Rams before Derek Carr decided he’d forget how to play football. I’ll take them in a mild upset. UPSET! – Raiders 24, Broncos 19
New York Giants (0-1) at Dallas Cowboys (0-1), DAL by 3 – Neither of these teams looked particularly great in week one, but I’m more of a believer in what the Cowboys have than the Giants at the moment. Cowboys 17, Giants 13
Seattle Seahawks (0-1) at Chicago Bears (0-1), CHI by 3.5 – The Bears did great with their scripted plays against the Packers, but awful quarterbacking and questionable playcalling aided the Packers greatly in their miracle comeback. Playing at home against another elite quarterback, they’re definitely going to have their work cut out for them. The big question… does this team have the mental toughness to come back from such an embarrassing defeat? That’s a hard one to come back from. UPSET! – Seahawks 20, Bears 13