NFL Week 2: Final picks and predictions

Week 2 of the NFL is upon us as some surprise upsets might happen as well as the continued dominance of some early NFL Playoff favorites.

Week 1 saw the defending Super Bowl champions being upset in their season opener by the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-27. While Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams easily rolled by the Indianapolis Colts, 46-9.

So, let’s get straight onto the slate of games for Week 2 which features a full fifteen-game schedule. As always, these NFL Lines are supplied by our partner Sports Book Review.

Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs ( -5)

In Week 1, the Kansas City Chiefs showed the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots just how hard it is to win in Arrowhead. Last year, the Chiefs were 6-2 at home while the Eagles found it tough to win on the road winning just one out of eight games. Chiefs have a rejuvenated rushing attack this year with Kareem Hunt who sliced and diced the Patriots for 240 total yards. Chiefs remain undefeated.

Pick: Chiefs 30 Eagles 24

Arizona Cardinals ( -7.5 ) at Indianapolis Colts

Arizona will be without their team MVP in David Johnson. Luckily, they face a dreaded Indianapolis Colts team who have started the past three seasons 0-2. Colts got romped by the Rams 46-9 last week. They won’t turn it around now.

Pick: Cardinals 20 Colts 13

Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers (-7)

Steelers have won their last 11 of 13 at Heinz Field and are 14-2 in their last 16 home openers. Quarterback Sam Bradford (left knee) is questionable but will play. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was held to just 32 yards last week, expect him to bounce back in another Steelers home opener victory.

Pick: Steelers 30 Vikings 20

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-9)

Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer faces his first road test against one of the top NFL defenses in the Baltimore Ravens. He fared well in his inaugural game against the Steelers completing 20 of 30 passes with one touchdown and one interception. He must play a clean game once again against the Ravens. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is dealing with lower back problems. The Browns defense held a strong Steelers offense at bay in their opener. Cleveland will keep this one close but the Ravens win this one in a close defensive battle.

Pick: Ravens 17 Browns 14

Next: More 1 p.m. Games

New England (-7) at New Orleans Saints

Tom Brady since he took over the Patriots starting quarterback position in 2001 has never been two games under .500. Both these teams put up the worst defensive statistics in Week 1. Patriots went undefeated on the road last year 8-0. The New Orleans Saints gave up the second most yards passing last year. This game looks to be winding up as the game with the most points scored this week.

Pick: Patriots 46 Saints 35

Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7.5)

Former Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon cashed in this year as the top paid free agent signal caller signing with Chicago. The Buccaneers are without suspended running back Doug Martin but his replacement Jacquizz Rodgers did not disappoint as his replacement last year, leading the backfield in rushing. Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers were off last week due to Hurricane Irma, but it won’t slow them down in their season opener.

Pick: Buccaneers 24 Bears 20

Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers (-8.5)

Carolina traveled to San Francisco last week and easily handled a weak 49ers team. Buffalo, behind running back LeSean McCoy, went on to defeat the New York Jets on the road. Now they travel to Carolina where they must come up with a game plan to defeat a much more talented Panthers team. They will have a hard time coming up with a game plan against a team with too many offensive weapons and a defense that will be able to stop their star running back.

Pick: Panthers 31 Bills 6

Tennessee Titans (-1) at Jacksonville Jaguars

This looks like one of the sloppiest games of this week’s slate. The Jaguars will desperately miss wide receiver Allen Robinson (torn ACL) but their defense is the real deal this year. Compiling 10 sacks against the Texans in Week 1. Both teams have solid running backs in DeMarco Murray and Jaguars rookie Leonard Fournette, who looks like he is the real deal. Last year against the run, the Titans gave up an average of 88.3 yards a game (second in the league). The Jaguars were horrendous last year turning the ball over a total of 29 times.

Pick: Titans 16 Jaguars 14

Next: 4 p.m. Games

New York Jets at Oakland Raiders (-14.5)

As I mentioned last week, the Oakland Raiders are my pick to take the AFC crown this year. They will not take the Jets lightly at home in what should be a cakewalk for them. The Jets allowed eight 20 yard plus plays against a bad Bills team last week and now have to face a team that is loaded on offense as well as defense. Oakland shows why they are a team to be reckoned with this year.

Pick: Raiders 41 Jets 3

Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers (-3)

This will be the Chargers very first game in Los Angeles since 1960. Home field advantage should carry the Chargers onto victory over a Dolphins team who might look a little rusty in their first game of the season as they had their first week off postponed due to Hurricane Irma.

Pick: Chargers 27 Dolphins 20

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (-15)

Now onto the biggest point spread game of the week. The Seahawks have owned the 49ers, winning their last seven and nine of ten against them. Seattle struggled to put up points against Green Bay last week, putting up only 9 (3 field goals) points. They will win this game but will not cover this week’s biggest NFL spread.

Pick: Seahawks 19 49ers 7

Washington Redskins @ Los Angeles Rams (-2.5)

In their home opener, quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams annihilated the Colts, cruising onto a 46-9 triumph. The Redskins, on the other hand, had trouble finding their offensive identity losing to Philadelphia 30-17. Goff was mightily impressive at home completing 21-28 passes for 306 yards. The Redskins will continue having trouble as they travel across the states.

Pick: Rams 27 Redskins 17

Dallas Cowboys (-1) at Denver Broncos

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will be the difference in this game. Yes, Denver is a solid team against the run but in seven road games last year, Elliott ran for 777 yards and seven touchdowns. The quarterback matchup goes to Dallas with Dak Prescott over Trevor Siemian.

Pick: Cowboys 23 Broncos 20

Next: Sunday Night plus Monday Night's Games

Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) [SNF]

The Falcons play their home opener in their brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday Night Football. They squeezed out a victory against a tough Chicago Bears defense and now will be breaking in their new home with a victory. It won’t be easy but they will beat a Packers team who will see just why the Falcons are last year’s NFC Champions.

Pick: Falcons 27 Packers 23

Detroit Lions at New York Giants (-2.5) [MNF]

Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a serious question mark to play this game. Without him, they were handled by the Cowboys easily last week. While Detroit and quarterback Matthew Stafford aired it out 41 times last week passing for four touchdowns. The Giants are fantastic against the run but they won’t be able to contain the receiving weapons on the Lions.

Pick: Lions 24 Giants 20