The 2nd week of the NFL season is upon us. After a strange and exciting week 1 it’s time to make some predictions for this upcoming week. After going 6-6 in my picks against the spread a week ago, let’s see if we can improve on the predictions this week.
Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears (Arizona -2)
This game almost seems to good to be true for Arizona. At only -2 you have to think Arizona has enough fire power to win this game on the road. The Cardinals will featured newly named starter Chris Johnson at running back following the injury to Andre Ellington. CJ2K could be in for a big game as Chicago’s problems mostly rest on the defensive side of the ball. For Chicago the Bears did have some success moving the ball last week but Arizona’s secondary featuring Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu could pose problems for the passing game. Bears wide out Alshon Jeffery is also doubtful to play.
Prediction: Cardinals defeat Bears 31-17
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers (Carolina -3)
While the Texans disappointed me in week 1, the Texans made the right call by benching Brian Hoyer in favor of Ryan Mallet in week 2. I have always been a fan of Mallet during his college days and deserves the opportunity to start after years of sitting in New England. With that being said I believe Mallet can lead the Texans to a win over Carolina who struggled with Jacksonville last week. Houston should get the job done with new found motivation with a quarterback change. Panthers linebacker Luke Keuchly will also miss the game for Carolina.
Prediction Texans defeat Panthers 23-13
San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals (Cincinnati -3.5)
West coast road trips always concern me but this game is really a toss up. The Bengals running game with Jeremy Hill makes me side with Cincy in this one. The Bengals showed what they can do in a blowout win over the Raiders show casing young talented tight end Tyler Eifert who missed most of the 2014 season. This game is truly a toss up and wouldn’t have much confidence betting this one either way.
Bengals defeat Chargers 20-16
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (Vikings -2.5)
The Vikings horrific Monday night performance was one of the most shocking things that happened last weekend. Adrian Peterson will get back on track this week after only rushing for 31 yards in week one. Detriot’s defensive struggles were also very apparent last week as losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley have proven devastating thus far. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will also find a way to get back as play caller Norv Turner will figure something out.
Vikings defeat Lions 28-24
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants (Giants -2.5)
Atlanta is coming off of a huge Monday night win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons look much improved on both sides of the ball with their new coaching staff in Dan Quinn and Kyle Shanahan. Having said that I believe the Giants will bounce back at home to win this game. The Giants are one of the better teams at handling adversity and I believe they will move past their last minute loss to Dallas. The Falcons are a much better team at home and this game on the road will show that. I expect it to be a close game nonetheless.
Giants defeat Falcons 24-21
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (New England -1)
This game may be the most exciting one of the week as Rex Ryan will face New England for the first time as the Bills head man. After years of battles with the Jets, Ryan takes over possibly his most talented team ever in Buffalo. For the first time ever Ryan also has an efficient quarterback in Tyrod Taylor who has what it takes to get the W this week. While Taylor is still highly unproven if he can manage to not turn the ball over the Bills can win this game with their nasty defense.
As for New England, Tom Brady still likely has that eye of the tiger look from last week as you can see in his eyes he is playing angry from dealing with the deflategate scandal. The Patriots also get running back LeGarrette Blount back as he is returning from his suspension. Journeyman Dion Lewis can now go back to his 3rd down back role as Blount could be in for a big season in hopes for a new contract next season. In the end I can’t pick against Brady and Belichick even though I am really tempted to.
Patriots defeat Bills 31-30
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (New Orleans -10)
Drew Brees sitting at 0-2 just doesn’t sound right to me. The Saints record in the dome in also vastly better than on the road leading me to believe the Saints will win this game. The biggest question is whether they will cover the 10 point spread? New Orleans defense is the weak link in the team and could allow more points than expected. Jameis Winston struggled in week one so expect his first road game to give him fits as well. Nevertheless I expect a big game from Drew Brees in a sort of blowout home opener.
Saints defeat Bucs 35-13
San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers (Pittsburgh -6)
Monday night game followed up by west coast road trip east just doesn’t sound like something this 49er team can overcome. Pittsburgh will look to get back on track after being dismantled in the opener by the Patriots. The Steelers also had an additional 3 days to prepare after playing last Thursday. In the end I’m taking the Steelers to get back on track to stop this one dimensional 49er offense lead by Carlos Hyde.
Steelers defeat 49ers 28-17
St. Louis Rams at Washington Redskins (St. Louis -3.5)
I took the Rams last week against the Seahawks in week one but this game really scares me. Coming off a emotional win last week could the Rams actually be in for a let down in Washington? Maybe, but there are certainly reasons why the Redskins can steal this game. The Skins led an over rated Dolphins team for a majority of the game while Kirk Cousins did his best to manage the game. In the end I’m going to pick St. Louis but this game just has sort of a sucker bet written all over it. I don’t love Nick Foles but he is efficient enough to lead this team behind an unbelievable defense. The Rams could be boasted by the return of Todd Gurley who is questionable.
Rams defeat Redskins 24-18
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns (Tennessee -1)
The 2-0 Tennessee Titans? The Titans couldn’t have gotten a bigger gift scheduling wise with opening the season with the Bucs and Browns back to back. This game will feature a match up of two Heisman winners in Johnny Manziel and Marcus Mariota. Both players have sort of a rivalry that dates back to high school as Manziel was committed to Oregon before changing his mind to Texas A&M at the last minute. The line on the other hand seems fairly low as Vegas odds makers have to be thinking Mariota’s performance in week one was a fluke. In the end I will pick the Titans but I don’t expect a sort of performance from Mariota we saw in week one.
Titans defeat Browns 23-10
Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders (Baltimore – 6.5)
Things couldn’t have gone worse for either team in week one. The Ravens lost an ugly game to Denver while losing former defensive player of the year Terrell Suggs for the season. The Raiders were embarrassed by the Bengals losing quarterback Derek Carr to an injury in the first quarter. The Ravens are my pick to win this game and should be a favorite for suicide league’s as I simply cannot see them going 0-2 to the Raiders.
Ravens defeat Raiders 31-14
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars (Miami -6)
I am not going to make the mistake of having the Jaguars disappoint me again for a second straight week. While I believe the Dolphins are vastly over rated they may sort of be playing a home game today as the Jags are known for leaving empty seats. The Dolphins defense is also good enough that it will force the Jaguars to be one dimensional passing unit when the game is on the line.
Dolphins defeat Jaguars 26-9
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (Philadelphia -5)
Eagles -5! What, no way I’m sorry but that’s to many points. A majority of people are actually picking the Eagles based off their “second half” in Atlanta Monday night. No Dez Bryant, No Randy Gregory could spell trouble for Big D by they are actually a better road team going 8-0 on the road last season. In a game of Bradford vs. Romo I’m taking Romo and the boys to take care of business. This game will likely be a shoot out as both defenses are susceptible to giving up big plays. I predict that Romo wins the game for Dallas in the final minute as he did last week in a close game.
Cowboys defeat Eagles 38-35
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers (Green Bay -3.5)
A rematch of the NFC title game will have emotions geared up today. Both teams feature two of the best runningbacks in Eddie Lacy for the Pack and Marshawn Lynch for Seattle. Both teams will likely lean on the run heavily as the opposing defenses have tremendous secondaries. Both teams will be missing two key pieces from the match up a year ago in Jordy Nelson and Kam Chancellor. Can Dion Bailey do enough to replace Kam Chancellor? Can DeVante Adams scare defenses enough to not double team Randall Cobb? In the end I believe Seattle gets the better of the rematch with new toy Jimmy Graham being a huge factor in the outcome.
Seahawks defeat Packers 34-28
