Week 1 is in the books and I finished with a very respectable (10-6) against the spreads. Here are my predictions for Week 2.
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5) – Thursday Night Football
Summary: Peyton Manning comes into this match with the Chiefs with a 13-1 lifetime record against them. But if last week’s match against the Baltimore Ravens showed us anything its that father time has caught up to the 39 year old. On the other hand playing in Arrowhead Stadium is one of the toughest places for opponents to come into. Alex Smith played well against a good Texans defense and his weapon of choice is Tight-End Travis Kelce.
Pick: Kansas City covers at home as they win 24-17.
San Diego Chargers @ Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) – 1pm CBS
Summary: The Cincinnati Bengals have been notoriously good at home, and played well against the lowly Oakland Raiders on the road. Andy Dalton was solid and TE Tyler Eifert had has best game as a pro. However, the San Diego Chargers came back from a 21-3 deficit to knock off the Detroit Lions at home last week. The Chargers are my pick to win the NFC West and QB Phillip Rivers and WR Keenan Allen showed a glimpse of what is to come.
Pick: San Diego improves to 2-0 and beats the Bengals 31-21.
Arizona Cardinals (-1.5) @ Chicago Bears- 1pm FOX
Summary: The Arizona Cardinals came out hot out of the gate, taking down Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. They did lose a key player in RB Andre Ellington, who will be replaced this week by Chris Johnson. The Chicago Bears on the other hand loss to division rival Green Bay and are at risk at starting the season 0-2 at home. RB Matt Forte looked exceptional but will be in tough against a team that doesn’t allow a lot of yards on the ground.
Pick: Arizona in a landslide 35-17.
Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns (PICK EM) – 1pm CBS
Summary: Rookie QB Marcus Mariota was perfect in his first game. I’m not kidding, he finished with a perfect passing rating and 4 Touchdown passes. He will face a stingier defense with the Browns and will have to look down the barrel of the “Dog Pound.” Speaking of which, the “Pound” will have to make a lot of noise and hopefully QB Johnny Manziel could perform on a more consistent level this week.
Pick: Low scoring, close game, but I’ll take the Titans 17-14.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints (-10.5) –1pm FOX
Summary: The Buccaneers got absolutely smoked at home last week, and 1st overall pick Jamies Winston was awful. He was so awful that his first throw was an interception returned for a touchdown. Winston joins Brett Favre as the only QB to ever throw an interception on his first pass. If the Saints want to have success they will need to regain that home-field-advantage they have had for many years. Drew Brees had a tough matchup last week against the Cardinals defense, and this week will feel like night and day against a shaky Bucs squad.
Pick: I’ll take the points as the Saints only win by 7. 24-17 New Orleans.
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills (PICK EM) – 1pm CBS
Summary: Game of the Week! We all know how bad Rex Ryan hates Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Surprisingly he had some nice words to say about Rob Gronkowski. The Bills defense has given Brady problems the last few years and with the game being played at Ralph Wilson stadium, you know those fans are going to be into it. But when you give Belichick and Brady more then a week to prepare for any opponent it’s nearly impossible to bet against them.
Pick: New England wins the game on a last second FG by Stephen Gostkowski, 20-17.
St. Louis Rams (-3.5) @ Washington Redskins- 1pm FOX
Summary: The St. Louis Rams shocked the world last week by knocking off the Seattle Seahawks in overtime. QB Nick Foles was efficient for most of the game, Todd Gurley is inching his way back to being healthy, but most importantly the Rams showed that their front line on defense is the best in the NFL. Not much to say about the Redskins who lost their key weapon DeSean Jackson to a hamstring injury.
Pick: Rams win big 28-7.
Houston Texans @ Carolina Panthers (-3.5) – 1pm CBS
Summary: I loved watching Hard Knocks and Head Coach Bill O’Brien. One thing that stood out for anybody that watched it, was the QB dilemma, especially without RB Arian Foster. Brian Hoyer failed last week, so it’s up to Ryan Mallett this week. But he will have no shortcuts when he heads to Carolina and goes up against one of the top-10 defences in the league. Cam Newton will get sacked this week 3 times by JJ Watt.
Pick: Carolina just does enough to cover in a 17-13 win.
San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5) – 1pm FOX
Summary: The Pittsburgh Steelers got torched by Brady and Gronkowski last week, and have had over 10 days to figure out a plan to stop the 49ers. QB Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty solid and WR Antonio Brown was outstanding. The 49ers got off to a hot start in large part to RB Carlos Hyde who had a career day against the Vikings. Colour commentator Trent Dilfer could not stop talking about QB Colin Kaepernicks development on Monday Night.
Pick: Kap’s 49ers lose, but keep the game very interesting, covering the spread. Pitt 28-24.
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)- 1pm FOX
Summary: Both these teams showed a lot of rust in week 1. The Lions however might be reeling from their game in which they were up 18 points in the second half, while the Vikings just didn’t have anything. This is usually the team that RB Adrian Peterson torches, and after a poor performance in week 1, I look for nothing else then a 150-yard day with 2 TD’s.
Pick: Vikings win at home 21-17.
Atlanta Falcons @ NY Giants (-2.5)- 1pm FOX
Summary: Atlanta is a team like New Orleans that plays very well at home and bad on the road. While the Giants had a win in their hands against the Cowboys and just blew it. Two of the best Wide receivers in the game will be on display in Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr.
Pick: High Scoring affair but the Falcons pull it out in the end 38-35.
Miami Dolphins (-6.5) @ Jacksonville Jaguars – 4pm CBS
Summary: The Dolphins were in danger of losing a very winnable game last week. But WR Jarvis Landry’s 69 yard punt return was the difference. The Jaguars played very poorly at home last week against Carolina, and will look even worse against a better defense this week.
Pick: Dolphins blow out their state rival 28-3.
Baltimore Ravens (-6.5) @ Oakland Raiders- 4pm CBS
Summary: The Ravens suffered a dramatic injury by losing captain Terrell Suggs to a season-ending injury. They kept it close against the Broncos, and I think that will be the trend all year for Head Coach Jon Harbaugh. The Raiders got dismantled last week at home, and the only way to go is up.
Pick: Raiders lose but narrowly cover the spread. Baltimore 16-10.
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) – 430pm FOX
Summary: The Cowboys snuck away with a win last Sunday night and the Eagles played just one half of good football in their Monday night loss. Usually I’d give the edge to the home team but I have to see the Eagles play a full 60 minute game first before I can give them the edge.
Pick: Give me the Cowboys with a 28-24 win.
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers (-3.5) – 830pm NBC
Summary: A rematch of last years NFC Championship, however the one difference being is that this game is taking place at Lambeau. QB Aaron Rodgers and the Packers don’t lose at home and Seattle is not one of the best road teams in the league. They also got beat last week on the road, despite adding TE Jimmy Graham in the off-season.
Pick: There will be no Fail-Mary in this game as the Packers cruise to the 28-17.
NY Jets @ Indianapolis Colts (-6.5) – Monday Night Football
Summary: The Colts and Andrew Luck were in tough last week, and the loss was only made worse by the injury of T.Y. Hilton. The Jets played a very solid game against the Browns and WR Brandon Marshall played very well. However, Andrew Luck does not lose back-to-back games.
Pick: Colts win by 10, by a score of 24-14.
*These are not Vegas odds, I use the spreads that were given in my Office Football Pools.
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