The NFL’s trademark unpredictability reared its head last week. It doesn’t matter that Washington, Jacksonville, Chicago, and others won close games. Week 1 had upsets galore. I stumbled to a 7-9 mark and need to make up ground … fast. So here are my Week 2 picks. (In the name of the Father ….).
NOTE: All games on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted)
Cincinnati 23, Cleveland 13 (Thursday night): It’s the “Battle Of Ohio,” and these teams are moving in opposite directions. It’s the Browns’ home opener, but, unfortunately for Baker Mayfield, it’s not being played in Cleveland, OK. Meanwhile, the Bengals played the Chargers tough last Sunday only to be done in by a missed field goal. Cincinnati is a more competitive team and will claim Round 1 of the state title.
Pittsburgh 26, Denver 20: The Broncos have a challenging early-season schedule–opening with Tennessee and then traveling to Pittsburgh on a short week. Making things worse is the Courtland Sutton injury; quarterback Drew Lock has lost one of his promising young weapons. To make matters worse, rusher extraordinaire Von Miller is gone for the year. Woe is Denver! The Steelers, on the other hand, hung tough in last year’s playoff race with subpar quarterback play. Had the seventh seed existed in 2019, they would have made the postseason field. The good news is that the Steelers are healthier than last year. Steelers win.
Dallas 30, Atlanta 20: The Cowboys’ defense got carved up in the opener, and both sides of the ball suffered ill-timed injuries. Still, Dallas nearly overcame an uneven performance to pull out a win. The big advantage this week is that the ‘Boys play Atlanta. I don’t see the Falcons being able to run a no-huddle offense on Dallas–at least not as effectively as the Rams did last week. Besides, The Falcons got embarrassed at home last Sunday by what should have been a tired Seattle squad. Dallas in this one.
New York Giants 17, Chicago 15: Both of these franchises had tight games last week. The Giants got worn down at home against Pittsburgh, and the Bears grabbed a big division road win in Detroit. While neither of these teams will probably be around to contend for a playoff spot, I still think this will be an exciting game. Yes, Chicago is the home team, but I pick the Giants in a close one.
Green Bay 27, Detroit 19: The Packers aren’t not fading as fast as some forecasters predicted. The offense clicked against Minnesota last week, while Detroit blew a solid lead to Chicago. It’s Lambeau Field, and I don’t see Green Bay losing this one. But I also think the jury is still out on this team’s long-term outlook.
Minnesota 24, Indianapolis 10: It’s an interconference game, and these franchises don’t meet all that often. And this is a ‘pick yourself off the floor week’ for both squads. The Colts lost to what should be a pathetic Jacksonville team, and the Vikings fell at home to Green Bay. This game is in Indianapolis, but Minnesota showed some life late in its game, nearly rallying for a win. Bottom line: I’ll go with the Vikes in what could turn out to be an easy win.
Buffalo 31, Miami 17: When New England ruled the world (at least the AFC East), this match-up was a mere afterthought. Not this year. Buffalo looked razor-sharp against the Jets, while Miami couldn’t get a much-needed win against the reorganized Pat. The Dolphins are at home this week, but the Bills are a better team right now.
San Francisco 40, New York Jets 17: The torturous west-to-east travel scenario doesn’t seem to bother good teams. Witness what Seattle did in Atlanta last week. And even though the ‘Niners lost their home opener, they should have no trouble blasting the perennially-woeful Jets.
Los Angeles Rams 23, Philadelphia 16: Here’s another challenging travel scenario for a West Coast club. If the Rams bring their no-huddle offense with them, they should be ok. Besides, this is Philadelphia. The Eagles inexplicably allowed 27 unanswered points to Washington and ended up losing to a team that should be fighting for the first overall pick. Todd Gurley no longer runs the ball for Los Angeles, but LAR’s ‘committee approach’ looks solid.
Carolina 30, Tampa Bay 27: When the NFL expanded in 1976 to Tampa Bay, the Bucs lost their first 26 regular-season games–a skein that seemed to give them a complex–because Tampa has posted the league’s worst record over a 44-year lifetime. Carolina, a 1995 expansion team, has been much more competitive. The Bucs are at home, but the big question is whether Tom Brady can regain his sharpness. Panthers in a tight one.
Tennessee 19, Jacksonville 10: This brawl in Nashville reminds me of the country song about drunken guys going nowhere in life. Even the typically reliable Stephen Gostkowski struggled last week.
Baltimore 30, Houston 17: Unless a later-season game gets flexed, this is the Ravens’ only late-afternoon Sunday game of the year. It’s the Ravens’ only game to be played outside the Eastern time zone, and the first time in six years that Baltimore has played in Houston. Last year, the Ravens romped at home, 41-7. I don’t see the gap that extensive this time, but Baltimore is the better team and should win by at least 10 points.
Arizona 24, Washington 13: Sure, the nation’s capital gang pulled out a win over Philadelphia last week, but once the season gets into full swing, DC should regress to the mean. Arizona, on the other hand, is on the upswing.
Kansas City 36, Los Angeles Chargers 20: The Chargers didn’t draw many fans in its reconfigured soccer stadium, and now they’re off to their new home digs, SoFi, they’ll share with the Rams. The Chiefs are coming off a mini-bye after a blowout win over Houston, and LAC should be another notch on KC’s gunbelt. Besides, SoFi was good to the Rams when the team opened there, but the Chargers, as always, will play second fiddle to LAR–on-the-field and -off.
Seattle 26, New England 17 (Sunday night): Seattle features a diversified offense with Russell Wilson at the helm, and the Patriots are missing key defensive pieces from last year’s playoff team. The equation yields a Seahawks win.
New Orleans 38, Las Vegas 23 (Monday night): It’s showtime in Las Vegas! The Vegas offense showed well at Carolina last week, but New Orleans is … well … New Orleans. The Saints will come marching into Vegas and grab a win.
