2018 NFL Week 2 Picks

Here are my picks for week two of the 2018 NFL Season.

Thursday, September 13th
Baltimore Ravens (1-0) vs Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)- 8:25, NFLN: The Ravens are coming off a dominant home win over the lowly Buffalo Bills. The Bengals are coming off a road win in Indy against the Colts. I like the Bengals here at home because they are the better team here and I believe the Ravens dominance was more about the ineptitude of the Bills and how bad they are.
Prediction: Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 20.

Sunday, September 16th
Carolina Panthers (1-0) vs Atlanta Falcons (0-1)- 1:00, FOX: The Panthers are coming off a home win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons are coming off a very disappointing loss in Philadelphia against the Eagles. This was a tough call considering neither of these teams looked all that great last week, but give me Matt Ryan and the Falcons to pull it out,
Prediction: Atlanta 23, Carolina 20.

Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) vs Buffalo Bills (0-1)- 1:00, CBS: The Chargers are coming off a disappointing home loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills are coming off a dismal loss in Baltimore against the Ravens. The Bills are the worst team in football and I expect the Chargers to bounce back in a big way sans no Joey Bosa for the second straight week.
Prediction: LA Chargers 37, Buffalo 16.

Minnesota Vikings (1-0) vs Green Bay Packers (1-0)- 1:00, FOX: The Vikings are coming off a home win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers are coming off a brilliant comeback divisional home win against the improved Chicago Bears. If Aaron Rodgers plays (he should be), this is game of the week. I'm going to take a chance and pick Rodgers and the Pack at home in a close one.
Prediction: Green Bay 24, Minnesota 23.

Houston Texans (0-1) vs Tennessee Titans (0-1)- 1:00, CBS: The Texans are coming off a tough road loss in Foxboro against the Patriots. The Titans are coming off a disappointing road loss in Miami against the Dolphins. Marcus Mariota looks like he'll play this week, but I like DeShaun Watson and the Texans to bounce back here and win a divisional road game and Mariota may not be 100%.
Prediction: Houston 26, Tennessee 20.

Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) vs New Orleans Saints (0-1)- 1:00, FOX: The Browns are coming off a tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in a game in which they should have won. The Saints are coming off an awful home loss against the Tampa Bay Bucs in which they gave up 48 points in. This is a must win for the Saints and I believe they'll get the job done against a team that may have a letdown after a tie (!!!!).
Prediction: New Orleans 38, Cleveland 20.

Miami Dolphins (1-0) vs New York Jets (1-0)- 1:00, CBS: The Dolphins are coming off a nice home win over the Tennessee Titans. The Jets are coming off a great Monday night road in Detroit against the Lions. Sam Darnold rebounded nicely after throwing a pick six on his first NFL snap and I expect him to have another nice game to lead the Jets to a win over a team I'm not sold on in the Dolphins.
Prediction: NY Jets 24, Miami 17.

Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1)- 1:00, CBS: The Chiefs are coming off a good divisional road win in Los Angeles against the Chargers. The Steelers are coming off a disappointing tie in Cleveland against the Browns. This is a fun game, but I like Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs to steal a win on the road.
Prediction: Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24.

Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)- 1:00, FOX: The Eagles are coming off a Thursday night opener home win against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs are coming off an impressive divisional road win in New Orleans against the Saints. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked awesome last week, but I'm skeptical about him playing well against a better defense, but Nick Foles looked awful last week and in the preseason, so give me the Bucs again.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 16, Philadelphia 13.

Indianapolis Colts (0-1) vs Washington Redskins (1-0)- 1:00, CBS: The Colts are coming off a tough home loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Redskins are coming off a nice win in Glendale against the Cards. The Skins looked really good last week, but was that more about the Cardinals being bad?  I'm going to say a little bit of both, but give me the Skins at home.
Prediction: Washington 27, Indianapolis 17.

Arizona Cardinals (0-1) vs Los Angeles Rams (1-0)- 4:05, FOX: The Cards are coming off a dismal home loss against the Redskins. The Rams are coming off a Monday night road win in Oakland against the Raiders. The Cards could be the worst team in the NFC this season and the Rams are probably the best team in football and that's why the Rams are my lock of the week.
Prediction: LA Rams 37, Arizona 13.

Detroit Lions (0-1) vs San Francisco 49ers (0-1)- 4:05, FOX: The Lions are coming off a disastrous Monday nigh home loss against the New York Jets in Matt Patricia's NFL head coaching debut. The Niners are coming off a road loss in Minneapolis against the Vikings. The Niners didn't look great last week, but I expect them to bounce back here at home against a bad Lions team.
Prediction: San Francisco 27, Detroit 20.

Oakland Raiders (0-1) vs Denver Broncos (1-0)- 4:25, CBS: The Raiders are coming off a disappointing Monday night home loss against the Rams. The Broncos are coming off a home win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Broncos are home and have a great pass rush and I expect them to win a close one over their division rivals.
Prediction: Denver 26, Oakland 20.

New England Patriots (1-0) vs Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)- 4:25, CBS: Here we have a rematch of last years AFC Championship game. The Patriots are coming off a good home win over the Houston Texans. The Jaguars are coming off a road win in East Rutherford against the Giants. I like the Jags and the idea of them getting revenge here at home.
Prediction: Jacksonville 26, New England 23.

New York Giants (0-1) vs Dallas Cowboys (0-1)- 8:20, NBC: The Giants are coming off a disappointing home loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game they probably should have won. The Cowboys are coming off a loss in Charlotte against the Panthers in which their offense was putrid. This was a hard call, but give me the Giants to get the win on the road led by Odell Beckham Jr and Saquon Barkley.
Prediction: NY Giants 22, Dallas 17.

Monday, September 17th
Seattle Seahawks (0-1) vs Chicago Bears (0-1)- 8:15, ESPN: The Seahawks are coming off a loss in Denver against the Broncos in which they could have won it. The Bears are coming off a heartbreaking Sunday night divisional road loss in Green Bay against the Packers. I love the Bears in this spot and their pass rush led by Khalil Mack to get to Russell Wilson and to get the win.
Prediction: Chicago 27, Seattle 17.