Week 2 NFL Picks

While many people are big fans of the first week of the NFL season, I'm just as big a fan of Week 2. While the first week is filled with sloppy play and fatigued players, Week 2 is a bit more crisp and sees better action. Week 1 though will be hard to top. An overtime game on Thursday. Two close Monday nighters. Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson giving their fantasy owners easy victories. Oh, and some ridiculous play in Cincinnati that just about sent Gus Johnson to the hospital.

As far my predictions, I did incredibly well for the first week. I went 13-3 in my Week 1 picks, which is a good start but I feel like I've set the bar too high for myself. Granted, I would have been 14-2 if not for the Denver miracle but hey, I'll take it. Again, I'd love to finish the year saying I picked 75% of the game correct. As of now, I am better than that. So what about Week 2?

Sunday, September 20th
Carolina (0-1) @ Atlanta (1-0): ATLANTA - Jake Delhomme won't throw 5 INT again but the Carolina defense will give up 38 points (or more) again. The Falcons offense will just continue to get better with each game.
Minnesota (1-0) @ Detroit (0-1): MINNESOTA - You thought Adrian Peterson had a good day against the Browns? Just wait until he faces the Lions defense. For the second week in a row, Brett Favre gets credit for a win he had nothing to do with.
Cincinnati (0-1) @ Green Bay (1-0): GREEN BAY - Tough bounce back for the Bengals. The Packers don't lose much at Lambeau and their offense will be more talented than Denver's.
Houston (0-1) @ Tennessee (0-1): TENNESSEE - The Texans had trouble scoring on the Jets defense. Just wait until they play the Titans defense. This one could be closer than expected though.
Oakland (0-1) @ Kansas City (0-1): OAKLAND - The Raiders showed a lot of grit and heart in their Week 1 loss. The Chiefs did the same at Baltimore. Not sure KC defense though can stop the OAK run attack.
New England (1-0) @ NY Jets (1-0); NEW ENGLAND - Tough one for me. I like the Jets to keep this one close but the Patriots will be looking to send a statement to the league after escaping Week 1 with a win.
New Orleans (1-0) @ Philadelphia (1-0): NEW ORLEANS - With a healthy Donovan McNabb, I take Philly since their defense is better. But with Kevin Kolb under center, I'll go with Drew Brees and the Saints in a score-fest.
St. Louis (0-1) @ Washington (0-1): WASHINGTON - The Rams will score in this game but the Redskins will score much more. The Redskins stuck with the Giants last week, which tells me they should be just fine this Sunday.
Arizona (0-1) @ Jacksonville (0-1): JACKSONVILLE - Going to 0-2 really hurts both team's hopes of making the playoffs. I'm not sold on just how good the Arizona offense and defense are right now.
Seattle (1-0) @ San Francisco (1-0): SEATTLE - Matt Hasselbeck, Julius Jones and the Seahawks offense will score a plenty. Meanwhile, the 49ers fall flat in front of their home fans.
Tampa Bay (0-1) @ Buffalo (0-1): BUFFALO - The Bills may be a better team than I originally thought. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay could be much worse than originally thought.
Pittsburgh (1-0) @ Chicago (0-1): PITTSBURGH - I don't like Jay Cutler to cut down on mistakes facing an opportunistic PIT defense. He may play better but once the Bears get down, he'll have to throw and he will force some throws that result in turnovers.
Baltimore (1-0) @ San Diego (1-0): SAN DIEGO - No LT? No problem. The Chargers still have enough weapons to win this game. The BALT defense impressed no one with their performance at home against KC.
Cleveland (0-1) @ Denver (1-0): CLEVELAND - This is a great chance for the Broncos to start 2-0 in what will be a down year. But the Browns knock down the last-minute pass to secure their victory, unlike Cincy.
NY Giants (1-0) @ Dallas (1-0): NY GIANTS - I've never liked Tony Romo in big games. This counts as one with the new stadium and a division rival.

Monday, September 21st
Indianapolis (1-0) @ Miami (0-1): INDIANAPOLIS - Not real sure who Peyton Manning will be throwing too but Miami won't cover them anyways.

WHERE'S GUS JOHNSON? - The great Gus Johnson will be broadcasting from Houston-Tennessee. Congrats to those of you lucky enough to hear all the game action for the best broadcaster in the business right now.



Look for the NFL power rankings on Tuesday. If you missed the Week 1 power rankings, check them out here.