NFL Week 2 is almost always an impossible endeavor because we have to take priors we had coming into the season, watch them go up in flames during Week 1 and also try not to overreact to what we saw in the first week when making selections for the second stanza of the season.
There was chaos everywhere last week, with a multitude of significant favorites losing (and singlehandedly wiping out survivor leagues).
Now several of those teams are favored, and there are a few poorly performing teams who are double-digit favorites. The schedule- makers did us no favors with these second-week matchups because the point spreads are so inflated for teams who we can’t quite trust.
Let’s try and navigate the chaos.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook
NFL Week 2 Picks
Chargers at Chiefs
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET
Stream: Amazon Prime
Follow: CBS Sports App
Featured Game | Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers
It’s the first Thursday night game on Amazon Prime. Prepare yourself, because someone in your family (aunt, uncle, mom, dad, someone) will text you asking where the hell this game is being played. Kindly explain to them: All the packages arriving at their house with free shipping entitles them to watch this game via a basic streaming service. The Chiefs looked AWESOME in Week 1 and the Chargers were quite nice as well. This is the fourth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert (Week 17 of 2020 Mahomes didn’t start because the division was clinched) and all three previous meetings have been decided by a game-winning score either in the final minute of regulation or overtime. If you want to bet the total, take it live when one team is down two scores and has to start winging it around. I’m backing Mahomes here.
The pick: Chiefs 28, Chargers 21
Props, Best Bets: Chiefs -4
Colts at Jaguars
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ last win in Jacksonville was 2014. Indy was much better last week than the scoreboard showed, at least offensively, because Matt Ryan got dogged by some drops. The Jaguars had multiple chances to win at Washington; they should treat this game like it’s their Super Bowl, a chance for Doug Pederson to flex on his old OC Frank Reich or vice versa. The panic over Trevor Lawrence is weird to me — he missed throws on Sunday for sure. But if the Jags put enough around him, he’ll win. That’s a Jags problem, not a Trevor Lawrence problem. Jacksonville feels like a live dog here to me.
The pick: Jaguars 24, Colts 21
Props, Best Bets: Jaguars +4
Dolphins at Ravens
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins
This opened Ravens -4 and has trended toward the Dolphins. TuAnon makes me scared to knock Miami, but two key plays for the Dolphins (strip sack by the goal line, the fourth-and-7 touchdown pass before half) completely flipped the Week 1 game against the Patriots. Baltimore poses a much stiffer test and the Ravens looked explosive after a sluggish first-half start.
The Pick: Ravens 28, Dolphins 14
Bets: Ravens -4
Patriots at Steelers
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots
The Patriots and Steelers are opposite in terms of public perception after Week 1. But looking deeper into their respective games, it does feel like a classic Week 2 correction. The Steelers were a mess on offense for much of the game, while the Pats were much better on defense than the score would indicate. T.J. Watt’s absence might be too big for the Steelers to overcome. I don’t see how this game gets past 40 points.
The Pick: Patriots 13, Steelers 7
Bets: Under 40
Panthers at Giants
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers
The Dave Gettleman Super Bowl! Ben McAdoo Revenge Game! If you want a nonsensical, fun convo about the Giants and Panthers check out my appearance with Weis and Ethan on NYG Weekly. Talking with those guys made me like the Panthers more — they looked terrible for most of Week 1 but so did the Giants. The Panthers’ short-area, YAC skill position guys should be a problem for this Giants defense. Essentially the Don Martindale/Ben McAdoo matchup is how this plays out, with regard to how Christian McCaffrey attacks the second level.
The Pick: Panthers 21, Giants 17
Bets: Panthers +2.5
Jets at Browns
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets
If you’re a Panthers fan, don’t read this but: Remember when this would have been Sam Darnold against Baker Mayfield for the future of the AFC? Robert Saleh’s comments were extremely odd this week — it felt panicky. But maybe it’s a good thing for a Jets team capable of shutting down the Ravens run game. If New York forces Jacoby Brissett to throw a ton, the Jets can steal this game.
The Pick: Jets 17, Browns 10
Bets: Jets +6.5
Buccaneers at Saints
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s super weird Tom Brady hasn’t beaten the Saints with the Buccaneers. But I’m gonna ride with it.
The Pick: Saints 27, Bucs 24
Bets: Pass
Ye Olde WFT at Lions
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders
Points, points, points in this game. Carson Wentz and the downfield passing game for Washington look explosive. Detroit will not quit and will keep trying to score until the final whistle blows. Washington looks better than most people thought. Detroit was getting toasted before it closed the gap against Philly last week.
The Pick: Washington 34, Lions 31
Bets: Over
Falcons at Rams
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons
Hard game to get a handle on. The Rams looked awful in Week 1, and while it easily could have just been the Bills being the best team in football, I think there are definitely some red flags for L.A. moving forward. The offensive line woes and the lack of depth/talent at the wide receiver position showed up in Week 1. It shouldn’t be as big a deal when it comes to a matchup with the Falcons in Week 2 and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Rams focused on getting Allen Robinson fed in a squeaky wheel type of game Sunday.
The Pick: Rams 28, Falcons 14
Bets: Allen Robinson over receiving yards
Seahawks at 49ers
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Pretty shocking to see how this line moved based off the respective Week 1 results from these NFC West rivals. Seattle looked great against the Broncos, stealing a win from Russ and Denver. The 49ers suffered an eyebrow-raising loss in Chicago, albeit one that took place in a rarely seen monsoon. The weather conditions definitely warrant giving Trey Lance and the offense a pass, although it didn’t exactly stop Justin Fields and the Bears from finding points in the second half. Pete Carroll has had a lot of success against San Francisco in the past half decade and the Seahawks look legitimately formidable.
The Pick: 49ers 28, Seahawks 24
Bets: Pass
Cardinals at Raiders
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Las Vegas Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals
I have no clue what to do with this game. Are the Cardinals what we saw last week? If so, the Raiders can pile up the points against a questionable defense. Can Arizona produce points without DeAndre Hopkins? The Cardinals scored 21 against the Chiefs — two of the touchdowns were essentially garbage-time scores — and had six drives of 6 yards or less in Week 1. I don’t think the Raiders are going to be substantially worse on defense and while Las Vegas won’t go “Full Mahomes” the Raiders should be able to move the ball with a fair amount of ease.
The Pick: Raiders 34, Cardinals 21
Bets: Pass
Bengals at Cowboys
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals
It’s Bengals or bust here for me. The Cowboys didn’t look good before Dak Prescott’s injury and Cooper Rush isn’t going to make things better. The Buccaneers provided a blueprint for limiting the Dallas offense through their coverage of CeeDee Lamb. I’d expect Mike McCarthy to lean aggressively on Ezekiel Elliott (likely at Jerry Jones’ insistence) and don’t expect Joe Burrow to throw a quartet of interceptions. If the Bengals score early and often, it will put Rush in a seriously negative script that could lead this game to get ugly quickly.
The Pick: Bengals 31, Cowboys 10
Bets: Pass
Texans at Broncos
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Featured Game | Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans
Are the Texans a veteran-laden, frisky underdog who will cause problems for their opponents all year? Was Week 1 a blip on the radar for the Broncos? Or are they going to struggle to integrate Russell Wilson into a new offense with a new head coach (one who has been heavily scrutinized all week long thanks to his late-game decision making)? Denver will definitely have a course correction and get rolling at some point, but I’m a little hesitant to back it as a double-digit favorite even in a home debut, especially when the Texans are extremely live to come through the back door.
The Pick: Broncos 28, Texans 21
Bets: Pass
Bears at Packers
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears
Aaron Rodgers owns the top two records for fewest points scored by a reigning MVP in Week 1 of the following season. There’s no Davante Adams this time around for the Packers, but last year we saw Aaron Jones explode in the bounce-back Week 2 matchup against the Lions. This is a similar setup with a lower-end divisional rival coming to town after a bad road loss and Rodgers is going to be eager to disavow observers of any notion he might be losing a step. This feels like the Packers absolutely roll.
The Pick: Packers 28, Bears 10
Bets: Packers -10
Titans at Bills
Monday, 7:15 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans
The Bills looked like an absolute truck stick during Thursday’s opener in Los Angeles, smearing the Rams and letting the world know exactly what they intend to do in 2022. The Titans, on the other hand, lost to the Giants at home after blowing a huge lead. Not exactly the same outcomes! I think the general public is going to migrate to backing Buffalo here and I don’t blame anyone for thinking the Bills are an unstoppable machine on both sides of the ball. Tennessee is lacking in weapons and is missing its best pass rusher. I don’t love taking the Titans here but I think on a big stage Mike Vrabel will get his guys ready to keep it close.
The Pick: Bills 28, Titans 21
Bets: Pass
Vikings at Eagles
Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Featured Game | Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings
Fun, fun game here between two of the trendiest NFC teams. Minnesota’s offense looked awesome against the Packers and Justin Jefferson might already be the best wide receiver in football. Philly took a minute to get going but eventually Jalen Hurts was dealing. The Eagles run game is lethal and should be able to move the ball fairly easily. I think we get points galore in this game, although I’m not sure Kirk Cousins completely snuffs out his prime-time reputation.
The Pick: Eagles 35, Vikings 31
Bets: Over 50.5
