Hey everyone. This is round 2 of my NFL regular season predictions. I had a bad start last week but week 1 can be tough since you’re dealing with a lot of unknown factors and I feel I have a better understanding now of where teams are at so I’m hoping to get above .500 at the minimum this week. Without further ado, here are my picks.
New York Giants at Washington Football Team (-3.5)
What I think will happen:
I’m surprised this line is only 3.5. The Giants offense looks to have a horrible matchup here. The O-line wasn’t great last week and has a nightmare matchup here and Daniel Jones doesn’t have Engram or Barkley at full strength so will have a lack of options to throw to other than Shephard and Golliday. Washington will have to start Taylor Heinicke in this one but I don’t see too much of an issue here. He’s played well in his last couple of starts and should be able to generate some offense here against a poor defense.
Washington 24-10 Giants
Buffalo Bills (-3.5) at Miami Dolphins
What I think will happen:
I’m leaning towards taking Buffalo here. They were poor last week but they’re too well coached to have back to back shockers and Josh Allen has a much easier matchup this time. He won’t have constant pressure in his face like last week and the Dolphins do struggle against the run so he should be able to make some plays with his legs. I trust him more than I do Tua at the moment given that he made an awful play last week that should’ve cost his team the game. The Dolphins will make a couple of big plays, but the Bills will do enough to get the win.
Bills 27-21 Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears (-2.5)
What I think will happen:
A lot of people will jump on the Bengals here given their big win last week and the performance of Ja’marr Chase, but I’m a little more sceptical on this one. The Bears have a stronger D-line than the Vikings and will likely get Eddie Goldman back this week, that should stop Joe Mixon from being as effective and give Burrow less time in the pocket. But they will have to get to him a lot since the Bears secondary looks dismal. The Bears offense should cope better than last week even though I don’t think it’s a spectacular unit especially on the blocking side of things but the Bengals D isn’t on the same level as the Rams D. This could be a low scorer and I’m going to take Chicago to get it done at home.
Bears 21-17 Bengals
Denver Broncos (-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars
What I think will happen:
This isn’t the greatest spread number to work with unfortunately. Denver should be able to win this game but I’m not sure how many points they’ll score and covering 6 will need to rely on turnovers. The Jaguars offense was dismal last week with poor blocking and 6 dropped passes. Lawrence started to get into a rhythm late on but the game was gone by then. The Broncos meanwhile had a comfortable time against the Giants given the injuries the Giants had and Daniel Jones giving away his traditional back breaking turnover. I’m not completely sold on Denver covering the spread so I’ll take a Jaguars cover but a Denver win.
Denver 24-20 Jacksonville
Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns (-12.5)
What I think will happen:
This should be a very comfortable Cleveland win, they’re better than Houston in pretty much every aspect and they need the win given that they lost last week. Houston may struggle to win another game this season despite getting a nice win last week. The defense is still terrible and the offense is no more than solid. Cleveland should be able to dominate possession with their running game and I’m taking them to cover though I wouldn’t bet it due to concerns about a garbage time touchdown to cover.
Browns 34-20 Texans
LA Rams (-3.5) at Indianapolis Colts
What I think will happen:
The Colts need Xavier Rhodes back to stand a chance here. If he’s out, the Rams should cover since they’ll torch the Colts with the deep ball but with him back, the Colts would improve and be able to make Stafford hold onto the ball for longer. The Rams will likely beat them deep a couple of times but they also could be looking ahead to the Tampa Bay game next week and may get caught cold here on the road. The Rams should be able to get to Wentz but the rush defense was a worry last week since the Colts can run the ball well and I’ll take them to cover here if Rhodes is fit.
Colts 27-24 Rams
Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5)
What I think will happen:
I like the Steelers a lot here. They are a better team than the Raiders and should be able to cause Carr nightmares with their defensive line. Taking into account that the Raiders will be playing earlier than usual and likely put their all into the Monday night game and I can see them being a little flat here. Pittsburgh meanwhile have a great second half last week to build on and could potentially be back to their dominant early season levels of last year if this continues. I like Pittsburgh to win by 2 scores here since the only threat they’ll have on offense is edge rushers but Roethlisberger can get the ball out quick against a poor covering unit.
Steelers 27-17 Raiders
New England Patriots (-6) at New York Jets
What I think will happen:
I like the Patriots here. Zach Wilson was poor until garbage time last weekend and faces one of the elite defensive minds in the NFL here. I doubt this game will be high scoring but the Jets D is poor enough to concede enough points for a Patriots cover as Mac Jones played well last week after the first quarter and the Patriots were very unlucky to lose at the end. I expect them to make up for it this week.
Patriots 24-14 Jets
New Orleans Saints (-3) at Carolina Panthers
What I think will happen:
A lot of people will be on New Orleans after their performance last week but this game should be harder for them. They don’t have a great receiving corps and the Panthers can limit Kamara a bit more in this one. But the real mismatch should be the Panthers offense against the Saints D. The Saints are still majorly down at CB and the Panthers have the receiving talent to take advantage. McCaffrey will also have a successful game as he looked in top form last week and is pretty much impossible to stop these days. I like the Panthers to win this one outright.
Panthers 24-21 Saints
San Francisco 49ers (-3) at Philadelphia Eagles
What I think will happen:
I originally thought this line was way too low, but then I looked at the injury report and now I’m on the Eagles. The 49ers have lost both of their starting outside CBs and that explains why Detroit exploded for points, that was a bad offense so facing a hot Eagles offense at their place could be a brutal one for the 49ers. This might actually come down to who you trust more in the clutch, Jimmy Garoppolo or Jalen Hurts (the correct answer currently is neither). I’m taking the Eagles purely because they’re more healthy and I’m not sure the 49ers will be firing on all cylinders while they’re not healthy.
Eagles 26-23 49ers
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-12.5)
What I think will happen:
Surely the Buccaneers get a blowout win here. The Falcons played like a college team last week and have no O-line as well as no defense. The Buccaneers pass rush should have a much better day than last time and Brady will be able to score at will. The question is will the Falcons get a backdoor cover and my answer is no because I like the Bucs to get a defensive touchdown of some sort in this game. I can see it being a 4 score game at the start of the 4th and that will be enough for the cover even with the inevitable mini comeback.
Bucs 38-20 Falcons
Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals (-3.5)
What I think will happen:
I was also confused at this line, the Cardinals D-line matches up so well against the Vikings O-line that I could barely see Minnesota scoring here. But Arizona are missing Hopkins and AJ Green which makes things easier for the Vikings. That being said, I still like Arizona to cover as they should be able to run the ball and they do have receiving threats outside of the bigger names. This just may be a lower scoring game is all.
Cardinals 20-10 Vikings
Dallas Cowboys at LA Chargers (-3.5)
What I think will happen:
I like the Chargers here. They get home advantage and their O-line should give Herbert all day in the pocket to torch the Cowboys secondary. The Cowboys have just lost La’el Collins as well which gives Joey Bosa a very positive matchup so look for Dak Prescott to face a lot of pressure here. I think the Chargers are a stronger team on the whole and they can win this by a touchdown.
Chargers 28-21 Cowboys
Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks (-5.5)
What I think will happen:
This figures to be a shootout. I can’t see Wilson not having a monster game with his improved O-line and the non-existent pass rush of the Titans so the Seahawks will score a lot of points. The Titans also should be much stronger than last week, Derrick Henry won’t be shut down this time and Tannehill will have more time in the pocket to find Brown and Jones. I like the Titans to cover but the Seahawks to win.
Seahawks 34-31 Titans
Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) at Baltimore Ravens
What I think will happen:
This is a hard one for me. I want to bet Baltimore because the Chiefs rush D was poor last week and they struggled in the air as well so this should be a shootout. But I’m going with Kansas because the Ravens are far less healthy at the moment and Mahomes has a history of tearing them apart in the regular season. I still see it being close but Kansas can win this one by 6 in a game I won’t be betting.
Chiefs 34-28 Ravens
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-11)
What I think will happen:
What was that from Green Bay last week? The Saints were injured at CB and they barely scored any points regardless. The defense was an absolute sieve as well. The Lions have a history of playing Green Bay close even when they’re bad so I actually can see them covering here. Goff played well last week once the 49ers picked up injuries and the Packers run D is poor which should help D’Andre Smith have a nice game here. The Packers will still most likely win this but I can see the Lions keeping it a 1 score game.
Packers 28-20 Lions
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