NFL Picks, Week 2

The Micah Parsons trade could go down as the single transaction that had the biggest impact on this season.  Because, through two games, the Packers look like the best team in the NFC, if not all of football.  Green Bay is 2-0 with two wins over teams that made the playoffs last season, and looked great doing it.  But they're not the only team that was impressive in Week 1.  Not by a long shot.  Will any of those teams follow it with another solid performance like the Packers?

Thursday Night: Green Bay (Win)

Jaguars (1-0) at Bengals (1-0): Cincinnati-Jacksonville was one of those teams that looked super impressive in Week 1.  Although, how much of that was the fact they were playing Carolina?  The Bengals, meanwhile, only beat Cleveland by one.  Is that an indication that the Bengals might not really be as good as they think they are?  I guess we'll find out as they play their first home game.

Giants (0-1) at Cowboys (0-1): Dallas-Apparently, it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for the Giants.  Their offense is bad regardless.  I'd also like to know what they did to get two division road games to start the season, while the Jets have two home games.  Anyway, they need to figure it out if they don't want this to turn into a repeat of last season.  So does Dallas, frankly.  Although, despite the loss, Cowboys should take some positives out of their game against the Eagles.

Bears (0-1) at Lions (0-1): Detroit-Losing to the Packers may have been a good thing for Detroit.  Did people expect it to be as thorough as it was?  No.  But Green Bay's also a really good team.  We'll find out a lot more about the Lions this week as they take on their former Offensive Coordinator.  The Bears must've seen the Bills-Ravens game and said "We can do that, too."  Now they're staring 0-2 in the face.

Rams (1-0) at Titans (0-1): Rams-One of the most surprising teams in Week 1 was the Titans.  They obviously lost, but they gave the Broncos all they could handle.  And Cam Ward actually looked better than I thought he would.  The Rams' offense left a lot to be desired against the Texans.  But that defensive performance was solid.  I'm looking for another one this week.  They go to 2-0.

Patriots (0-1) at Dolphins (0-1): Miami-Miami had one of the worst efforts out of anybody last week.  Will being at home against a division rival make any difference?  The good news is they really can't do any worse than they did against the Colts.  They've also always played well against New England.  This, of course, is Mike Vrabel's first Patriots-Dolphins game as New England's head coach, but it shouldn't go much differently than all those he experienced as a player.

49ers (1-0) at Saints (0-1): San Francisco-What were the Saints wearing last week?!  They looked like freakin' Purdue!  That's true about both the uniforms and the way they played.  New Orleans isn't a good team.  I'm not sure if San Francisco's good or not, but the 49ers are definitely better than the Saints.  And they started the season with a road win, too.

Bills (1-0) at Jets (0-1): Buffalo-If the Bills hadn't completed that ridiculous comeback on Sunday night, the entire AFC East would be 0-1.  Instead, they showed some incredible mettle and are already in first place.  The Jets actually looked pretty good against the Steelers, too, but ultimately ended up losing by two.  It'll be interesting to see how they bounce back against the best team in the division.

Seahawks (0-1) at Steelers (1-0): Pittsburgh-Vintage Aaron Rodgers showed up in his Steelers debut...and they still only barely beat the Jets!  The question is will he get as fired up to face the Seahawks?  I mean, he should.  It IS the home opener.  That, hopefully, should be enough motivation for anybody.  With a win, Rodgers will get that early embrace from Steelers fans that he never got from Jets faithful.

Browns (0-1) at Ravens (0-1): Baltimore-That loss on Sunday night will end up having lasting effects for the Ravens.  They're obviously 0-1, but the Bills also now own the tiebreaker against them.  The AFC North is gonna be competitive this year, too, so will it end up costing them in the division?  Their home opener is also their first division game, so there's no room for any sort of Week 1 hangover.  They need to get over last week's loss quick if they want to avoid falling to 0-2.

Broncos (1-0) at Colts (1-0): Indianapolis-You take Daniel Jones out of New York and suddenly he looks like a viable NFL quarterback!  That was by far one of the most surprising developments to come out of Week 1.  I know it was just one game.  But if the Colts can continue to play like that all season, Houston's reign atop the AFC South might come to an end.  I'm also curious to see how Denver follows up that game against the Titans where I think the best word to describe it is they "survived."

Panthers (0-1) at Cardinals (1-0): Arizona-Arizona's early-season schedule is the exact opposite of Green Bay's.  The Cardinals got two of the worst teams in the league to start the year.  New Orleans last week, now Carolina this week.  So, they'll go to 2-0.  Is it the same 2-0 as the Packers?  Definitely not.  But it's still 2-0.

Eagles (1-0) at Chiefs (0-1): Kansas City-That trip to Brazil sure made the Chiefs' season a lot more interesting.  Now, if they fall in the Super Bowl rematch, they'll suddenly be looking at 0-2.  While I wouldn't classify this as a "must-win," it certainly feels like it for Kansas City.  They obviously also want some redemption for what happened the last time they played the Eagles.

Falcons (0-1) at Vikings (1-0): Minnesota-On Sunday night, it's JJ McCarthy and Michal Penix Jr.  McCarthy led the Vikings to a fourth-quarter comeback win in Chicago, while Penix and the Falcons lost at home to Tampa Bay.  That's been a common theme for Atlanta since they handed him the reins late last season.  If he's the answer they think he is, they'll need to win those games.  As for McCarthy, I think he is the answer the Vikings have been looking for.  They keep pace with the Packers atop the division.

Buccaneers (1-0) at Texans (0-1): Tampa Bay-These Monday night doubleheaders will be going away once the NFL-ESPN deal is finalized, so this is the last year they'll be on the schedule.  And the front half of this week's is in Houston.  The Texans had all kinds of trouble offensively against the Rams.  Sadly, I don't think things will get much better against Tampa Bay.  The Bucs improve to 2-0 and the Texans fall to 0-2.

Chargers (1-0) at Raiders (1-0): Chargers-An interesting little schedule quirk here.  The NFL wanted to give the Chargers a home game after their trip to Brazil, but they couldn't because SoFi was already booked for a concert.  So, the compromise was a short trip to Las Vegas for the back half of the Monday night doubleheader.  Can they come out of this with a pair of division wins (before playing Denver next week)?  

Last Week: 12-4
This Week: 1-0
Overall: 13-4