An always-interesting opening week set the stage for the 2012 NFL season. Now, Week Two is upon us and things will continue to shock us – as they always do.
Thursday Night
Chicago (1-0) at GREEN BAY (1-0) – Vegas: Packers -7.5
The Packers open with back-to-back tough games (SF and CHI), but they get them both at home. While I think the Bears, are going to be good – and decently prepared after an easy Week One against Indy – I don’t see quite enough here to go into Lambeau and get the upset. Packers (moderate)
Sunday, Early Afternoon
Kansas City (1-0) at BUFFALO (1-0) – Vegas: Bills -2.5
I have both of these teams coming off big Week One wins. The Bills went into the Meadowlands and beat the Jets, while the Chiefs upset Matt Ryan and the Falcons at home. I like both of these teams to possibly surprise some people in the AFC this year, and I am not sure who I am higher on. In this case, I am going to just go with the home team. Bills (close)
Cleveland (0-1) at CINCINNATI (0-1) – Vegas: Bengals -7.5
The Bengals are on a short week after a very physical Monday night matchup with Baltimore. I think that division rivals, particularly those as physical as the Ravens, on Monday night is really tough on a team, but the Bengals caught a nice scheduling break here getting the Browns, at home, here. If it were on the road or against a better opponent, I would probably have the Bengals losing here, but I think they are just too good and the Browns too bad. Then again, at any other point in the schedule, this would be an EASY Bengals pick. Bengals (moderate)
Minnesota (1-0) at INDIANAPOLIS (0-1) – Vegas: Colts -2.5
If Adrian Peterson is actually going to be slowed by his injury early in the season, the Vikings could not have picked a better way to start their schedule. They got a bad Jacksonville team at home in Week One, and now they go to another dome against a bad team in Indy. I think the Colts should be better, but maybe not right away. I am not sure why, but I think I like the Vikes to start 2-0 with or without the normal AD. Vikings (close)
New Orleans (1-0) at CAROLINA (0-1) – Vegas: Saints -3
Everyone loves the Panthers this year, and everyone is quick to remind you that the Saints are without Sean Payton…in fact, they are without any coach for 6 weeks. So, this is probably a popular upset pick right off the bat. But, not me. The talent difference between the two teams is still just so great. Give me the Saints on the road…without a coach. Saints (close)
Houston (1-0) at JACKSONVILLE (0-1) – Vegas: Texans -5.5
I guess Vegas is either crediting the home team here or they like Jacksonville better than I do, but I think the Texans should go into Jax and rolls the Jags. I’ll lay the 5.5 on the road without any hesitation. Texans (easy)
Oakland (0-1) at MIAMI (0-1) – Vegas: Dolphins -3.5
I think the Dolphins are a slightly better team than the Raiders, when everything is equal, but a home game at 1:00 eastern, with the Raiders coming off the late Monday Night game in Week One. This one’s easy. Dolphins (easy)
Arizona (1-0) at NEW ENGLAND (1-0) – Vegas: Patriots -13
Another easy one at 1:00. Patriots (easy)
Tampa Bay (1-0) at N.Y.GIANTS (1-0) – Vegas: Giants -9
Make it three easy picks in a row, as the Giants – on 11 days rest – should take care of Tampa very comfortably. Giants (easy)
Baltimore (1-0) at PHILADELPHIA (1-0) – Vegas: Eagles -3.5
This one is really tough, but, as an Eagles fan, it is nice to get the Ravens at home, coming off a short week after a divisional Monday Night game AND one week before a showdown with New England. If there is ever a good time to face Baltimore, this might be it. Then again, if there has ever been a defense that you don’t want to play when your quarterback is fragile, this might be it. Eagles (moderate)
Sunday, Late Afternoon
Washington (0-1) at ST. LOUIS (0-1) – Vegas: Rams -1.5
Both teams could well be coming off double-digit losses in Week One, but one of these teams is not breaking in a rookie QB with a second straight road game. Rams (close)
Dallas (0-1) at SEATTLE (0-1) – Vegas: Seahawks -1.5
This one is the hardest game of the week to pick. The Cowboys have 11 days to prepare for this one, but their offense has been really banged up in the preseason, so will they be healthy enough by now to go on the road – in one of the toughest places to play – against a Seattle defense that is actually pretty good. In basically a coin flip game, I’ll take the home team against a beat-up set of weapons around a bad o-line. Seahawks (close)
N.Y. Jets (0-1) at PITTSBURGH (1-0) – Vegas: Steelers -4.5
There are a lot of reasons to think the Jets can go into Pittsburgh and pull off this early upset. The Steelers are coming off a Sunday Night game in the thin air of Mile High. And, the Jets could be fired up from getting beat in Week One. But, all in all, I just don’t see this Jets offense putting up enough points in Pittsburgh to steal this one, though this game might be a lot tougher than many Steeler fans might want to believe. Steelers (close)
Tennessee (0-1) at SAN DIEGO (1-0) – Vegas: Chargers -6
The Chargers are on a short week here, which could make this game pretty tough. And, this just screams of one of those games that the Chargers piss away in the beginning of the season. That being said, I think that they are a much better team than Tennessee, so I’m going to continue to be proved an idiot by believing in their talent. Chargers (close)
Sunday Night
Detroit (1-0) at SAN FRANCISCO (0-1) – Vegas: 49ers -3.5
A really good Sunday Night game – on paper – here in Week Two, but I actually think this might not be that great of a game. I think the Niners are a good bit better than the Lions and should win at home. 49ers (moderate)
Monday Night
Denver (0-1) at ATLANTA (0-1) – Vegas: Falcons -2.5
Peyton Manning – the King of the Prime Time Game – starts his Denver career with back-to-back prime time affairs. And, yes, I am just stupid enough to pick him to lose both of them. The Falcons could be smarting coming off the loss in KC, and I think that they will be fired up for this game. The Broncos have a big game with Houston coming up in Week Three, so they might have an eye on that one. This one is tough, but I’ll go with the home team. Falcons (close)
Standings After Week Two
NFC EAST:
The Giants and Eagles are already 2 games up on the other two – could be a two-team race already
2-0 Giants
2-0 Eagles
0-2 Cowboys
0-2 Redskins
NFC NORTH:
The Pack at 2-0, including a HUGE win over the Bears is no surprise, but the Vikings?!?
2-0 Packers
2-0 Vikings
1-1 Bears
1-1 Lions
NFC SOUTH:
The Saints start 2-0 without a head coach; the Panthers are 0-2 in Newton’s encore
2-0 Saints
1-1 Bucs
1-1 Falcons
0-2 Panthers
NFC WEST:
No 2-0 teams in the NFC Worst – no surprise; no 0-2 teams – quite the surprise
1-1 Cardinals
1-1 49ers
1-1 Rams
1-1 Seahawks
AFC EAST:
Trouble in last-place Rexville, while the Pats and the surprise Bills already have two games on the men in green
2-0 Bills
2-0 Patriots
1-1 Dolphins
0-2 Jets
AFC NORTH:
These first two weeks could go a long way in the AFC North, even though we haven’t seen Pit-Bal yet; the Steelers jump ahead
2-0 Steelers
1-1 Bengals
1-1 Ravens
0-2 Browns
AFC SOUTH:
The Texans still haven’t “mathematically” clinched this division yet…
2-0 Texans
0-2 Colts
0-2 Jaguars
0-2 Titans
AFC WEST:
The Broncos have already spotted the Chargers 2 games here – not exactly the start Mr. Manning was looking for
2-0 Chargers
1-1 Chiefs
0-2 Broncos
0-2 Raiders
