What a great week 1. San Francisco, Dallas, and Cleveland look great blowing out good teams. The Rams, Packers, and Lions surprised. The Dolphins grabbed a huge win and the Jets suffered a huge loss in victory.
Week 1 Picks: 13-4
Vikings 0-1 @ Eagles 1-0
Jordan Addison already looks like a nice weapon for the Vikings arsenal with 4 grabs on 6 targets for 61 yards and a Td. Jefferson had 150. The ground game was non-existent but the Pats offense followed a similar patter last week in keeping it close with the Eagles so the Vikings offense can hang. Minnesota’s defense held the Bucs to 120 yards fewer yards offensively and still lost last week behind 3 turnovers.
Pick: Eagles close
Packers 1-0 @ Falcons 1-0
The Pack had little resistance rolling over the Bears so they might have a good team. Maybe no Aaron Jones. The Falcons were able to grind down the Panthers but I’m not sure they can do that to the Packers and I don’t think they can play from behind with Desmond Ridder.
Pick: Packers
Raiders 1-0 @ Bills 0-1
It wasn’t awesome but Garoppolo to Jakobi Meyers of all people, seems to be a connection. 9 catches for 81 yards and 2 Tds. The defense wasn’t great but neither was Denver’s offense. Buffalo had 4 turnovers against a buzz saw Jet defense but could rebound and slice up the Raiders.
Pick: Bills
Ravens 1-0 @ Bengals 0-1
Baltimore simmered for a while before they cooked the Texans. A whopping 13 penalties, 2 turnovers, a Dobbins injury, and getting slightly outgained with only 265 yards of offense made them look horrible doing so. Cincinnati was sloppy and got smacked around at Cleveland. They can’t start 0-2 in the division and on the season. 2 yards per pass, 3.8 per rush, Cleveland had two turnovers and Bengals still couldn’t do anything. They never sniffed the redzone. I think Cincy gets back on track but both teams look sloppy.
Pick: Cincinnati
Seahawks 0-1 @ Lions 1-0
The Lions notched a massive road win and it’ll look better as we move forward and forget the circumstances, but we do have to weight those in moving forward. The offensive line looks great and very difficult to stop run blocking. Geoff looked solid, but the offense only put two together. The Chiefs dropped tons of balls. Detroit’s pass rush looked destructive against two new tackles for KC and will get a banged up Seattle line to feast on next. Seattle shouldn’t have gotten rocked by the Rams. Detroit could torch that secondary.
Pick: Lions
Chargers 0-1 @ Titans 0-1
Tannihill might be over hill with 3 picks against the Saints, but blowing draft picks on QBs the past couple seasons doesn’t necessarily mean they have a great backup option. 2/12 on 3rd down and 4.9 yards per pass against the Saints. The defense was able to put pressure on Derrick Carr and should put Herbert on notice after being dropped 3 times himself by Miami. Ekeler going down will hurt but Joshua Kelley played well in his absence. I lean Chargers, Titans could be in for a rough season.
Pick: Chargers
Bears 0-1 @ Buccaneers 1-0
Seeeee I told you the Buc aren’t a dumpster fire. The offense wasn’t good against Minnesota but the defense forced five 3 and outs and 3 turnovers. Baker Mayfield was pretty efficiant and there is room for growth. Chicago was carved by a young, shorthanded Green Bay and Fields wasn’t the best. Another good defense for him to handle here on the road after two turnovers last week doesn’t boade well.
Pick: Bucs
Chiefs 0-1 @ Jaguars 1-0
If Kelce is back the odds dramatically shift obviously, but KC has problems on offense. Jacksonville was sloppy against Indy and I’m not sure the Colts are going to be very good this season. Josh Allen rolled up 3 sacks and will cause problems for KC. Calvin Ridley-8 catches 101 yards 1 Td coming back and looked explosive. It’s hard to see the Chiefs starting 0-2 and the Lions would have lost without the tip/pick after Toomy’s horrible day. I think Mahomes stays away from Allen and throws the ball to someone that won’t drop it.
Pick: Chiefs
Colts 0-1 @ Texans 0-1
At least one of these teams will get a win early. The Texans looked good early against Baltimore and really disrupted Lamar but it was also a C game from the birds and it was a blowout. Indy might be able to move the ball better with Richardson but you can’t could on him to place the ball where it needs to go. The turnovers were also a problem. I think CJ as a more reliable thrower will be able to grab win #1.
Pick: Texans
49ers 1-0 @ Rams 1-0
Wow, two studs battling in week 2. Who saw it coming? Stafford targeted rookie 5th round pick Puka Nacua 15 times for 10 grabs and 119. Third year man Tutu Atwell had 6 for 119. The Rams doubled-up on the Seahawks 426-180 and 11/17 on 3rd down. I’m not sure they can do the same to the 49ers who stomped Pitt but the defense can get pressure on Purdy and keep things interesting.
Pick: 49ers
Giants 0-1 @ Cardinals 0-1
Yikes. What a platter of afternoon games were served up. The trying to tank Cards who almost beat the Commanders and the “Whoops we might suck” Giants. Dobbs wasn’t awful at QB for the Cards after a week on the job but he wasn’t awesome. In theory NY gets its act together.
Pick: Giants
Commanders 1-0 @ Broncos 0-1
Speaking of the Commanders, they’re underdogs to the struggling-out-the-gate Broncos. Washington had 3 turnovers and 3.8 yards-per-play against the Cards. It was ugly. Russell Wilson completed 27 passes for only 177 yards last week. The ground game found some success. I think the Broncos get it together enough at home.
Pick: Broncos
Jet 1-0 @ Cowboys 1-0
Annnd the final afternoon game, yikes. The Jets defense is real and put the Bills through it. The Cowboys shouldn’t move the ball as easily but I don’t know how the Jets put up enough points to win. Breece Hall will have an opportunity for 20 carries but it might come against a stacked box.
Pick: Cowboys
Dolphins 1-0 @ Patriots 0-1
466 yards and 3 Tds for Tua. 11 catches 215 yards and 2 Tds for Hill. On the road. Against the Chargers. The Pats have a real defense and survived an early 16-0 hole against the Eagles to give them a fight, but now they have another Super Bowl contender on their hands. The Fins O-line is the greatest weakness. The Pats will try to speed up Tua’s clock.
Pick: Dolphins
Saints 1-0 @ Panthers 0-1
The first of a Monday night double-header for some reason. New Orleans wasn’t awesome last week but did enough to beat the Titans. I’m thinking the Panthers, who logged 4 sacks last week, might get after Carr and cause him to make some mistakes. Give me the Panthers at home behind Miles Sanders in a close, low scoring affair.
Pick: Panthers
Browns 1-0 @ Steelers 0-1
Pittsburg underperformed and was smashed while the Browns were hit a sluggish Cincy. I think Pittsgurg struggles to run the ball again against Cleveland’s front and Burrow really stuggled to move the ball last week. Browns are the easy pick, but Pittsburg getting the ball moving through the air at home is possible. Deshaun Watson wasn’t great throwing the ball last week and it’s possible the Steelers front gums up the works for Chubb.
Pick: Browns close