NFL Predictions Week 2: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

We probably say this every year, but Week 1 of the NFL season was downright wild. 

In the first slate of games to open the season, we saw four games finish with scores within one point, and only one game (Eagles 29, Browns 10) came anything close to resembling a blowout. 

We also finally got to see some of the league's young quarterbacks in action, and in most cases, they were impressive. In New England, Jimmy Garoppolo fearlessly stepped in for Tom Brady and steered the Patriots to a close win over the Arizona Cardinals. 

In Philadelphia, Carson Wentz proved that the Cleveland Browns were mistaken to think he wasn't worth the No. 2 overall pick, shining as he went 22-of-37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns—and no interceptions. 

We also got a sense for which teams could have used a little more prep time—or perhaps a few extra draft picks—before starting the season.

Now let's look at Week 2 and the early point spreads and make some picks and predictions for the upcoming games. 

Date	Away	Home	Point Spread	Prediction
Sept. 15	New York Jets	Buffalo	BUF -1.5	Jets
Sept. 18	San Francisco	Carolina	CAR -13.5	Panthers
Sept. 18	Dallas	Washington	WAS -3.5	Cowboys
Sept. 18	Cincinnati	Pittsburgh	PIT -3.5	Bengals
Sept. 18	New Orleans	New York Giants	NYG -4	Saints
Sept. 18	Miami	New England	NE -5	Patriots
Sept. 18	Kansas City	Houston	HOU -1.5	Texans
Sept. 18	Tennessee	Detroit	DET -5.5	Lions
Sept. 18	Baltimore	Cleveland	BAL -3.5	Ravens
Sept. 18	Seattle	Los Angeles	SEA -3.5	Seahawks
Sept. 18	Tampa Bay	Arizona	ARI -7.5	Cardinals
Sept. 18	Jacksonville	San Diego	SD -2.5	Jaguars
Sept. 18	Atlanta	Oakland	OAK -6.5	Raiders
Sept. 18	Indianapolis	Denver	DEN -4	Colts
Sept. 18	Green Bay	Minnesota	GB -2.5	Packers
Sept. 19	Philadelphia	Chicago	CHI -1.5	Eagles

Safest Bets

Carolina (-13.5) vs. San Francisco 

The Carolina Panthers fell in a heartbreaker to the Denver Broncos in Week 1, with the game coming down to a kick from Carolina kicker Graham Gano that went wide left.

And while many will argue a team that deserves to win will never put its kicker in the position of having to win the game in the final seconds, it added insult to injury that Gano had successfully made an attempt from the same distance (50 yards) just moments earlier, as Denver coach Gary Kubiak had used a timeout. 

Gano himself even spoke before the game about how the thinner air in Denver helps kickers with distance, per Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer. 

In any case, the Panthers put Gano in a bad situation, but they could have won that game. Cam Newton appeared to suffer multiple hits to the head—at least, to this viewer he did—but the last collision with Broncos safety Darian Stewart really appeared to shake him up. 

Newton went only 18-of-33 on the night, and while it's unclear if his multiple hits to the head affected his play, it's easy to imagine a less banged-up Newton returning to dominate the 49ers in Week 2. 

There were enough positives on the night for the Panthers despite the loss—Kelvin Benjamin's triumphant 91-yard, one-touchdown return; Greg Olsen's 73-yard night; the team's 157 rushing yards—to expect them to even out their season record on Sunday. 

New England (-5) vs. Miami

Oh, you thought the New England Patriots would be at a disadvantage without Tom Brady for the first quarter of their season?

Allow me to introduce you to Jimmy Garoppolo. 

New England's No. 2 looked poised and confident in his season opener, handily leading a team missing starting tight end Rob Gronkowski, tackle Nate Solder and guard Jonathan Cooper to a win over a Cardinals squad many think will make a Super Bowl run this season. 

Not too shabby.

The Patriots also enjoyed a successful ground attack led by LeGarrette Blount, who had 70 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He was supplemented by Julian Edelman, whom the Patriots ran out of the backfield on three occasions to keep the defense honest. 

Speaking of defense, New England's did enough to keep Arizona in check, sacking Carson Palmer three times and hitting him another five. The Patriots didn't force any turnovers, but they did enough to win. 

The Miami Dolphins, on the other hand, struggled in their season opener, falling to Seattle 12-10. Likely the only reason Seattle didn't put up more points was an ankle injury Russell Wilson suffered in the third quarter. Miami, on the other hand, couldn't drum up anything on offense. 

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn't have a single touchdown pass; however, strangely enough, he did rush for Miami's sole offensive score. 

Needless to say, it's hard to imagine Tannehill and the Dolphins putting up more points than Garoppolo and the Patriots in Week 2. 

Cardinals (-7.5) vs. Tampa Bay

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The Cardinals may not have been able to get the W against the Patriots, but they did lose by only two points. This is a talented team on many counts.

Carson Palmer went 24-of-37 for 271 yards and two touchdowns, David Johnson rushed for nearly 100 yards and scored, and wideout Larry Fitzgerald went off, picking up 81 yards on eight receptions and finding the end zone twice. 

The Cardinals put their dazzling downfield game on display; Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd both had receptions of more than 20 yards. 

It's not hard to see how Arizona could pick apart the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and get its season back to .500.

Now, don't misunderstand: The Buccaneers are a talented young team. They put up 31 points in Week 1.

But they did so against a revamped Atlanta Falcons defense that has yet to find its sea legs.

The Cardinals defense, which sacked Garoppolo twice and had six tackles for loss and a pass defensed, won't let the Bucs get off so easy, even if Jameis Winston (281 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) did look fantastic.  

All odds via Odds Shark and current as of Monday, Sept. 12.