NFL Week 2 Predictions: Projections for the Early Lines, Spreads and Odds

It has been 217 days since there was non-preseason NFL football on a Sunday. 

And it was every bit worth the wait. 

The full-time NFL schedule returned to our lives Sunday, and it came bearing gifts: two overtime games, another five decided by seven points or less, several thrilling finishes and a slew of fantastic plays and performances. 

We get two Monday Night Football games to round out a scintillating Week 1, but I'm already looking forward to Week 2. 

Let's take a look at the early odds as well as some of the best early bets. 

Note: Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Week 2 Odds and Predictions

Away	Home	Spread	Pick Against Spread
Pittsburgh	Baltimore	BAL (-2.5)	Steelers
Detroit	Carolina	CAR (-1)	Panthers
Miami	Buffalo	PK	Dolphins
Jacksonville	Washington	WAS (-4.5)	Jaguars
Dallas	Tennessee	TEN (-3.5)	Titans
Arizona	N.Y. Giants	NYG (-1.5)	Cardinals
New England	Minnesota	NE (-4.5)	Patriots
New Orleans	Cleveland	NO (-6.5)	Saints
Atlanta	Cincinnati	CIN (-5)	Falcons
St. Louis	Tampa Bay	TB (-4.5)	Rams
Seattle	San Diego	SEA (-4.5)	Seahawks
Houston	Oakland	PK	Texans
N.Y. Jets	Green Bay	GB (-9)	Packers
Kansas City	Denver	DEN (-12.5)	Broncos
Chicago	San Francisco	SF (-7)	49ers
Philadelphia	Indianapolis	IND (-3)	Colts

Houston Texans (PK) over Oakland Raiders

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Everyone loves to talk about how the NFL is increasingly becoming more focused on the pass, and that may be true. But if you can run the ball and play defense, you're going to be very successful in this league.

The Houston Texans can clearly do both of those things. 

Arian Foster ran for 103 yards, while the defense forced two turnovers and recorded three sacks during Sunday's 17-6 win over the Washington Redskins. Unsurprisingly, J.J. Watt was far and away the best player on the field. He finished with five quarterback hits, one sack and two tackles for a loss, but the stats still don't tell the entire story. 

Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson and Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar offered up immense praise for the newly paid superstar, who was absolutely unblockable for the entire game:

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien, via ESPN's Tania Ganguli, put it a little more simply:

Although No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney is set to miss four to six weeks with a torn lateral meniscus, the Texans defense is scary as long as Watt is in there terrorizing defensive linemen. 

Derek Carr was solid in his debut Sunday, but his welcome-to-the-NFL moment is coming against this relentless pass rush. The Texans were putrid last year, but they look like a different team and are better on both sides of the ball than Oakland.  

Even on the road, a pick'em is an easy choice. 

Seattle Seahawks (-4.5) over San Diego Chargers

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

The Seattle Seahawks aren't going to go undefeated, and they aren't the same force on the road as they are at CenturyLink Field, but if they are giving up less than seven points, it's probably a good rule of thumb to bet on them. 

A dominant Super Bowl run hasn't slowed down Pete Carroll's squad, as a strong argument can be made that the 'Hawks are actually better than a year ago. 

The secondary is still the best in football, Richard Sherman makes a third of the field disappear (Aaron Rodgers targeted him zero times on Thursday), the linebackers are rock-solid and the defensive line, thanks to Michael Bennett, looked tremendous in Week 1.

Offensively, Russell Wilson is equal parts elusive and efficient, Marshawn Lynch is still a bruising force who never goes down on the first hit and Percy Harvin is being used creatively to spread defenses out. 

Grantland's Andrew Sharp discussed the Seahawks' offensive performance in their 36-16 Week 1 win over the Packers:

"

It took a little while, but eventually the first game of the NFL season just turned into a blur of Marshawn Lynch dump-trucking his way through the Packers’ front seven and Percy Harvin sprinting through the defense 10 yards at a time on jet sweeps and bubble screens that seemed a little more unfair every time they ran them. It was glorious. And ruthless, and clinical, and lots of other adjectives even Packers fans can’t really disagree with.

"

Bobby Wagner, via ESPN's Terry Blount, talked about Harvin:

The San Diego Chargers won a playoff game last season and have a tremendous run game that can keep things close, but the 'Hawks are clicking on both sides of the ball. They'll win by a touchdown.

While anything can happen on any given Sunday, betting against Seattle is a no-no right now.