Week 2 NFL Picks: Predictions on Vegas' Mid-Week Betting Odds and Lines

Chances are, there are plenty of football fans who are looking to start new hot streaks when it comes to predicting NFL games with a week of action behind us.

After all, who could have seen the Miami Dolphins upsetting the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills shocking the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs looking like a team that wanted nothing to do with the playoffs this season in Week 1?

Congratulations if you predicted all of that, but the rest of us are looking ahead to some Week 2 point spreads. With that in mind, here is a look at some mid-week predictions based on the spreads listed on Odds Shark as of Tuesday evening.

Away Team	Home Team	Spread	Pick
Pittsburgh Steelers	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -2.5	PIT
Miami Dolphins	Buffalo Bills	Even	MIA
Detroit Lions	Carolina Panthers	CAR -2.5	CAR
Atlanta Falcons	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -5.5	ATL
New Orleans Saints	Cleveland Browns	NO -7	NO
New England Patriots	Minnesota Vikings	NE -3	NE
Arizona Cardinals	New York Giants	Even	AZ
Dallas Cowboys	Tennessee Titans	TEN -3	TEN
Jacksonville Jaguars	Washington Redskins	WAS -7	JAX
Seattle Seahawks	San Diego Chargers	SEA -5.5	SEA
St. Louis Rams	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -7	TB
Kansas City Chiefs	Denver Broncos	DEN -14	DEN
New York Jets	Green Bay Packers	GB -9.5	GB
Houston Texans	Oakland Raiders	HOU -2.5	HOU
Chicago Bears	San Francisco 49ers	SF -7.5	SF
Philadelphia Eagles	Indianapolis Colts	IND -3	IND

Games to Watch

Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

On paper, this was supposed to be a matchup between one of the league’s most explosive offenses in the Chicago Bears and one of the stoutest defenses in the San Francisco 49ers. However, the Bears did not exactly look the part in a stunning Week 1 home loss to the Buffalo Bills.

To make matters worse, the injury bug has hit the Windy City. Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times filled fans in on the details:

Outside of the offensive line, Alshon Jeffery missed the majority of the loss to Buffalo with hamstring problems, and Brandon Marshall was far from 100 percent down the stretch. That receiver duo is what gives the Bears an advantage over opponents, and the only chance they have to beat San Francisco is if they are both on the field.

As for the 49ers, they are dealing with some missing personnel of their own in Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Chris Culliver, but they still managed to stifle the Dallas Cowboys in the opener.

If that same defense shows up against the Bears, this one will fall San Francisco’s way. The thought here is that the 49ers' rushing attack makes the difference with the three-headed monster of Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde.

Those three should have their way against a Chicago front that finished last in the league against the run in 2013 and allowed 193 rushing yards to Buffalo in Week 1. The once-promising Bears are staring at an 0-2 hole to start the season.

Prediction: San Francisco 28, Chicago 20

Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts

The Philadelphia Eagles did their best Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde impersonation in the opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars by losing the first half 17-0 and then winning the second half 34-0.

A glass-half-full approach would suggest the Eagles still won going away even though they struggled to do much of anything in the first half against a mediocre (at best) Jaguars squad. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the opposing offense is much better in Week 2 than the Chad Henne and Allen Hurns combination that tallied big numbers in the opener.

The Indianapolis Colts offense is loaded with weapons in Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and even Ahmad Bradshaw, who tallied 70 receiving yards in Week 1. Luck threw for 370 yards and two touchdowns against Denver and will look to do the same versus the Eagles.

Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

However, Chip Kelly’s offense will counter with plenty of explosive options of its own with Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin leading the way.

With so many offensive playmakers and secondaries that struggled in their respective openers, this one could be a shootout.

The key for the Colts is getting off to a better start than they did against the Broncos when they fell behind 24-0. Head coach Chuck Pagano discussed as much, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: “Obviously, when you start the way that we started, you dig yourself a hole you can’t come back from.”

Presuming Indianapolis focuses on a better start, this game will be decided by a critical defensive play down the stretch. The home crowd will help the Colts make that play in the fourth quarter. 

Prediction: Indianapolis 35, Philadelphia 31

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