NFL Week 2 Picks: Rounding Up Top Experts' Predictions

Picking the winner of each NFL game can be tough. With only one week from which to form opinions, that task becomes even more difficult. Asking for help isn't a bad thing.

Since parity is widespread throughout the NFL, a team can look absolutely awful one game and turn around and become a Super Bowl contender the next. That's how much can change from week to week.

As a result, some people read too much into the results from the previous week. In order to get a better idea of how to approach Week 2's matchups, it's a good idea to peruse some expert predictions.

Below are the picks from Bleacher Report's six NFL national lead writers.

Matchup	Matt Bowen	Mike Freeman	Matt Miller	Ty Schalter	Michael Schottey	Mike Tanier
MIA at BUF	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	BUF	MIA
JAX at WAS	JAX	WAS	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX
DAL at TEN	DAL	DAL	DAL	TEN	TEN	DAL
ARI at NYG	ARI	NYG	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI
NE at MIN	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
NO at CLE	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
ATL at CIN	ATL	CIN	CIN	ATL	CIN	CIN
DET at CAR	DET	CAR	DET	DET	DET	DET
STL at TB	TB	TB	TB	TB	TB	TB
SEA at SD	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
HOU at OAK	HOU	HOU	HOU	OAK	HOU	OAK
NYJ at GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB
KC at DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
CHI at SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	SF
PHI at IND	IND	IND	PHI	IND	IND	IND

Note: You can view the picks from all 15 writers on B/R's panel of experts here.

Intriguing Games to Watch

Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals

The Atlanta Falcons provided one of the bigger surprises of Week 1 with their 37-34 win over the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta rebounded well after going down 20-7 in the second quarter and did a great job of limiting the Saints offense in the second half.

The Falcons' opponents, the Cincinnati Bengals, laid down a marker in the AFC North with their 23-16 win on the road over the Baltimore Ravens.

One thing Atlanta will have to do Sunday is hit Andy Dalton early and often. Last week, the Falcons defense failed to record a sack on Drew Brees.

"We eliminated a lot of the potential pressures we were going to use because the things that Drew was doing took us a little bit out of our game," said defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, per ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure. "I've got to give the guy credit: The frustrations that we had were really created by him. He did an outstanding job. He's a great quarterback, no question."

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Dalton is prone to having poor games here and there, so if the Falcons are pressuring him in the pocket, you could see some game-changing turnovers.

With that said, the Falcons have some question marks about their defense. They gave up 34 points and 472 yards to the Saints. It's safe to assume the Cincinnati defense will offer more resistance than the New Orleans defense did.

After Atlanta gave up 139 yards on the ground, you can count on Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill figuring large in Cincinnati's game plan.

The difference between the two teams will be small, but Cincy's slightly better defense should give the home team the advantage.

Prediction: Bengals 30, Falcons 27

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers

As great as it was to see Derek Anderson roll back the clock to 2007, the insertion of Cam Newton back into the Carolina Panthers offense makes this game much more interesting. Newton missed the Panthers' 20-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he looks to have recovered from his rib injury, per NFL.com's Marc Sessler.

The Panthers defense will be tested in a big way against a Detroit Lions offense that hit on all cylinders last week. Matthew Stafford threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke believed it was one of Stafford's best performances:

With Newton under center, Carolina has a much better chance of keeping up with the high-powered Lions. Running tandem with that is the emergence of Kelvin Benjamin. The rookie wide receiver led the team with six receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Much has been made of how thin the Panthers receiving corps is, but if Benjamin's Week 1 showing is indicative of how his rookie campaign will unfold, the Carolina passing game shouldn't be in too much trouble:

The Panthers secondary will be far less generous to the Lions than the New York Giants secondary was. Calvin Johnson won't find himself wide open with the nearest defender 20 yards away.

Prediction: Panthers 24, Lions 20

Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts will start this game with a distinct disadvantage, as Robert Mathis is out for the year, per SportsCenter:

He had already been suspended for four games after violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

ESPN Stats & Info established how integral Mathis was to the Colts pass rush last year:

Bjoern Werner will be one of a few players tasked with making up for Mathis' lost production. Cory Redding spoke to USA Today's Lindsay H. Jones about how Werner has prepared for this moment for over a year:

"

From the time the clock read zero in (the playoff loss at) New England, I think he was back in the classroom the very next day, in the weight room. The kid didn't take more than two weeks off the entire offseason. He worked his tail off. He was more than dedicated, his rookie year to his second year, because he didn't want to let none of us down.

"

If the Colts were playing a different opponent, perhaps the absence of Mathis wouldn't play a huge role. Indianapolis must get pressure on Nick Foles in order to throw off the rhythm of the Philadelphia Eagles offense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars kept Foles off balance in the first half, not coincidentally grabbing a 17-0 halftime lead. The second half was a different story, with the third-year star finishing with 322 yards and two touchdowns.

The more successful Foles is, the more running room LeSean McCoy will find. That kind of offensive balance will be too much for the Colts to overcome. Andrew Luck can't do it on his own if the Eagles are attacking Indy in the air and on the ground.

Prediction: Philadelphia 34, Indianapolis 28