NFL Predictions Week 2: Last-Minute Picks and Advice for Sunday's Schedule

When we start to analyze Week 2 of the NFL schedule, it is important to ask how much weight we should put into Week 1 results.

After all, the temptation is there to simply fall back on what we saw in the openers and assume that is a valid representation of what will happen throughout the year. It’s still just a one-game sample size, though.

For example, look at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger and company looked like a dominant force in the first half of the opener against the Cleveland Browns, but they have been outscored 50-9 ever since.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 2 predictions, taking Week 1 results and overall opinions regarding each team into account. Point spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark as of Friday evening.

Away Team	Home Team	Spread (as of Thursday evening)	Pick
Miami Dolphins	Buffalo Bills	Even	MIA
Detroit Lions	Carolina Panthers	CAR -1	CAR
Atlanta Falcons	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -5.5	ATL
New Orleans Saints	Cleveland Browns	NO -7	NO
New England Patriots	Minnesota Vikings	NE -3.5	NE
Arizona Cardinals	New York Giants	AZ -2.5	AZ
Dallas Cowboys	Tennessee Titans	TEN -3	TEN
Jacksonville Jaguars	Washington Redskins	WAS -7	JAX
Seattle Seahawks	San Diego Chargers	SEA -7	SEA
St. Louis Rams	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -7	TB
Kansas City Chiefs	Denver Broncos	DEN -13.5	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

Sunday Advice

Don’t Make Assumptions from Last Year

Marc Serota/Associated Press

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a touchdown underdog against the Washington Redskins, which may raise some eyebrows among bettors.

Yes, the Jaguars were one of the worst teams in the league last year, and that is probably influencing people’s opinions on them for 2014. It also doesn’t help that they lost the second half of the opener 34-0 against Philadelphia, but they did manage to grab a 17-0 lead against one of the best offenses in the league.

We are not saying Jacksonville is going to the playoffs, but don’t write them off just yet. In fact, the hesitation with this game is more about the Redskins than Jacksonville.

Washington was completely dominated along the offensive line by Houston in Week 1 and rarely gave Robert Griffin III enough time to throw. While the Jaguars don’t have someone like J.J. Watt, Washington will struggle to score enough points to cover such a large spread without better protection. 

After all, the Redskins didn’t even score seven points in the opener, so it may be somewhat difficult to win by more than seven this time around.

Watch Out for Injuries

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Watching out for injuries may sound obvious, but there is one game in particular that should concern you in Week 2 if you are looking for an underdog. 

The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers will square off under the lights Sunday, but Chicago is in trouble health-wise, as Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out:

The Bears are completely reliant on their offense, and now they are missing two starting linemen and possibly their star wide receivers. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery may be the best wide receiver tandem in the league when healthy, but they will be less than 100 percent even if they do play. 

That will put more pressure on a Bears defense that ranked last in the league against the run a season ago. Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde are probably chomping at the bit to get this game underway.

Everyone Loses at Seattle

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

The season opener between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks took place on the national stage with everyone paying attention. 

Seattle eviscerated the Packers in the first time we saw it since the destruction of Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl. It’s simply impossible to argue against the Seahawks as the best team right now given recent evidence.

Aaron Rodgers was joking on his ESPNMilwaukee radio show about how he didn’t even look Richard Sherman’s way in the first game, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. 

“I think I said, 'I hope you get some work this year.' By that point, I knew that we hadn't really looked to his side or thrown to his side, and I just said that to him," Rodgers said. "And I think we kind of laughed about it and went on the way.”

You shouldn’t give up hope on the Packers just because they lost in Seattle. Rodgers, Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson and a healthy Randall Cobb will make sure this offense is one of the league’s best, and things will get much easier against the New York Jets in Week 2. In fact, Green Bay may still be the most talented team in the NFC North regardless of that first outcome.

You should also at least use some caution with Seattle at San Diego. The Seahawks only lost three times last year, but two were on the road. 

Seattle is the best team, but if it is ever going to lose, it will likely be on the road against a quality opponent.

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