Week 2 NFL Picks: Tips, Odds and Over/Under Predictions for Sunday

NFL bettors have started Week 2 in one of two ways.

One: They understood the depths of the problems surrounding the hosts and took the Houston Texans over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night despite a spread of as much as 6.5 favoring Cincinnati. Two: They succumbed to the idea the Bengals were about to regain perennial playoff form against a rookie quarterback. 

The result, of course, was Cincinnati laying another egg of almost historic proportions, which resulted in the firing of an offensive coordinator two games into the season, which the team announced.

Not every game will be so dramatic this week, but it provides yet another cautionary tale as to how different this season can be from the last at times. Here is a full look at the rest of the slate. 

NFL Week 2 Schedule, Odds

Arizona (-7.5) at Indianapolis | O/U 44

Buffalo at Carolina (-7) | O/U 43

Chicago at Tampa Bay (-7) | O/U 43.5

Cleveland at Baltimore (-9) | O/U 39

Minnesota at Pittsburgh (-6) | O/U 45

New England (-7) at New Orleans | O/U 57

Philadelphia at Kansas City (-6) | O/U 47

Tennessee (-3) at Jacksonville | O/U 41.5

Miami at L.A. Chargers (-3.5) | O/U 45.5

N.Y. Jets at Oakland (-14) | O/U 43.5

Dallas (-3) at Denver | O/U 42

San Francisco at Seattle (-14) | O/U 42

Washington at L.A. Rams (-3) | O/U 46

Green Bay at Atlanta (-3) | O/U 56

Detroit at N.Y. Giants (-3) | O/U 41.5

Bold denotes predicted winner against the spread. 

Arizona (-7.5) at Indianapolis | O/U 44

Leon Halip/Getty Images

It doesn't get much easier than this.  

The Arizona Cardinals are on the road for this one, which has a way of seeming like a problem, especially after the team went to Detroit in Week 1 and took a 35-23 whipping.  

But we're talking about the Indianapolis Colts here.  

The Colts are without Andrew Luck and will be trying Jacoby Brissett instead of Scott Tolzien from the start, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. They are also coming off a 46-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where they went a stunning 0-of-10 on third down. All the while, head coach Chuck Pagano has stuck firmly in the coach-speak camp. 

"You can't go 0 for 10 on third down. We've looked and dissected how it happened, and now we're going to go out and work on getting those things corrected so that we can play better and give ourselves a chance, as a football team, to play better team football," Pagano said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). 

The funny thing is, both of these teams faced solid or potentially great teams to start the season. After years of sloppy rebuilding, the Colts getting hammered by the Rams makes sense, especially without Luck. Arizona looking rough while Carson Palmer throws three picks and Patrick Peterson's defense coughs up four touchdown passes to Matthew Stafford didn't seem as likely. 

Still, Peterson and his unit have a bounce-back opportunity here. The Colts don't have a guy who can sling four touchdown passes regardless of venue. 

Prediction: Cardinals 30, Colts 13

Philadelphia at Kansas City (-6) | O/U 47

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Based on Week 1 outcomes, this one looks like it could be close.  

Don't fall in the trap—this goes down at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the NFL's toughest places to play. And there is a big, big difference between the Kansas City Chiefs taking down the New England Patriots in Week 1 and the Philadelphia Eagles stunning a Washington Redskins team still trying to get a new-look offense in gear. 

That isn't to suggest the Eagles didn't look good on the road against an NFC East foe. Carson Wentz tossed a pair of touchdowns and held Kirk Cousins in check while he tried to get accustomed to life after DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. 

The Chiefs, though, return home as conquerors: 

As fans might recall, the Chiefs went to Foxborough in the NFL's opener and whipped the Patriots 42-27 behind four touchdown passes from Alex Smith and a breakout game from Kareem Hunt, who turned 17 carries into 148 yards and a score. Oh, and he caught all five of his targets for 98 yards and two more scores. 

Look, Smith isn't going to look that good every game, and Hunt isn't going to catch teams off guard every time out. But the Chiefs at home here after keeping Tom Brady out of the end zone, making Rob Gronkowski a non-factor and going north of 40 on the road makes this under cover one of the week's easiest picks. 

Prediction: Chiefs 28, Eagles 14

San Francisco at Seattle (-14) | O/U

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Speaking of easy picks, even a 14-point line shouldn't scare away bettors from the Seattle Seahawks over the San Francisco 49ers this week.  

Were this game in San Francisco, we'd have a different conversation on our hands. Even last year, Seattle went to San Francisco and only escaped with a two-point win. On paper, the 49ers are slightly better this year as the rebuild kicks into high gear. 

Yet this one goes down in Seattle, and those 49ers enter off a Week 1 bust in the form of hosting the Carolina Panthers and going down 23-3. Brian Hoyer threw a pick, the offense rushed for a 3.4 per-carry average and the defense coughed up two passing scores to Cam Newton, making for a dud of an affair. 

That isn't to suggest the Seahawks don't know about duds. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks went to Green Bay and participated in a surprise defensive-minded affair, losing 17-9 to the Packers. Seattle hardly had the ball while the Packers controlled the pace, which certainly won't be the case against the 49ers. 

The 49ers aren't getting any help from the injury bug on the road, either, as NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco pointed out: 

Seattle has big problems along the offensive line, yes. But the 49ers could be down two big defenders before kickoff, and the unit overall doesn't have the talent to exploit the weakness—at least not this year. 

Look for the Seahawks to use the game as a tuneup for the offense before going on to bigger things. 

Prediction: Seahawks 33, 49ers 14

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds via OddsShark.