NFL Week 2 Picks: Early Predictions for Every Game

The four NFC South teams were the subject of much talk following their Week 1 games. The Carolina Panthers shut out the Dallas Cowboys for 51-plus minutes before hanging on for a 16-8 win. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers resembled the 1999 St. Louis Rams en route to a 48-40 win over the New Orleans Saints, whose defense looked nothing like the version that shut down most offenses last year.

And the Atlanta Falcons once again had red-zone issues, as three separate trips down there resulted in zero points and served as the catalyst for an 18-12 opening-night loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It will be interesting to see how each team fares in Week 2, and some analysis on the divisional trio of games is below. You can also find some early Week 2 score picks as well.

NFL Week 2 Picks

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals: CIN 21, BAL 20

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons: CAR 20, ATL 17

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints: NO 30, CLE 20

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans: HOU 23, TEN 10

Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins: WSH 27, IND 23

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers: PIT 31, KC 24

Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills: LAC 31, BUF 10

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets: NYJ 20, MIA 17

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers: GB 24, MIN 23

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: PHI 31, TB 13

Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams: LAR 34, ARI 14

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers: SF 27, DET 20

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars: JAX 20, NE 17

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos: DEN 24, OAK 20

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: NYG 24, DAL 14

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears: CHI 27, SEA 17

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

The Carolina Panthers defense crushed the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday as they held them to just eight points. Carolina sacked quarterback Dak Prescott six times and never gave him time to get comfortable. While the Panthers couldn't move the ball much in the air, their ground game was effective as the team rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons are coming off a deflating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on opening night. Philadelphia was missing a starting quarterback (Carson Wentz), its No. 1 wide receiver (Alshon Jeffery), a starting defensive tackle (Timmy Jernigan) and a starting linebacker (Nigel Bradham), but it still managed to beat a Falcons team that continues to have red-zone issues.

The Falcons get to play at home Sunday, but the Panthers defense is just as tough (if not tougher) than the Eagles unit that held Atlanta to 12 points. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is near matchup-proof, but the Panthers run defense is stout (led by linebacker Luke Kuechly and defensive tackle Kawann Short) and can contain the two-man duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.

Look for this one to be close, but the Panthers are the pick in a close win, 20-17.

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints pass defense was one of the biggest reasons why they were able to go from 7-9 in 2016 to 11-5 in 2017 and one defensive stop away from making the NFC Championship Game.

However, the Saints had a poor game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday as backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for four touchdowns and rushed for one more as he led his team to a 48-40 victory.

The offense looked like it hadn't skipped a beat from last year, even without suspended running back Mark Ingram. However, the Saints aren't going to score 40 points every night, so the defense needs to step up in future contests and show its 2017 form.

That may not happen against a Cleveland Browns offense with some solid talent, led by wideouts Jarvis Landry and Josh Gordon, both of whom could have big games on the Mercedes Benz Superdome turf. However, running back Alvin Kamara looks near-invincible every time he touches the ball, and it's unclear how the Browns will be able to contain him.

The Cleveland offense may gain some traction, but it'll be hard for it to go toe to toe with the second-year pro out of the University of Tennessee. The Saints win, 30-20.

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson combined for the following stat line on Sunday: 12 catches (on 12 targets), 293 yards and three touchdowns. That's an incredible accomplishment against any team, but they did so against a Saints pass defense that ranked fifth in efficiency last year, per Football Outsiders.

However, they face a tougher task in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles. The defending Super Bowl champions have a defense with good defensive line, linebacker and secondary groups. Although they could not contain wide receiver Julio Jones on Thursday (few, if any can), the Eagles shut down the rest of Atlanta, holding the rest of the team to just 130 yards from scrimmage.

On offense, running back Jay Ajayi was a force in the second half of the Week 1 opener, as he rumbled into the end zone twice. A powerful runner who is difficult to take down, Ajayi's strength proved to be one of the key reasons Philadelphia emerged with a win.

The Bucs may have trouble with him on Sunday, much like they did with Alvin Kamara, who had 141 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. The Saints back can make a case for being the best offensive player in the league this year, but Ajayi's power makes him one of the league's better runners. He and a tough Eagles defense will be the keys to a convincing victory, 31-13.