NFL Predictions Week 2: Upset Picks and Projections

Are the New England Patriots set up for a dominant season? Which other Week 1 winners could become Super Bowl contenders? And will the Cleveland Browns not live up to their preseason hype?

Those are just a few of the questions that Week 1 of the NFL season left us to ponder with 16 weeks of the regular season still to go. The opening week also brought a lot of exciting matchups and NFL action that reminded football fans what they had been missing all offseason.

As Week 2 of the NFL season approaches, here's a look at the lines for this week's action, including a betting pick for all 16 games, along with a closer breakdown of three potential betting upsets.

Week 2 NFL Odds and Picks

Picks are in bold and made against the spread.

Tampa Bay at Carolina (-7)

Arizona at Baltimore (-13.5)

Buffalo (-2.5) at N.Y. Giants

Dallas (-5) at Washington

Indianapolis at Tennessee (-3)

Jacksonville at Houston (-9)

L.A. Chargers (-2.5) at Detroit

Minnesota at Green Bay (-3)

New England (-18.5) at Miami

San Francisco at Cincinnati (-1.5)

Seattle at Pittsburgh (-4.5)

Kansas City (-7.5) at Oakland

Chicago (-2.5) at Denver

New Orleans at L.A. Rams (-2.5)

Philadelphia (-1.5) at Atlanta

Cleveland (-2.5) at N.Y. Jets

Odds obtained from Caesars

Three Potential Betting Upsets

Arizona at Baltimore (-13.5)

Make no mistake, the Ravens are going to win their home opener, and they'll likely be in control for most of the afternoon. But the Cardinals made things interesting late in their season curtain-raiser, so there's potential for them to do it again.

Baltimore had a dominant showing in its season opener at Miami, with Lamar Jackson throwing five touchdown passes in its 59-10 win. Ravens fans don't have a reason to worry about a potential upset, because Jackson should have no problem leading another strong offensive attack against the Cardinals' defense.

But Arizona could keep it as close as 13 or fewer points by the end, which makes this an intriguing betting line. Although the Cardinals got off to a slow start against the Lions last week in rookie quarterback Kyler Murray's NFL debut, they scored 18 fourth-quarter points to force overtime before settling for a 27-27 tie.

Murray is an exciting player, and Arizona has talented players around him, such as running back David Johnson and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. It's possible the Cardinals will put up some points against the Ravens' defense and make them a potential betting upset with them getting 13.5 points.

San Francisco at Cincinnati (-1.5)

Both the 49ers and Bengals surprised during the opening week of the season, so it makes sense that this game has one of the closest betting lines in Week 2.

San Francisco went on the road and notched an impressive 31-17 win at Tampa Bay, while Cincinnati dropped its season opener but played a close game in a 21-20 loss at Seattle. The 49ers and Bengals each likely exceeded the expectations that many had for them to open the year.

While this Week 2 matchup could go either way, San Francisco looked strong in its season opener, so it could carry over momentum into its trip to Cincinnati. And with 1.5 points, the 49ers are the better choice to bet on for this game.

The 49ers' defense could be their key to victory, as the unit had a pair of interception return touchdowns—a 31-yard score by Richard Sherman and a 25-yard touchdown by Ahkello Witherspoon—in their first win. San Francisco could shut down Cincinnati's offense to make the difference in the game.

New Orleans at L.A. Rams (-2.5)

It's never easy to bet against the Saints, especially after they went 13-3 last season and had an impressive comeback victory in Week 1 against the Texans. So, with them getting 2.5 points in this road matchup against the Rams, New Orleans should be a popular underdog pick this week.

This is a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game, which Los Angeles won, and it will likely be another close game on Sunday.

The Saints' offense started the season slow, as they only scored three points in the first half of their opener. However, they used three second-half touchdowns and a pair of Wil Lutz field goals, including a game-winning 58-yarder as time expired, to beat the Texans 30-28 win.

New Orleans won't start that slow again, and it will be motivated to avenge last season's controversial NFC Championship Game loss by beating Los Angeles to open this year 2-0.