NFL Predictions Week 2: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

As is usually the case, the first week of the 2020 NFL season was full of surprises. The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers were shocked by the upstart Arizona Cardinals, the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals nearly upset the Los Angeles Chargers and the "tanking" Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Indianapolis Colts.

Of course, not every outcome was a shocker. The Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens all dominated, as most would have expected.

Week 2 is going to feature its fair share of sure things and stunners, as we're here to preview all the action. We'll run down the latest odds and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook, make predictions for every game and examine some of the top plays of the week.

NFL Week 2

Cincinnati Bengals (+6, 44) at Cleveland Browns: 31-24 Cleveland

San Francisco 49ers (-7,42.5) at New York Jets: 30-17 San Francisco

Buffalo Bills (-5.5, 42) at Miami Dolphins: 26-20 Buffalo

Detroit Lions (+6, 47.5) at Green Bay Packers: 30-22 Green Bay

Minnesota Vikings (+3, 47.5) at Indianapolis Colts: 28-27 Indianapolis

Los Angeles Rams (-1.5, 46) at Philadelphia Eagles: 27-23 Los Angeles

Jacksonville Jaguars (+9.5, 42.5) at Tennessee Titans: 30-21 Tennessee

Carolina Panthers (+9, 49) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 34-24 Tampa Bay

Denver Broncos (+6.5, 41) at  Pittsburgh Steelers: 27-22 Pittsburgh

Atlanta Falcons (+5, 52) at Dallas Cowboys: 33-30 Dallas

New York Giants (+5.5, 43) at Chicago Bears: 26-20 Chicago

Washington Football Team (+6.5, 46) at Arizona Cardinals: 28-26 Arizona

Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5, 48.5) at Los Angeles Chargers: 33-24 Kansas City

Baltimore Ravens (-6.5, 52.5) at Houston Texans: 38-27 Baltimore

New England Patriots (+4.5, 45) at Seattle Seahawks: 28-23 Seattle

New Orleans Saints (-5.5, 50.5) at Las Vegas Raiders: 30-20 New Orleans

Baltimore Ravens (-6.5) at Houston Texans

The Houston Texans showed two big weaknesses against the Chiefs last Thursday. They proved that their pass defense is just as shaky as it was a year ago, and they struggled mightily to protect quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"We had trouble with Frank Clark," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "We had trouble with some of their games up front. We have to fix that very quickly here."

With the Ravens coming to town, these issues could set the stage for a blowout. Baltimore was absolutely dominant in both areas against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. Lamar Jackson finished with 275 passing yards and three touchdowns, while the Ravens defense sacked Baker Mayfield twice and pressured him throughout the game.

While the Ravens aren't likely to embarrass the Texans quite like they did the Browns, the early line of under a touchdown feels like a very favorable one for those backing Baltimore.

New York Giants and Chicago Bears OVER 43 Points

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Sunday's game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants has one of the lowest over/unders of the week, and for good reason. Chicago has a defense that can be dominant for stretches, while the Giants have a still-developing quarterback in Daniel Jones.

However, the Giants have a ton of offensive weapons, including Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Evan Engram. Yes, they mostly fell flat while amassing just 16 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, but Pittsburgh has one of the top defenses in the NFL.

Chicago's defense, while good, just gave up 23 points to the Detroit Lions and would have surrendered more if not for a dropped D'Andre Swift would-be touchdown reception.

New York's defense, meanwhile, is not good. While the Giants made a few upgrades on that side of the ball, it's largely the same unit that ranked 30th in points allowed a season ago.

Don't expect an offensive explosion from either team in this one, but the Giants and Bears should both produce points in the 20s.

New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders UNDER 50.5 Points

The New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders game, meanwhile, has one of the highest early lines of the week. Don't be surprised if these two teams don't hit the mark of 50.5 points.

While the Saints have traditionally had one of the league's better offenses, they could be at less than 100 percent. Star wideout Michael Thomas is dealing with a high-ankle injury, though he will try playing through it, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. 

Of course, there's a big difference between being on the field and being at full playing strength.

Raiders wideout Henry Ruggs III is also dealing with a knee injury, which could hurt Las Vegas against a Saints defense that allowed just 23 points to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While there should still be a fair bit of scoring in this one, don't be surprised if the total score comes in at just under 50.5 points. This might be a line worth jumping on before any additional injury updates are provided.