NFL Week 2 Predictions: Picking Each Game Against the Spread

As we enter the second week of the regular season, one can only hope for some more exciting football than we saw this past weekend. The Minnesota Vikings New Orleans Saints contest was supposed to be a riveting shootout that was similar to the NFC Championship, but it more closely resembled a squirt gun fight. 

That seemed to be the trend throughout a good majority of the games. They all seemed to feature poor execution and little offense. Hopefully, with a game under everyone's belts, we will see some better football this weekend.

Now onto my Week 2 picks against the spread.

Atlanta (-6.5) OVER Arizona

The Falcons' offense was absent against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but returning to the Georgia Dome should make a big difference. Matt Ryan has a history of performing much better on the road and will look to continue this trend against a Cardinal team that barely got by the St. Louis Rams.

Derek Anderson should have plenty of opportunities to exploit a so-so Atlanta secondary. The question is can he. Don't count on it.

The former Cleveland Browns' quarterback is one of the NFL's most inaccurate passers and against the Rams he struggled again with his accuracy, completing only 22 of 41 attempts. Look for the Falcons to jump out early and pound Michael Turner throughout the afternoon. 

Cincinnati (+2.5) OVER Baltimore

It wasn't a pleasant opener for the Bengals and for the Ravens it was just the opposite. Both teams were on the road in Week 1 and both finished with vastly different results. Baltimore won 10-9 in a hard fought game until the end.

The Bengals were all but done by halftime as they trailed the New England Patriots 24-3 heading into the locker room. 

This line is a bit of an overreaction to Week 1. Cincinnati had to go up against a veteran New England team that is playing with a chip on its shoulder. While on the other hand, Baltimore squeaked out a victory against a very overrated Jet team that played undisciplined football and couldn't move the chains.

One has to wonder if Rex Ryan allowed the offense to have a snack after that disastrous performance.

Cedric Benson rushed for over 115 yards in both contests against the Ravens last season and you can expect he will need to have a similar game again if the Bengals are going to walk away winners. Look for head coach Marvin Lewis to get back to limiting mistakes and running the ball. 

After an emotional victory on Monday Night Football and having to deal with a short week, the Ravens are in a prime position for a letdown.

Take the Bengals.

Kansas City (+1.5) OVER Cleveland

This very well could have been a matchup pitting two unlikely 1-0 teams against each other. Of course, Jake Delhomme destroyed that possibility when he made a miserable throw as he was getting tackled to the ground that ended up being intercepted and taken back for a touchdown.

After seeing this play live, you just knew that the Browns were going to throw a very winnable game down the drain.

Now they will return to the Dawg Pound where they will face off against the Chiefs who are coming off an upset of the San Diego Chargers. Kansas City is going to give Cleveland a heavy dose of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, while they let Matt Cassel sit back and throw off play action.

With Delhomme battling an ankle injury, it's highly likely that Seneca Wallace will be making his first start of the season. Despite Delhomme's brutalness at times, he's still a better option than Wallace will ever be. 

If Eric Mangini would commit to Jerome Harrison in the backfield, it might sway my decision to picking the Browns. But Mangini's love affair with Peyton Hillis was obvious against Tampa Bay. If it weren't for Hillis putting the ball on the ground twice, there's a good chance he could have won the job over Harrison outright.

KC wins in a close one. 

Dallas (-7.5) OVER Chicago

Congratulations to the Bears on winning a game because of a flawed rule. In fact, rejoice in the victory because things won't be so pleasant after they face an angry Cowboys team. The Cowboys may not be as good as they are hyped up to be, but in front of their home crowd coming off a disappointing loss they will take out their frustrations on Chicago.

Jay Cutler's stats looked good against Detroit, but the truth of the matter is that he only led the Bears to 19 points against a defense that isn't exactly the '85 Bears.

Everyone's seen how Cutler handles pressure and how he wilts when things get tough. He's going to have to show he's changed before he's trusted in a big game.

Cowboys roll and everyone in Dallas breathes for the first time in a week. 

Philadelphia (-6) OVER Detroit

The Michael Vick Experience 2.0 is underway and it began with a bang when he came in for the concussed Kevin Kolb. Vick tore it up on the ground and looked surprisingly good in the pocket. The Eagles become a much more interesting team with Vick behind center. They feature some of the fastest, most electrifying players in the game.

Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin round out a very fast receiving corps, while LeSean McCoy is just as explosive in the backfield. Throw Vick into the mix and this will be a more-than-entertaining team to watch.

The Lions, on the other hand, are reeling after a gut-wrenching loss to the Bears. What made the loss even worse was the fact that they lost their prized quarterback, Matthew Stafford, for the foreseeable future. This could be Vick's last chance to prove that he can start in this league. 

Expect to see him put in a valiant effort and lead the Eagle's to their first win of the season. 

Green Bay (-13) OVER Buffalo

Not going to spend too much time on this one. The Bills will travel to Lambeau Field in hopes of pulling off an upset of a top-tier team.

Odds of that happening are about as good as Ines Sainz' chances of getting back into the Jets' locker room at some point this season.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packer receivers are going to have a big day.

Tennessee (-5) OVER Pittsburgh

Chris Johnson ran all over the Oakland Raiders, extending his streak of 100 or more yards on the ground to 12. The Steeler defense shut down Matt Ryan and Michael Turner en route to a 15-9 victory against the Falcons. Dennis Dixon had an OK game, but it was Rashard Mendenhall who did the heavy lifting.

The Titans rolled at the end of last season and carried it over to Week 1 when they stomped the Raiders. While it will definitely be a tougher challenge this weekend, Dixon in his first road start doesn't exactly put fear in opposing defensive coordinators.

CJ2K will stretch his streak to 13 and Tennessee will roll to a double-digit victory. 

Miami (+5.5) OVER Minnesota

Take the points in a game where points could be hard to come by. Brett Favre may be back, but he certainly isn't better than ever.

The Vikings' quarterback will now face a stout Dolphin defense still without his No. 1 receiving threat in Sidney Rice. Both teams are going to commit to the run throughout the afternoon. Offensively, neither the Vikings nor Dolphins have the passing attack to put up quick strikes.

Both sides have good defenses and solid run games.

Grab the points in a game that will be close throughout.

Carolina (-3.5) OVER Tampa Bay

One of the least desirable games on the schedule this weekend will feature two offenses that struggled in Week 1. The Matt Moore Era got off to rocky start that featured three red zone interceptions against the New York Giants.

Moore was knocked out of the game with a concussion but it appears he will be good to go on Sunday in Carolina. Sunday's contest will feature the two teams with the youngest rosters in the league.

Tampa Bay will be looking to grab its second victory of the season after a home win over the Browns. It doesn't matter who's throwing the ball on Sunday for the Panthers because DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart aka "Double Trouble" are going to be receiving a large amount of carries.

Lay the points and go with the more talented team at home. 

Seattle (+3.5) OVER Denver

Was it me or did Matt Hasselback transform into his former self? After two frustrating years, Hasselback looked to be all but done until Seattle routed San Francisco by a 25-point margin. The victory was Pete Carroll's first with the Seahawks and it was a surprising one.

The Broncos, on the other hand, lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-17. Things just don't look good for Denver right now. They don't have any targets for Kyle Orton to throw to with Brandon Marshall gone and Josh McDaniels looks closer to Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis as a head coach than the masterful Bill Belichick.

Not only will Seattle cover, but also they are going to pull off back-to-back upsets with this one coming in Denver. 

Oakland (-3.5) OVER St. Louis

Could it be that Darren McFadden is ready to finally have a breakout season?

Simply put, yes. 

Tom Cable has said that once Michael Bush is healthy, he will split carries with McFadden. After this weekend's game against the Rams, he may be saying otherwise. The Cardinals had success on the ground against the Rams without their top running back in Beanie Wells. Mark it down, McFadden will top 150 yards and find the end zone. 

Sam Bradford has looked solid in preseason and in his first week as a starter thus far, which is impressive considering the lack off talent surrounding him. Oakland will key on Stephen Jackson forcing Bradford to beat the Raiders.

Going into the "Black Hole" in your first road start as a rookie quarterback doesn't bold well for your team.

Raiders win as McFadden's legs carry them to a W. 

New England (-2.5) OVER New York Jets

If this same were to be played five weeks from now, the Patriots would be at least a touchdown favorite. "Hard Knocks" and an offseason full of Rex Ryan running his mouth has everyone overvaluing the Jets. For some odd reason, people seem to have faith in a team that was 9-7 a year ago, with a second-year quarterback who is as fragile as a porcelain doll.

Oh, but wait they have a tremendous defense that even has its own island where top flight receivers are stranded, right? Wrong.

Well, not completely wrong. The Jets do have a good defense, but it showed its weakness against the Ravens. New York consistently blitzed Joe Flacco and he killed them on third down all throughout the night. The over-aggressive Jet defense was undisciplined, committing penalties left and right when they weren't giving up long third-down conversions.

If Flacco can move the ball against the Jets, what do you think Tom Brady is going to do? All those blitzes are going to lead to quick throws to Wes Welker in the slot. It won't matter if Randy Moss is stuck on "Revis Island" because the Patriots have the offensive weapons to pick up the slack.

Pats go into New York and win handily. 

Jacksonville (+7) OVER San Diego

Norv Turner coached teams are notorious for starting out slow. Add in the fact that Marcus McNeill and Vincent Jackson are nowhere to be found, and it's clear that the Chargers are in a bit of an adjustment phase. Phillip Rivers almost led a comeback victory over the Chiefs, but they fell short in a game they'll look back at and say they should have won.

A heavy dose of Maurice Jones-Drew along with David Garrard's efficient play will keep this game close on the road. The Jaguars were beat up last year in the two games they played on the West Coast, losing by a combined score of 61-3.

Jacksonville bucks their West Coast woes and covers, but San Diego wins in a close one.

Washington (+3) OVER Houston

Team A beat a division-rival at home in a rather unimpressive fashion. 

Team B beat a division-rival at home in a rather impressive fashion.

If you watched Week 1 of football, you will know that Houston is Team B where as Washington is Team A. Why take the Redskins?

Well, the Washington offense can't really play as badly as it did against Dallas. And more importantly the Texans are due for a bit of a letdown after an emotional victory over Indianapolis. Home dogs with a chance to improve to 2-0 under new coach Mike Shanahan is a good enough reason to take the 'Skins.

Arian Foster will be running into a tougher defense than he faced in the Colts and will have to deal with added attention to him. Not only do I like Washington to cover, but I also think the 'Skins squeak out a victory against a Houston team that was just a little bit too excited about beating the Colts. 

New York Giants (+5.5) OVER Indianapolis

This has more to do with the Giants being good than the Colts declining. Eli Manning will set out to best his brother Peyton in a game that should live up to expectations. Will the Colts get back to their winning ways or will the Giants come into Peyton's house and steal the show?

This is a tough game to pick seeing as we don't really know how the Colts are going to rebound.

Take the points. 

San Francisco (+5.5) OVER New Orleans

I'm still not sold on the Saints completely. They came out firing against the Vikings, scoring a quick touchdown, but followed it up with a lackluster offensive performance. New Orleans had a potent offense a year ago that was clicking on all cylinders. That wasn't the case in Week 1.

The 49ers were embarrassed by Seattle and will be especially amped up to play at home on Monday Night Football against the defending Super Bowl champs. On paper, this looks like a colossal mismatch considering Drew Brees is three times the QB Alex Smith is.

Despite the whooping San Francisco took this past weekend, look for them to come out with a lot of energy early on. 

Grab the points.