NFL Picks Week 2: 5 Shocking Upsets Waiting To Happen

Week 2 of the NFL season is when we start to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Teams that lose in Week 1 are given a mulligan because it is just the first week of the season and they are trying to figure out what kind of team they are going to be this year. But if you lose the first two games of the season, it is panic time.

And that is why Week 2 is more important than Week 1. This is when we learn about who these teams are, and it is also when upsets tend to happen.

The schedule this week is not rife with quality matchups, on paper anyway, but that does not mean that there will not be a number of compelling games.

This is the NFL we are talking about after all, and upsets happen all the time. So what is to stop a huge underdog from pulling off a monumental upset this week?

Here are five shocking upsets that you will not see coming in Week 2.

Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers

Why waste time dancing around other upsets when we can get right into the big one?

Carolina's offense, particularly Cam Newton, was phenomenal last weekend against Arizona. I know that the Cardinals secondary is not flush with talent, but it is not like the Packers played a good game against the Saints last week.

The Packers defense has to prove that what happened last week was an aberration and not a sign of things to come.

The Panthers are a better team than most of us, myself included, gave them credit for, and they are going to win a couple of games this season that they have no business winning.

The first one will be this week against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Detroit Lions

No team had a worse start to the season than the Kansas City Chiefs. They lost 41-9 to the Buffalo Bills at home, which certainly lowers the expectations for a team that is coming off a division championship last season.

The Detroit Lions, on the other hand, are the darlings of the NFL right now. Everyone thinks that this team is going to win 10 games and make it to the playoffs for the first time since Bill Clinton was President of the United States.

As good as the Lions looked last week against Tampa Bay, they are still a young team that is learning to play as a team and deal with the expectations that have been placed upon them. The defense has holes and can be exploited against teams with a good offense.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel needs to play better than he did last week, but the key for the Chiefs will be establishing the run to open up the pass. Jamaal Charles is going to have a big game, and the Chiefs will walk out of Detroit with a 1-1 record.

Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints

Say what you want about Lovie Smith, Jay Cutler and the Bears' offense, but they have not been altogether terrible over the last two seasons. I know Cutler will still make one or two plays every game that drives you nuts, but over the course of a season, they do enough to keep this team in contention in the NFC.

Last week, Cutler picked apart a Falcons defense that has no real talent in the secondary and relies on a pass rush to stop opposing quarterbacks.

This week, Cutler is going up against a Saints defense that has no real talent in the secondary and relies on a pass rush to stop opposing quarterbacks.

The Saints are not going to be as good as people thought coming into the season with their current crop of defensive backs. The proof will be when they start 0-2 after losing to a Bears team that is better than they are given credit for.

Houston Texans vs. Miami Dolphins

When Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was ruled out for at least the first two months of the season, the Texans finally got the opening that they were looking for to take control of the AFC South.

Things started perfectly for the Texans last week against the Colts, but that was basically another preseason game for the team in which all their starters just happened to play a majority of the game.

Their season starts this week against an underrated Dolphins team that racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense against the New England Patriots on Monday night.

Chad Henne is going to have a good season, and we still don't know how good the Texans secondary is. I know the Texans made some upgrades, but until we see them tested in a game, we don't know how they will react.

This game will be a shootout, and in those kinds of games, anyone can win. Why not Miami?

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons

Everyone is down on the Falcons after their Week 1 loss to Chicago, but they are built to beat a team like Philadelphia.

The strength of the Falcons' defense is the pass rush, led by John Abraham and Ray Edwards, and the biggest weakness that the Eagles have is on the offensive line.

Michael Vick got hit a lot last week against a good Rams defensive line, and he is going to get hit again this week against a good Falcons defensive line.

While I don't see the Falcons as a Super Bowl contender like most people do, they are not as bad as they looked last week against the Bears. That defense will play fast on the turf in the Georgia Dome, and they will get off the schneid in prime time against the "Dream Team."