NFL Picks Week 2: Analyzing The Most Evenly Matched Games of The Week

The NFL schedule can be impossible to predict.

Raise your hand if you had the Bills, Bengals, Redskins, Cardinals and Jaguars at 1-0.

It’s incredibly difficult to figure out what team will be ready to play in a given week and the only option is to study certain trends and circumstances. This week there are two games that are next to impossible to pick just looking at them on paper.

I’m here to show you why it’s not such a difficult decision after all:

(Spreads courtesy of Covers.com)           

Buffalo Bill -3 vs. Oakland Raiders

Couple of factors to remember right off the bat:

1. The Bills cruised early Sunday and didn’t exert a ton of effort after 2:30 PM EST on Sunday.

2. The Raiders didn’t finish their first game, an incredibly physical battle to the finish, until almost 2:00 AM EST on Tuesday.

3. Oakland must fly across the country and be ready for a game that begins at 10:00 PST.

It’s an extremely tough break for the Raiders and you can bet they are going to start the game extremely sluggish.

Both teams looked good in Week 1, but the Raiders were ravaged with penalties and stupid plays. I don’t anticipate those issues getting fixed over night.

Go with the well rested and just as talented Buffalo Bills

Trends:

Bills are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a favorite.

Bills are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 vs. AFC.

Raiders are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games following a ATS win.

Minnesota Vikings -3 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Erase your memories of Donovan McNabb’s Week 1 performance.

It was brutal and now there is nowhere to go but up.

It’s hard to ignore all of the great players that makeup the Vikings: RB Adrian Peterson, WR Percy Harvin, LB Chad Greenway, DE Jared Allen, DT Kevin Williams.

All of them are veteran studs that know how to take advantage of the youngest team in the NFL.

The Bucs caught a bunch of lucky breaks in 2010 and are overrated heading into this matchup.

Take a deep breath and have faith in McNabb, a guy that still has something left in the tank.

Trends:

Favorite is 5-2 ATS in their last seven meetings.

Buccaneers are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five meetings in Minnesota.

Home team is 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 meetings.

Buccaneers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0.

Vikings are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Vikings are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite.