The game to watch in Week 2, by far, should be the rematch of the AFC championship game, with the Patriots going to Jacksonville this time, and with both teams looking like contenders again. That’s in a conventional, traditional, logical world.
But we’re living in Aaron Rodgers’ world, and in that world, no one can take his or her eyes off him, whether he’s playing or not, practicing or not, being carted away or not. The practicing part will be under a microscope all week following Rodgers' knee injury Sunday night against the Bears. Whether he'll play against the team the Packers have to beat to re-take the NFC North, the Vikings, could be in doubt until game time.
No one will be able to take their eyes off of that, nor off of the game if Rodgers plays. Still, give your eyes the treat of the Patriots-Jaguars game, too.
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Week 2 NFL picks against spread
Week 2 NFL picks, predictions
(All times ET)
Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m., NFLN
The winner moves one game closer to clinching the AFC North. (No, you’re wrong, it’s not too early.) Jokes aside, one of these teams should appreciate the Steelers slipping up in Cleveland; chances are good that will factor into the division race by season's end. The Ravens trashed a bad Bills team at home, yet that might not have been as convincing as the Bengals, expected to do little this season, coming from behind on the road to beat a less-bad Colts team. Andy Dalton, for all his faults, will pose more of a threat to the Jimmy Smith-less Ravens defense than Nathan Peterman did. The Ravens are motivated to avenge that season-ending loss to the Bengals at home, but that might not be enough.
Prediction: Bengals, 27-25
Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox
Rodgers' greatest feat Monday night was making everyone forget how underwhelming the Packers looked on both sides of the ball. The defense may have stood firm at the end to seal the comeback, but the Bears contributed a lot to that, as well. The Vikings looked exactly how they were expected to look against the 49ers, from the defense re-introducing itself to Kirk Cousins running the offense masterfully. Yet, if Rodgers plays, all bets are off.
Prediction: Vikings, 28-26
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The Steelers better hope for more than a rainstorm to slow down the Chiefs this week. Patrick Mahomes lived up to the hype against the Chargers, so while it goes back to navigating its locker-room turmoil, Pittsburgh needs to tighten up its defense. The Steelers also need to keep giving James Conner chances to establish himself as long as he is in Le’Veon Bell's spot. If nothing else, that lowers the odds of another Ben Roethlisberger turnover-fest.
Prediction: Chiefs, 33-23
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox
The dilemma for the Eagles after its opening-night close call against the Falcons: Enjoy how they made Atlanta look so bad in the red zone so often, but also stop letting teams get into the red zone so often. For one thing, red-zone scoring was not an issue for the Fitzmagic-led Bucs offense last week — they just flung it up and down the field. Nick Foles faces a defense that’s not in the same ballpark as the Falcons' unit, but still, they need to do better than "find a way to get it done" this week against this offense.
Prediction: Eagles, 29-26
Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) at New Orleans Saints (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox
The temptation is to say the Saints will take out the frustration of being outgunned by the Bucs on the poor Browns. That's easier said than done, though, against a Browns defense that keeps showing signs of being the real thing. With that, though, there's no way the Browns' offense can keep up with Drew Brees no matter what that defense accomplishes. A bunch of defensive or special-teams scores, maybe? Nah. Good effort, though.
Prediction: Saints, 31-20
Miami Dolphins (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The upside is so high for the Jets in this. They’re at home. They’re playing in their division. They’re playing their traditional rivals. They’re coming off a nationally televised demolition of the Lions in their debut. They have Broadway Sam Darnold. Their memory of the win they turned into an excruciating loss in Miami last year is still fresh in their minds. The Dolphins are merely decent, nothing special. The Jets need to take advantage of a great early opportunity. They will.
Prediction: Jets, 30-19
Indianapolis Colts (0-1) at Washington Redskins (1-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The Colts are going to beat themselves up over letting a win in Andrew Luck’s return get away from them ... and they should. As thin as this roster is, chances like that won’t come along often. Don’t rule out a chance like that this week, though, because as dominant as Washington looked in its opener at Arizona, the jury is still out. Is Adrian Peterson really still that good? Is Jordan Reed that healthy? Is Alex Smith that efficient? Is the defense ... well, can they be kept off the field long enough? The Colts will test all of that.
Prediction: Colts, 34-27
Carolina Panthers (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox
The annual drama of seeing how much Cam Newton looks like Cam Newton continues. Considering they scored just 16 points, the Panthers offense Newton ran against the Cowboys looked just fine. The defense won’t be seeing the Cowboys offense, but it will be facing a Falcons offense that got in its own way in its opener. Yes, yet another vengeance angle: In their season finale last year, the Falcons rose up to clinch a playoff spot, and the Panthers fell flat and blew the NFC South title.
Prediction: Falcons, 20-19
Houston Texans (0-1) at Tennessee Titans (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The worries in Nashville about Marcus Mariota, over his elbow and his inconsistency, are real. This is not the team to face with those kind of worries, at least not the defense. The Texans' defense has nothing to apologize for in the wake of the loss in New England. They couldn't cover Rob Gronkowski, but no one can, and now the Titans' tight end threat, Delanie Walker, is out for the season. Deshaun Watson reminded everybody that returns from ACL injuries still take time. It shouldn’t matter this week.
Prediction: Texans, 24-20
Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The Bills did their own players no favors by completely botching their quarterback decisions over the last two years. That began in earnest against these Chargers last year, the infamous Nathan Peterman debut. The Chargers should be at something of a disadvantage — coming off a loss, possibly missing Joey Bosa again, playing on the East Coast in an early kickoff — but the Bills’ QB mess negates that.
Prediction: Chargers, 35-17
Detroit Lions (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (0-1)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m., Fox
The stench from Monday night will ride with the Lions to the West Coast. Are they as bad as they looked against the Jets? There are no signs they're not. The 49ers, on the other hand, are not the instant contender many believed they would be. Jimmy Garoppolo is going to get away with a lot of the gunslinging he did against the Vikings — particularly against a Lions team that’s far worse on defense that expected. Matt Patricia is staring at an 0-2 start to his head-coaching career.
Prediction: 49ers, 27-16
Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m., Fox
Opening night against the Raiders served as a reminder that the Rams’ loaded, high-priced defense will be under 24/7 scrutiny, even more than Jared Goff and Sean McVay will be. Opponents will test them, of course. Not many will succeed. Arizona won't; it couldn't move the chains at home against Washington. The first two games are going to come off like easy touches for the Rams.
Prediction: Rams, 32-14
New England Patriots (1-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Their AFC title game meeting in Foxborough last season is not officially known as the Woulda-Shoulda Game in Jacksonville, but it ought to be. Everyone in EverBank Field will be thinking about Blake Bortles, the play calling, Myles Jack not being down and how glad they are not to see Danny Amendola this time. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will marvel at the notion that the marquee, must-see game of the weekend is being played in Jacksonville, Fla.
Prediction: Jaguars, 26-24
Oakland Raiders (0-1) at Denver Broncos (1-0)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Jon Gruden's Raiders are getting no break on the defense they're facing in his readjustment to the NFL. The Broncos put a beating on Russell Wilson last week, but Wilson was good enough to still give the Seahawks a chance to win. Until he proves otherwise, Derek Carr is not nearly that good, and Monday night against the Rams did not prove otherwise. The Broncos are also the team that took Carr out for a game last season. Again, all Case Keenum has to do is not be a liability.
Prediction: Broncos, 30-16
New York Giants (0-1) at Dallas Cowboys (0-1)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m., NBC
The Giants are better with Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley, but they're still not exactly the 2007 Patriots on offense. They'll just look that way compared to the Cowboys, who basically did nothing to back up their offseason talk that they'd have no problem replacing Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Tradition and morbid curiosity will drive the interest in this game. Neither looks like it's either a playoff teams or on its way to being one.
Prediction: Cowboys, 17-13
Seattle Seahawks (0-1) at Chicago Bears (0-1)
Sunday, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
So, which Bears team should everyone trust from Sunday night’s fold-up against Rodgers at Lambeau Field? Both, actually. Teams are going to have to get creative to stop Khalil Mack and the domino effect he has on the rest of the defense. The Packers did, somehow. The Seahawks are still bad at protecting their QB, though. The Mitchell Trubisky-led offense looked fast, aggressive and creative ... until it didn't. The Seahawks are in mid-identity switch on defense.
Prediction: Bears, 22-20
