Week 1 of the NFL season was everything we possibly could have wanted. We saw several highlight-reel plays and even a few upsets that I'm convinced no one could have predicted. I guess that's why I feel a little cheated with how my top five picks fared this past week. While I called the Green Bay Packers beating the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints downing Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I got burnt by the Washington Football Team upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm not sure anyone could claim that they saw those two results coming. Additionally, I took the Tennessee Titans to beat the Denver Broncos by three points when they only won by two. Thanks Stephen Gostkowski. Either way, we got our feet wet and are now ready to capitalize on what is sure to be an entertaining Week 2.
I'm picking another upset that has to do with the Vikings this week and then hopping on four other teams to stay undefeated. Let's jump in.
All odds courtesy of William Hill Sportsbook.
Top five picks record: 2-3
Overall record: 7-8-1
Week 2 is finally here, so who should you pick? Pete Prisco, R.J. White and SportsLine's Kenny White join Will Brinson on the Pick Six Podcast to breakdown their best bets, gambling advice and more; listen below and be sure to subscribe for daily NFL goodness.
Minnesota Vikings at Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Colts -3
The Colts registered one of the ugliest losses of Week 1. Philip Rivers threw two interceptions during his Colts debut, and the Indy secondary made Gardner Minshew look like Joe Montana. As for the Vikings, their season-opening loss wasn't too bad. I will admit that 43 points is too much to allow with how stout Minnesota's defense is supposed to be, but I think people are sleeping on the Packers in general and they have a great shot to win all six divisional games for the second season in a row. Kirk Cousins didn't have a terrible game, as he completed 19 of 25 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. That passing game took somewhat of a step back without Stefon Diggs, but Adam Thielen certainly did all he could to pick up the slack with six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. This week, it's not really going to matter since the Colts secondary is abysmal. Minshew currently has the best completion percentage of any starting quarterback in the league, so Cousins is a must-start in fantasy this week to me. It's wild that the Colts are favored in this matchup, so I'm going to jump on this line before it shifts towards the Vikings.
The pick: Vikings 30-21
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Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Packers -6
Aaron Rodgers is heading back to Lambeau after a great Week 1 and he has an opportunity to score another divisional win against the Lions this Sunday. He passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns last week against the Vikings, which marked career game No. 60 with over 300 passing yards. That ties for the fourth-most in NFL history. Rodgers is 15-5 in his career against the Lions and has recorded 41 touchdowns as opposed to just eight interceptions in those 20 games. The Lions blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter to Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears last week, so I'm confident the Packers can take care of business here in Week 2. While Green Bay has won the past two against Detroit, the Packers haven't beaten the Lions by double digits since 2014. I think that changes on Sunday.
The pick: Packers 38-20
Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Ravens -7
Remember when Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson faced off last year? The matchup was advertised as this showdown between two up-and-coming star quarterbacks who would duke it out in a shootout. What those advertisements failed to mention was that the Ravens were a much better team. Jackson and Co. won 41-7, and the Ravens appear to be just as good in 2020 after registering a 32-point win over the Cleveland Browns in the season opener. I wasn't very impressed with the Texans passing game without DeAndre Hopkins, and Watson only targeted two wide receivers in the first three quarters of their 14-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While we all know Jackson is a star, Marquise Brown appears ready for a breakout season and rookie J.K. Dobbins just made the best rushing offense in the league better. I feel comfortable taking the Ravens to win by a touchdown.
The pick: Ravens 35-24
Washington Football Team at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Cardinals -6.5
Washington's defensive line looks scary. Chase Young and Co. got to Carson Wentz eight times last Sunday, but they were up against several backups on the offensive line and Wentz really had trouble stepping up/getting out of the pocket. Kyler Murray is one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the league, so I'm confident he can evade Washington's pass rush much more effectively than Wentz did. Another reason I like the Cardinals in this matchup is because of their passing attack. With Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and then Chase Edmonds and Kenyan Drake, Murray has no shortage of weapons to use against a subpar secondary. Washington did intercept Wentz twice last week, but both of those miscues could be attributed to the pass rush. I got burned by Washington last week, but I think the Cardinals are a team on the rise.
The pick: Cardinals 28-17
Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Chiefs -8.5
This is a large spread, but I'm going to go ahead and jump on it. The Chiefs have won 11 out of their past 12 against the Chargers and seven of those victories came by double digits. The Chargers' new uniforms looked great, but the same can't be said for their play on the field in the season opener. It really felt like Joe Burrow was about to register a win in his first NFL game, but Randy Bullock's embarrassing missed field goal led to a different outcome. Tyrod Taylor wasn't very impressive in his Chargers debut, as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 208 yards. Los Angeles scored just one touchdown and went 6 of 16 on third downs. The Chargers also failed to convert on either of their two fourth downs. It was a pretty ugly game, and Joey Bosa is also dealing with a triceps injury that caused him to miss Wednesday's practice. I expect him to play, but I don't think he will be 100 percent on Sunday.
The pick: Chiefs 35-13
Other Week 1 picks
Browns 20-17 over Bengals (+6)
Rams (PICK) 24-22 over Eagles
Bears 23-20 over Giants (+5.5)
Falcons (+4.5) 31-27 over Cowboys
49ers (-7) 29-14 over Jets
Buccaneers 27-23 over Panthers (+9)
Bills (-5.5) 20-10 over Dolphins
Steelers 24-21 over Broncos (+7.5)
Titans 21-20 over Jaguars (+9)
Seahawks (-4) 31-23 over Patriots
Saints 28-26 over Raiders (+5.5)
