Week 1 is in the books and we're already getting a sense of who's hot and who's not in the NFL.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Miami Dolphins would stink or that Patrick Mahomes was going to put up bonkers numbers. What was surprising was seeing Lamar Jackson look like prime RGIII, the Raiders playing just fine without Antonio Brown, the Titans blowing out the Browns and the Vikings looking like Super Bowl contenders by barely giving Kirk Cousins the football.
It was a wild weekend to say the least and we haven't even talked about the craziness that went on off it with Antonio Brown landing in New England. The Death Star is fully operational.
In any event, let's get to the picks.
Pete Prisco and R.J. White joined Will Brinson on the Friday edition of the Pick Six Podcast to break down the gambling angles on all the games and give their best bets. Give it a listen below and be sure to subscribe:
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Eagles (1-0) at Falcons (0-1)
8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Point spread: Eagles, -1
The Falcons were suffocated by the Vikings defense in the opener in what was an overall sloppy effort. Three turnovers by the offense were enough to make their lead in time of possession, total yards and first downs converted a non-factor in the contest. While they played poorly, they were still able to make it respectable with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Heading into this Week 2 matchup with the Eagles, Matt Ryan and company will see a slightly less talented defense, who just allowed Case Keenum to throw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Philadelphia was still able to get the win in Week 1, but Atalanta's offense will be a much tougher task to slow down than Washington's, especially now that they'll be without defensive tackle Malik Jackson.
The big concern for the Falcons is keeping Ryan upright, which did just get more difficult with starting offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom breaking his foot. Still, I expect a nice bounce back by Matty Ice and the boys to get to .500 on the year.
The pick: Falcons 30-24 over Eagles
What picks can you make with confidence in Week 2? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which NFL teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from the model that is up over $7,000 on its top-rated NFL picks.
Cardinals (0-0-1) at Ravens (1-0)
1:00 p.m ET (FOX)
Point spread: Ravens, -13.5
Well hello, Lamar Jackson! Who the heck saw that coming?!
Of course, we knew the Dolphins would be terrible, but I don't think anyone guessed that Jackson would complete 17 of his 20 passes for 324 yards and five passing touchdowns. I mean, that's Patrick Mahomes-level production. Some of his success was simply due to Miami being pitiful, but he also showed some nice touch, which he'll be able to carry over into Week 2 against Arizona.
Before mounting an 18-point fourth quarter to help force overtime against the Lions, the Cardinals offense was vanilla and Kyler Murray was inefficient. They turned things on in the the second half, however, and Murray flashed why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2019.
This should be an intriguing quarterback battle between two former first rounders, but I ultimately like Baltimore in this one and it may not even be close. The Cardinals are poor against the run and, as we know, the Ravens can run it with the best of them and are willing to lean on it for the majority of a given game. Mark Ingram was extremely efficient against Miami, rushing for 107 yards on 7.6 yards per-carry and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, we all know that Jackson can be lethal with his legs. The fact that he's showing this much promise is an added bonus.
The pick: Ravens 35-10 over Cardinals
Saints (1-0) at Rams (1-0)
4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)
Point spread: Rams, -2.5
Saints fans were able let out some their frustration about the awful non-PI call from the NFC Championship on Monday night as seemingly the entire stadium dressed up as officials, which made the Superdome look like there was a FootLocker convention going on. For Sean Payton and company, their ability to let off some of their remaining frustration from a year ago is on the table this weekend when they'll be squaring off agains the team that benefited from that non-call.
Along with that added juice for New Orleans, their offense looked like a well-oiled machine with Drew Brees, Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, Defensively, meanwhile, they sacked Deshaun Watson six times and hit him a total of 11 times.
The Rams had problems containing Christian McCaffrey Week 1 and I assume Kamara will be just as big of a headache for Sean McVay's defense. I'll gladly take the points and roll with the Saints.
The pick: Saints 27-17 over Rams
Jaguars (0-1) at Texans (0-1)
1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Houston, -8.5
If it weren't for some questionable defense in the final seconds of their Monday night contest with the Saints, which allowed Drew Brees to march down the field to set up the game-winner, we'd all be talking about Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson's tremendous fourth quarter drive to give Houston the lead. The offense hummed to 28 points against a tough Saints defense that attacked Watson all night.
As they look to Jacksonville, they'll be without starter Nick Foles after suffering a broken collarbone. Gardner Minshew will be the starter for the Jags under center and despite his strong showing under duress, I can't see him keeping up with Watson in Houston.
The pick: Texans 30-13 over Jaguars
Bears (0-1) at Broncos (0-1)
4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
Point spread: Bears, -2.5
There's nothing quite like the added spice of someone going up against their former team. For first-year Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, he'll be squaring off against his former Bears team in Denver on Sunday. Fangio was Chicago's defensive coordinator beginning in 2015 and went up through this offseason.
Given that he went up against Matt Nagy's offense and Mitch Trubisky every day in practice last season, it'll be hard for Chicago to surprise Fangio and he should have the best knowledge out of anyone in identifying the weak spots. With Trubisky showing no signs of improvement from last year in that opening loss to the Packers, he could be in for some real trouble in Week 2.
The Broncos defense did struggle mightily against Derek Carr and the Raiders offense, but Trubisky isn't as accurate as Carr, which could work to his detriment on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Joe Flacco and the Denver offense do have their work cutout for them against a tough Chicago defense, but they should be able to put up plenty to secure their first win of the year.
The pick: Broncos 24-10 over Bears
What picks can you make with confidence in Week 2? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which NFL teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from the model that is up over $7,000 on its top-rated NFL picks.
The rest of the bunch
Panthers 27-20 over Buccaneers
Titans 24-10 over Colts
Chargers 30-24 over Lions
Bills 27-14 over Giants
Patriots 36-9 over Dolphins
Cowboys 24-10 over Redskins
Seahawks 28-21 over Steelers
Bengals 17-14 over 49ers
Vikings 27-20 over Packers
Chiefs 26-17 over Raiders
Browns 17-10 over Jets
Picks record
Straight up: 11-4-1
Against the spread: 7-8-1
