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BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Week 2 started with a pretty terrific game, with the Philadelphia Eagles dominating on the ground and forcing four turnovers in a 34-28 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Amazon Prime\u2019s Thursday Night Football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it didn\u2019t start out that way and I, like many of you, was watching it at a sports bar giving it the full Mystery Science Theater<\/em> treatment with some buddies before it actually turned into a compelling contest. And one that I picked correctly, with the Vikings getting the back door cover. Always a nice way to start the week for someone with my particular set of skills. And, hey, it paid for my food and beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Philadelphia, in Week 1, looked like they were suffering a solid Super Bowl hangover. Apparently, they had a nice dose of ibuprofen and ate an egg and bacon sandwich this week, because Thursday night\u2019s Eagles looked a lot like last year\u2019s NFC Champions, especially on the ground. Philly rushed for 259 yards and D\u2019Andre Swift was downright dominant, carrying the ball 28 times for 175 tards and a touchdown. Of course, if you had Swift on your fantasy team, you were kicking rocks most of the night as the Eagles were continually stopped at the one yard line. And we know what happens there \u2014 the unstoppable Philly QB sneak, which put Jalen Hurts in the endzone twice. And when I say unstoppable, I mean it. It\u2019s been a full season and two games now, and no defensive coordinator on the planet has figured out how to keep the Eagles from picking up that yard. I have no ideas here either. It\u2019s just a guaranteed conversion every single time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeVonta Smith put on a solid show as a receiver as well, catching four passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. The defense forced four turnovers and sacked Kirk Cousins twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we start blaming \u201cPrime Time Kirk Cousins\u201d for this loss, he played pretty well. The man can\u2019t block for himself after all and I\u2019m pretty sure he\u2019s not the guy that cut Dalvin Cook in the offseason. Two games in and that looks like a completely disastrous choice. Alexander Mattison rushed just eight times for 28 yards and that was the team\u2019s total yards rushing. That\u2019s ridiculous. It was all on Cousins and he was 31 of 44 passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He had a 125.5 quarterback rating. I\u2019m not sure what else he could have done. And the drops? Man, KJ Osborne finished with three receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown and finished with at least two kills on the volleyball scoresheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Justin Jefferson caught 11 passes, and some of those catches were incredible, for 159 yards, but his zero touchdowns probably cost plenty of people some props bet cash. Jordan Addison was my favorite wideout in this past year\u2019s draft and he has a touchdown in both his first games. He caught three balls in this one for 72 yards and TJ Hockenson has to be in the Top 5 tight end conversation this season. He had an incredible game with seven catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have three more prime time contests this week, but let\u2019s pick these Sunday afternoon games<\/a> and make some jokes when we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT TENNESSEE TITANS (+3, O\/U: 45)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Both these teams are coming off close losses, but only one actually looked like they were playing professional offensive football. Which is ironic, since that team, the Chargers, is led by a defensive coach. You\u2019d think that\u2019d mean the defense could make a stop, but the Miami Dolphins ate LA\u2019s lunch and popped the bag in their faces every time they had the ball. I\u2019m pretty sure Tyreek Hill is still scoring touchdowns today. As for Tennessee, the Ryan Tannehill era might actually come to an end in this game. Chargers 27, Titans 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GREEN BAY PACKERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS (-1.5, O\/U: 40.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I am on record that I didn\u2019t like the Jordan Love pick when the Packers made it and had no confidence in him as a starting quarterback in the NFL. I am now prepared to eat that record. I\u2019m not sure what vinyl will do to my digestive system, but I\u2019m ready to take one for the team. Of course, their big win over the Chicago Bears, which is a common thing for Green Bay, was just one game, but the Pack looked good and Love looked like an NFL quarterback. As for Atlanta, they won their opener against the Carolina Panthers, but they could end up being one of the three worst teams in the league. You know what? Jordan Love let\u2019s do this. Packers 31, Falcons 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT HOUSTON TEXANS (-1, O\/U: 39.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anthony Richardson did not look terrible in his debut and CJ Stroud was not the worst either. In fact, both these teams put up a solid, but fruitless battle in their season openers, with the Colts losing by 10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens knocking off the Texans by 16. Both of those games should have been blowouts on paper. It\u2019s weird to see Houston favored in a game, especially this early in the season, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll matter when the final whistle blows. Colts 20, Texans 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT DETROIT LIONS (-4.5, O\/U: 47)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Seahawks blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week might have been a shock to most of NFL punditry, your humble narrator was not stunned in the least<\/a>. If anything, I was just pleased that it turned into a cruise. The Seahawks were a pretender playoff team last season that only got in there because the Rams were decimated with injuries. Detroit, on the other hand, had the biggest win of Week 1 and they did it on the NFL\u2019s biggest stage, the Thursday night kickoff. To drop this game, after knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs, would just be ridiculous. Aiden Hutchinson might get four sacks in this one. Lions 31, Seahawks 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CHICAGO BEARS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-2.5, O\/U: 41.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All I can say about the Bears week one performance against the Packers is a giant \u201coof.\u201d If ever a team completely whiffed on the opportunity to change their narrative, it was Chicago losing by 18 points to the Pack without Aaron Rodgers. I\u2019m not ready to give up on Justin Fields just yet, but that was bad. On the other hand, none of us thought Tampa Bay would be worth anything and Baker Mayfield proved us all wrong, knocking off the Vikings in a game none of us thought would be close. Well, it was close. And Mayfield and the Bucs won it. I\u2019m picking them to do it again. Buccaneers 23, Bears 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT BUFFALO BILLS (-8, O\/U: 47)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, look at that. Jimmy Garoppolo, a guy the San Francisco 49ers fandom couldn\u2019t wait to run out of town turns out to be a winner again. Who would have known? Meanwhile, we shouldn\u2019t lose sight of the fact that, while the Aaron Rodgers injury was devastating to the New York Jets Monday night, Josh Allen played like ass. In fact, he played like so much ass that Kanye West has already proposed marriage to him. Surely (and don\u2019t call me Shirley)<\/a>, the Bills can turn this thing around, but I don\u2019t care for this spread at all. Bills 24, Raiders 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (+3.5, O\/U: 51)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m seeing a lot of love for the Jaguars here and deservedly so. They\u2019re a good team and heading for a great team. The Chiefs lost by a point at home on the league\u2019s opening night, but not to a bad team and certainly not because Patrick Mahomes played poorly. There were some drops there and some missing personnel. Yes, I\u2019ve made it clear I don\u2019t think Kansas City will be as good this year as they have been over the last five, but they aren\u2019t starting 0-2. Chiefs 27, Jaguars 23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (-3, O\/U: 46.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ravens have installed a new offense and while they won, it\u2019s not where they want it to be. As for the Bengals, their offense missed the bus to the stadium last week. I\u2019m not sure how they could have been more humiliated in their loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, but maybe Joe Burrow got a wedgie from Myles Garrett before it was over. I watched it on Red Zone<\/em> so I didn\u2019t see every play. I can\u2019t believe Cincinnati opens 0-2, even though they did that last year on their Super Bowl hangover. They\u2019ve won four of their last five over Baltimore and I think they can get it done Sunday. Bengals 23, Ravens 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n NEW YORK GAINTS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (+4, O\/U: 40)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how hard it is to tank in the NFL. Both the Cardinals and the Washington Commanders have built rosters specifically to lose this year and both those teams fought their asses off to win last week. Arizona came up on the short end of the stick, which is a good thing. As for the Giants, they could not have looked worse in their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It was historic in so many ways as I detailed in my Power Rankings. They better not lose this one or, man, they are in for some real problems. Giants 23, Cardinals 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS (+7, O\/U: 45)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Four teams in the NFC looked like they were in midseason form in Week 1 and two of them meet in this game. The Niners have won eight in a row in the regular season over the Rams, but Los Angeles won the one that counted the most, the 2021-22 NFC Championship that sent them to a Super Bowl LVI Championship. San Francisco could very well be the best team in the NFL and they certainly have one of the best rosters. The Rams can\u2019t claim the same in their remodel year, but they\u2019re still good. I like it to be close, but San Fran is the safe pick here. Especially if their fans fill up SoFi as they usually do. 49ers 24, Rams 23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n NEW YORK JETS AT DALLAS COWBOYS (-8.5, O\/U: 38)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh what could have been. I\u2019m not the first person to write or say this and I won\u2019t be the last. If Aaron Rodgers hadn\u2019t gone down on the fourth play of the Jets\u2019 Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills, New York would have won in a blowout. That has to be insanely frustrating to a team that won\u2019t make the playoffs now. And they won\u2019t. What they definitely shouldn\u2019t do is make any coaching change or panic at quarterback. Lean into Zach Wilson and roll on. No team looked better than the Cowboys last week in a complete shellacking of the Giants. Dallas is about to kings of New York, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll cover this -8.5 spread. The Jets have too much pride for that and too good a defense. Cowboys 23, Jets 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS (-3.5, O\/U: 39)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington did the worst thing they could for the future of their team last week, they beat the Cardinals. Now, I picked them to beat Arizona and they should have, but still. It stings, because that could cost them Caleb Williams. On the bright side, with Drake Maye and Shadeur Sanders, maybe picking two or three in next April\u2019s draft isn\u2019t the worst thing. Seeing Sanders in Commanders red doesn\u2019t hurt my feelings in the least. As for Denver, that was quite the disappointing debut for Sean Payton. I think he\u2019ll make up for it this week. Broncos 31, Commanders 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Straight up:<\/strong> 10-6<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against the spread:<\/strong> 9-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Season<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Straight up:<\/strong> 10-6<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against the spread:<\/strong> 9-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em><\/a>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY ADAM GREENE Our Week 2 started with a pretty terrific game, with the Philadelphia Eagles dominating on the ground…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":24212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24282,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24281\/revisions\/24282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}