Sanders's Week 2 NFL Predictions

By Jacob Sanders

As always, these are non-professional opinions and you may share your opinion with me as well!          Twitter: @jcs436        Email: jcs436@nau.edu

Well that was a doozy. Week 1 was full of surprises but most definitely should not be taken out of context. The last time the Chiefs pulverized the Patriots, they went on to win the Super Bowl against the Seahawks. Another example is that the last time the Seahawks started slow and looked bad at the beginning of the year, they proceeded to reach the playoffs and win their division. The point is, that Week 1 is a great taste of what’s to come but the full course meal is still in the oven. With that in mind, I won’t be over-reacting (for the most part) and will take a more conservative approach to this week’s picks even if Week 1 results say otherwise.

Sanders went 7-8 last week bringing him to 7-8 on the season.

On to the picks folks!

Houston Texans VS Cincinnati Bengals

Ugly matchup. Both teams looked awful in their debuts and, once again, we saw a Houston QB pulled in the middle of the game. On the other hand, we saw the Andy Dalton we had grown used to a couple years back where he would have some outstanding games and some really poor games. So what happens here? The Bengals will still be without Burfict, but will get back Pacman Jones who can shutdown anybody he lines up against. The Texans may have to rely on a running game and O-line who gave up TEN, yes, 1-0, T-E-N, ten sacks. Oh and they just lost a starting linebacker to suspension for 10 games. The biggest thing here is I am not ready to give up on Dalton yet. He has the weapons on his offense to bounce back.

Texans 13 Bengals 17

Cleveland Browns VS Baltimore Ravens

Both teams had impressive showings last week although only one came out with the win. Frankly, the Browns outplayed Steelers for the most part. If not for some incredible grabs by Antonio Brown and Deshone Kizer playing his first NFL game, that game may have gone into the Browns favor. However, I just can’t get past how well Baltimore’s defense played in the preseason and then came and gave the Bengals a doughnut in Cincinnati. With both teams playing so well, it’s hard to pick but there was one huge outlier that is concerning. Kizer was sacked SEVEN times. That’s right 7. This speaks to the pass rush that the Steelers have formed but it also speaks to Kizer’s rookie mistakes and to the O-line of the Browns as well. After watching the Ravens dominate the Bengals O-line, who’s to say they can’t do that to a player who will only be in his second NFL game?

Browns 13 Ravens 20

Buffalo Bills VS Carolina Panthers

Okay. So maybe I under-rated the Panthers. Slightly. Okay okay. I really under-rated the Panthers. Lesson learned. After watching tape of their game last week, I feel confident in saying the Panthers look like they have some groove back. Not the same mojo they displayed in the 2015-2016 season, but it’s there. The Bills on the other hand beat a team 21-12 when really the score should have been 31-3. They got the win but not pulverizing a low team like the Jets has me concerned. What comes down to it is the Panthers smashed a bad team and the Bills didn’t.  I have stated before in this column, the Panthers win when they have fun. Well at 1-0, how are you not having fun? One more thing. Kelvin Benjamin seriously needs to become a true No. 1 receiver. I watched Newton’s interception that was supposed to be for Benjamin and I thought to myself “I’m pretty sure that pass would have been caught if it were A.J. Green, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, Julian Edelman,  Larry Fitzgerald…..” See where I’m going with this? All true No. 1s on their respective teams.

Bills 17 Panthers 23

Arizona Cardinals VS Indianapolis Colts

So I misread both of these teams. I expected the Colts to look somewhat alive even without Luck and they looked like a Pop Warner team against the Rams. As for the Cardinals? Holy moly. Either Carson Palmer had a really bad game or his arm is done. Not done as in he can’t throw far but done as in every pass I watched him throw was lofty and felt like it could be intercepted. Some zip needs to come back to his arm if he wants to be able to punish tighter defenses than what the Lions gave. Luckily, this week, he won’t need that zip. Despite the absence of David Johnson, the Colts are just that bad and there is a real possibility they might be the worst team in the NFL. Hell, they may be playing a QB who has only been on the team for 3 weeks…

Cards 23 Colts 6

Tennessee Titans VS Jacksonville Jaguars

Tough one to look at here. However, I’m going to chalk up last week’s monster performance by the Jags D as one of those Week 1 freak performances . They had an advantage in playing against a rookie QB and a poor offensive line. Yes, they had 10 sacks but this defense won’t be doing that consistently. In addition, I still don’t trust Bortles. His 2-3 INT performance is coming. We just don’t know when. So, while I was pleasantly surprised by Jacksonville’s D, let’s see them do it again against a more dynamic attack in the Titan’s offense.

Titans 21 Jaguars 17

Philadelphia Eagles VS Kansas City Chiefs

When I look at all the matchups this week, this is my favorite matchup. The other exciting matchups are known but this one is not because we have no clue if both teams gave us a mirage in Week 1 or not. The Chiefs smashed the defending Super Bowl champions while the Eagles went on to dominate a divisional opponent on the road. Both teams look like they have a lot of upside and this should come down to a few things. 1. Will Agholor catch as many balls as he did last Sunday? 2. Can the Hunt and Hill repeat their performances again? 3. Who plays better, Wentz or Smith? Going with the team that has the veteran QB and home field advanatage.

Eagles 24 Chiefs 34

New England Patriots VS New Orleans Saints

I placed some faith in the Saints this year and was rewarded with the same thing Drew Brees gets every year: A defense that gives up too many points. Not happening again. Despite the injuries on the Pats offense, Tom Brady always manages to get his receivers onto the same page as him eventually. There are some who were already wondering if Brady is done. Absolute nonsense. He and the Pats will bounce back in the Big Easy.

Patriots 27  Saints 21

UPSET OF THE WEEK!!!!

Minnesota Vikings VS Pittsburgh Steelers

Where has that Sam Bradford been all this time? Bradford looked on point Monday Night and showed off what he can do in his second year in a real offense. I never thought I would see the day I get excited about Bradford. Ditto for Harrison’s replacement. T.J. Watt certainly put his motor on display and had a monster debut game to start his NFL career. My concern for the Steelers is the offense. The Browns were able to hold down Le’Veon Bell and the only thing that saved the Steelers was Antonio Brown’s ability to make huge plays out of nothing. That isn’t going to happen as easily this time around as Brown will be lined up against Xavier Rhodes who is one of the few shutdown corners in the NFL. Because of this I think Rhodes has it in him to keep Brown to pedestrian numbers and force the Steelers to score and move the chains through some other method.

Vikings 27 Steelers 23

Chicago Bears VS Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Not a bad test for the Bucs first game to see if they can reach their playoff potential. While the Bears might seem like a weak test, they did give the defending NFC champions a run for their money last week. The Bears may not win a lot of games this season, but they certainly will be a tough out each week. If Jameis Winston can keep his knucklehead interceptions out of the equation, the Bucs have a chance to feast with how many playmakers they have on their offense. I don’t expect them to feast, but we’ll see what one more week of practice did for the team.

Bears 17  Buccaneers 20

Miami Dolphins VS Los Angeles Chargers

This comes down to how well Jay Cutler can play. How familiar is he with his offense? Both defenses can do their job well but one QB must rise above the other to deliver the win .The Chargers looked close to upsetting the Broncos at home but couldn’t finish the job. With the Chargers being at home (however much that means), I’m confident that the Chargers just don’t start 0-2. If they do, it looks like another year of hype and letdowns for the Chargers.

Dolphins 17 Chargers 24

New York Jets VS Oakland Raiders

I hate to disrespect a team so early on but there was hardly anything positive about the Jets last week while the Raiders beat a quality opponent in the Titans last week. Honestly, the Raiders are at home and there is no doubt in my mind that Lynch doesn’t deliver his hometown his first win as an Oakland Raider. Even if they were in New York I would still feel the same way…..

Jets 6 Raiders 31

Dallas Cowboys VS Denver Broncos

I’m pretty sure many pundits are gonna pick the Cowboys to win. And I’m sure many of them are infatuated with Dak Prescott and are overlooking the Broncos secret weapon: Trevor Siemian. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This kid isn’t elite but man can he play ball when he is protected and not nursing a bruised shoulder. He played an efficient game against a solid Chargers defense and his one big mistake wasn’t necessarily his fault. The Denver defense showed they can still swarm around the playmakers of their opponents and I’m still concerned about a Dallas defense that beat an aging Manning without Beckham.

Cowboys 24 Broncos 27

Los Angeles Rams vs Washington Redskins

Frankly, I can’t imagine the Redskins winning this game. With Aaron Donald back in the picture, Cousins may have his head on a swivel and trying to avoid pressure all day. While I am not convinced Goff is improved, he did manage to beat a porous defense which was something he couldn’t accomplish last year. Let’s see if the Rams can get the ground game going to help Goff continue his growth.

Rams 23 Redskins 14

San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks

The 49ers got flat out creamed and looked lifeless against the Panthers last weekend. The Seahawks on the other hand played some of the best defense possible yet came up short due to the fact that the Seahawks couldn’t protect Wilson long enough. I don’t anticipate too many points to be scored by either team but I do expect Seattle’s defense to completely shutdown the 49ers.

49ers 6 Seahawks 16

Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons

Keeping this one short. I’m going with the Packers. If the Packers can repeat how they beat a tough Seattle team last week, this team will be extremely hard to beat. There is no doubt in my mind Rodgers will find holes in a young and talented Atlanta defense. My problem is that I don’t think we’ll see the same high flying offense from Atlanta that we saw beat Green Bay twice last year.

Packers 31 Falcons 21

Detroit Lions vs New York Giants

If there was a game to install confidence into the Lions this year, it would be this Sunday night game. Despite the fact that the offense showed zero potential against Dallas, the Giants will have Beckham back in the fold which changes everything about them. The Lions need to score points fast and not rely on Stafford’s 4^th quarter antics to win this game. If they don’t, Beckham could help the Giants run away with the game before the 4^th quarter starts. Plus, this Giants defense is still a stingy top 5 unit.

Lions 17 Giants 24