I will have to rush through these a bit, but here are our trivia answers and the week two picks.

Our question from Dan’s Dad was;

‘On their Monday Night Football debut in 1970, the Falcons lost 20-7 to whom?’

Now, this could be anything, so I’m going to try to narrow the field. I believe the Falcons were an expansion team and I did a search and found that they were, in 1967 and there are three expansion teams that were created around the same time: Dolphins (66), Saints (67) and Bengals (68) but since Dan and my teams are both AFL and it would seem a little odd for Dan’s Dad to pick them so I’m going to plump for the Saints. Now it’s going to be something completely different or a devious double bluff and be one of our teams.

The theme that was mention still doesn’t seem that clear, if it’s not the centenary year, we’re still looking at a fairly early period so I’m going to plump for pre-merger football.

‘Well this really could be anyone. Absolutely anyone. I’m going to take Dad’s ‘Happy Hunting’ comment as a steer… first thought is ‘Bears’, but as Chicago was last week’s answer, I think I’ll go with the Cowboys. Complete guess though.

Link-wise, I’m no clearer. I’m not even going to make a guess this week, so here’s your chance to take an early lead, Gee!’

Bills @ Giants (+2.5)

This is a tight line that sees the home dog New York Giants trying to get their first win against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills look like they are going to be a tough team to face and managed to win a scrappy game last week. I want to take the points but this isn’t quite enough for me to do so as I do not trust the Giants one bit.

Gee’s Pick:       Bills
Dan’s Pick:      Giants

49ers @ Bengals (-1.5)

This is one of those tricky early season lines where I thought the Bengals looked pretty good on the road in Seattle, and the 49ers win against the Buccaneers looks better now that the Bucs won their second game quite convincingly against the Panthers on Thursday night. This is a tough start for the 49ers with two road games, and whilst this can build togetherness I’m going to back my team for a second week in a row.

Gee’s Pick:       Bengals
Dan’s Pick:      Bengals

Cowboys @ Washington (+5.5)

I’ve not watched the entire game, but I was impressed with the Dallas Cowboys offence that was running standard NFL pre-snap motion plus jet-sweeps and utilising flexed out running backs in stark contrast to their offence last year. Meanwhile Washington were competitive again before the Eagles turned things around against them in week one so it still hard to trust them as a team. This leaves me in a bind and I’m really not sure what to do so I’m going to grab the points and hope.

Gee’s Pick:       Washington
Dan’s Pick:      Cowboys

Chargers @ Lions (+2.5)

The Detroit Lions looked good for three quarters but couldn’t seal the game in the fourth quarter or over-time and this does not bode well. Nor does having to play an extra quarter of football. The LA Chargers are injured but got off to a winning start and I have lot more faith in them at the moment so that’s who I’m going to pick.

Gee’s Pick:       Chargers
Dan’s Pick:      Chargers

Vikings @ Packers (-2.5)

This should be a fascinating game but is another stern test of the Packers new offence having faced the Bears in week one. The good news is that it looks like Aaron Rodgers has more support from his defence than he’s had in a long time, but the Vikings bring their run first attitude and tough defence to Lambeau in what should be a close game. This line gives me very little to work with and even last years game was a tie. I’m going to go with the Packers given they are at home and I’d pick Rodgers over Kirk Cousins but I don’t feel great about it.

Gee’s Pick:       Packers
Dan’s Pick:       Vikings

Colts @ Titans (-3.5)

The Indianapolis Colts gave a good account of themselves last week, but having lost narrowly to the Chargers in overtime now travel to the Tennessee Titans who shocked a lot of people by beating the Browns last week. It should not be that surprising that the Titans were competitive as they were in contention for the playoffs last season and I think they could well be again this year. In fact, coming off that strong win I fancy them to win this game but the line does make me pause but not enough to change my mind.

Gee’s Pick:       Titans
Dan’s Pick:      Colts

Patriots @ Dolphins (+18.5)

I want to run a mile from this game. The Miami Dolphins got absolutely stuffed last week and it is hard to see the Patriots stuggling like they often seem to in their anual trip to face the Dolphins. I’m pretty certain this is the highest line I’ve ever seen, and whilst I can see the Patriots beating it, I just can’t bring myself to pick it. I would run away from this line if I was playing with money or try to tease the line down to something sensible but as I have to pick it I’m grabbing the home underdog of all home underdogs.

Gee’s Pick:       Dolphins
Dan’s Pick:      Patriots

Cardinals @ Ravens (-13.5)

I do not expect the Baltimore Ravens to have the kind of fourth quarter mishaps that stopped the Lions putting away the Cardinals last week and so the question to me is can the Ravens beat the Cardinals by two touchdowns. The Ravens defence will be a very different beast to face for the Cardinals and I’m not sure that Kyler Murray will find the kind of rhythm he did late against the Lions. Still, this is a lot of points of I’m not quite confident enough that the Ravens will cover so I’m going to grab the points, which will feel like the smart play until the Ravens offence explodes again…

Gee’s Pick:       Cardinals
Dan’s Pick:      Cardinals

Seahawks @ Steelers (-3.5)

This should be a really interesting game as the Steelers will be desperate to get back to winning ways having laid an egg in front of the nation against the Patriots last week. The Steelers do seem to be one of the teams who can be prone to those kind of mishaps and then bounce back but they welcome a Seahawks team who will be tough and competitive so with the Steelers needing to win by four to cover this line I am going to grab the points.

Gee’s Pick:       Seahawks
Dan’s Pick:      Seahawks

Jaguars @ Texans (-9.5)

The Houston Texans lost to a field goal in a remarkable game that featured multiple lead changes in the last few minutes and this week get the chance to bounce back against a Jacksonville Jaguars team reeling from a tough loss to the Chiefs that also cost them their new franchise quarterback to a broken collarbone. More worrying for me is the Jaguars’ defence that looked more like last year’s iteration rather than the all league unit it was two seasons ago. This is another game I’d stay away from by choice as this seems like a very high line even if the Jaguars are down to a backup quarterback. Still, I don’t trust the Texans either so I’m going to grab the points and hope.

Gee’s Pick:       Jaguars
Dan’s Pick:      Texans

Chiefs @ Raiders (+9.5)

The Kansas City Chiefs ran out easy winners last week but lost Tyreek Hill to a nasty sounding clavicle injury and their defence still does not inspire confidence. This week they travel to face the Oakland Raiders who got a win on opening night, but at the cost of their first round draft pick. It’s not that I can’t see the Chiefs winning by ten, but given the changes and a seemingly tougher team this year I’m going to grab the points. This could be a big mistake but if the consensus spread I’m seeing is seven then this is enough above that to sway me.

Gee’s Pick:       Raiders
Dan’s Pick:      Raiders

Bears @ Broncos (+1.5)

This is a real I do not know what to do game as whilst the Bears defence looked really good in week one, their offence did not fire at all whilst the Denver Broncos came out with an uninspiring offensive game and managed not to get a sack in their loss to the Raiders. The Bears also have extra rest having opened the season on Thursday night whilst the Broncos played late Monday but many teams struggle in the thin Denver air. That said, I have a lot of faith in Matt Nagy’s ability to scheme an offence and with the one unit I know I trust I’m going to nervously back the Bears.

Gee’s Pick:       Bears
Dan’s Pick:      Broncos

Saints @ Rams (-2.5)

This is the other cracking game of the week that pits two of last seasons top teams against each other, both coming off week one wins. That said, both had to work hard to get those wins and there really doesn’t seem much between them. They are right next to each over in overall DVOA ranking. If this was later in the year I might factor in Drew Brees playing out of doors but in this early one I’m going to grab the points given to the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Gee’s Pick:       Saints
Dan’s Pick:      Saints

Eagles @ Falcons (+1.5)

This is one of those games where there is a giant unknown factor for me as I don’t know if the Falcon’s performance last week was an aberration or if there are serious problems. One of their new offensive linemen is already injured and this week they face a Philadelphia Eagles team who took a little while to get going but in the end won fairly convincingly. I’m going to back that credibility even though there will be more teams with 1-1 records than 2-0 or 0-2.

Gee’s Pick:       Eagles
Dan’s Pick:      Eagles

Browns @ Jets (+2.5)

This Monday night game was supposed to highlight two up and coming franchises, only the Browns dropped the ball last week, losing to the Titans whilst the Jets not only lost to the Bills but Sam Darnold is out with mononucleosis and CJ Mosely is also out injured. Given how the Jets’ defence looked without their new leader Mosley last week and Darnold being out I have to back the Browns in this one but I don’t necessarily feel great about it.

Gee’s Pick:       Browns
Dan’s Pick:      Browns