I had a good start to the picks competition in week one, although with another seventeen weeks to go we very much know that this is a marathon and not a sprint so definitely not going to over react, but it was a nice salve after the Bengals losing start to the season. My week two has got off to a bad start as I second guessed myself and went with the Chiefs for Thursday night because I was laying half a point less than the consensus, when my original instinct was to back the Chargers so I shall try to remember that as I go through the rest of the week.

Gee:	Week 1:  10 – 6
Russ	Week 1:  7 – 9
Dan:	Week 1:  6 – 10

Survivor Competition

It is good that Dan and I have an ongoing points system for our survivor competition as we would have both fallen in the first week. I’m slightly nervously putting my faith in Burrow not to fall to 0-2 against a very injured Cowboys team, whilst Dan is clearly working on the theory that as Aaron Rodgers owns the Bears that he would put his faith in that.

Current Score

Gee: 0
Dan: 0

Week 2 Selection:

Gee:    Bengals
Dan:    Packers

Bold Prediction of the Week

Those of you who heard the podcast would know that this is a heart more than head based pick, but that still doesn’t stop me from going for the Jets to beat the Browns this week.

Early Games:

The pick of the early games for me is the Buccaneers visiting the Saints and whether Tom Brady can break the regular season hoodoo the Saints have over him so that’s the one I will be watching. That said, we’re still at the stage of the season where there is a lot to be learned from most games.

Jets @ Browns (-6.5)

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

Washington @ Lions (-2.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Lions
Dan’s Pick:       Lions

Buccaneers @ Saints (+2.5)

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

Panthers @ Giants (-2.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Panthers
Dan’s Pick:       Giants

Patriots @ Steelers (+1.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Steelers
Dan’s Pick:       Steelers

Colts @ Jaguars (+4.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Jaguars
Dan’s Pick:       Colts

Dolphins @ Ravens (-3.5)

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

Falcons @ Rams (-10.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Falcons
Dan’s Pick:       Rams

Late Games:

The closest line in the late games is the Cardinals trying to recover from their horrible opening day loss to the Chiefs against the Raiders, but it feels like the 49ers are laying a lot of points against the Seahawks. I just hope the Bengals come out of Jerry’s world with a win against the Cowboy with Micah Parsons not wreaking too much havoc amongst the rebuilding offensive line.

Seahawks @ 49ers (-8.5)

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

Bengals @ Cowboys (+7.5)

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

Texans @ Broncos (-9.5)

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

Cardinals @ Raiders (-5.5)

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

Sunday Night Football:

Bears @ Packers (-9.5)

This is a lot of points for the Packers to be laying given how their offence looked in week one and given Aaron Rodgers’s record against the Bears it is hard to look past them for a win, but I do feel like the Bears could be more competitive than nine points. It will at least give us a chance to see how the Bears look in something vaguely like normal conditions.

Gee’s Pick:       Bears
Dan’s Pick:       Packers

Monday Night Football

We have two Monday night games, but interesting they overlap each other, which I’m not entirely sure about. The Bills looked very good opening the season against the Rams ten days ago, and I like them to beat the Titans, but even though the Titans lost to the Giants last week ,this seems like a lot of points to lay and I do think the Giants are going to be more competitive this season under Brian Daboll.

My game selected by Dan to watch this week is the Vikings at Eagles and I’m looking forward to seeing the new Vikings offence under Kevin ‘Connell as well as  the combination between Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown for the Eagles. I’m leaning against the numbers as I have a feeling the Vikings are a more complete team, and they are a significant percentage better than the Eagles by overall DVOA percentage.

Titans @ Bills (-9.5)

Gee’s Pick:       Titans
Dan’s Pick:       Bills

Vikings @ Eagles (-1.5)

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

DVOA is Football Outsiders statistic for measure a team’s success on every play versus the league average and you can read more about it and other football topics at https://footballoutsiders.com.

It has to be a late and slightly truncated picks post today as I am being treated for my birthday so I will run few a quick bits and get my post up.

This week’s Thursday night game might not have looked like much on paper, but the Giants visiting Washington provided a back and forth game where after a slow start Taylor Heinicke dragged Washington back into the game after the Giants took a lead in the first quarter.

The Giants could and possibly should have wont his game, particularly as Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins missed his first attempt at a game winning field goal, but after a back breaking offsice penaly against Dexter Lawrence, Hopkins got a retry and just about put the winning kick through.

Giants’ quarterback Daniel Jones actually finished the game with the better quarterback rating and had long run for a touchdown called back for an iffy holding penalty, but the Giants fall to 0-2, although the Falcons might offer an easier chance to get back to winning ways, but let’s see how Atlanta look in their second game.

As for Washington, the defence is giving away points given how good people (including myself) have proclaimed them to be, but they have their first win on the board and

Early Games:

The three games I will be watching this week all come from the early games. Of course I will be watching the Bengals, hoping they can build on their opening week win whilst worrying about them having played a full period of overtime in week one and travelling to take on Chicago so I will be very interested to see if they can consolidate their good start.

The game I’m watching out of pure interest is the Bills visit to Miami to face Dan’s Dolphins. I both want to see how the Bills react to their week one loss, but also think this is a cracking game that as an AFC East showdown should provide plenty of entertainment as well as tension given both teams’s aims for the season.

The final game I’ll be watching is Dan’s pick, as he wants me to see how good the Eagles look when facing sterner opposition, although the 49ers are once again struggling with injury, but should be good test for the Eagles who were underestimated by so many of us going into the season.

Bengals @ Bears (-2.5)

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

Texans @ Browns (-12.5)

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

Rams @ Colts (+3.5)

Gee’s Pick:      Rams
Dan’s Pick:      Rams

Bills @ Dolphins (+3.5)

Gee’s Pick:      Dolphins
Dan’s Pick:      Bills

Patriots @ Jets (+5.5)

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

49ers @ Eagles (+3.5)

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

Raiders @ Steelers (-5.5)

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

Saints @ Panthers (+3.5)

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

Broncos @ Jaguars (+6.5)

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

Late Games:

The late games all have their intrigues this week.

The Cardinals are coming off an excellent opening day win butwill they be able to maintain that against a Vikings team who will be looking to recover after the opening week loss against the Bengals in overtime.

The Falcons had a terrible start in week one so new head coach Arthur Smith will be looking for a reaction against the Buccaneers and whilst it might be a bit much to expect them to win, you would expect some kind of reaction and I have backed them to cover the big line.

The Cowboys are already picking up injuries, but after looking good against the Bucs in week one even if they lost, they will be hoping to get a win against the Chargers who’ll be welcoming fans to their new home for the first time.

Finally the Titans will be desperate to bounce back from a horrible start to the season, but on the road against a nasty looking Seahawks team who’ll have notoriously noisy fans back it could very easily be an 0-2 start fro them.

Vikings @ Cardinals (-4.5)

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

Falcons @ Buccaneers (-12.5)

Gee’s Pick:      Falcons
Dan’s Pick:      Buccaneers

Cowboys @ Chargers (-2.5)

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

Titans @ Seahawks (-5.5)

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

Sunday Night Football:

Chiefs @ Ravens (+3.5)

This should be an absolute cracking game, which is only not on my watch list because of seeing the other three AFC North teams at least twice a year and sometimes more depending on the Thursday night schedule. The stories about Lamar Jackson’s 0-3 record against the Chiefs are certainly prominent in the build up, and the injuries the Ravens have picked up certainly have made the start of the season difficult. I may live to regret this, but this is just enough points to make go with the Ravens to cover, even if I suspect that Patrick Mahomes might win out yet again.

Gee’s Pick:      Ravens
Dan’s Pick:      Chiefs

Monday Night Football

Lions @ Packers (-10.5)

You have to think there will be a reaction from the Packers after their woeful showing against the Saints last week, and the Lions are getting these many points for a reason. The consensus line is actually a little higher, but given how the Lions fought back last week I’m still ready to give them a chance to stick within eleven given this line contains an extra half point through a key number.

Gee’s Pick:      Lions
Dan’s Pick:      Lions

DVOA is Football Outsiders statistic for measure a team’s success on every play versus the league average and you can read more about it and other football topics at https://footballoutsiders.com.

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

So here we are, and it’s already week two but before we get down to the second week of picks let’s see if either of Dan or I can actually score a point in the trivia competition so here’s a reminder of the question:

‘This week I want to know what connects the following teams:

Chiefs, Packers, Raiders, Bengals and Bears.’

Now I think that what links all these teams is that they lost their last Super Bowl appearance, so let’s see what Dan thought:

‘This is an absolute guess this week, and resisting the urge to put “They all have an ‘E’ in their name” and being correct on a technicality I’ll say…. Have none of them had the first Draft pick??’ [I happen to know the Bengals have – Ed.]

Panthers @ Falcons (-5.5)

This should be an interesting game between two division rivals but I worry for the Atlanta Falcons as not only did Matt Ryan look off last week, but they lost key players up the spine of their defence in Deion Jones and Keanu Neal. This is the NFL so I’m not saying that the Falcons can’t win this game, and if the years picking games has taught me anything it’s that teams are more likely to go 1-1 than win or lose both games, but this is too many points going against a Carolina Panthers team that looked good on defence last week.

Gee’s Pick: Panthers
Dan’s Pick: Falcons

‘The Falcons didn’t win last week, but played quite well. So did the panthers, but they were probably helped by the Cowboys not looking great. I’ll go Falcons this week.’

Chargers @ Bills (+7.5)

The Bills looked bad last week and the response is to give Josh Allen his first start, which was not the plan going into the season. This is a big swing in points, but the Bills looked horrible and so I think the LA Chargers will pick up their first win of the season but what worries me is that they are coming across the country to play the Bills in Buffalo and I wonder if this game could be closer than I think. I am tempted by the Bills to cover in a loss, there has to be a reaction to last week’s game in this their home opener and I don’t exactly trust the Chargers so I am finding this one really hard to commit to. In the end this is too many points for me in a game that I don’t have that strong a lean in terms of line.

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

‘If the Bills play like they did last week, they’re going to struggle to get many wins this season, and I don’t envy their rookie QB’s position. I’m going Chargers.’

Browns @ Saints (-8.5)

The New Orleans Saints lost their home opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week in a game where they scored forty but conceded forty-eight. Funny things can happen in divisional games but this week they welcome a Cleveland Browns team who failed to grasp the opportunity to beat the Steelers despite generating six turnovers. The Browns’ defence looks like it will be nasty and Myles Garrett looked every inch the high first round pick that he was, but Drew Brees continues to play other worldly football. I think that Saints bounce back in this one and their defence, which played so much better last season will be determined not to let the Saints go 0-2 whilst I don’t have faith in Hue Jackson at all.

Gee’s Pick: Saints
Dan’s Pick: Browns

‘The Saints will win this one, but I think this will be another close one, so I’m backing the Browns to cover.’

Vikings @ Packers (-0.5)

As I’m writing this we don’t know if Aaron Rodgers will be able to start given his knee sprain from last week, and there’s been plenty of talk that the Minnesota Viking defence is not the unit for Rodgers to face with a dodgy knee. The problem with that is DeShone Kizer completed four of his seven passes and managed a pick six in his limited time leading the Green Bay Packers offence whilst Rodgers was getting evaluated. It’s not often these days that picking against the Packers at home is good pick but the fall off if Rodgers can’t play is dramatic and I think the Vikings are as good a shout as anyone for the best team in the league and so in what is basically a pick’em game I’m backing the Vikings.

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

‘Another close one I’m struggling to pick. With the roar of the Lambeau behind them, I’ll pick Green Bay.’

Texans @ Titans (+2.5)

This game pits two winless teams against each other but the Tennessee Titans are still waiting to see if oft injured quarterback Marcus Mariota can play with the pinched nerve in his elbow that is causing loss of sensation in his fingers, but we do know that both of their starting offensive tackles are ruled out of this game and Delanie Walker is done for the season. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence when head coach Mike Vrabel says that they’re anticipating having both Mariota and Blaine Gabbert play. The Houston Texans have injury concerns of their own on an offensive line that was a concern coming into the season, but they were a frequent pick to be one of the teams of the AFC and they need to get back to winning ways quickly if this is to hold true. I don’t have a lot of faith in the Texans but two road games that opens in New England is a rough way to start the season for any team and so I’m not reading too much into the week one loss.

Gee’s Pick: Texans
Dan’s Pick: Texans

‘The Titans are knackered, and the Texans looked ok last week despite a loss against the Patriots, so this is quite an easy one. I’ll go Texans.’

Colts @ Washington (-5.5)

The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Bengals last week in a game where Andrew Luck returned from his long injury layoff and looked good but otherwise this rebuilding team struggled. This week they travel to face a Washington team who won a game very competently against the Cardinals. The experienced quarterback Alex Smith threw for over two hundred and fifty yards and two touchdowns whilst Arian Peterson ran for the ninety-six yards and took three receptions seventy yards. I don’t know how sustainable this kind of production is for Peterson but it does seem that Smith is a good fit for Jay Gruden’s system and it looks like Washington are in position to get off to a better start to this season than has been the case in recent years. I like Washington to run out winners in this one and whilst the points worry me a little, I’m placing some trust in Jay Gruden’s men. I hope I don’t regret it.

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

‘Colts aren’t going to do well this year – that much seems fairly clear already. Luck will be Lucky(!) to last the season if he keeps getting hit! Redskins for me.’

Chiefs @ Steelers (-5.5)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still without Le’Veon Bell and whilst James Conner was a very competent replacement in the running game, Ben Roethlisberger had a rotten start to the season in week one throwing three interceptions as the Steelers tied with the Cleveland Browns. This week they welcome a Kansas City Chiefs team that looked really good on offence in their first game and looked a bit better on defence. This game could be a real offensive show as I’m not convinced by the Steelers defence these days and I’m definitely going to be watching this one. I’m slightly surprised by the number of points that the Steelers are getting and whilst I expect them to be better and winning the game would hardly be a surprise, I can’t pick them to win by six against this Chief who look explosive on offence.

Gee’s Pick: Chiefs
Dan’s Pick: Chiefs

‘Picking Chiefs, but Steelers to win the game.’

Dolphins @ Jets (-2.5)

I am really intrigued by this game because the Miami Dolphins ground out a win against the Titans in difficult circumstances thanks to the weather, and this week travel to New York to face a Jets team who easily beat a woeful Lions team. Now, this could very well have made Sam Darnold look better than he actually is, but the buzz around the Jets’ rookie quarterback is incredibly positive and I want to know if the Lions made the Jets look good last week, or if the Jets are going to be a danger in the AFC East. The worry for me in this game is that the Dolphins went 2-6 in the division last season, losing all their divisional games road games and are in fact 2-11 against the spread in their last thirteen divisional road games. I may well regret this but Todd Bowles has at least kept the Jets competitive and with a live arm at quarterback I’m going against Dan in this one.

Gee’s Pick: Jets
Dan’s Pick: Dolphins

‘Of course….’

Eagles @ Buccaneers (+3.5)

This is a curious game for me as the Philadelphia Eagles offence continued to struggle in week one with Nick Foles not looking good and he remains the starter as the Super Bowl winners travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers coming off a win. The history of Ryan Fitzpatrick is not of consistent good performances from week to week otherwise he wouldn’t have moved around so many teams and the Eagles defence at least looked very good last week. There are a number of home underdogs this week and it’s not likely that they’ll all lose, but I have more faith in Doug Pederson and his coaching staff than the infrastructure in Tampa and so whilst I don’t like the points particularly, I think the Eagles will get another win and I just hope it’s by enough to warrant this pick.

Gee’s Pick: Eagles
Dan’s Pick: Eagles

‘Sorry Bucks fans, but I can’t see them repeating their performance from last week, so Eagles on this one.’

Lions @ 49ers (-5.5)

There are signs that things are really not going well in Detroit with continued rumblings about Matt Partricia coming from the locker room and talk from the Jets that they knew the Lions’ calls and what was coming on offence. Having been so thoroughly dismantled by the Jets they now travel to face the San Francisco 49ers who are coming off their own tough start in Minnesota. However, even against the tough Vikings defence Kyle Shanahan was able to scheme players open and whilst Jimmy Garoppolo no longer has an unbeaten record, this was always going to happen at some point and I fancy them to get back to winning ways. The points in this game do worry me a little, but the Lions look like things could go really wrong for them and I’m not convinced of a turn around this week.

Gee’s Pick: 49ers
Dan’s Pick: 49ers

‘Something’s telling me that Jimmy G’s team will take this one fairly comfortably. Could be wrong, but I’m picking San Francisco.’

Cardinals @ Rams (-12.5)

This is a horrible game to pick just because of the line. The LA Rams went on the road and ran out convincing winners against the Raiders and this week they welcome an Arizona Cardinals team who got blown out by Washington last week. It was always going to be hard to turn things round after losing Bruce Arians as coach and Carson Palmer as quarterback. They drafted Josh Rosen for the future but right now Sam Bradford is the starting quarterback but I struggle to see them turning things round against a Rams team who invested in their defence in the offseason and who have one of the best young coaches in the game. The problem is that this is a huge line and I feel like I should pick the Cardinals but having got blown out against Washington at home, I don’t see how they will do better against a stacked Rams team on the road. I could really regret this one.

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

‘This is horrible given the size of the spread. I’ll go Cards, reluctantly.’

Raiders @ Broncos (-5.5)

This looks to be a horrible spot for the currently Oakland Raiders who lost the late Monday night game and now travel to face the Denver Broncos. The Raiders lost badly and the situation with Jon Gruden has the potential to go seriously wrong. This feels like a lot of points for the Broncos to give up, but they have a definite home advantage and got the job done last week despite Case Keenum throwing three interceptions to go with his three touchdowns. In a familiar theme, this feels like a lot of points but I do not trust the road team and so I’m hoping the Broncos build on last week’s win.

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

‘The Broncos pulled off a bit of a surprise last week in beating the Seahawks. I fancy the Raiders this week though.’

Patriots @ Jaguars (+2.5)

If there is a home underdog that could be the one to go with it’s the Jacksonville Jaguars who host the New England Patriots in a rerun of last season’s AFC conference championship game. The Jaguars look pretty much the same as last year with a dominant defence and a limited offence that will not be helped by Leonard Fournette being questionable thanks to a hamstring injury. The Patriots got their season off to a winning start against the Texans last week and it looked like their defence could be better although the Texan’s offensive line will have helped that. It’s always dangerous to pick against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and I’m really looking forward to taking a look at the coaching tape to see what the Patriots offence schemes up to take on the Jaguars’ defence. I don’t want to pick against all the home underdogs but I can’t quite bring myself to pick the Jaguars with the injuries on offence and it’s not hard to see the Patriots winning this one by a field goal.

Gee’s Pick: Patriots
Dan’s Pick: Jaguars

‘What a game this will be. I’ll go Jaguars in the hope they stick the first L to the Pats.’

Giants @ Cowboys (-2.5)

This is a straight up battle for the first win of the season between two struggling teams. With Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham in the huddle the New York Giants have talent on offence but weren’t able to generate that much last week against the fearsome Jaguars defence. That said the Dallas Cowboys have continued their struggles from last season and their offensive line is struggling with injuries. I’m not exactly convinced by either team so I’m going to grab the points with the Giants but it really feels like a shot in the dark.

Gee’s Pick: Giants
Dan’s Pick: Giants

‘Big divisional game here from 2 teams who aren’t their normal selves this year. Giants to win for me.’

Seahawks @ Bears (-3.5)

The Seahawks have got a rough start to the season with two road games and having lost narrowly to the Broncos last week they travel to Chicago this week to face the Bears before they get to play in Seattle. If things weren’t difficult enough for Russell Wilson, his favourite receiver Doug Baldwin injured his good knee last week and is out for this game. The problem for the Bears is that they looked good for a half but can they be consistent for an entire game versus a Seahawks team who are always competitive. It’s a long way to travel for the Seahawks but I can’t quite bring myself to have the Bears win by more than a field goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bears win as I think they showed a lot of potential in their last game and they could very easily make me look foolish.

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

‘This is really tough. Really tough. The Bears look really good with Khalil Mack, and the Seahawks lost to the Broncos last week… I’ll go Chicago.’

Bills @ Panthers (-7.5)

The Buffalo Bills got off to a winning start thanks to facing the lowly Jets in week one, but face a much sterner test as they travel to face the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers defence played really well in their opening game, allowing Cam Newton to be rusty as he works his way back from his offseason shoulder surgery. I think the Bills are going to struggle in this game, but the question is whether the Panthers can win by eight. I think they can, but I’m not prepared to pick it quite yet.

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

Bears @ Buccaneers (-6.5)

There are alternative universes where the Chicago Bears won their first game, but in this world they couldn’t quite pull things together and as well as losing the game they lost receiver Kevin White for the season again. The first round draft pick just can’t stay healthy and the Bears will need to rethink how they build their receiving group for next season. This week however, they travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Bucs opening game of the season following last week’s postponement. The Buccaneers looked like a young promising team in Hard Knocks, and I expect them to win. This is another game where I could see the home team covering a big spread, but I’m not quite brave enough to pick it just yet.

Gee’s Pick:          Bears
Dan’s Pick:          Buccaneers

Browns @ Ravens (-7.5)

The Baltimore Ravens defence was good, even if the Bengals leant them a hand in pitching a shut out last week by being not very good on offence. They will need to open up the offence more, but it appears the Ravens’ formula for this season is to play good defence and special teams whilst running the ball. The Cleveland Browns however, put up a very creditable performance against the Steelers last week, and I expect them to keep themselves within eight points of the Ravens.

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

Titans @ Jaguars (+1.5)

This is a really tricky game for me to pick as the Jacksonville Jaguars got their season off to a winning start in beating the Houston Texans on the road. The defence got ten sacks, and their offence bludgeoned the Texans with the running game. Not making Blake Bortles throw to win the game improves their chances of winning, but how successful across an entire season they can be with this formula is hard to tell. They welcome a Tennessee Titans team who lost their home opener to the Raiders and who didn’t look like themselves. The new receivers the Titans procured for Marcus Mariota in the offseason seemed to alter the way the Titans ran their offence, whilst the defence couldn’t slow down the Raiders enough to keep them in the game. I’m not totally sure where to go in this one, but the Titans are going to be desperate to get back on track and at this point I still think they are the better team.

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

Cardinals @ Colts (+8.5)

The Arizona Cardinals did not get off to a good start, with Carson Palmer throwing bad interceptions and David Johnson lost for most of the season to a wrist injury. The only good news is that they are facing an Indianapolis Colts team who look like they could be the worst team in the league until Andrew Luck comes back from injury. I could regret this, but I’m backing the infrastructure of the Cardinals to see them through, but I’m nervous about the number of points I’m giving away.

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

Eagles @ Chiefs (-4.5)

This should be a good game as both teams are coming of good wins on the road. The Philadelphia Eagles got a divisional win in Washington, with Carson Wentz continuing his progress in his second year and a defence that looks pretty good. However, this week they travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs who have one of the better home field advantages in the league, and who have had ten days to prepare having beaten the Patriots in the season opener. The Chiefs offence looks to have gained a new dimension with Alex Smith pushing the ball down field, and with all the speed at their disposal I fancy them to come out victorious in this one. The loss of Eric Berry does give me pause, but I think the Chiefs are going to be very strong this year.

Gee’s Pick:          Chiefs
Dan’s Pick:          Chiefs

Vikings @ Steelers (-6.5)

This should be a cracking game, but is one of the few lines that I think is just wrong. The Pittsburgh Steelers got their win in week one, but are still working their way into form on offence with Le’Veon Bell having held out all pre-season. I’m not adjusting my expectations for the Steelers, but this week they welcome a Vikings team who looked very good in week one. The new stadium in Minnesota does appear to be incredibly noisy, but even without this advantage their defence looks formidable and a retooled offence line has bred life into their offence. I’m not saying the Vikings will definitely win, but I expect this game to be much more competitive that this line suggests.

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

Patriots @ Saints (+5.5)

The New Orleans Saints need a defence, or at least a secondary that could limit the amount of points that quarterback Drew Brees has to match on offence. However, the signs were in week one that this problem has not been solved, and this week they welcome a wounded Patriots team. The Patriots may have lost their home opener, and there are definite questions about their offence with all the new receiving options, and a defence that struggled to contain the Chiefs speed. However, you would back Bill Belichick and his staff to find a way. This line does make me pause, but in the end I don’t have that much faith in the Saints to keep this one close.

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

Jets @ Raiders (-14.5)

The New York Jets did not look good in week one, and travel out to Oakland to face a Raiders team who looked very good. I was surprised how strong the Raiders’ defence looked against the Titans, and the addition of Marshawn Lynch to the Raiders added yet more balance to their offence. This is a huge line to cover, but I do actually think the Raiders are a team that can cover it against these Jets.

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

Dolphins @ Chargers (-3.5)

This is a more difficult game to pick as the Miami Dolphins are the other team who had a game postponed last week, as well as starting a quarterback who up until a few weeks ago was going to be a commentator this season. However, I have a lot of faith in Adam Gase and they are travelling to an LA Chargers team who very much looked like the Chargers last week. For large parts of the game they were outplayed by the Broncos, then they managed to turn things round with two quick touchdowns, but just missed out at the end of the game with a blocked field goal. The extra half point makes me join Dan in picking the Dolphins, but I don’t feel like I have a confident opinion on this game.

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

Cowboys @ Broncos (+1.5)

The Dallas Cowboys have got to keep Ezekiel Elliott for now, but Tom Brady eventually had to server his ban and I think Elliott will too. However for now, the Cowboys offence rolls on and once again their defensive co-ordinator Rod Marinelli seems to have created a defence that is greater than the sum of its parts. This week however, they travel to a Broncos team who I thought looked pretty good in week one, particularly with the improvements to their offence. I might be tempted by the Broncos getting points at home, except that they didn’t look that good against the run to me, and with the Cowboys coming to town you know there’s going to be a healthy dose of run coming their way.

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

Washington @ Rams (-2.5)

The LA Rams did what they were supposed to do against the Colts last week and got rookie head coach Sean McVay his first win, but his old team Washington should pose a sterner test. However, an offseason of change and disarray does not seem to have produced a Washington team ready to thrive early in the season, and they look like they are missing, McVay’s talents at offensive co-ordinator. This might be a trap pick, but I think I’m going with the Rams in this one.

Gee’s Pick:          Rams
Dan’s Pick:          Rams

49ers @ Seahawks (-12.5)

The San Francisco 49ers struggled against the Panthers last week and it is hard to see them doing anything else travelling to the Seattle Seahawks this week. It will take time for Kyle Shanahan’s scheme to bed in, whilst Seattle were competitive against the Packers in week one. The problem for the Seahawks is as ever their offensive line, and it is only these issues that will stop me from picking the Seahawks to cover this line. I am very confident the Seahawks will win, but I expect a low scoring affair.

Gee’s Pick:          49ers
Dan’s Pick:          49ers

Packers @ Falcons (-2.5)

The Atlanta Falcons got their win against the Bears last week, but they were far from their performances of last year. The Falcons are opening a new stadium this week, but are welcoming a Green Bay Packers team whose defence might have made a step up from last year, and still have Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson on offence. It did take a little time for the Packers to find their feet against a Seahawks’ defence that looks as good as ever, but facing such a defence should stand them in good stead against the Falcons. I am going with the Packers in this one, but it is more of a lean than a definitive pick.

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

Lions @ Giants (-4.5)

The New York Giants struggled last week, and we still don’t know when star receiver Odell Beckham will return. More worryingly, Eli Manning did not look at his best and really hasn’t for a while now, which at thirty-six is perhaps not surprising but might be a warning sign for this season. The Detroit Lions meanwhile started the season with a win against the misfiring Cardinals and whilst I’m not sure how far their defence will take them, I like them getting this number of points.

Gee’s Pick:          Lions
Dan’s Pick:          Lions