NFL 2017-18 Week 2 Review

Last weekend, I was barely over .500 with my picks. Out of the 15 games that were played (and remember, the game between the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Miami Dolphins), eight were right, and seven were wrong.
So, did I do better this weekend? 

Well, I knew that the Texans had beaten the Bengals, so that one was at least a successful pick. As for the other games, here goes:


Arizona 16, Indianapolis 13 - The Cardinals got the victory, albeit barely. This was a tough, tight game, and largely dictated by defense, as this was a low scoring affair. Arizona was nonetheless able to notch their first victory of the season in Indy, as the Colts continue trying to adjust to life without Luck. More or less the kind of game that you could probably expect between these two teams right now, and no real surprise that the Cardinals won. They needed it, as they have a good chance at the playoffs and a vastly improved season, so long as they do not screw things up too badly early on in the season.  My pick: Accurate

Carolina 9, Buffalo 3 - This was a much tougher battle than I thought it might be. The Bills really impressed me with how strong they were, as they really hung in tough throughout. The Panthers won, and perhaps home field advantage played a big part, because they did not win with the margin of comfort that I expected. The good news for Carolina is, of course, that they won, and they raised their record to 2-0. The bad news is that their star tight end, Greg Olsen, went out with a foot injury. For Buffalo, there has to be some measure of moral victory in this, at least defensively.  My pick Accurate

Chicago at Tampa Bay 29, Chicago 7 - Tampa Bay showed what they are capable of, and just how improved this team seems from some recent, largely disappointing seasons. The Bucs dominated the hapless Bears, who came fairly close to upsetting Atlanta last weekend. No such luck in this one, where they really were completely overmatched on the road against Tampa Bay. Tamp scored early and often, at least through the first half, jumping out to a 26-0 halftime lead, and then essentially just sitting on the lead the rest of the way. Frankly, the Bears should be happy not to have gotten shut out here. A great way to start the season for the Bucs.  My pick: Accurate 

Cleveland at Baltimore 24, Cleveland 10 - Another game that went more or less as expected. Cleveland was at least not shut out, like their cross state rivals, the Bengals were last week against Baltimore. Still, the Ravens basically won in convincing fashion, and their defense still looked incredibly intense thus far. It is extremely early yet, but the Ravens defense has still forced 10 turnover in just two weeks. That's incredible, and that is the kind of talent that has these Ravens thinking that they might be very, very special, even on a historical level, possibly. A solid win for Baltimore, but the Browns have at least not been embarrassed yet this season, which is something. Remember, this was the same team that was flirting with a winless season last year, and they do look improved thus far.  My pick: Accurate

Minnesota at Pittsburgh - Yet another game that pretty much went like most people would have expected. The Steelers stifled Minnesota's offense, while they also were able to produce more than enough points to earn a convincing victory in this one. They did not explode for a record amount of point, but had a sold 14-3 lead at the half, and wore down Minnesota in the second half, earning a solid win for a 2-0 start.  My pick: Accurate

New England 36, New Orleans 20 - And here is yet another game that went according to expectations. You had to figure that New England would come out with a solid game plan following that huge disappointment last weekend, right? Brady was on fire, completing 30 of 39 passes for 447 yards and threw touchdowns. In the process, he established a new record for most games (52) with at least three touchdowns in a game, while throwing no interceptions, a record that he had shared with Peyton Manning entering this game. Indeed, the Patriots looked like their dominant old selves again, while the Saints looked simply overmatched.   My pick: Accurate

Kansas City 27, Philadelphia 20 - Kansas City still looks like an emerging elite team this season, as they tamed the Eagles to earn their second victory, to go to 20 on the year. Of course they need it in the wild, wild AFC West. The Chiefs managed a convincing win, even though quarterback Alex Smith took some big hits and received punishment throughout. Rookie running back Kareem Hunt had a monster game for KC, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for over 80 yards against the overmatched Eagles defense. A good solid win for the Chiefs.  My pick: Accurate

Tennessee 37 Jacksonville 16 - Mariota had the Titans offense clicking, as Tennessee ran up and down against the Jaguars. Jax had looked mighty impressive in that stunning upset win at Houston last week, but the Titans tamed them, making them look far more pedestrian this week. Mariota was not great statistically, completing 15 of 27 passes for 21 yards and a touchdown, yet his Titans were in command throughout. They needed this one, and the AFC South once again looks open and a bit questionable, overall.  My pick: Accurate

Miami 19 L.A. Chargers 17 - The Dolphins won this one like I expected them to, although it was a much tighter game than expected. Apparently, the Chargers received a luke warm reception at best. They had difficulty selling tickets, and they charged their fans a whopping $100 to park for the game! Not the best way to leave an impression, and then, of course, they lost this game for the 0-2 start. Not sure if this whole LA thing will work out for them or not, but this certainly cannot be the kind of start that they envisioned. For Miami, a playoff team last season, this was a good road victory, and helps them get off to the right kind of start. They are now first in the AFC East, at least to this point, although they only played one game. They got done what they needed to get done, and earned a solid win against a tough opponent on the road here.  My pick: Accurate

N.Y. Jets at Oakland 45, N.Y. Jets 20 - Unfortunately this was pretty much exactly what we could expect. The Jets were routed, as the Raiders clearly were simply too much for them. The Raiders simply rolled on offense, and there seemed no stopping them in this game. I will say that it seemed that the Raiders were celebrating a bit too much towards the end of this one, and it just seemed a bit classless and unsportsmanlike to me. You would think that they had won a playoff game, or maybe even a Super Bowl, instead of a second week game against a team that is expected to be among the worst. The lowly Jets were just overwhelmed by the playoff bound Oakland Raiders (I'm am going out on a limb here, but yes, they seem like they will head to the playoffs).  My pick: Accurate

Denver 42, Dallas 17- I knew that it did not feel comfortable picking the 'Boys here. Anytime a team has to go on the road to play at Mile High, the Broncos have a huge advantage just with the altitude. Plus, they still have an elite defense, and enough tools to beat almost anyone in the league, at least at Mile High. What surprised me, though, was that the Cowboys were buried well before this one was over, as the Broncos kind of rolled over them, made seemingly light work of Dallas, a team that I had expected to be relative elites in the league. A huge and solid win for the Broncos, and a disappointing blowout loss for Dallas.  My pick: Inaccurate 

San Francisco at Seattle - This game was a lot closer then I thought it would be, admittedly. San Francisco's defense played extremely well, holding the Seahawks to a mere couple of field goals until a touchdown late in the game allowed Seattle to win it from behind. San Francisco's offense, on the other hand, proved a liability, as it still has not scored a touchdown, and allowed a pedestrian 12 points by the Seahawks to be enough. 12 points is hardly an avalanche of points, and if the 49ers were going to pull off a big upset like this, they would have needed more production from the offense. The Niners are really struggling on offense, and they would need it to get far better if they hope to make some serious improvements. As for Seattle, they lost at Green Bat last weekend, and barely escape losing to the lowly 49ers this weekend. At what point do you start to worry that this team is not playing up to the level that they are capable of playing at? My pick was right, albeit barely so. If I was a Seahawks fan, though, the results from these first two weekends are hardly encouraging.   My pick: Accurate

Washington 27, L.A. Rams 20 - Whatever happened last week to make the Rams look like a mighty and powerful team seemed to largely go away this weekend. The Rams looked more like what they have been for years now, which s to say a team that loses much more than it wins. Washington needed this game more than the Rams did, and they brought that level of intensity that L.A. was just missing. Washington executed extremely well, and were able to get a solid road win on the West Coast in the process. For the Rams, this obviously was not the kind of follow-up that they wanted following that big win in Indy to open the season, so they need to regroup and get back to the things that they did so well then, and put this loss behind them.  My pick: Inaccurate

Sunday Night Football - Atlanta 34, Green Bay 23 - Just like in the NFC Championship Game some months ago (as well as the Super Bowl), the Falcons looked awesome and built up an enormous lead. And then, just like they did in the Super Bowl, they suddenly seemed to look like they were doing almost everything to accommodate their opponents comeback hopes. The Packers more or less made a game of it, although they were not able to have their comeback fully realized, like the Patriots did in the Super Bowl. So, the Falcons managed to avoid the worst, although Atlanta fans might need to start worrying that this trend of not solidly holding onto leads could once again come back to haunt their team. Still, the Falcons looked much better than they did against Chicago in the opener, and ultimately, they did not allow the Packers to fully comeback, thus earning themselves a solid win that should help their cause, especially with Carolina having to deal with a key injury.  My pick: Inaccurate