Well, that was easy. All the Philadelphia Eagles did was fall behind 17-0 before rallying to down the Washington Redskins in Week 1 in Philly. Plenty of people who went with the big chalk likely were ready to call it a season or see if they could get back in … after one game. But the goal is to survive and advance … and it doesn’t matter if the win is pretty or pretty ugly. On to Week 2.
Don’t even think about it
The most obvious game to stay far from is the New Orleans Saints at the Los Angeles Rams. It was a tossup in the NFC Championship last season. New Orleans has revenge on its mind and one would have to love flirting with disaster to look this way. The Sunday night game pits the Philadelphia Eagles against the Atlanta Falcons. If you used Philly in the opener, you don’t have to concern yourself. If you didn’t, this another one to avoid. The Minnesota Vikings are at Green Bay. Both teams won their openers. Neither Aaron Rodgers nor Kirk Cousins had to do a ton in the victories. This is too close to call. The Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans meet in an AFC South battle that figures to be tight. There is no way either team is worth a pick in this tossup. Off their awful performance against New England, the Pittsburgh Steelers have to be a team that creates concern for all. The Seattle Seahawks come East for an early start. Given the uncertainty of how Pittsburgh will play whether it will bounce back, this is another game to avoid. The Oakland Raiders looked sharp in taking down the Denver Broncos. While it is a short week for the Silver and Black and the Kansas City Chiefs are a powerhouse, there has to be a better time to use KC this season.
Let the bettor beware
The Los Angeles Chargers journey to the Eastern time zone to play the Detroit Lions. The Lions looked like they were going to throttle the Cardinals for three quarters and then turned into the Lions. It is never easy for West Coast teams to play at 10 a.m. on their body clocks. While the Chargers are tempting, it isn’t worth the risk. The Cincinnati Bengals could be tempting after their strong performance in Seattle and San Francisco was not sharp in toppling Tampa Bay. Andy Dalton was fine. Jimmy Garoppolo was ordinary. Still, Cincy has enough flaws to make this a dangerous pick. The Denver Broncos had little offense in the loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Chicago Bears come to the Mile High City as both teams look to avoid an 0-2 start. Don’t play with fire as former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is Denver’s head coach. Broncos would like nothing more than to get this one for Fangio. The Arizona Cardinals looked like the team that had the first draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft for being awful last season for 3 quarters against Detroit. Kyler Murray then came to life. The Cardinals come East to face the Baltimore Ravens. While it feels like an easy pick to tab John Harbaugh’s group, the Cardinals’ defense held its own in Week 1,
Tempting fate
The Carolina Panthers were not as close to the Rams as the final score indicated. Don’t be fooled. That said, Ron Rivera can’t afford to go 0-2 and the Panthers need to get something out of opening with two home games. It is a Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were lackluster at best against San Francisco. Bruce Arians also doesn’t want to lose his first two as coach of the Bucs. However, Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey are far better than Jameis Winston and anyone. Still, the teams are 3-3 in their last six meetings. Washington took a 17-0 lead on the road at Philly before getting swallowed. Now it gets Dallas at home. Has to be safer plays than an NFC East rivalry where you have to tab the road team. The New York Jets were in vintage form, blowing a 16-0 lead to Buffalo. Now, they play host to the Cleveland Browns, who were hammered by Tennessee. You seriously want to make a play on either of these teams? Neither can be trusted until they show they can be trusted. Can the Buffalo Bills make it two in a row at MetLife? For all the New York Giants’ flaws against Dallas, they still posted 470 yards of total offense. The Bills have an underrated defense. Two in a row on the road to open the season is asking a lot. After getting thrashed by Baltimore and having the Super Bowl champ New England Patriots come to town, picking against the Miami Dolphins seems to be the next version of picking against the once-woeful Browns. Factor this in first: as meek as Miami has been it has won four of the last five against New England at home. Remember this?
Go for it
AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
The Houston Texans suffered a brutal beat on Monday Night in New Orleans. However, they went into the Big Easy and looked every bit of a strong playoff team. The Jacksonville Jaguars can’t say the same. They were dissected by Patrick Mahomes and now they get Deshaun Watson. Feels like a recipe for a Houston romp, despite the short week. Only cause for trepidation is this was the Houston team that started 2018 0-3. Still, have to go for it as it is hard to believe these Texans will be 0-2.
