NFL Week Two Cheat Sheet

I got 11 out of 15 correct last week, but Week Two of the NFL season is the toughest to predict. Honestly, you are picking blind for at least the first two weeks. Week One you know nothing, and in Week Two you have to be careful not to overreact to what you thought you saw in the smallest of sample sizes. So, here we are in the most dangerous pick 'em week of the season.

Since we are here in the trust tree, I will admit that I picked the Cincinnati Bengals to win on Thursday over the Houston Texans -- whoops. I missed on last week's Thursday game as well and still hit at a 73 percent clip. I think we have something going here, you and me.

This is what I feel like going out on a limb and picking an underdog. I only took one "dog" this week, though.

Philadelphia Eagles at (-5.5) Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs beat a Super Bowl contender last week and the Eagles barely got past the Redskins. Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson is a former assistant under Kansas City coach Andy Reid. Reid is 8-3 against his former pupils and 3-0 since taking over the Chiefs. Reference someone being Reid's pupil, pretty sure none are Hot for Teacher. -- CHIEFS

Tennessee Titans at (+1.5) Jacksonville Jaguars: I missed on both of these teams last week, but two key match-ups favor Tennessee. The Jaguars sacked the Texan quarterbacks ten times last week, while the Titans line only allowed QB Marcus Mariotta to be hit twice in their loss to the Oakland Raiders. Jacksonville RB Leonard Fournette ran for 100 yards last week, but Tennessee allowed the second fewest rushing yards in the league last year. That means the Jaguars will need QB Blake Bortles to be the difference...let me know when that works. -- TITANS

Minnesota Vikings at (-6.0) Pittsburgh Steelers: Vikings QB Sam Bradford and rookie RB Dalvin Cook looked elite last week against the New Orleans Saints in Minneapolis. The Steelers offense struggled a little against the Cleveland Browns on the banks of Lake Erie, but WR Antonio Brown gaining 182 yards and QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing two touchdowns got them through. Minnesota now goes on the road to Pittsburgh in a short week, to a play a team undoubtedly tougher than the Saints. -- STEELERS

Arizona Cardinals at (+7.0) Indianapolis Colts: Indianapolis is a seven-point dog at home. In 2013, the Bruce Arians-led Cardinals demolished the Chuck Pagano-led Colts, 40-11. That Colts loss was only by 29 points, but Indy under Pagano leads the league in 30-point losses since 2012. This one could easily top the 30-point mark. Pagano can't possibly make it through the entire 2017 season. He is in way over his head at this point. -- CARDINALS

New England Patriots at (+6.0) New Orleans Saints: Long week vs Short week ALERT! Saints looked like they have plenty of problems to work on from their loss Monday night to the Vikings, but have one less day to do so this week. The Patriots will have had ten days to stew over their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Thursday and prepare for this blowout. By the by, New Orleans has started the last three seasons 0-2. You smell what I am stepping in, right? -- PATRIOTS

Chicago Bears at (-7.0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Buccaneers got an extra week to prepare for this game since their Week One game in Miami was postponed due to Hurricane Irma. But the Bears got to play and work out some kinks in their 23-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Chicago QB Mike Glennon threw 40 passes and completed 26 of them last week against the Falcons, but only for 176 yards. That is a remaining kink. -- BUCCANEERS

Cleveland Browns at (-7.5) Baltimore Ravens: While Browns QB DeShone Kizer looked decent against the Steelers, Cleveland could only muster 57 rushing yards on 25 attempts and allowed Kizer to get sacked seven times. People are raving about the Ravens defense with their four interceptions and five sacks of Cincinnati Bengal's QB Andy Dalton last week. Rookie quarterbacks are 0-5 at M and T Bank Stadium. Baltimore won't score a bunch, but that defense is going to make things tough on the rookie. -- RAVENS

Buffalo Bills at (-7.0) Carolina Panthers: The Bills fans are feeling pretty good after starting the season without Rex Ryan and getting a victory over the New York Jets. The task is tougher this week as they travel to Carolina to face a Panther team with a healthy QB Cam Newton and do-everything rookie RB Christian McCaffery in the fold. Also, the Carolina defense held the San Franciso 49ers to three points last week in Palo Alto. -- PANTHERS

New York Jets at (-13.5) Oakland Raiders: Vegas tells you this a complete mismatch. The Jets were only able to manage 214 total net yards against the Bills last week at home in New Jersey. Oakland is not revered because of its defense, but they have enough to hold down a miserable New York offense. Raiders offense looked balanced last week against the Titans with QB Derek Carr throwing for two touchdowns and newly-acquired RB Marshawn Lynch helping the team top 100 rushing yards. This could get ugly. -- RAIDERS

Miami Dolphins at (-3.5) Los Angeles Chargers: This is a tricky little trap game. The Dolphins have been in southern California for a whole week getting prepared for this game after evacuating south Florida in advance of Hurricane Irma. The Chargers lost a tough game in Denver on Monday and have one less day to prepare. Los Angeles is a better team on paper and they are at home, but they are on a short week and meeting a team that is rested and ready to go...still not going to overreact in Week Two. -- CHARGERS

Dallas Cowboys at (+2.5) Denver Broncos: All I keep reading about is how good this Cowboys offensive line is and how hard QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott work to improve. We all know Denver has one of the better defenses in the NFL, but they are lacking some pieces on the offensive side. This is the game to watch out of the 4 p.m. games. -- COWBOYS

San Francisco 49ers at (-14.0) Seattle Seahawks: Remember when I said Vegas sees NYJ at OAK as a mismatch? This is even worse according to the wise guys. Let's not waste our time here. Pick the Seahawks in your pick 'em league. If you lose, you will not be alone. -- SEAHAWKS

Washington Redskins at (-2.5) Los Angeles Rams: Another toss up game that will swing your pick 'em league for the week. Former Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay is the Rams coach so he knows everything about his opponents' offense. Los Angeles was Richter scale horrible last year, but they shook the Colts last week like a dozen earthquakes. Washington is horribly inconsistent, and they lost last week so they should be ready to bounce back this week, right? -- RAMS

Green Bay Packers at (-3.0) Atlanta Falcons: Neither of these teams is known for their defenses, but both improved over the off-season. The Packers have defenders that have healed from injuries (see CB Desmond Trufant among others) and stifled the Seahawks last week in a 17-9 victory. The Falcons defense improved throughout last year and then added DT Dontari Poe to stuff the run in the off-season. Two great quarterbacks, two rising defenses, but Atlanta the home field edge. -- FALCONS

Detroit Lions at (-3.0) New York Giants: Trust tree pick ALERT! Last year the Giants pumped money into free agency to boost their defense -- it worked. This off season New York worked at boosting their offense, but they only scored three points against the Cowboys and generally looked awful last week. Is Odell Beckham, Jr. playing? That is the big question, but the answer currently is no. -- LIONS

Boxing still exists

Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (37-0, 33 KO) and Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KO) fight tonight for the undisputed middleweight title. It is on HBO pay-per-view and will be worth it. These two don't box so much as they stand and throw lethal hammer shots. I would give it a watch if you aren't in to sleep and stuff.

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