NFL WEEK 2 PICKS

Week 1 gave us blowouts, comebacks, upsets and a few teams that already have us questioning everything we thought we knew coming into the season.

Now it's time for Week 2.

We've got the opening of Buffalo's new stadium, several divisional matchups, some massive spreads and plenty of teams trying to prove whether Week 1 was real—or just an anomaly.

Here are our Sizzlin Sports NFL Week 2 Picks.

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DETROIT LIONS (+4.5) AT BUFFALO BILLS

O/U: 54.5

What a way to open Buffalo's brand-new stadium.

The Bills get the national spotlight Thursday night against a Detroit team that looked absolutely exhausted defensively by the end of its overtime win against New Orleans.

That's not exactly encouraging when your next assignment is Josh Allen, James Cook and the Buffalo Bills.

Detroit should be able to score. Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown give the Lions enough firepower to keep this competitive early.

The problem is the other side.

Detroit's defense just spent four quarters—and then overtime—trying to slow down a Saints offense that nearly erased a 21-point deficit. Now it has to deal with Allen and one of the NFL's premier rushing attacks on a short week.

I expect Buffalo to lean heavily on James Cook, especially as this game gets into the fourth quarter and Detroit's defense starts wearing down.

New stadium.

Thursday night.

Josh Allen.

Good luck.

Prediction: Bills 34, Lions 24

Best Bet: James Cook Over 70 Rushing Yards + Anytime TD Parlay (+108)

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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (+8.5) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS

O/U: 46.5

The Saints get another brutal test to open the season.

After taking Detroit all the way to overtime, New Orleans now travels to Baltimore to face a Ravens offense that looked absolutely unstoppable against Indianapolis.

Baltimore basically did whatever the hell it wanted.

Lamar Jackson improvised.

Derrick Henry pounded the rock.

Zay Flowers created explosive plays.

And Indianapolis never found an answer.

New Orleans deserves credit, though. Tyler Shough and the Saints showed serious fight after falling behind 21-0 against Detroit, eventually forcing overtime and coming within a failed two-point conversion of winning the game.

The problem?

You probably don't want to spot Baltimore a big early lead.

If the Saints start slowly again, they're going to be in a world of trouble.

I expect Baltimore to jump ahead, unleash King Henry and spend the second half bleeding the clock.

Prediction: Ravens 27, Saints 13

Best Bet: Derrick Henry Over 80 Rushing Yards (-164)

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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (-7) AT TENNESSEE TITANS

O/U: 39.5

The Jets ran all over Tennessee last week.

Now the Titans get Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fantastic.

Philadelphia wasn't particularly sharp in its narrow Week 1 win over Washington, but divisional games can get weird—especially against a talented Commanders roster.

This matchup should allow Philly to simplify things.

Run the football.

Control the clock.

Play defense.

And force Cam Ward to beat you with his arm.

Tennessee struggled to generate explosive plays against the Jets, and if Philadelphia gets ahead early, that Eagles pass rush should be able to make Ward's afternoon extremely uncomfortable.

This feels like a classic Eagles game where they don't necessarily blow you away statistically—they just physically wear you down.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Titans 10

Best Bet: Saquon Barkley Anytime TD (-114)

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CLEVELAND BROWNS (+8.5) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

O/U: 41.5

Both of these teams opened the season ugly.

The difference?

Tampa Bay was still within striking distance of winning despite repeatedly shooting itself in the foot.

Cleveland was basically done by halftime.

The Buccaneers turned the football over repeatedly against Cincinnati and still managed to score 27 points. Clean up even a couple of those mistakes and this offense should look dramatically better.

Cleveland, meanwhile, got steamrolled by a Jacksonville team that never really allowed the Browns to get comfortable.

I think Tampa rights the ship.

And yes...

The pun is fully intended.

The Bucs sail to their first win of the season.

Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Browns 17

Best Bet: Cleveland Team Total Over 15.5

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MINNESOTA VIKINGS (+4.5) AT CHICAGO BEARS

O/U: 48

Chicago just scored 59 points.

So naturally, everybody is going to expect another offensive explosion.

I don't.

Minnesota presents a completely different challenge than Carolina.

The Vikings defense frustrated Green Bay in the second half last week, and Brian Flores is one of the best defensive minds in football when it comes to creating confusion and pressure.

You can bet he'll have something cooked up for Caleb Williams.

Chicago still has the advantage offensively, particularly after watching its rushing attack absolutely destroy Carolina, but this feels much more like an NFC North rock fight than another track meet.

These teams know each other too well.

Chicago wins.

Minnesota makes them earn every point.

Prediction: Bears 23, Vikings 17

Best Bet: Chicago Team Total Under 27.5

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PITTSBURGH STEELERS (+5.5) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

O/U: 41.5

Drake "The Schedule" Maye had a nightmare fourth quarter in Seattle.

Three interceptions.

A 10-6 lead turned into a 13-10 loss.

And now he gets T.J. Watt.

Wonderful.

Pittsburgh's offense doesn't do much for me right now, but that defense absolutely does.

The Steelers made life miserable for Atlanta, and I expect them to use a similar formula against New England: stop the run, force obvious passing situations and let Watt and company attack Maye.

That's exactly where Pittsburgh wants you.

The Steelers won in Foxborough last season.

I'm calling for them to do it again.

Prediction: Steelers 23, Patriots 20

Best Bet: Steelers +5.5

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GREEN BAY PACKERS (-3.5) AT NEW YORK JETS

O/U: 44.5

Here's the question:

Are the Jets actually improved?

Or is Tennessee just really bad?

My answer?

Probably a little bit of both.

Geno Smith and the Jets stayed on schedule offensively in Week 1, which kept Geno out of obvious passing situations and allowed New York to control the game.

Green Bay presents a much tougher challenge.

The Packers looked dominant for stretches against Minnesota before completely collapsing in the second half.

Jordan Love put up huge numbers, but his late turnovers helped open the door for the Vikings' comeback.

If Green Bay can avoid another meltdown, I think its offense eventually creates enough separation.

The Jets keep it competitive.

But eventually Geno makes the mistake Green Bay is waiting for.

Prediction: Packers 24, Jets 20

Best Bet: Green Bay Moneyline

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CAROLINA PANTHERS (-2.5) AT ATLANTA FALCONS

O/U: 43.5

If I'm Bijan Robinson, I'm watching that Chicago-Carolina film with a giant smile on my face.

The Panthers just surrendered 59 points and got absolutely destroyed on the ground.

Now they get Bijan.

Atlanta's offense couldn't generate much against Pittsburgh with Cooper Rush at quarterback, but the Steelers defense and Panthers defense are two very different animals.

I don't expect Atlanta to put up Chicago numbers.

But I absolutely expect Bijan to be the focal point.

Feed him early.

Feed him often.

And let him carry Atlanta to a close divisional win.

Prediction: Falcons 20, Panthers 17

Best Bet: Bijan Robinson Over 80 Rushing Yards (-148)

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CINCINNATI BENGALS (+2.5) AT HOUSTON TEXANS

O/U: 46

You have to believe Cincinnati spent this week studying exactly what Buffalo did to Houston.

The Texans struggled to consistently pressure Josh Allen, and that's a dangerous problem when your next quarterback is Joe Burrow.

Burrow obviously isn't going to hurt Houston with his legs the way Allen can, but his pocket presence is elite.

Give him enough time and eventually Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are going to get open.

The biggest key will be Cincinnati's running game.

If the Bengals can stay balanced and prevent Houston from simply attacking Burrow every snap, Cincinnati should be able to move the football.

On the other side, I liked what we saw from the revamped Bengals defense in Week 1.

Give me a couple of C.J. Stroud mistakes, a short field or two for Burrow and a Bengals road victory.

Big week for Tigers everywhere.

Go LSU.

Prediction: Bengals 28, Texans 24

Best Bet: Bengals Team Total Over 21.5

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JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (+2.5) AT DENVER BRONCOS

O/U: 45.5

It's Week 2 and this game already feels important.

Jacksonville looked fantastic against Cleveland.

Denver looked...

Rusty?

Flat?

Dare I say...

Weak?

Kansas City bullied Denver on the ground Monday night, and that's the part of the matchup Jacksonville should attack.

The Jaguars are playing confident football, Trevor Lawrence looks comfortable and this team has now carried its winning streak from last season into 2026.

Denver desperately needs a response after getting embarrassed in Kansas City.

But until the Broncos show me that Week 1 was an anomaly, I'm riding with the hotter team.

Jacksonville beat Denver in Denver late last season.

I think they do it again.

Prediction: Jaguars 27, Broncos 20

Best Bet: Jaguars Moneyline (+127)

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LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (+6.5) AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

O/U: 43.5

Who had the Raiders at 1-0 and the Chargers at 0-1?

Anybody?

Anybody besides that same weird Cardinals fan from the parking lot?

If you're participating in the Sizzlin Sports Survivor Pool, you already know how painful that Chargers loss was.

Meanwhile...

DAHHH RAIDAHS.

Las Vegas looked physical, disciplined and opportunistic in Week 1.

Kirk Cousins provided stability at quarterback, Ashton Jeanty gave the Raiders a legitimate rushing attack and the defense made enough plays to control Miami.

The Chargers should be desperate after getting upset by Arizona.

And I do think Los Angeles wins.

But 6.5 points feels like a lot against a Raiders team that suddenly looks much more competent than expected.

This could get uncomfortable.

Prediction: Chargers 21, Raiders 17

Best Bet: Chargers Team Total Under 25.5

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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-4) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS

O/U: 40.5

The Darkside defense showed up in a big way for Seattle in Week 1.

After Sam Darnold went down, the Seahawks defense kept them alive long enough to steal the game from New England.

Meanwhile, Arizona pulled off one of the biggest surprises of Week 1.

Be honest.

Nobody had the Cardinals starting 1-0.

Okay...

Maybe that one weird Cardinals fan you met in a parking lot five years ago.

He definitely did.

Drew Lock became more comfortable as the New England game progressed, and a full week of practice with Seattle's starters should help.

I expect plenty of money to come in on Arizona getting four points.

Don't be fooled.

Seattle will run the football, play defense and force Arizona to sustain long drives.

I don't think they can consistently do it.

Prediction: Seahawks 24, Cardinals 13

Best Bet: Seahawks Moneyline

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MIAMI DOLPHINS (+13.5) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

O/U: 45

San Francisco looked like the old San Francisco in Week 1.

Physical.

Efficient.

Relentless.

The 49ers dismantled the Rams in Australia and reminded everyone that this roster is still extremely dangerous.

Miami?

Looked about how everyone feared Miami might look.

So yes, San Francisco should win this game.

Probably comfortably.

But...

Thirteen and a half points?

That smells like a trap.

This has all the ingredients for a game San Francisco controls from beginning to end, only for Miami to score some meaningless touchdown with three minutes left and destroy everybody's bet.

Niners win.

Dolphins sneak through the back door.

Prediction: 49ers 27, Dolphins 17

Best Bet: Dolphins +13.5

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WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (+4) AT DALLAS COWBOYS

O/U: 50.5

Two teams.

Two Week 1 losses.

Two divisional games to start the season.

Someone is about to be 0-2 in the NFC East.

Dallas couldn't consistently stop the Giants' rushing attack or contain Jaxson Dart when he extended plays.

That's concerning when your next assignment is Jayden Daniels.

Washington, meanwhile, was one failed two-point conversion away from potentially forcing overtime against Philadelphia.

This has all the makings of a shootout.

Dak Prescott should have opportunities against Washington.

Daniels should have opportunities against Dallas.

And neither defense inspires enough confidence for me to expect this thing to stay quiet.

I'll take Washington to make one more play late.

Prediction: Commanders 31, Cowboys 27

Best Bet: Commanders +4

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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (+6.5) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

O/U: 46.5

The Kansas City redemption tour gets another national audience.

And unfortunately for Indianapolis, Week 1 showed us exactly where this matchup could get ugly.

The Colts just got hammered on the ground by Baltimore.

Now here comes Kenneth Walker III.

Walker absolutely destroyed Denver on Monday night, and there's no reason for Kansas City to suddenly get cute here.

Run the football.

Force Indianapolis to bring extra bodies into the box.

Then let Patrick Mahomes attack whatever opens up behind them.

Simple.

Effective.

Painful.

The Colts should be more competitive than they were against Baltimore, but Kansas City has an obvious weakness to attack.

Expect a lot of Kenneth Walker.

Prediction: Chiefs 24, Colts 17

Best Bet: Kenneth Walker III Over 80 Rushing Yards

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NEW YORK GIANTS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS

The John Harbaugh era couldn't have started much better in New York.

The Giants took care of Dallas on Sunday night, Jaxson Dart looked comfortable and suddenly there's some real excitement surrounding Big Blue.

Meanwhile...

What the hell happened to the Rams?

Los Angeles entered the season with legitimate hype and then got dismantled by San Francisco in Australia.

The 49ers ran the football effectively, extended drives and never allowed the Rams to establish control.

The Giants should look at that tape and see opportunity.

Harbaugh has built a physical football team, and if New York can limit turnovers and consistently establish the run, the Giants can absolutely make this uncomfortable.

I like the way New York is built.

I like Dart.

I like what Harbaugh is establishing.

But they're still young.

And I'm not ready to completely bury the Rams after one awful performance.

Los Angeles survives a scare.

Barely.

Prediction: Rams 26, Giants 23

Best Bet: Giants +7

-Justin Tapp