Outside of the Dallas Cowboys defense and the San Francisco 49ers in their entirety, the best way to describe the opening week of NFL action in the 2023 season might be "sloppy". Joe Burrow threw for 82 yards, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense were lost without Travis Kelce, and Josh Allen was so erratic he allowed Zach Wilson to lead the post-Rodgers injury Jets to a walk-off OT win.
Now, we're onto our NFL picks and predictions for Week 2 with a slate that will give us quite a bit more information. Were the Steelers rusty or just not that good? Are the Vikings really going to regress this much? Can the Chiefs bounce back? Will the 49ers and Cowboys continue their reigns of terror?
We had a solid winning record for Week 1, but let's get even better in Week 2 with our NFL picks and predictions for every game on the slate. We start with a juicy Thursday Night Football matchup.
2023 NFL Picks Record: 10-6 (after Week 1)
NFL Week 2 picks and predictions: Thursday Night Football
One could make the argument that the reigning NFC champion Eagles were quite pedestrian in their Week 1 win over the Patriots. I would certainly do that. Of course, if we're talking about season-opener criticisms in this game, the Vikings losing to the Buccaneers looks much worse than a mediocre five-point win for Philly.
The Vikings could have some similar struggles if the offensive line isn't far better on Thursday than they were this past Sunday. Philadelphia's defensive front made life hell for Mac Jones and can easily do the same for Kirk Cousins. Having said that, we could also see Minnesota attack the middle of the field with T.J. Hockenson and Justin Jefferson with Nakobe Dean leaving the Eagles linebackers quite thin right now.
Iain MacMillan's pick for this game in his Road to 272 Bets for BetSided backed up the idea that this one could be closer than the 7-point spread indicated.
"Even though the Vikings lost to the lowly Bucs, they out-gained them 5.9 yards per play to 3.6 yards per play. In fact, only the Browns and Cowboys defense allowed fewer yards per play than the Vikings. So, let's not completely count them out just because they lost in an upset."
All told, though, the Eagles will still be the best team on the field in Philly. This game will likely be closer than it probably should be, but the Birds will still open the year at 2-0 while Minnesota will be trying to climb out of an early 0-2 hole in the 2023 season after this matchup.
NFL Week 2 picks and predictions: Early Afternoon Slate
Ladies and gentlemen, your AFC West-leading Las Vegas Raiders.
Frankly, I don't see that lasting too long. The Raiders defense was far from tested against a still-broken-ish Broncos offense last week. Josh Allen might've been problematic in Week 1's loss to the Jets, but he should be able to pick apart a weak Vegas secondary throughout this game. With the Buffalo fans also out in full force, don't expect this one to be all that close.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense weren't exactly lighting the world on fire in Week 1, even if the end result was still a 16-point win over the lowly Texans. At the same time, though, the rust for Joe Burrow was more than evident with perhaps the worst game of the Bengals quarterback's career. My expectation, especially with the divisional familiarity at play, is that Baltimore continues to make Burrow uncomfortable and we see another bad-to-middling game from the QB while the Ravens take a step forward in the second game under new OC Todd Monken.
The early week signs indicate that Travis Kelce is going to play in this game. The Chiefs also will have Chris Jones back on the defensive front. And with those two factors alone, the expectation should be for a big-time bounce-back from Kansas City.
Make no mistake, the Jaguars hit their stride in the win over the Colts last week. But there are levels to this and a full-strength Chiefs team is just too good for Jacksonville to keep up with for four quarters.
If you missed late-game Chargers collapses, they got you right back into the flow in Week 1 with the loss to the Dolphins. Now they travel to Nashville, but the offense they'll be up against looked far less potent in the opener -- frankly, the Titans looked abysmal. Ryan Tannehill looked washed -- though fans in Tennessee are hoping it's just rust -- and it was a rockfight to lose to the Saints. Just put simply, I didn't see enough Titans firepower to keep pace with Justin Herbert and Co. in Week 2.
Here's what Iain MacMillan had to say in his NFL picks for Week 2 on BetSided.
"The Chargers defense got exposed against the Dolphins in Week 1, but this is going to be a significantly easier offense they'll face this week. Ryan Tannehill was the 26th-ranked quarterback in Week 1, according to PFF.com. It was an ugly performance by him and as long as the Chargers can slow down the Titans rush attack, Justin Herbert should be able to go to work and lead LA to the win and cover."
Couldn't agree more, Iain.
For better or worse, I'm all-aboard the Jordan Love hype train. Matt LaFleur coached circles around the Bears in Week 1 and the new QB1 for the Packers looked stellar in his full-time debut. Meanwhile, the Falcons beat up on a young, shaky Panthers team. Call me crazy, but with how improved the Green Bay defense looked to start 1-0, they'll have more than enough to go to Atlanta and move to 2-0 on the year.
Doubt Dan Cambpell and the Lions at your own peril. This team is a legitimate threat to make a deep playoff run. Granted, the Chiefs receivers did them plenty of favors in Week 1, but Detroit still capitalized.
Seattle was among the most baffling teams to me in Week 1, but their lack of push up front against the Rams was the most alarming part for their defense. The Lions offensive line is better and the coaching staff has them ready to attack the weak spots. Detroit should dominate the lines of scrimmage, resulting in a big-time 2-0 start against two potential playoff teams.
Unless you really want to see how C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson (maybe as he's banged up) play in their second starts, you might want to avert your eyes from this one. It could be an extremely ugly AFC South matchup in Houston this week. But I have more faith in Stroud to not make a big mistake, especially with the Texans defense looking more competent than you might've expected.
This has all the makings of a classic flip-the-script game coming out of Week 1. The Bears got trounced by a division rival that always has their number while the Bucs shocked the Vikings. Chicago's offense remained a big problem, but I expect Justin Fields to use his legs far more often to move the chains in this game and perhaps create explosive plays too. Then there's the Baker Mayfield factor, which I refuse to believe in and may stubbornly continue to regardless of the Week 2 result.
NFL Week 2 picks and predictions: Late Afternoon Slate
Everyone is going to overreact to the Giants getting left for dead at MetLife by the rival Cowboys. There were two factors in that game, though. First, Dallas is just the better team by a wide-margin. But secondly, the game just got away from New York.
The Cardinals still might be the worst team in the league and a narrow loss to Washington in Week 1 shouldn't dismiss that notion. The Giants might be traveling to the desert for this game, but I don't see Arizona having much of an answer to Darren Waller or Saquon Barkley and, more importantly, the G-Men's defense should feast.
Even with Cooper Kupp still out for a few more weeks, I'm a believer in what we saw from the Rams in Week 1. Matthew Stafford looked confident and healthy, Sean McVay is already in his bag, and the defense stepped up.
The problem is that the 49ers are just that much better. Brock Purdy deserves plenty of credit, but he's still not a world-beater individually. In this talent-laden Kyle Shanahan offense, however, he is that. The Rams don't have the defensive talent to contain this group and, while they'll show up better than Pittsburgh, it still won't be a close game.
With how the Cowboys defense played in Week 1, I might have even taken Dallas in this game if Aaron Rodgers was playing. But with Zach Wilson at the helm of the Jets, this could be another blowout in favor of America's Team.
Dallas didn't even have to flex any muscle on offense last week and, frankly, that could be something similar to what we see against the other New York team in this game. Even still, I don't see many areas where I'm not giving the Cowboys a distinct advantage in this matchup. Micah Parsons is going to make Wilson wish he was still holding the tablet on Sunday afternoon.
Please don't make me watch this game.
This is probably my least confident pick of Week 2 because both of these teams didn't make me feel great about them in Week 1. For Denver, though, I think it's at least possible that the Russell Wilson-Sean Payton learning curve might take a bit. More importantly, though, the Broncos defense still looks quite good. That's going to create enough issues for Sam Howell and the Commanders to give Denver the edge at home.
NFL Week 2 picks and predictions: Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football
New England's defense should present a much more formidable challenge for Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. That's not a stretch when you're comparing them to the Chargers, of course.
However, Vic Fangio also has a much easier gameplan this week as he has to shut down Mac Jones and a mediocre Patriots offense as opposed to Justin Herbert. The offensive firepower for Miami will prove to be too much for Bill Belichick and the defense, and the Dolphins will pick up a 2-0 start in Foxborough, just to add a little cherry on top.
Bryce Young might be good, but it feels pretty easy to say that the Panthers as a whole are probably not. Without a mistake-prone Desmond Ridder to keep them in this game, the Saints looked shaky at times but quite dangerous at others. Their defensive front should be able to put the rookie quarterback under duress and, with Carolina not having Jaycee Horn in the secondary, Derek Carr should be able to hit some shots down the field. Those explosive plays should ultimately make for a sizable margin of victory on the road for New Orleans.
It's hard to get much worse than what the Steelers were in Week 1. But the Cleveland Browns defense led by Myles Garrett certainly looked like a unit that could snuff out any optimism that Pittsburgh is looking to gain at I'm-not-calling-it-anything-but-Heinz Field.
You can pile on Kenny Pickett all you want and perhaps deservedly so. OC Matt Canada, however, looks completely out of his depth once again. The Browns under Jim Schwartz look primed to take advantage of that. Though I remain dubious of how good Cleveland's offense will be, especially against a Steelers defense that should perform better in Week 2, it should muster enough, particularly with Nick Chubb, to pick up an emphatic road win to not only start 2-0, but 2-0 in the AFC North as well.