NFL 2018 Week 2 picks

The results of Week 1 were just chaotic enough for me not to do a ranking yet.  We'll wait until this week's results.  A few things did stick out at me:
1.  The Giants haven't fixed their woes from 2018
2.  Sam Darnold played very well.  Granted, the Lions defense played confused, but Darnold played brilliantly.  I thought he might be the weakest of the rookie QBs -- I'll admit that I missed the mark on that prediction.
3.  Detroit needs help!
4.  Buffalo looks like a disasater
5.  Khalil Mack really boosts the Bears defense.  Yes, when Aaron Rodgers came back in the second half, he was able to keep Mack at bay, but few QBs are like Rodgers (and it cost him AT LEAST one game, as he aggravated that knee injury), so the Bears may be loaded... for Bear

Thursday night
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals:  Andy Dalton and company looked pretty good against Indy, but Dalton threw two interceptions.  The Ravens are better at causing turnovers, so game play like that is going to cost them.  If Joe Flacco continues to play like he did last week, he'll keep Lamar Jackson playing running back instead of quarterback.  RAVENS, 27-20

Sunday early games
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons:  Carolina beat Dallas, but their offense wasn't too hot.  That is Carolina's "bread and butter", so that had better improve.  Atlanta's offense is moving smoothly, which will allow them to coast to a win this week.  FALCONS, 30-16

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints:  Wow, that Browns offense was pretty good!  Since the Saints defense showed they can't stop opponents, Cleveland should have another good week.  However, the Browns defense isn't great, and they won't be able to stop the massive onslaught of the Saints offense.  SAINTS, 34-24

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans:  Wow, this game could go either way.  Neither QB was spectacular last week.  Houston's defense did a fair job of slowing the Patriots, but they let too many big plays happen.  I'm not sure Tennessee has too many big plays in them, though, so that defense should be enough to allow Houston to win.  TEXANS, 20-16

Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins:  Okay, maybe Alex Smith is a good match for this team after all!  The bigger shocker, though, was the strength of the Redskins defense.  THAT will be the difference in this game, as the Colts still try to sort out their offensive issues.  REDSKINS, 24-13

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers:  Now we see if the Browns game was a fluke or not.  The Steelers defense seems to understand old-style football, but the new-fangled quarterbacks confuse them.  That's a bad sign when you are playing Patrick Mahomes, who was brilliant last week.  I have to give the edge to KC.  CHIEFS, 27-20

Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills:  After watching the Bills last week, this one is a no-brainer.  CHARGERS, 27-6

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets:  These two teams usually generate a lot of offense when they meet, regardless of how the offenses have looked previously.  The Jets poured it on last week, and Miami proved stronger than the Titans' defense.  Except lots of points here.  Sam Darnold impressed me, so I favor the home team in this scoreboard-churning encounter.  JETS, 34-30

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers:  Aaron Rodgers will not play, and he might be out for a couple of weeks.  I understand why he wanted to play in the second half -- they were playing their hated rivals the Bears.  However, he made the injury worse, and it could cost his team.  It will show up this week, as the Pack defense cannot slow Kirk Cousins and the Vikings (they had trouble slowing the Bears in the first half last week, and their offense isn't nearly as good), and without a smooth offense to keep pace, the Pack are overmatched.  VIKINGS, 30-10

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Bucs:  Wow, did Ryan Fitzpatrick have a great week last week!  However, he has a history of inconsistency, and I think that will show up as he is pestered by the tough Eagles defense.  Nick Foles is back, so expect some passes on the run.  EAGLES, 27-17

Sunday late games
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams:  Cards QB Sam Bradford is facing a former team, and the Cards hope that will spark some emotion.  They need it, as he looked rather bland last week.  I think the offense will get sparked, but not enough to overcome the stingy Rams defense.  RAMS, 24-16

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers:  Someone bring an alarm clock to the Lions' hotel, the team needs a wake-up call!  I saw perhaps one of the most lackluster performances from the Lions since Matthew Stafford arrived.  If they don't get it together soon, they will suffer badly.  The 49ers saw good play from Jimmy Garopollo, but not the type of stellar performances he engineered last year.  Still, it'll be good enough against the anemic Lions defense.  49ERS, 24-10

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars:  We can't tell about the Jags defense, since the Giants played so poorly a high school team might have looked good.  I can say that the offense was lacking, which gives a clear edge to the Pats in this game.  PATRIOTS, 30-20

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos:  The Raiders defense lost too much power from last year, as clearly demonstrated against the Rams.  That will hurt them here, as the Broncos have the talent to move the ball.  BRONCOS, 30-20

Sunday night
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys:  The Cowboys offense wasn't brilliant last week, but it was better than the Giants.  COWBOYS, 23-10

Monday Night Football
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears:  Geez, this is an interesting game to pick.  The Bears typically do poorly on Monday night, and the Seahawks typically do poorly on the road.  Seattle stepped it up last week on the road, but fell short.  The Bears were impressive in the first half last week, but couldn't stop a motivated Aaron Rodgers.  So which team will buck history more in this game?  I think Seattle will show up well, but the difference will be the Mack Attack of new linebacker Khalil Mack.  BEARS, 27-24