2017 NFL Week 2 Recap

NFL Week 1 wasn’t too bad. I ended with a nice 9 and 6 record against the spread. I definitely didn’t carry that over to NFL Week 2. Frankly, NFL Week 2 was a complete disaster. I failed to cover in 12 of the 16 NFL Games.

Crazy, right? Not really. The word that NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell love is parity. That’s why they tried to shut down the New England juggernaut with some silly thing called Deflategate a couple of seasons ago.

Doesn’t help me any, though. Check out my 2017 NFL Week 2 recap!

2017 NFL Week 2 Recap

Houston Texans +5 at Cincinnati Bengals -5

The week didn’t start out so badly. The Cincinnati Bengals, as I expected, are a tired team. Firing offensive coordinator Ken Zampese after the 9 to 13 loss to Houston was the right move. Zampese’s offense stood still.

Cincinnati must also consider trading or benching Andy Dalton. That might be the only way to get a TD this season. QB A.J. McCarron has some talent. Dalton doesn’t appear interested in turning things around. Give McCarron a shot.

Result: Houston 13, Cincinnati 9

Cleveland Browns +7.5 at Baltimore Ravens -7.5

Cleveland impressed me in Week 1. Not so in Week 2. After throwing 3 interceptions, QB DeShone Kizer headed to the bench. After that? It was all over. Baltimore’s D has now looked great against 2 bad offensive teams: the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns.

Am I sold on the Ravens’ defense? Not yet.

Result: Baltimore 24, Cleveland 10

Buffalo Bills +7 at Carolina Panthers -7

I had a feeling the Bills were a better team than many NFL fans gave them credit for after beating the New York Jets 21 to 12 in Week 1. I was right. Buffalo’s defense was good enough for a 1 point win against the spread.

If the Bills’ offense can come together, Buffalo could be the top team to New England’s supremacy in the NFC East. That’s not to say that they’re better than the Patriots. But, Buffalo hung with a good defensive team while the Patriots simply bombarded a team with the worst defense in the NFL down in the Big Easy.

Result: Carolina 9, Buffalo 3

Arizona Cardinals -7.5 at Indianapolis Colts +7.5

I knew Arizona was a bad football team. I didn’t know Arizona was this bad. Facing arguably the worst team in the NFL, the Desert Birds needed overtime to beat the Colts by 3 points. Overtime? Versus Indianapolis? Arizona is toast.

Result: Arizona 16, Indianapolis 13 

Tennessee Titans -1.5 at Jacksonville Jaguars +1.5

Jacksonville should have had no trouble stopping Tennessee’s rushing attack. It wasn’t even close. The Titans rushed for a ridiculous 179 yards. Marcus Mariota wasn’t great. Blake Bortles was worse. The Jags’ QB accounted for 3 turnovers, 2 picks and a fumble.

Result: Tennessee 37, Jacksonville 16 

Philadelphia Eagles +4.5 at Kansas City Chiefs -4.5

Philly looked good early on in this game. In fact, the Eagles covered the spread for most of the battle. Then, Kansas City realized that they’re the best team in the NFL. The Chiefs had an off game. They still beat Philly by 7.

That’s bad news for the rest of the AFC. Kansas City QB Alex Smith has too many weapons. In Week 2, he went to Travis Kelce all day. If defenses try to take away Kelce, Smith will go to WR Tyreek Hill…all day.

Result: Kansas City 27, Philadelphia 20

New England Patriots -6.5 at New Orleans Saints +6.5

My worst ATS pick of the week centered around the idea that a professional football team would make adjustments on their defense after getting slammed in Week 1. New Orleans made no such adjustments. Patriots’ QB Tom Brady made them pay. Brady threw for 447 yards. He tossed 3 TD passes.

Result: New England 36, New Orleans 20

Minnesota Vikings +6 at Pittsburgh Steelers -6

To be fair, I chose the Vikings believing that QB Sam Bradford would start. Bradford didn’t play at all. The Steelers won another ho-hum affair. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 87 yards in this one.

Pitt’s offense looked much better in this one. Big Ben completed passes to 6 different receivers. That’s a good sign. If Roethlisberger mustn’t rely on Antonio Brown in every game, the Steelers’ offense should be much more difficult to deal with.

Result: Pittsburgh 29, Minnesota 6

Chicago Bears +7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -7

Tampa Bay was raring to go after having to sit out Week 1 due to Hurricane Irma. The Buccaneers didn’t disappoint. Chicago isn’t a good team. The Bears did play Atlanta tough in Week 1, though. The fact that Tampa Bay dominated the Bears with their defense was inspiring if you’re a Bucs’ fan. Chicago had 4 turnovers in this matchup.

Result: Tampa Bay 29, Chicago 7

Miami Dolphins +4.5 at L.A. Chargers -4.5

The Dolphins showed that Jay Cutler as their QB wasn’t going to hurt them. Cutler was poised when throwing for 230 yards and a TD. Miami showed incredible balance on offense while the Chargers’ rushing attack is a mess.

Melvin Gordon was good for 1.4 yards per carry in Week 2. This versus a Dolphins’ defense that in 2016 allowed over 130 yards per game via the rush.

Result: Miami 19, L.A. Chargers 17

N.Y. Jets +14 at Oakland Raiders -14

Raider Haters beware. The soon to be Las Vegas Raiders are one of the top teams in the NFL. Oakland beat a decent Tennessee team on the road by 10 points in Week 1. In Week 2, the Raiders dominated the New York Jets by way more than the -14 spread.

Result: Oakland 45, New York Jets 20 

Dallas Cowboys -2 at Denver Broncos +2

Supposedly, Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett is going to talk to RB Ezekiel Elliott about his lack of effort on 2 Dak Prescott interceptions in this game. Elliott can actually be seen with his hands on his hips during one of Dak’s picks. Denver rolled the Boys.

Result: Denver 45, Dallas 17

Washington Redskins +2.5 at L.A. Rams -2.5

I discounted the effect Rams’ coach Sean McVay had on Washington while the offensive coordinator in D.C. McVay’s affect was so great that it had carried over to Washington’s defense. The Rams had no answer for Washington’s D, which is why Washington beat the Rams straight up in Week 2.

Make no mistake, D.C.’s defense isn’t very good. In fact, it’s downright terrible. All day Washington’s secondary appeared to know where Rams’ QB Jared Goff was going with the ball. It was eery how well Washington played only a week after looking horrible in Week 1.

Result: Washington 27, Los Angeles Rams 20

San Francisco 49’ers +13.5 at Seattle Seahawks -13.5

The San Francisco 49’ers did exactly what they’re supposed to do in a game. Feed the ball to talented RB Carlos Hyde. Hyde got 15 carries versus the Seahawks that he turned into 124 yards. In Week 3, SF should give Carlos the ball 30 times. It wasn’t good enough for the 49’ers to upset Seattle straight up. Against the spread? The Niners easily won ATS.

Result: Seattle 12, San Francisco 9

Green Bay Packers +2.5 at Atlanta Falcons -2.5

The marquee matchup of NFL Week 2 lost some steam early in the first half after Packers’ WR Jordy Nelson left the game with a quad injury. Nelson didn’t return. Without Jordy, there wasn’t a lot that Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers could do. He did throw for 343 yards and 2 TDs. Aaron also threw another pick.

The Falcons rushed for 142 yards. To me, that was the big story of the game. Green Bay’s D allowed 5.2 yards per carry. Atlanta easily covered the spread.

Result:  Atlanta 34, Green Bay 23

Detroit Lions +3.5 at New York Giants -3.5

I’m starting to believe the New York Giants are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Odell Beckham Jr. played. The Giants lost again. Odell playing or not isn’t the big problem. The first big issue is that the Giants’ D had a seriously flawed strategy.

Detroit QB Matthew Stafford threw for only 122 yards. Stafford rushed for 23 yards off only 3 carries. He also tossed 2 TDs. The G-Men D allowed 138 rushing yards. You can’t beat the Detroit Lions if you allow 138 rushing yards.

Result: Detroit 24, New York Giants 10

What do you think?

Written by D.S. Williamson