Ridin' Pine Week 2 Picks

on


Records after week 1:

Jake: 11-5

Sam: 10-6

Johnny: 6-9


All games are 1:00 p.m. ET unless noted otherwise


THURSDAY

Cincinnati @ Cleveland 8:20 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Bengals
    • Both teams have high potential offenses that struggled week one, and fairly middle of the road defenses. The Bengals, having one of the worst offensive lines in the league, will need to be able to protect Burrow if they want to win, but I think they'll be able to do so. As always it'll be fun to watch Burrow play, and not fun to watch Baker "play".
  • Jake: Bengals
  • Johnny: Bengals
    • Tough decision here, but I'm a little higher on Burrow now than Baker

SUNDAY

Jacksonville @ Tennessee 

  • Sam: Titans
    • The Jaguars may just have the worst defense in the league, and the Titans have a very strong offense (especially on the ground where Jacksonville specifically struggles). Gardner Minshew played great weak one, but he will have to play catch up from the jump and the team around him won't do him any favors. To stand a shot the Jags will need rookies K'Lavon Chaisson and C.J. Henderson to stand out, but even then their chances are slim.
  • Jake: Titans
  • Johnny: Titans

Carolina @ Tampa Bay

  • Sam: Buccaneers
    • Tampa is coming off a tough week one loss, and I can't see a way that Brady drops both of his first two games with his new team.
  • Jake Bucaneers
    • The Bucs offense looked incredibly inconsistent last week, but it's easy to forget Tom Brady did not have a preseason with this squad, and that the Saints are arguably the team to beat in the NFC. The Panthers are an okay, but very beatable team, and I don't see Brady and the Bucs going down 0-2 here.
  • Johnny: Buccaneers

Denver @ Pittsburgh 

  • Sam: Steelers
    • After week one JuJu Smith-Schuster seems to be well his way to proving he can be a legit #1, and Big Ben looks like he may just be back for real. The Steelers defense also looked great last week holding Saquon to nothing and intercepting Daniel Jones twice. Denver had a close loss vs the Titans last Sunday and I absolutely would not call the Broncos a bad team, but this game has to fall the way of Pittsburgh 
  • Jake: Steelers
    • The Broncos offense was somewhat of a disappointment last week. Lock was unspectacular, and Jeudy ran some phenomenal routes but had two bad focus drops. The Broncos were also without star receiver Courtland Sutton, and new slot receiver KJ Hamler, so they will be back in some capacity. Even though the Broncos offense will likely be better than week 1 in this one, the Steelers defense has been elite since last season, and the offense looks to be somewhat legitimate again now that Big Ben is back.
  • Johnny: Steelers

Los Angeles (N) @ Philadelphia 

  • Sam: Eagles
    • Yes. The Eagles looked really bad last week and the Rams looked pretty OK. I know. I saw it too. I still believe in the Eagles so much more than I believe in the declining Rams.
  • Jake: Rams
    • Carson Wentz got sacked 8 times last week. Granted as I've said the Football Team's pass rush is going to be one of the best in the league, but the Rams have a very good one too including a guy named Aaron Donald. The Rams offense also looks less lost than they did last year despite losing Cooks and Gurley, so I think the Rams have a good chance to pull this one out.
  • Johnny: Rams
    • Lucky Carson Wentz is the Andrew Benintendi of the NFL.  Just waiting for him to come around.  Although the Rams got away with one last week, Wentz will probably fumble a ton playing Donald and the rest of the LAR defense today.

San Francisco @ New York (A)

  • Sam: 49ers
    • Sadly (as a Jets fan), this may be the easiest pick of the week. The Jets aren't going to win this one even with George Kittle sidelined. The outlook for gang green has to be to to see how Sam Darnold preforms against an elite defense and to continue prepping for the winnable games later in the week.
  • Jake: 49ers
  • Johnny: 49ers
    • Duh

Buffalo @ Miami 

  • Sam: Bills
    • The Bills secondary vs Ryan Fitzpatrick. Do I have to say anything else?
  • Jake: Bills
  • Johnny: Bills
    • This is going to be closer than people think, but Allen and Diggs are going to connect a lot against a meh Miami D

Minnesota @ Indianapolis 

  • Sam: Colts
    • This was the toughest game of the week for me to pick, but the factor it ended up coming down to was how vulnerable the Vikings were to the pass attack last week, and the fact that they'll be seeing it again in Indy. Yes Phillip Rivers is no Aaron Rodgers, and the Colts don't have the Packers weapons, but Rivers will have all day in the pocket throw to T.Y. Hilton
  • Jake: Vikings
  • Johnny: Vikings
    • The Colts had a bad loss last week, can't trust 'em

Detroit @ Green Bay

  • Sam: Packers
    • The Lions defense is depleted this week (missing Desmond Trufant), and it wasn't good when it wasn't mostly intact last week. It's gonna be a field day for Rodgers and the packers offense.
  • Jake: Packers
  • Johnny: Packers

Atlanta @ Dallas

  • Sam: Cowboys
    • The Cowboys bring a really strong and really complete offensive attack into this season, and the Falcons bring a fairly unimpressive defense. I predict this game to be high scoring on both ends, but still a decisive Dallas victory.
  • Jake: Falcons
    • This Falcons offense is going to be a lot closer to the 2016 Super Bowl (losers) team than the Falcons squad last year. Calvin Ridley exploded week one and has always had the talent to be the best #2 receiver in the NFL. Russell Gage surprised us with a 114-yard game, Hayden Hurst is a former first-round tight end in 2018, and Todd Gurley might not be the same TGIII, but he's likely better than the aging Devonta Freeman was last year. This one is going to be an offensive shootout but I'm gonna go with the Falcons here.
  • Johnny: Cowboys
    • They should've won last week. I don't usually trust them, and McCarthy is clearly off to a slow start, but Dak is hungry and will outplay Matt Ryan

New York (N) @ Chicago

  • Sam: Bears
    • Chicago's pass rush, combined with the Giants O-Line, will allow Daniel Jones absolutely no time to throw the ball this week. It's hard to win when your QB is swarmed with defenders a half second after the snap.
  • Jake: Giants
    • The Giants struggled week one while the Bears picked up the W. The Bears really didn't deserve the win though as rookie RB D'Andre Swift dropped a wide open game-winning TD at the very end of it. The Bears are a team in decline: Trubisky had a solid week one but that's unlikely to last, their best offensive player Allen Robinson doesn't want to be there, and the defense continues to underperform after being the best defense in the NFL 2 years ago.
  • Johnny: Bears
    • Jeez this is a tough matchup.  Couple of teams that need new QBs, but the bears did better last week, basically a coin flip

Washington @ Arizona 4:05 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Cardinals
    • The Washington Football Team looked surprisingly good last week, but the Cardinals looked even more surprisingly good-er. The Cardinals seem like they could be a team to reckon with this year and if they are this matchup shouldn't trouble them at all.
  • Jake: Cardinals
  • Johnny: Cardinals

Kansas City @ Los Angeles (A) 4:25 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Chiefs
    • Tyrod Taylor and the Chargers were solid last week, but not nearly solid enough to compete with the Cheifs. Mahomes by a million.
  • Jake: Chiefs
  • Johnny: Chiefs
    • One of these matchups is going to be close this year, but the Chargers are not ready for this test Sunday

Baltimore @ Houston 4:25 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Ravens
    • Houston took a huge step back this offseason and the Ravens are as good as ever. Last year this game would have been close. This year, not so much.
  • Jake: Ravens
  • Johnny: Texans
    • DeShaun Watson is going to show us why he's getting $40M/year here

New England @ Seattle 8:20 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Seahawks
    • Its important Pats fans don't get ahead of themselves after a week one win vs the Dolphins. The Seahawks are still in a totally different league.
  • Jake: Seahawks
    • I wish I could say I expect the Pats to win this game, and I certainly think they have a solid shot, but the non-Tua-starting Dolphins were not a difficult test in week one anyways. The Seahawks offense is only getting better after adding Greg Olsen, getting Chris Carson back, and DK Metcalf beginning to become a star (who the Patriots could have drafted over N'Keal Harry but we don't talk about it). The defense is also improved immensely adding Quinton Dunbar, an old-but-still-solid Bruce Irvin, and Jamal Adams who is undoubtedly the best safety in the NFL. Tough test for both offenses, but I'm going with the Seahawks here.

MONDAY

New Orleans @ Las Vegas 8:15 p.m. ET

  • Sam: Saints
    • The Raiders weren't bad last week! but this is still a totally uneven matchup. GOAT Drew Brees won't struggle.
  • Jake: Saints
  • Johnny: Saints