2017 Week 2 Predix

Written by Sam DeCoste

Week 2 kicks off on Thursday night as the Texans square off in Cincinnati against the Bengals, with plenty of amazing games to tune into over the weekend. The Saints welcome the Pats, the Broncos host Dallas, and the Lions visit the Giants to end the week. Look no further than right here to find out who wins each and every game. However, I admit, I did not predict every game correctly last week. But that is what the next week is for, right? Let's do this!

My record last week: 11-4

Lock of the Week record: 1-0

My overall season record: 11-4

This is traditional Thursday Night Football-two teams who lost the previous week in dreadful fashion and look to "get back in the hunt." This matchup is more intriguing now that Deshaun Watson is making his first career start. Both teams lost pretty badly last week, as Houston was obliterated on offense against the Jaguars, and Cincinnati did not as much as score at all in a 20-0 shutout loss to Baltimore. Both teams need a win to gain back momentum in their respective divisions. I have to go with Cincinnati here, because I just don't believe in rookie quarterbacks.

Prediction: HOU 9, CIN 13

Game of the week potential right here. Two of the most prolific passers in league history, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees, will be going at it in the Superdome. Although the Pats looked pretty bad on opening night, they are still the champs and Bill Belichick is still their coach. Tom Brady is also quarterback. And the Saints defense is still bad. They got torched by Sam Bradford. Ouch. Besides, the Saints are coming off of a short week (playing on Monday night), while the Patriots have rested since Thursday. The Pats should win a shootout.

Prediction: NE 33, NO 27

The Sean McDermott Bowl. Yes, new Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, returns to Carolina, where he coached six years of top ten defenses in each year he was defensive coordinator. Both teams are 1-0 entering the game, but they both played two of the league's worst teams. The Bills emerged victorious against the Jets, and the Panthers pulled off an impressive road victory in San Francisco. The matchup to watch here is the Bills running game led by LeSean McCoy against the stout front seven of the Carolina Panthers. I like Carolina's chances.

Prediction: BUF 17, CAR 21

It looks like this game will in fact be played in Jacksonville, despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. This is a great AFC South matchup. The Jaguars upset the Texans in comfortable fashion, sacking Houston signal callers ten times. Meanwhile, Tennessee enters the contest already struggling. They struggled to put points on the board against an unimpressive Raiders defense. I have faith that the Titans will get on a roll this season, but after last week's stinker, I don't see them stealing one from the Jaguars who are feeling pretty good about themselves.

Prediction: TEN 14, JAX 20

If there is any matchup for Le'Veon Bell to bounce back after a horrible Week 1, this is certainly not it. Mike Zimmer's Vikings have always gotten off to fast starts, including last year, when they started 5-0. Although they fell off the rails last year, finishing 8-8, they have a stout defense who matches up well against the Steelers offensively. This is an underrated game in Week 2, and I think the Vikings upset the Steelers.

Prediction: MIN 27, PIT 19

The Bucs are one of two teams yet to play this season, given the circumstances in Florida. So Tampa Bay should be fired up and ready to go, given they have had plenty of time to prepare for Chicago. The Bears should be 1-0, but they are not thanks to two critical end zone drops against Atlanta. They come in as heavy underdogs, as they should be. There has been as much hype around Tampa Bay as any other team in the league, as there should be. Jameis Winston should take the next step this year, and begin 1-0 with a dominant win here against Chicago. 

Prediction: CHI 15, TB 27

No offense looks in more disarray right now than the Colts. Andrew Luck does not look like he will be returning anytime soon, and Scott Tolzien is not taking Indianapolis anywhere. From seeing how poor their offense performed in Los Angeles, there is no reason to believe that they will win a game without Luck. Arizona should be licking their chops at the prospect of this game. Even though Detroit stampeded them in the fourth quarter last week, I think they bounce back here. Arizona's defense is a must start in fantasy this week.

Prediction: ARZ 37, IND 7

Nobody had a worse offseason than the Ravens. But no defense had a better Week 1 performance either. It is not easy shutting out an opponent completely, forget against a divisional rival. For Baltimore, this is how they have to win games this season. Their offense needs at least 20 points a game, and their defense has to lock up shop. And based on last week, they seem capable of doing so. And this is a great matchup for Baltimore, going up against a rookie quarterback in DeShone Kizer. Start the Ravens defense this week!

Prediction: CLE 3, BAL 19

The Chiefs should be feeling good about themselves right now, especially after upsetting the champs to start the season. This is a game the Chiefs should win, but there have been similar situations to this in which the Chiefs have stumbled. Think of the Bucs game last year, or the Bears game in 2015. But given that the Chiefs have had ten days to prepare, they should outplay the Eagles all the way. This is one of the toughest defenses Carson Wentz will play this season, and one of his hardest tests in his career. Not many quarterbacks have won in Arrowhead.

Prediction: PHI 16, KC 29

Miami will begin a sixteen-straight week season with a tough test against the Chargers who are angry about losing on Monday night. Again, the Dolphins have been able to rest and gameplan for the Los Angeles Chargers ever since the news of their Week 1 game postponement, while the Chargers are coming off a short week. The Dolphins win the game if they ride Jay Ajayi, because Jay Cutler is not going to win games for them. The Chargers win if Philip Rivers doesn't have one of those four or five pick games he tends to have, like the one last year against this Dolphins team. I trust Adam Gase, and I think he gets it done.

Prediction: MIA 24, LAC 21

I'm sorry, but I won't be able to hype up Jets-Raiders. If you're watching, you're a Raiders fan. I'm not even sure if Jets fans are watching anymore. Derek Carr has the best matchup of the week, and he is a must start in all fantasy leagues, as is any other Raiders playmaker. The Raiders win. Period. This is my Lock of the Week.

Prediction: NYJ 16, OAK 34

I love this game. What a matchup this is. The best offensive line goes up against a Super Bowl winning front seven. But it is not entirely about the Cowboys offense versus the Denver defense. There are two sides of the ball after all. For Denver to beat the Cowboys, Trevor Siemian needs to carry the team to victory against a suspect Dallas secondary. The Dallas defense was so efficient last season because they were hardly on the field, and the offense was moving the chains every drive. If Denver continues to punt, then you know that Dallas will ultimately prevail in the trenches. If Denver wins this game, it is because Siemian moves the chains. If Dallas wins, it is because they neutralize Denver's offense. But no team has won more games at home since 1975 than the Denver Broncos. I think they get it done, and pundits obsess over this result for Dallas for the entire week. 

Prediction: DAL 16, DEN 17

Jeff Fisher's Rams would lose this game. I'm not sure what Sean McVay's Rams will do. They hit the ground running in style with a dominant victory against the Colts last week, but the Redskins offense is very much competent. But McVay has a history with the Redskins, and coached Kirk Cousins himself as offensive coordinator. He will know how to neutralize Cousins. On the other side, the Rams offense looks pretty good. I think Cooper Kupp has another great game. 

Prediction: WSH 17, LAR 30

Kyle Shanahan's 49ers disappointed in their opening game against Carolina. Seattle also disappointed in a stinker performance in Green Bay last week. They scored only nine points against one of the worst secondaries in the league. But what better bounce back game than at home against the 49ers? There's not much to discuss here other than how many fantasy points each Seattle skill position wins you this week.

Prediction: SF 6, SEA 26

Hopefully, this game turns out to be the contest we were hoping for in last year's NFC Championship. Atlanta, the defending NFC champs, got off to a slow start in Chicago last week, but managed to get it done in the end. They go up against a Green Bay defense which was terrible last season, but neutralized the Seattle offense last week. But Atlanta has a much better offensive line than Seattle. For Green Bay to win, they must count on Aaron Rodgers to play almost flawlessly, and they must count on at least one defensive play to change the game by their defense. I don't think that will happen, given that Atlanta opens their new stadium this week, in primetime.

Prediction: GB 28, ATL 34

This is not a bad way to end the week. The Lions started off sluggish, but won comfortably in the end against Arizona last week, thanks to the highest paid player in the NFL, Matthew Stafford. Meanwhile, for the Giants, the highest-payed player in the NFL wannabe, Odell Beckham Jr, may not even play this week. For the Giants to win this week, they have to shut down Stafford and the Detroit offense. The Giants offensively should get it going this week, given that they are just more talented than Detroit. I think the Giants just get by the Lions, and escape this Monday night game with a win, with or without Beckham.

Prediction: DET 14, NYG 16

Picture credit: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/22/green-bay-packers-atlanta-falcons-nfc-championship-game/