Editor Matt Loede’s NFL picks for Week Two

Last Week: 9-6

It was an Ok week for week one in the NFL for yours truly for my picks, as a couple heavy hitters like the Chargers and Cowboys let me down, but let’s see if they will be able to bounce back this week as we pick the 16 games around the NFL for week two.

Pittsburgh at Tennessee – An old fashioned AFC battle, as two 1-0 teams take to LP Field on Sunday. The Titans played well against the Raiders in a 38-13 win, while the Steelers had their moments and eventually overcame the Falcons 15-9 in OT. Both teams will look to establish the run, and it’ll be up to the Steelers D-line and LB’s to stop Chris Johnson. The game could some down to Vince Young, who had the advantage over Steelers starting QB Dennis Dixon. Tennessee 17 Pittsburgh 14

Baltimore at Cincinnati – The Ravens showed their defense isn’t old Monday night, putting a licking on the overhyped Jets in a 10-9 win in New Jersey. Ray Lewis leads an emotional crew that will look to get a little revenge on the Bengals, who beat them twice a season ago. Carson Palmer and the Bengals offense has to play better, as they were overmatched in New England last week in a loss to the Pats. It’s hard to see the Ravens D allowing too many points, as they will get a big win and push the Bengals to 0-2. Baltimore 20 Cincinnati 7

Philadelphia at Detroit – Both teams played with backup QB’s last week, and lost in their openers. The Eagles have a QB issue with Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb, while the Lions will be without their first pick last year in Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill will be under center. The Lions D played well in Chicago, and will look to duplicate that this week against the Eagles at home. Look for a big day by rookie back Javid Best, but the Eagles will get a couple big plays from Vick that will lead them to 1-1 with a win. Philadelphia 27 Detroit 23

Arizona at Atlanta – The Falcons scored just 9 points against the Steelers, and will look to open up the offense more against the Cardinals at home. Matt Ryan has to be careful, as the Cards picked off rookie Sam Bradford three times in their win over the Rams Sunday. Derek Anderson had a good day, but look for them to try and run more as Benie Wells gets back to health. Michael Turner will go over 100 yards, and Ryan will hit 1-2 big plays that will be the difference. Atlanta 21 Arizona 17

Miami at Minnesota – Brett Favre and the Vikings are anxious to prove their opening night loss to the Saints was just a minor setback, but they better not take the Fins lightly Sunday at home. Miami played solid D in their 15-10 win over the Bills, and will look to pressure Favre and stop Adrian Peterson with their physical defensive play. Chad Henne and the Dolphins run game has to control the game, but that’s easier said than done. The Vikings get back on track, but it’ll be a hard hitting affair at the dome. Minnesota 17 Miami 13

Kansas City at Cleveland – The Chiefs played inspired ball in their Monday night win over the Chargers. Can they do it again, this time on the road in Cleveland will be a big test. Matt Cassel and the KC offense has to produce more in the air, as the run game can only take this team so far. The Browns got off to a fast start, but melted in Tampa in a 17-14 loss. They cannot make mistakes like they did vs the Bucs, as the Chiefs will jump on them if they do. The Browns are desperate for a win, as a loss here with a tough schedule ahead could spell doom with a setback. Problem is, the Chiefs are the better team. Kansas City 27 Cleveland 14

Tampa Bay at Carolina – Matt Moore has to play better if the Panthers are going to have any success in 2010, and it’s got to start this week. The Bucs got a big home win vs the Browns, but they needed some gifts from Cleveland to get it done. Look for the Panthers run game to assert itself, as the Bucs D-line is going to have to step up to keep this game close. The Panthers are a better team, and will get to 1-1 with a home win in their opener against their divisional foe. Carolina 19 Tampa Bay 12

Buffalo at Green Bay – The Pack could be the lock of the week, as even without Ryan Grant their offense is high powered enough to take out a Bills team that could be one of the worst in the league. Buffalo had just 166 yards of offense, and held the ball just 23 minutes. They won’t be able to hold down Aaron Rodgers and the Pack, as Greg Jennings and Donald Driver could each see a score and over 100 yards. The Pack win in a route. Green Bay 38 Buffalo 13

Chicago at Dallas – Chicago should be 0-1 but got lucky with a call late against the Lions, while the Cowboys beat themselves with turnovers and penalties in a loss to the Redskins. The Cowboys have had issues with their offense starting in preseason, and still have not righted the ship. They need to start with the run game, as Marion Barber and Felix Jones need to get a tempo going. That will open up the passing lanes for Tony Romo and company. Look for the Cowboys D to make life tough for Jay Cutler, as the Cowboys will finally show the talent they have as they beat the Bears in their home opener. Dallas 24 Chicago 16

Seattle at Denver – The Seahawks played way over their heads last week, as they trounced a flat 49ers team at home taking advantage of San Frans mistakes. This week the Broncos, losers in Jacksonville in week one, will look to bring them back to earth at Mile High. Kyle Orton played well in Florida, but the defense was not able to hold David Garrard in check. They need to play better to stop the Hawks, and look for them to come up with a big play or two to win the game and walk away 1-1. Denver 21 Seattle 14

St.Louis at Oakland – Trying to read the Raiders is impossible. They come into the season looking like a team that just maybe has turned the corner, then go to Tennessee and lay a huge egg losing 38-13. Now they have a Rams team that should be ripe for the picking at home after playing tough against the Cardinals. Sam Bradford in the Black Hole in Oakland spells disaster for the Rams, and Jason Campbell and the Raiders should do enough pull out a win to get to .500. Oakland 17 St.Louis 10

Jacksonville at San Diego – The Chargers looked out of sync in KC on Monday night, while the Jags looked a lot better than one would think vs the Broncos at home. David Garrard threw three TD’s, and played maybe the best game of his career. The Chargers will try to bring pressure against him, and have to make sure to stop Maurice Jones-Drwe as well. Look for Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense to have a much better game, but it won’t be so easy as the Jags will hang around. San Diego 30 Jacksonville 26

New England at New York Jets – I would have loved to have seen that episode of “Hard Knocks” after the Jets Monday night flop against the Ravens. The Jets are not as good as the world thought, and they showed that Monday with an offense that isn’t near as good as they think, and now without Kris Jenkins the D could have struggles as well. Tom Brady and the Pats want revenge for the setback in NJ last year, and will attack the Jets secondary outside of Darelle Revis. The Pats will handle this overhyped club and go up two games in the AFC East two weeks into the season. New England 29 NY Jets 13

Houston at Washington – The Redskins defense stepped up against the Cowboys Sunday night, and now they have to do it again against the Texans and Andre Johnson. Arian Foster ran all over the Colts, and will try to duplicate that against the Skins who held the Cowboys in check. Washington needs to be better on offense, as 10 points won’t get it done. Houston feels they can score, and will do so against a Skins team that won’t be able to keep up the emotion for the 2nd straight week. Houston 23 Washington 10

New York Giants at Indianapolis – Manning vs Manning. The G-Men had early struggles with the Panthers, but overcame them in the second half for an opening day win. The Colts were just beat at their own game Sunday in Houston, as the Texans outscored them with a run game led by Arian Foster. Look for Peyton to attack the Giants defensive backfield, and try to cross them up. Eli will need to hit a couple big plays to Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith, but it won’t be enough to overcome Peyton in the battle of the brothers. Indianapolis 24 New York Giants 17

Monday Night:

New Orleans at San Francisco – Can the Niners be as bad as Sunday when they were awful vs the Hawks? No. But that doesn’t mean they will just show up in their home opener and beat the world champs, who used their defense and ground game to take care of the Vikings. I like the new look of the Saints, who don’t need to rely every week on Drew Brees throwing for 350 yards to win. The Saints are still the better team, and the Niners are quickly going to find themselves at 0-2. New Orleans 27 San Francisco 20