Brads NFL Picks Week Two 2016
Brads Picks was 9 – 7 last week. The good, bad and ugly from that (good is obvious; bad is a wrong pick in a game decided by one score – 8 points – or less; and ugly is a wrong pick decided by 9 or more points).
To see what games will be shown in your area on Sunday, go here:
http://506sports.com/
Home team identified by city, state or region; visiting team by team name.
The good:
Denver 21, Panthers 20 – Panthers 17, Denver 7 at the half. Physical game all the way through. Broncos 2nd year QB Trevor Siemian did a very good job in his first start, and against a top defense. All the stats were very close. Carolina missed a 47 yard FG try in the last minute.e Carson Wentz (out of North Dakota State), the second pick overall, got his first start and did pretty good, even though he missed most of the pre-season. Wentz was 22 – 37 -0 278 and two TD passes. Browns are probably the worst team in the league, though (or maybe the Rams). Browns lost their starting QB, Robert Griffin III, with a shoulder injury.
Bengals 23, NY Jets 22 – Bengals’ Mike Nugent kicked a 47 yard FG with 54 seconds left in the game. Close game all the way. No fumbles, each team had one INT. If not for a missed PAT attempt by the Jets in the second quarter the game would have gone to OT.
Raiders 35, New Orleans 34 – Drew Brees tossed a 98 yard TD pass (about thirty in the air) which set a record for the fifty year old Saints team (I suppose it would for most teams). The previous Saints record was set in 1967 when Billy Kilmer threw to Walt Roberts for a 96 yard score. Anyway, damn little defense in this game. Saints scored at will on what was supposed to be a very good Raiders D, but Drew Brees can do that to anyone. And the Saints don’t have a defense so no surprise that the Raiders scored.
Anyway, when the Raiders scored a TD with just 47 seconds left it made the score Saints 34, Raiders 33. A kicked PAT would have (probably) sent the game to OT but HC Jack Del Rio went for two and the Raiders made it.
Saints almost pulled it out though. With just seconds left, they narrowly missed a 61 yard FG.
On a side note, Drew Brees threw for over 400 yards for the 14th time, tying him with Peyton Manning for first place all time.
Kansas City 33, San Diego 27 (OT) – Chargers 21, KC 3 at the half. Total yards about equal, SD better on the ground, KC better in the air. 2nd half was all KC, as SD wilted after losing WR Keenan Allen to a serious knee injury. Neither team fumbled, SD threw one INT. OT ended when Alex Smith ran 2 yards for a TD.
Seattle 12, Dolphins 10 – Seattle 6, Dolphins 3 at the half. Same at the end of the third. Some good defense here (turnovers were even at 2). Give the Fins some credit for flying 3,300 miles and almost winning in a very noisy stadium.
Giants 20, Dallas 19 – Close game over all, with one turnover apiece. Eli Manning threw two TDs, rookie Dak Prescott threw none. Dallas got a TD on an 8 yard run by rookie Ezekiel Elliot in the 3rd. All the other scoring was on FGs.
First Giants win in Week One in 6 years.
The bad:
Packers 27, Jacksonville 23 – Aaron Rodgers threw two TD passes and ran for another. 21 – 17 Packers at the half. Both teams manged a FG in the 3rd and the 4th.
Buccaneers 31, Atlanta 24 – Bucs 2nd year QB Jameis Winston threw 4 TDs and the Bucs pretty much controlled the game (score was Bucs 31, Atlanta 13 with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter).
Lions 39, Indianapolis 35 – Lions won on a 42 yard FG with 8 seconds to go. That made it 37-35, and then the Lions scored 2 on a safety. By the end of the game, the Colts were down to just five healthy DBs, and only one of them was on the team during TC. Lions averaged 4.8 yards per carry.
Patriots 23, Arizona 21 – AZ missed a 47 yard FG with 41 seconds remaining. It’s astonishing that the Patriots could win in the desert against a team that many were picking to win it all this year. And they did it missing 5 starters, 4 on offense, including their OTs.
The ugly:
Vikings 25, Tennessee 16 – Vikings got 14 points off a fumble return for a TD and a pick 6. Pretty close statistically otherwise.
Steelers 38, Washington 16 – 24-9 at the end of the 3rd. Steelers O was just too much for the Reds.
San Francisco 28, Rams 0 – 14-0 at the half, and at the end of the third. Rams punted 10 times.
This week: the TNF game:
NY Jets (0-1) at Buffalo (0-1) – Division game. Jets were 10-6 last year, Bills were 8-8. But the Bills won both games against the Jets Division games are just different.
I have no real idea about this game. It’s Thursday night so a short week, and both played last week against tough teams from the AFC North (Bengals and Ravens). Jets were at home, Bills were on the road. I’ll take the Jets.
The 11:00 Sunday MDT games:
San Francisco (1-0) at Carolina (0-1) – SF looked pretty good last Monday night, whupping the Rams. But face it – they are on a short week, with coast to coast travel, and have to play a real team. Carolina had 4 extra days to get ready and will not start the season 0-2.
Baltimore (1-0) at Cleveland (0-1) – Division game. Browns (or the Rams) look to be the worst team in the league. Browns lost starting QB Robert Griffin to injury, so long time backup Josh McCown will start. Last year in Baltimore, McCown passed for 457 yards in an OT win. But the Ravens are healthier now and look to have a bounce back year, although the Bills made them work for last week’s win. Take the Ravens.
Tennessee (0-1) at Detroit (1-0) – Lions won late at Indy, but by then they were facing a crippled Colts secondary. Tennessee lost to a good Vikings team that scored 14 off turnovers. Vikings D held the Titans vaunted run game (DeMarco Murray and rookie Derrick Henry) to 64 yards on 22 carries. (But the Titans D held the Vikings to just 65 yards on 28 carries). Lions have a good D, probably not as good as the Vikes.
I like how the Titans went toe to toe with the Vikings. If they eliminate mistakes, they can win at Detroit. Can they do that in a noisy dome on the road? My hunch – take the Titans.
Kansas City (1-0) at Houston (1-0) – Chiefs thrashed the Texans in Houston last January 30-0 in a playoff game. But the Texans are a different team now, with Brock Osweiler at QB and Lemar Houston at RB. Texans beat the Bears by 9 last week, while the Chiefs needed OT to beat the Chargers at Arrowhead, and then only after the Chargers lost Phillip River’s favorite target, Keenan Allen. Could go either way but take the Texans at home.
Miami (0-1) at New England (1-0) – Division game. Both teams played out west last week, and both teams played tough, close games to the top NFC West teams. Patriots won at AZ despite not having Brady and four other starters, but a lot of that was because it turned into a trap game for the Cardinals. Ryan Tannehill has never played well at Gillette, but I smell an upset and will pick the Dolphins.
New Orleans (0-1) at NY Giants (1-0) – Giants got their first opening week win in 6 years last week at Dallas. Giants spent a lot of money in the off season on defense, and I don’t think Drew Brees will be as effective as he was last week in the Superdome. Not in the open air at the Meadowlands. Take the Giants. Eli Manning will have some fun with the Aints defense.
Cincinnati (1-0) at Pittsburgh (1-0) – Division game. Steelers won two of three games with the Bengals last year. Both wins were in Cincinnati. Steelers defense looked pretty good at Washington last Monday night (Reds had a very good O last year). Close call but so far I’m more impressed with Pittsburgh.
Dallas (0-1) at Washington (0-1) – Division game. Well, who knows? Steeler O just chewed up the Reds last Monday night while Dallas lost a close one to the Giants.Should be high scoring. If rookie Dak Prescott can find Dez Bryant some, and if the Boys can get prize rookie RB Ezekeil Elliott going, I like the Cowboys chances.
The 2:05 MDT games:
Tampa Bay (1-0) at Arizona (0-1) – Bucs showed some moxie last week in Atlanta, but their second year QB, Jameis Winston, will be facing a better defense this week. I don’t think Arizona wants to start the season 0-2.
Seattle (1-0) at Los Angeles (0-1) – Division game. Rams won both games last year, but they were so punchless last week that you have to take Seattle.
The 2:25 MDT games:
Indianapolis (0-1) at Denver (1-0) – Colts beat the Broncos 27-24 at Indy in Week 8 last year. But the Colts have a lot of injured players, especially on defense, while the Broncos are near 100%. This game is at Mile High.
Atlanta (0-1) at Oakland (1-0) – Atlanta has no pass rush, so I see Derek Carr and Amari Cooper having a big day. Raiders are feeling good about getting a tough win in New Orleans, while the Falcons lost at home to the Bucs. I’ll take the Raiders.
Jacksonville (0-1) at San Diego (0-1) – Chargers WR Keenan Allen was placed on IR after a knee injury at Arrowhead last week. Phillip Rivers was much better with him last year than without him. Jags played the Packers tough last week in J’ville. This is a close call. Jags spent a ton of money on defense in the off season, and I think it will take more than a week for the Chargers to adjust to the loss of Keenan Allen. Take the Jaguars.
The SNF game:
Green Bay (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0) – Division game. Vikings won the division last year, while going 1-1 against the Packers, winning on the road, losing at home.
Vikings get to open their expensive new stadium (remember when the cheap Metrodome collapsed under all that snow a few years ago?)
Vikings lost their fine young QB, Teddy Bridgewater, a couple of weeks ago to a devastating knee injury. That left them with 36 year old Shaun Hill. So they traded for Sam Bradford (Eagles) but who will start on Sunday night? Vikings D will be fierce, and it will be noisy. I’ll take the Packers and Aaron Rodgers but it will come down to turnovers and a few big plays on special teams.
The MNF game:
Philadelphia (1-0) at Chicago (0-1) – Eagles rookie QB Carson Wentz looked pretty good last week against the Browns, but that was the Browns and Wentz was at home. How will he deal with the noise at Soldier Field? I think Jay Cutler can find Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White enough to find a way to win. Take the Bears.