Week 2 NFL Picks (6-3 last week)

1 p.m.

Raiders at Bills—The Bills, perhaps the most surprising team during the opening slate of game’s last Sunday, gets a Raiders team that was penalized a lot but edged the Broncos in Denver on Monday night. Bills 31, Raiders 27

Bears at Saints—The Saints open their home schedule against another impressive team in Week 1—the Bears, which shut down the Falcons. Bears LB Brian Urlacher will be playing with a heavy heart as his mom died this week. Saints get their first win after playing Green Bay really tough last week. Saints 24, Bears 21

Cardinals at Redskins—Rex Grossman threw for over 300 yards last week and is licking his chops over what analysts called last week’s worst pass defense. The Cardinals took care of the Panthers but yielded over 400 yards passing to Cam Newton. The Redskins looked strong last week. Redskins 31, Cardinals 20

4:15 p.m.

Cowboys at 49ers -- The Cowboys stay on the road and go from the East Coast to the West Coast and face the 49ers, who beat Seattle last week. Ted Ginn Jr. had two special teams touchdowns for San Fran. Dallas led the Jets on Sunday night before blowing a 14-point lead. Tony Romo must prove he can get it done in the fourth quarter. Cowboys 31, 49ers 21

Texans at Dolphins -- An intriguing matchup. The Texans looked great last week at home, pounding the Colts. But the Colts might be really bad. The Dolphins looked surprisingly strong in hanging with the Patriots in Miami on Monday night. Could be a close game. I think the Texans will gain a lot of yards on what is supposed to be a solid Miami defense—the Dolphins, though, gave up 511 yards passing to Tom Brady last week. Texans 38, Dolphins 28

Chargers at Patriots -- I look for the Patriots, who are more disciplined and fundamentally sound to win this one, but the Chargers keep it close as Philip Rivers has a great game. Patriots 30, Chargers 27

8:20 p.m.

Eagles at Falcons -- The Falcons will be looking to get back on track after a bad loss to the Bears when an old teammate visits the Georgia Dome—Michael Vick. Philly was strong but not overwhelming in a win over St. Louis last week. The Falcons will play better than they did last week but I still give the edge to the Falcons. Eagles 28, Falcons 21

Monday night

Rams at Giants -- Both teams suffered sizable setbacks in Week 1. The Giants will come home to find an energized crowd and the Rams will fall to another NFC East opponent. Giants 24, Rams 21