Whew. Week 1 was a thriller in the NFL! Upsets took place, including one big one as the Arizona Cardinals took down the Los Angeles Chargers, eliminating many in survivor pools after just a single week. Luckily, we still have our confidence pools! Last week was a solid week for this article, hitting seven of our top eight in confidence rankings. Arizona upset the apple cart, unfortunately, at the very top of our rankings. But we’ll rebound this week and get it back! Let’s dive in and take a look at The Confidence Playbook: NFL confidence pool picks for Week 2.
Action kicks off Thursday night with a big one as the Buffalo Bills christen their new stadium as the Detroit Lions come to town. Sunday night, the Indianapolis Colts head to Arrowhead to face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Primetime action wraps up the week as the New York Giants and John Harbaugh travel to SoFi Stadium to take on Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. Week 2 brings us a lot of easier games to predict than Week 1, with some more lopsided matchups.
Can’t Miss – High Confidence Picks
1. 49ers Over Dolphins
2. Eagles Over Titans
3. Buccaneers Over Browns
4. Packers Over Jets
5. Chargers Over Raiders
6. Seahawks Over Cardinals
There are six games I feel really good about going into Week 2. San Francisco showed us who they were last Thursday night in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams. Miami also showed us who they are. The only seed of doubt you could place is San Francisco adjusting after traveling home, but they should be good to go, and these are two teams on very opposite ends.
Philadelphia didn’t look great, and didn’t look bad, in Week 1 against the Commanders. This is one to simile not overthink. Philadelphia is a very good team; Tennessee is not. The Titans looked terrible as the Jets dismantled them last week. Cam Ward will be in for a long day against this Philadelphia defense.
Baker Mayfield lost three fumbles in Week 1 in an uncharacteristic performance. Luckily for him, he gets the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 for redemption. Deshaun Watson looked like he hadn’t played since 2024. Jacksonville throttled them, and Cleveland had nothing to give back. This is a bad team, with an even worse quarterback situation. Tampa Bay will get redemption in Week 2.
Green Bay showed some flaws in Week 1. They could struggle all year against good teams. Luckily for them, the Jets are not a good team. New York beat the terrible Titans last week, but this matchup heavily favors the Green Bay Packers.
I’m not scared off of the Los Angeles Chargers. They had a bad Week 1. They are, however, a good football team with elite talent. L.A. won’t lose back-to-back weeks to bad teams. Las Vegas certainly isn’t a good team. They handed a bad Dolphins team a loss last week, but this is another one where it’s a favorable match for the better team. The Chargers get back on the right side of things this week.
The Arizona Cardinals stunned everyone last week, taking down the Chargers. While I don’t know exactly what to make of that other than “any given Sunday,” I’m not scared of this Arizona team. Seattle has an elite defense, which they showed again last week. Even with Drew Lock at quarterback, they are the much better team.
Feelin’ Good – Confident Picks
7. Panthers Over Falcons
8. Patriots Over Steelers
9. Cowboys Over Commanders
10. Chiefs Over Colts
11. Ravens Over Saints
Who starts for the Falcons, and does it even matter? Their quarterback room is a dumpster fire, and no matter who starts in Week 2, it doesn’t give me confidence. Carolina isn’t a bad team at all despite the final score against Chicago. They hung with the Bears a majority of the night, and the Bears may just be an elite football team. These rivalry games always bring out the best in teams, but the best of Carolina is much better right now.
The New England Patriots impressed me in their Week 1 loss. If it wasn’t for a few mistakes by Drake Maye that he needs to clean up, they had a real shot at winning that game. Their tenacious defense will keep Aaron Rodgers in check, and Drake Maye will certainly be able to do more damage than Cooper Rush, who kept the Falcons within a touchdown of the Steelers in Week 1.
The Dallas Cowboys looked a little sluggish on Sunday Night Football. Some of that might have been the Giants just being well coached. Luckily for Dallas, they get Washington this week at home. The Commanders made it look closer than it was in Philadelphia, but they are still a team to fade. We’ll do that here with the Cowboys.
Indianapolis just looked sluggish in Week 1. Patrick Mahomes’ recovery seemed to have gone a lot smoother than Daniel Jones‘ to this point in time. Kansas City is just simply the better team here. We’ll ride with that.
Baltimore looked like one of the better teams out of the gate. New Orleans did not. The Saints did come back against the Lions and made it a game, and luckily covered the spread. Baltimore will likely be without Zay Flowers and rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane. I’m still confident they’ll be the better team at home.
Hold Your Breath – True Toss Ups
12. Rams Over Giants
13. Texans Over Bengals
14. Bears Over Vikings
15. Jaguars Over Broncos
16. Bills Over Lions
Super team assemble? Boy, the Los Angeles Rams were a bit disappointing last week. Myles Garrett is now out; maybe we see Aaron Donald, maybe not. I’m definitely more concerned about the Rams’ jet lag than the 49ers, and this Giants team looked really solid in Week 1. I’ll ride with the Rams here, but definitely a “toss-up” game.
Houston is one of the best teams in the league, and they showed it hanging with Buffalo late last week. While they came up short, it was still an impressive match. Cincinnati is also a good team, which is why it’s a toss-up, but I’m a Texas believer through and through. Their defense will be the difference.
The Bears offense is well on their way to breaking their 2013 scoring records after Week 1. They hung 59 points on Carolina. I’m not sure Minnesota can keep up with that with Kyler Murray if he’s back, or Carson Wentz at the helm. This should be a great game, but in the end I’ll take the Bears offense at home.
Jacksonville and Denver will be an interesting game. These are two playoff teams that were both great last season. Jacksonville won in Denver last December, which likely gives the upside to Denver. But this Jaguars team is too good to fade. I think their offense will be just a little too much for Denver.
If you play Thursday night games in your pool, for the second straight week, that’s the lowest game in my confidence rankings. Buffalo is breaking in the new stadium; I mean, some of the fans there won’t even be able to see the game, but it’s hard to fade them in that situation. The Lions are a good team as well; short week, hopefully we get a shootout!
