Week 1 is in the books, and Week 2 has already started with the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers facing off on Thursday Night Football. In this article, we’ll take a look at the 15 NFL games for Sunday and Monday. Rank these Week 2 NFL confidence picks by straight-up confidence, break them into tiers, and dive into the reasons behind it all.
High Confidence Picks
1. Ravens Over Browns
2. Steelers Over Seahawks
3. Rams Over Titans
4. Cowboys Over Giants
5. 49ers Over Saints
Let’s start with the Baltimore Ravens over the Cleveland Browns. It’s the biggest spread on the weekend, but also a great spot for the home team. The Ravens were embarrassed last week in a blowout. Now they return home against a far inferior team. The Ravens have beaten the Browns in four of the last five meetings in Baltimore.
The Pittsburgh Steelers over the Seattle Seahawks is tied with the Ravens for my top pick. Mike Tomlin is at home, probably a little pissed off after the Jets kept things close. Now he gets a ghost seeing Sam Darnold at home? Mike Tomlin doesn’t lose the games he’s supposed to win, case in point, Week 1. Steelers roll in this one.
The Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay are another team and coach that doesn’t often lose games they should win. The Tennessee Titans looked better in Week 1 against Denver than most thought they would. But that may have been more about Denver than it is about Tennessee. The Rams are easily the better team in this matchup.
Dak Prescott has won 13 games in a row with his Dallas Cowboys over the New York Giants. A streak we haven’t seen since Tom Brady took ownership of the Buffalo Bills. The Giants’ Week 1 performance should make you feel even better about this pick. Russell Wilson looked lost, and Dallas is coming into this one hungry.
Yes, Mac Jones is starting for the 49ers at quarterback. No, that doesn’t bother me. Jones has been a serviceable quarterback. He was decent in New England and looked good filling in for Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville last season. The Saints are just simply a bad team, and again, looking at the head coach. This time, Kyle Shanahan is going to win this type of game.
Confident Picks
6. Cardinals Over Panthers
7. Lions Over Bears
8. Chargers Over Raiders
9. Broncos Over Colts
10. Bills Over Jets
The Carolina Panthers were a team coming into the year that we thought might be greatly improved. Week 1 they looked like the Panthers of old, which wasn’t good. Arizona didn’t look great against New Orleans, but they got the job done even with a sick Kyler Murray. The Cardinals are fast starters, and I think they’ll get it done in Week 2.
The Detroit Lions suffered an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. They host the Bears and their old offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, here in Week 2. Dan Campbell is going to be biting kneecaps in practice this week getting his team ready. I just don’t see the Lions starting 0-2 in 2025.
The Los Angeles Chargers looked the part in Week 1 as they took down the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil. Las Vegas took care of a New England team that didn’t look great on the road. I’m not sold that the Chargers are a top tier team just yet, but they are better than Las Vegas. It won’t be a shock when they win Monday night.
Denver struggled to put away a bad Tennessee Titans team, but I have full confidence that Sean Payton will make sure those mistakes are fixed. Was Indianapolis an elite team last week, or is Miami just that bad? In siding with the latter. If Danny Dimes beats me, he beats me. I’ll take Bo Nix over him until I see otherwise.
The New York Jets actually scare me a little this week. Buffalo is coming off the big win in Baltimore in dramatic fashion. The Jets are a team they’ve struggled with over the years, and they proved against Pittsburgh that they will be scrappy this year. But Buffalo is the better team, and I expect them to show up and take care of business. They just make the cut for “confident” picks.
Toss-Ups
11. Viking Over Falcons
12. Buccaneers Over Texans
13. Bengals Over Jaguars
14. Eagles Over Chiefs
15. Patriots Over Dolphins
As this section’s header would make you believe. These games are all toss-ups. Here at SGPN, we always make picks, so I’ll do just that. It starts with the Vikings over the Falcons. This one is simple. I was impressed with JJ McCarthy’s comeback performance. The Vikings were a great team last year, and that showed late in the Week 1 game. Atlanta looked flat against the Buccaneers in their game.
Speaking of the Buccaneers, I think they’ll be the better team in the other Monday night game against the Texans. The Buccaneers’ offense was explosive once again, and their defense was tough enough. Houston struggled against the Rams, putting up just nine points. Their offense line needs serious help, and they’ve got a lot to figure out. Give me Baker Mayfield.
The Cincinnati Bengals are slow starters. They proved it once again against Cleveland last week. Jacksonville looked great against the Panthers at home in Week 1. Cincinnati has the home edge, so I’ll give them the win here. But, my bet will likely be Jaguars +3.5 to keep it close.
The Super Bowl rematch should be a good one. It’ll likely be a closer game just because that’s what happens with teams this good. The Eagles curb-stomped the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, so it’s hard to pick against that. It’ll be close, but the Eagles win.
Patriots over the Dolphins is going to show us all a lot about both of these teams. New England looked bad against Las Vegas in Week 1, and Miami was atrocious in Week 1, losing to the Colts. Mike McDaniel could be fired if the Dolphins lose this one, and I think they just might. This is the game I’m least confident in. But give me the Pats to edge out the Phins.
