I didn't make a play from Thursday Night Football as I was not able to pick a winner in a game that saw both the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in a pick 'em contest after both won their opening game of the season.
Week 2 has some big games where teams are trying to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole which is usually a bad place to be for those chasing Play Off spots. Divisional Games also take place in Week 2 as the NFL continues and I have my Picks below.
Week 1 was a positive one for the NFL Picks, but it is only Week 1 and there is much work to do over the course of what is always a tough season.
Los Angeles Chargers @ Buffalo Bills Pick: The NFL season is a long one but it has proven to be very difficult to recover from a 0-2 start if you have serious ambitions of making the Play Offs. Both the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills were beaten in Week 1 which puts additional pressure on the two teams, although more could be felt by the Chargers who were a trendy pick to have a deep Play Off run this time around.
Losing to a Divisional rival at home is not the way the Los Angeles Chargers would have expected to start the season, but they could be feeling a little disappointed with the way things panned out against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers actually won the yardage battle as well as dominated the First Downs, but Special Teams turned the game in favour of the Chiefs and Los Angeles need to bounce back immediately.
At least the Chargers were much more competitive than the Buffalo Bills who were blown out by the Baltimore Ravens as Nathan Peterman proved he is not a NFL starting Quarter Back. The decision to bench him was not made immediately after Week 1, but Sean McDermott eventually announced that rookie Quarter Back and First Round Pick Josh Allen will be given the keys to the Buffalo Offense much earlier than was imagined.
Allen did come in for some action against the Ravens when things got out of hand in Week 1, but it is still a big ask of the Quarter Back who was expected to get more time to learn the pro game. The move to Allen is perhaps not a big surprise when you think of how the Chargers dominated Peterman in his start against them last season as Los Angeles blew out the Bills at home, but at least Allen is not going to be faced with Joey Bosa coming at him from one side of his Offensive Line.
Last week the Offensive Line struggled in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens so I do think the Chargers will have some success pressuring Allen as the rookie adjusts to the faster speed of the NFL. One of the problems for the Bills was the inability to run the ball as they would have liked and that means more pressure on their inexperienced Quarter Back to step back and make plays under siege from the Defensive Lines they are facing.
I don't think it will be as difficult moving the chains for the Los Angeles Chargers if Philip Rivers and the Offense play as they did last week. The Buffalo Bills don't have the same Defensive power as they did a couple of years ago and Rivers should have a strong day passing the ball especially if the Chargers continue to run the ball as they did last week.
It will be more difficult against this Buffalo Defensive Line, but I do think there are holes in the Secondary that Rivers can exploit and the Chargers may produce another dominant win over the Bills. This won't end in the 30 point blow out when these teams met in Los Angeles last year, but I do think the Chargers are good enough to win by double digits and cover this number.
The Chargers are on the road where things can be much more difficult for any team, but Buffalo are just 2-4 against the spread as the home underdog since 2016.
Remaining Picks will be in the MY PICKS section this week and I will have fuller threads from Week 3.
MY PICKS: Los Angeles Chargers - 7.5 Points @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Atlanta Falcons - 5.5 Points @ 1.91 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
Indianapolis Colts + 6 Points @ 1.91 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Miami Dolphins + 3 Points @ 1.91 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
New England Patriots - 1.5 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)
Dallas Cowboys - 3 Points @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Chicago Bears - 3.5 Points @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Week 1: 6-2, + 7.34 Units (16 Units Staked, + 45.88% Yield)
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