FAVORITE TEAMS

What a crazy ending to Week 1 of NFL Football. Unfortunately, I’m saddened by Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury. It’s unclear if he’ll return next season due to his age and the recovery time from an Achilles injury. But Rodgers has been resilient before and it’s doubtful he has anything holding him back from returning next season or so to play at least one more season for the Jets. It remains to be seen. For now, I wish him a speedy recovery. Anyway, Week 2 has a toss-up feel to the weekend, but it should be some interesting matchups to tell who stands out as a strong unit while others were more of a fluke last weekend. While intriguing matchups take place in the AFC North, the Chiefs look to avoid 0-2 at Jacksonville while the Cowboys host their second straight New York opponent after they beat down their next door neighbor Giants, the day before Rodgers’ fate the next night. Look for potential trap games and upsets.

5) BROWNS AT STEELERS

5:15PM PT/8:15PM ET [MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – ABC/ESPN+]

Pittsburgh was walloped by the 49ers from start to finish. Even with TJ Watt, there wasn’t much they could’ve done, and it could’ve been worse if Watt wasn’t on the field. Meanwhile, the Browns put a hurting to Joe Burrow for the majority of the game. Rust or not from that quarterback, the Browns were the better team that day and Deshaun Watson came to form during their victory. Now, they travel to Pittsburgh for a rivalry showdown on Monday night. The Steelers are 16-10 on Monday Night Football against the AFC North (current and former). However, they’re 13-2 at home. They face the Browns at home for the third time on MNF and never lost to them at home. No matter the adversity, Pittsburgh figures it out at home with their defense and offensive skills positions.

MY PICK: STEELERS

4) RAVENS AT BENGALS

10AM PT/1PM ET [CBS]

Joe Burrow struggled mightily against the Browns defense. He could’ve been rusty coming back from his offseason injury, but the offense as a whole must perform better after a lackluster performance. The Ravens handled their business with Houston, but it came at a price. JK Dobbins is on IR, and safety Marcus Williams, center Tyler Linderbaum, and Ronnie Stanley is also out with a right knee injury (STANLEY IS HURT AGAIN! NO SURPRISE!!!). Mark Andrews is the only player questionable. To simply put it, the Bengals should bounce back this weekend.

MY PICK: BENGALS

3) SEAHAWKS AT LIONS

10AM PT/1PM ET [FOX]

Seattle stumbled badly against a seemingly revamped Rams team with both Aaron Donald and Matt Stafford healthy. Let’s just say Seattle flat out struggled after leading at halftime. They were unable to score at all in the second half, and Geno Smith may have nightmares for the rest of the season after realizing he’s dealing with not only Bosa, but also Aaron Donald twice in one season. The Detroit Lions had a “f*** it” mindset and beared down on the Chiefs for 60 minutes and won in the same fashion they did against the Packers in Week 18 last year. They’re motivated and confident they can win more. With Seattle’s offensive tackles bombarded with injuries after last Sunday, they’re in for a long 60 minutes against Aidan Hutchinson and company.

MY PICK: LIONS

2) CHIEFS AT JAGUARS

10AM PT/1PM ET [CBS]

Chiefs never started the season 0-2 and look to avoid it along with any displacement because of potential complacency as current Super Bowl champs. Travis Kelce’s limited at practice, so there’s a chance he could return. Trevor Lawrence and the Jags won a duel against rookie Anthony Richardson and the Colts, but it didn’t come easy. There were moments where the Jags nearly lost due to mistakes. Thankfully, they had enough arsenal on both sides to overcome their blunder to win the 4th quarter and the game. The Chiefs never started the season 0-2 since 2014 and Mahomes never started the season 0-2 in his career. 0-2 should be the push Chiefs need to avoid the inevitable. They also return their best defensive player in Chris Jones. The Jaguars may be good, but their mistakes from Indy likely leads to the Chiefs overcoming a tough road meeting at Florida.

MY PICK: CHIEFS

1) JETS AT COWBOYS

1:25PM PT/4:25PM ET [CBS]

Here’s the takeaway from MetLife Stadium from Sunday Night and Monday Night in short: The Cowboys’ defense and special teams drowned Danny Dimes, Saquon Barkley, and the Giants. Then, the Jets went from Hopeless in New York to Miracle at MetLife in one memorable night. Now, here’s where I find this matchup so oddly deceiving. The Cowboys are 0-3 against the Jets since 2011. They also lost five of their last eight meetings to the Jets. Yes, even with Mark Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Sam Darnold as quarterbacks. We all know about the Cowboys and the Jets after that performance in back-to-back primetime games in New Jersey. However, my assumption is that everyone’s on the Cowboys because nobody has faith in Zach Wilson as the quarterback. Let’s just say the Jets defense are more resilient than people think, and the skills positions is still up for one of the best in the NFL. Most importantly, can Dak Prescott handle the pressure at home where he’s already under a microscope for his starting job and career? I’m willing to be wrong, but I’m picking New York for at least one more week of a surprise finish.

MY PICK: JETS

WEEK 1 RESULTS: 14-2

OTHER GAMES

VIKINGS AT EAGLES [THURSDAY NIGHT]

PACKERS AT FALCONS

RAIDERS AT BILLS

SEAHAWKS AT LIONS

CHARGERS AT TITANS

BEARS AT BUCCANEERS

COLTS AT TEXANS

49ERS AT RAMS

GIANTS AT CARDINALS

COMMANDERS AT BRONCOS

DOLPHINS AT PATRIOTS [SUNDAY NIGHT]

SAINTS AT PANTHERS [MONDAY NIGHT]