They say Week 1 is a liar, so who lied in their season opener? Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL, we watched Drake Maye and Jordan Love lose to backup quarterbacks, and the Los Angeles Rams aren’t the super team some envisioned. Who can turn it around in Week 2?
This weekend, the new-look Cincinnati Bengals defense will get its shot at C.J. Stroud, the Broncos will look to get back on track with another AFC contender in the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts face off on “Sunday Night Football.” Which teams should you pick in Week 2, and which should you fade? CBS Sports writers Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin are here to break down the biggest games of the weekend. For clarity, lines for these selections were taken on Sept. 15 over at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots (-4.5)
Dajani (Steelers +4.5): I’m probably the only person in the world who remembers last year’s edition of Steelers at Patriots. It was an incredibly forgettable game, where the Steelers beat the Patriots by a touchdown, 21-14. Yes, Aaron Rodgers beat Drake Maye and the eventual AFC champions in Foxborough. The Patriots have had extra time to mull over their embarrassing loss to Drew Lock in the season opener, but with the point-spread being 4.5 points in a game where I’m expecting like 30 total points, I’m going to lean towards the underdog. Especially with A.J. Brown sidelined by a high ankle sprain. Believe it or not, the Steelers have won THREE STRAIGHT GAMES as an underdog of at least four points! I’ll take Pittsburgh to keep it close. … Prediction: Patriots 16, Steelers 13
Dubin (Patriots -4.5): New England did not look good at all last week. The Seahawks‘ defense totally shut down everything that Drake Maye and the rest of the offense wanted to do, and it got ugly in the fourth quarter in particular. The Steelers, meanwhile, shut down everything the Falcons offense wanted to do on Sunday. But Maye is not Cooper Rush, and the Patriots are not the Falcons. This should be a relatively low-scoring game, but I still trust New England’s offense a lot more than Pittsburgh’s, and that should be enough to take home the win. … Prediction: Patriots 21, Steelers 13
New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)
Dajani (Saints +7.5): The Baltimore Ravens were one of the big winners from Week 1. They eviscerated the Colts, 41-23, while racking up 500 yards of total offense. Derrick Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while Zay Flowers registered a career-high 150 yards receiving and a touchdown … in the first half. However, I would say that the Saints were one of the biggest “winner losers” from Week 1. I actually like that term. “Winner losers.”
I was wildly impressed by Tyler Shough, who threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns to go with three turnovers vs. the Lions. It looked like he was flailing at the beginning of the second half with two straight turnovers, but the second-year signal-caller hung in there, relied on his playmakers like Chris Olave, and helped New Orleans overcome a 21-0 deficit on the road to get to overtime. It was remarkable. Dude is tough mentally and physically.
I’m going to take the Saints to cover the big number because Baltimore could be without two of its top wideouts in Flowers (hamstring) and Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist). Plus, Shough is 8-2 ATS in his career as the starting quarterback. That’s tied for the best mark since 1970. A gambler’s dream QB! … Prediction: Ravens 28, Saints 24
Dubin (Saints +7.5): Baltimore looked like the best offense this side of Chicago in its demolition of the Colts in Week 1. Before Zay Flowers went out after aggravating his hamstring injury, Declan Doyle’s group looked essentially unstoppable with Lamar Jackson targeting Flowers and Derrick Henry rushing through gaping holes in the line. The defense also limited the Colts to just 4.7 yards per play. It was a terrific debut. The only reason I’m taking the Saints here is the question about Flowers’ availability, and the potential for New Orleans to secure a back-door cover in comeback mode, like it did against Detroit last week. … Prediction: Ravens 27, Saints 20
Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans (-2.5)
Dajani (Texans -2.5): One of the games of the week. I found such joy in watching the Bengals’ defense force three fumbles on the Bucs’ first four possessions. The fans in the stands must have been crying tears of joy. Still, this was a competitive matchup that came down to the wire. As for the Texans, no one expected that defense to allow 36 points and for Josh Allen to register the first 300-yard passing game vs. Houston since 2024. If that’s a sign of things to come, then the Bengals are winning this game. But I think DeMeco Ryans is going to have this defense ready to roll and rebound in their second straight home game. … Prediction: Texans 27, Bengals 23
Dubin (Texans -2.5): Houston lost a heartbreaker at home to Buffalo last week and now faces another explosive offense in a Cincinnati group that scored a lot but didn’t necessarily even look its best in Week 1. Ja’Marr Chase, at least, should be a lot better after posting just two catches for 12 yards last week, even with Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter across from him. But the Texans’ offense also looked a bit better than expected last week, and were it not for some ill-timed fumbles, the Bucs would have hung a bunch more than their 27 points on Cincinnati. I think both teams can find some success offensively here, and in that case, I like the Texans to secure the win at home. … Prediction: Texans 26, Bengals 24
Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos (-3)
- Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS (Stream on Paramount+)
Dajani (Jaguars +3): I’m sorry, but how am I supposed to feel confident laying points with the team that looked like the worst in the NFL last week? Yes, even worse than the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. The Broncos were a nightmare of epic proportions in Kansas City on Monday night. Davis Webb couldn’t get Bo Nix into a rhythm at all, Jaylen Waddle caught one pass for 2 yards and this vaunted defense registered a missed tackle rate of 29.8%. Absurd.
I know Week 1 is a liar and I expect the Broncos to be better than what we saw on Monday night, but this Jaguars team is for real. Denver knows that, as Trevor Lawrence came to Mile High and dropped 34 points on the Broncos in Week 16 last year to end Denver’s 11-game win streak. … Prediction: Jaguars 24, Broncos 23
Dubin (Push): Jacksonville looked just about as impressive as possible in its beatdown of the Browns in Week 1, while Denver looked like a two-way disaster in its blowout loss to the Chiefs. Predicting such a stark reversal feels wrong, but I felt really good about the Broncos coming into the season and don’t want to back off that just yet. I think Denver finds much more offensive success than it did against Kansas City here, while Jacksonville slows down just a bit after its blistering start. … Prediction: Broncos 24, Jaguars 21
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5)
- Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC (Stream: Fubo — try for free)
Dajani (Chiefs -6.5): The Colts are one of four teams with a winning record in the regular season vs. Patrick Mahomes, and their last meeting went to overtime. However, the new-look Chiefs are all about running the rock with Kenneth Walker, who exploded for 173 rushing yards and a touchdown on Monday night. That could be a problem, since the Colts allowed 202 rushing yards and 506 yards of total offense vs. the Ravens. Derrick Henry galloped for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson found paydirt as well. It was the worst yardage margin (-255) in any game for the Colts since 2017. There are plenty of trends that back up the Colts’ case here, such as them being 3-0 ATS in their last three games vs. the Chiefs, but I’ll take Kansas City to win by a touchdown at home. … Prediction: Chiefs 24, Colts 17
Dubin (Colts +6.5): Indianapolis got run all over by the Ravens last weekend, and we could see a repeat of that this week with the Kenneth Walker-led run game for Kansas City, which looked both efficient and explosive against the Broncos last week. But if the Chiefs can’t pass the ball more efficiently than they did against Denver, it’s hard to see them consistently blowing teams out. So I like the Colts to keep things relatively close in this one, even while the Chiefs grind out a win on the ground. … Prediction: Chiefs 21, Colts 17
New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams (-7)
- Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC (Stream: Fubo — try for free)
Dajani (Rams -7): I feel like the New York Giants are going to be a hot pick this week after their fun upset of the Dallas Cowboys, which makes me want to go the other way. The Rams have had a long break to lick their wounds from the atrocity in Australia, and Aaron Donald is expected to make his return to the field! I’m not expecting him to rack up sacks on Jaxson Dart, but it’s going to be fun to see him back out there.
I have the Rams bouncing back and covering with a late field goal. This isn’t going to be a best bet from me, because I think a cover is going to come late. … Prediction: Rams 30, Giants 21
Dubin (Rams -7): Two of the biggest surprises of Week 1 were the Rams laying a total egg against the 49ers in Australia and the Giants coming out and clobbering the Cowboys for four quarters. I’m not necessarily expecting either of those things to continue through the rest of the season. It’s easy to overreact to what we saw in debut games and take the Giants here because they were so impressive against Dallas and the Rams were so inept against San Francisco, but I’m going to lean on the preseason priors for a little while longer and take L.A. to win in pretty convincing fashion. … Prediction: Rams 27, Giants 17
Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills (-4.5) (TNF)
- Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime
Dajani (Bills -4.5): This could be the game of the year. Not only are these two of the best teams in the NFL, both being tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the league’s best record since 2023 at 37-15, but it’s also the first regular-season game in the new Highmark Stadium! It’s going to be a night talked about in Buffalo forever. That’s why it’s around $400 to get in the door, per Ticketmaster.
Something has to give here. The Bills have won five straight vs. the Detroit Lions and are 10-2 in their past 12 primetime home games. But the Lions are 14-3 in primetime over the last five seasons, which is the best mark in the NFL! Jared Goff has averaged 351.7 passing yards per game against the Bills — but has an 0-3 record. Last time Goff played Buffalo, he became the only quarterback in NFL history to lose a game with 400 passing yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions, according to CBS Sports Research. Insane. I’m expecting an absolute shootout on Thursday night, and 4.5 points is more than I was anticipating. However, the Lions’ injury report has me leaning toward Buffalo. Goff is down his starting right tackle in Blake Miller, and starting left guard in Christian Mahogany. I saw Buffalo’s defensive front get an impressive push in Houston, and ultimately win that game by stripping C.J. Stroud of the football. Bills win in a thrilling home opener. … Prediction: Bills 36, Lions 30
Dubin (Lions +4.5): This should be a ridiculously high-scoring game. (The Over-Under, as of this writing, is 54.5, which is the highest of the week by 4 full points.) Both the Bills and Lions have explosive offenses paired with defenses that could best be described as charitable, which we saw last week. There are matchup advantages all over the field for both teams. I could see all of Josh Allen, James Cook, DJ Moore, Dalton Kincaid, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams going off in a potential fireworks show. I lean toward the Bills for the win in the debut of their new stadium, but I like the Lions to keep it close enough that the Bills don’t cover the spread. … Prediction: Bills 35, Lions 31
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