Strong Side Sports

Week 2, baby. Here we go:

Matchups To Watch

Ravens @ Bengals // Sun – Everybody loves a good AFC North matchup (except the Bengals last week), and I’m expecting a lot of more out of Joe Burreaux and friends. They’ve gotta get right, and here’s a great opportunity against a good Ravens team to prove they’ve still got it. I think they do.

Chiefs @ Jaguars // Sun – Honestly, I really wanted to take the Jags here. I just can’t bring myself to do it. It’s almost like a reverse trap game scenario. With Kelce and Chris Jones back in the line up, I think the Chiefs will be able to come out on top.

Seahawks @ Lions // Sun – The Seahawks need a little redemption after their poor performance in Week 1. Unfortunately, I don’t think they can slow down the Lions offense, so their best bet will be to keep up with them on offense. For now, I’ll take the Lions.

The Rest

Vikings @ Eagles – If I’m not mistaken there was a prime time Week 2 matchup between these two teams last year…It did not go well for Minnesota and knowing what we know about Kirk Cousins in the prime time slots, I’d venture to say this will be more of the same. The only saving grace for the Vikings may be that Thursday games have a tendency to get wacky. I like the Eagles here.

Raiders @ Bills – Well, Raiders fans, if you want to make your mark, here’s a good game to do that. I’ve got a feeling that Josh Allen is gonna be playing pissed off after Monday night’s disastrous performance so that does not bode well for the Vegas faithful. Taking the Bills.

Chargers @ Titans – The Titans are just one of those teams that I can’t get excited for any of their games. I expect the Chargers to put up some points and the Titans to…not. Bolts by a mile.

Packers @ Falcons – Okay, sure, Jordan Love tore it up against Chicago and that’s fine. Plenty of QBs have had a good game. Can he put together two back to back? Or will his offense be outpaced by the electric Bijan Robinson? It goes against my hater intuition, but I’ll go with the Pack.

Colts @ Texans – AFC South matchups rarely move the needle for me, and this game is no different. At least you’ve got a nice rookie quarterback battle going on here. All things considered, this may actually be an interesting game to see how this rivalry could develop over the years if Richardson and Stroud are franchise guys. I think the Colts are a little more complete right now.

Bears @ Buccaneers – This is lowkey an interesting game. You’ve got the Bears who looked like the same ol’ Bears last week and the Bucs who seem to have a chip on their shoulder. Can Chicago flip the script and establish the run? Can Baker be consistent? A week ago today, I wouldn’t have picked Tampa, but today, I will.

Giants @ Cardinals – SUCK FEST 2023. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW. This game should be banned from tv. This is a game that you have to pay people to attend because anyone spending their hard earned dollar to go see this dumpster fire in person oughta be locked up or at the very least put on a watchlist. If it was possible to pick neither one of these sorry teams, I would. Unfortunately, I have to pick one so I guess it’ll be the Cards. Bleh.

Niners @ Rams – I’ll keep this short and sweet. The Rams are better than I thought, but not nearly good enough to hang with the Niners.

Jets @ Cowboys – Do we really think Zach Wilson can game manage every game and rely on the defense to put up points and generate short field situations? I mean, maybe. But you’ve got a pretty competent squad on the other side there this week, and I’m not sure the Jets have enough firepower to get it done. Reluctantly, I’ll take the Boyz.

Commanders @ Broncos – This is a game that nobody is cancelling any obligations to watch. It’s the type of game that you’ll forget is even on. Washington played just a little too close for comfort with the Cardinals last week, so I guess I’m forced to choose Mr. Unlimited and the Broncos. Tough.

Dolphins @ Patriots – Not a bad game for Sunday night. The Pats may even be able to slow down the Fins dynamic receiving corps with the right game plan. They’ll find issues in mustering up any meaningful offense of their own though, despite the Swiss cheese defense of Miami. Fins up.

Saints @ Panthers – Luckily, this isn’t a standalone Monday night game or else we’d have to collectively call for the resignation of Roger Goodell. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Pretty boring probably. Uhhh, Saints go marching.

Browns @ Steelers – Obviously, I’d like to pick the Steelers here. Historically they do pretty good against Cleveland. But hey, this way, it’s a win-win for me. Either I get the pick right, or my boys get a dub. This thing could turn into a real slug fest. You gotta assume that Mike Tomlin did not go easy on his team this week. I’m also gonna assume that the Browns may be feeling a little too cocky after doing what they did to the Bengals last week. All that to say I’m gonna take the Browns. I think I’m gonna puke.

Closing Remarks

Week 2 is set to be a revealing bunch of games. Who will start 2-0? 0-2? How many games last week were just a product of rusty play and getting up to game speed? Will I manage to go 0/3 on my bets again? Let’s look into that :

Money Line – Packers (+100)

Spread – Niners -7 (-110)

Point Total – Chiefs@Jaguars O51.5 (-105)

I really like the value of getting the Packers at plus money here. Niners laying 7 against the Rams could be cutting things close but I see the potential for the game to get out of hand. For the over, I’m counting on Travis Kelce to revitalize the Chiefs offense, and I don’t see any issues asking TLaw and Co. to put up some points right back. That’s all for this Week 2 preview folks. I’ll see ya on Tuesday.