Week 2 got rolling on Thursday evening in Cincinnati as the Bengals jumped out to a 21-0 lead on three A.J. Green touchdown grabs and held on to win 34-23. As usual, a full slate of NFL games is on tap for Sunday afternoon.

Here is my Week 2 4-Pack:

Pittsburgh (-5.5) vs Kansas City

The Steelers did not look good in their season opener in the rain in Cleveland, but they head home to Heinz Field where they are a different team. Pittsburgh takes on a Chiefs team that is high-powered on offense, but has glaring holes on the defensive end, especially with veteran safety Eric Berry likely to be sidelined once again with a heel injury.

Look for Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes to make some big plays, but also make mistakes in a much less friendly environment than he saw Week 1 in Los Angeles. The Chiefs should score, but I struggle to see their defense stopping Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and the Steeler offense.

The Steelers put up 30+ and win their first game of the year.

PITTSBURGH 2 units

 

New York Giants (+3) at Dallas

Both NFC East squads got off to an 0-1 start, but the Giants battled a tough Jacksonville team to the wire while the Cowboys looked like a work in progress in their opener against Carolina.

On offense, the Giants may not score at will against what appears to be a solid Dallas defense, but they should make some big plays given the explosiveness of Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley. They also should be able to exploit the Dallas safeties who lack the speed to keep up with the likes of OBJ and second-year tight end Evan Engram.

On the other side of the ball, the Dallas passing game is likely to once again struggle with a lack of talent on the outside. The G-Men should be able to lock down their wide receivers with cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple allowing Giants’ defensive coordinator James Betcher to stack the box and contain the Dallas running game.

The Giants win a tight one in AT&T Stadium.

NEW YORK 2 units

 

Indianapolis (+5.5) at Washington

In Week 1, the Redskins took control early on the road in Arizona and never looked back in a dominant 24-6 victory against the Cardinals. Washington looked good on both sides of the ball as Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Adrian Peterson carried the “rock” 26 times for 96 yards and a TD.

The Skins offense should once again find success in Week 2 as they head home to FedEx Field for the home opener, but their defense will encounter a much tougher matchup against Andrew Luck and the Colts.

Much like last year, Indianapolis had the lead through much of their game at home versus the Bengals, but could not find a way to close things out. Expect the Colts to stay in this one, but lose late to a Redskins team that has struggled, for the most part, as a home favorite during the Jay Gruden era.

Skins win in a close one.

INDIANAPOLIS 1 unit

 

Detroit at San Francisco (Total 48 points)

The Lions defense had no answer for Sam Darnold and the Jets offense in a Week 1 home game on Monday night. Now they travel to the West Coast on short rest to take on Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Niners.

The 49ers only posted 16 points in their opener in , but that came against one of the league’s premier defenses. Despite the lack of scoring from San Francisco, a closer look shows that the Niners missed out on a few plays that were there for the taking, as well as fumbling inside the Vikings 5-yard line. They should have much greater success against a subpar Lions defense.

I expect the Niners to jump out to the lead and the Lions to do their share of scoring, playing from behind under quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has weapons on the outside and is willing to take chances down the field to his big-play receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay. This should bode well for the Over.

Niners earn their first victory in a shootout.

OVER 1 unit

 

Year to Date Record:

(5-0-1, +6 units)