NFL Week 2 Picks: No one is going against the Chiefs

This week it is impossible to find anyone picking the Chargers in an upset.

Some teams that win a Super Bowl suffer from what analysts call a “Super Bowl hangover” the next season. While the NFC champions from last season have stumbled out of the gates, the Kansas City Chiefs look capable of winning another one.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find analysts that pick against the Chiefs from week to week. Even with a potential “trap game” with a matchup with Baltimore imminent, no one is confident enough to take the Chargers.

Just like last week, NFL experts from all of the major networks are in agreement: The Chiefs should wallop the Chargers this weekend. While the Chiefs have owned the AFC West over the last several seasons, it always seems strange for analysts to be in complete agreement in inter-divisional match ups.

According to NFL Pick Watch, about 99% of notable analysts are taking the Chiefs this weekend. Here is what the experts have to say.

ESPN

The ESPN panel was unwilling to break with the rest of the media. They overwhelmingly picked Kansas City to win the game this weekend. In fact, the network said very little about the Chiefs upcoming matchup with the Chargers, giving it as much attention as the Giants and the Bears game.

The panel went 100% in favor of the Chiefs this weekend. Trey Wingo, who occasionally makes fringe predictions, was not willing to pick against the high-flying Chiefs.

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated has the only analyst that can be found that was willing to bet against the Chiefs this week. While their main football panel was completely Chiefs red, one writer named Steve Renner was willing to pick the Chargers against Kansas City on Sunday.

CBS

While Chief fan favorite analyst Pete Prisco picked the Chargers to cover the spread in the games, even he was unwilling to break from the pack. All of the CBS panel chose Kansas City to come away with the win on Sunday. CBS writer Will Brinson wrote:

"“Right now Vegas can’t make the spreads high enough for the truly elite teams in the NFL, and the Chiefs absolutely qualify. This over/under is way too high for a pair of teams that want to run the ball a bunch — the Chargers are a stout defensive team but are not necessarily great against the run. I think Andy Reid gets his grind on and we see a lot of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The Chargers are not built to come back from a double-digit lead and they won’t in this one.”"

FiveThirtyEight

FiveThirtyEight is an interesting source for all things numbers and math. While they specialize in election results, they give a chance of winning percentage for every week of the NFL season. In the Chiefs vs Chargers matchup, they give Kansas City a 72% chance of winning on the road against the Chargers, who they have given a 28% chance to pull off the upset.