NFL picks, Week 2: Can the Chiefs bounce back in Jacksonville?

It's incredible that once football is back, it feels like it never left. The roughly 7 months between Super Bowl LVII and last Thursday's kickoff evaporated into thin air, but there were certainly some different aspects to the 2023 opening week compared to the end of the 2022 season.

Week 1 provided some certain surprises, including the short-handed Chiefs falling to the Detroit Lions, the Bengals getting embarrassed by the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills losing to a surprisingly Aaron Rodgers-less Jets team, and the Vikings suffering an unforeseen loss to the Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yes, some powerful teams fell on their faces in Week 1, but that doesn't mean their seasons are lost. On the contrary, they're just getting started.

The Chiefs will obviously look to bounce back in a big way in a Week 2 rematch against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a rematch of last year's 27-20 Divisional Playoff win for Kansas City. Mahomes and Company hope to have Travis Kelce back adding to the momentum that they gained earlier in the week when All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones finally signed a one year contract, ending his extended holdout with the team.

The Chiefs have a lot of corrections to make from their Week 1 loss to Detroit, but all of what ailed them in Week 1 seems to be something that you would expect to autocorrect quicker than your iPhone changing a certain word to "duck". Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore, despite popular belief, can in fact catch footballs. Andy Reid and Matt Nagy are in fact great offensive minds. The positives going into Week 2 following the Week 1 upset? The offensive line ranked at or near the top of the league in run and pass block win rate, and the defense played out of their minds even without Chris Jones on the field. All of these corrections, additions to the roster, and already set foundational pieces should lead to a nice turnaround for Kansas City in an early season schedule that looks suddenly less daunting with Aaron Rodgers on the shelf. I like the Chiefs to win a tight one on Sunday 27-23.

Here are your picks for the rest of the NFL slate this weekend!

Ravens at Bengals - Lest we forget the slow start bug Cincinnati faced last season. And if you remember correctly, Joe Burrow missed some time in 2022 during camp just like he did this year. I expect the Bengals to take some time before they find a rhythm, and frankly Baltimore is talented enough to not need a rhythm to beat teams. I like Baltimore to steal this one, and Cincinnati to still end up on top of the AFC North at season's end. Ravens 20, Bengals 13

Seahawks at Lions - I fully expect the Lions to go 17-0 after starting the season with a win over our Chiefs. Ok, maybe not, but they should dispatch a Seahawks team that just got blasted by the Rams. Lions 27, Seahawks 20

Colts at Texans-Not many people outside of Indianapolis and Houston will be tuned in to this. I'll give the advantage to the home team and move on. Texans 17, Colts 13

Packers at Falcons - Jordan Love looked great and the Packers offense spectacular in their win over Chicago. Was that more Bears ineptitude or Packers talent? We'll see. I'll give the edge to Green Bay here. Packers 27, Falcons 17

Raiders at Bills - This one could get bad for the Raiders. Josh Allen and the Bills were embarassed on MNF after Aaron Rodgers went down, I would expect them to take out some frustrations on a Raiers team that won't be very good this year. Bills 38, Raiders 13

Bears at Buccaneers - This is actually somehow intriguing. The Bears looked lost agasinst a shockingly good looking Packers team last week, and the Bucs shocked the Vikings in Minneapolis. The Bucs might be that spunky team that surprises even themselves by being in the hunt in a weak division in 2023. Bucs 21, Bears 14

Chargers at Titans - Titans, bad; Chargers, probably pretty good. Ryan Tannehill won't face a super stiff defense this week, but Tennessee doesn't have the firepower to compete with LA.  Chargers 27, Titans 17

49ers at Rams - Are the Rams good? Chances are, no. The 49ers, however, are very very good. I look for the Niners recent domination over the Rams to continue here. 49ers 27, Rams 20

Giants at Cardinals - After the Giants got whomped by the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, this feels like a matchup we would be underwhelmed by in the previous 6 seasons. While the Giants probably aren't as bad as they looked, the Cardinals are probably worse than what they showed last week against the Commanders. Giants 27, Cardinals 15

Jets vs. Cowboys - Dallas made a statement on Sunday Night against the Giants, and appear to be a team that will not only put up points on offense, but take the ball away on defense. The Jets defense and special teams, but the Zach Wilson effect will evenentually catch up to them. This will be closer than most expect. Cowboys 20, Jets 17

Commanders at Broncos- If two teams play in the mountains and nobody watches, does the game actually happen? The wins and losses still count, and Denver falls to 0-2. Washington 13, Denver 10

Dolphins at Patriots - The Dolphins offense is on pace to smash every record in the book and Tua will win MVP, Tyreek OPOY, and Miami will end up 17-0. Maybe those are exaggerations, but the Dolphins will almost certainly go to 2-0 against a Pats team that is offensively challenged. Dolphins 28, Patriots 20

Saints at Panthers - Derek Carr calling the vert for Rashid Shaheed to end the game last week was a nice little sound byte, and Carr has to be a breath of fresh air to Saints fans. I expect New Orleans to get off to a 2-0 start here and take down a Carolina team that is perpetually a couple years away. Saints 23, Panthers 20

Browns at Steelers - The Browns are coming off an impressive, yet still somehow lackluster win over the Cincinnati Bengals while Pittsburgh licks the wounds left by the shellacking they took from the 49ers. I still somehow think that the Steelers have some entertaining football to offer us this year, and it should start at their home opener do-over against the Browns on Sunday assuming the Steelers can contain Myles Garrett's crossover. Steelers 27, Browns 23