I started the year off on a good note by going 9-6-1 against the spread in Week 1.

Not only did some teams surprise everyone (Jets & Bucs), but there were some nice underdog moneylines that paid out.

We didn’t get out of Week 1 without dealing with some injuries. RB Leonard Fournette, WR Doug Baldwin and TE Delanie Walker all may miss multiple weeks due to injuries. It’s important to keep an eye on injury reports early in the year. There are some big names on there this week.

We pick ever NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season.

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (pk) – My pick is Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens murdered the Bills last week. It was Buffalo’s fault for starting QB Nathan Peterman, as he mightily struggled. The Ravens defense gave their offense excellent field position. They were able to score three touchdowns through the air and three more on the ground. The Bengals struggled early against the Colts last week, but came out with the win. Indianapolis had a chance to win late in the game, but a poorly-timed fumble by TE Jack Doyle sealed the win the Cincinnati. I don’t think the Colts are very good, but QB Andrew Luck has a knack for keeping games close. He tends to play up to the competition. Cincinnati RB Joe Mixon came up big and he should be the reason this game is close. This is a toss-up game, and since the Ravens defense showed up so well last week, they should be able to force QB Andy Dalton into making a few mistakes, so I’ll take the Ravens.

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4) – My pick is Pittsburgh Steelers

The Chiefs upset the Chargers on the road 38-28 thanks for QB Patrick Mahomes and WR Tyreek Hill. The Steelers talented secondary should help neutralize Mahomes this week. Hill may still find a way to get open a few times, but Pittsburgh CB Joe Haden will make it hard for him. Also, there was little-to-no drop in production from RB Le’Veon Bell’s absence. RB John Conner produced in every facet of the game. The Chiefs secondary is missing a few key pieces due to offseason trades and injuries. Wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster should be productive. I’m taking the Steelers to bounce back from last week’s tie with the Browns and cover at home.

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (OFF) – My pick is TBD

This line is currently off the board due to some key injuries. As soon as this line is up, I’ll add my pick.

Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills (+7) – My pick is Los Angeles Chargers

The Bills demoted QB Nathan Peterman after a couple quarters of play in their blowout loss to Baltimore. Rookie QB Josh Allen is slated to make his first start. The Chargers defense is pretty darn talented, but they desperately miss DE Joey Bosa (foot). He isn’t expected to play this week, but I don’t think it will be an issue. The Bills might be the worst team in the league and the Chargers are a playoff-caliber squad. I’m taking them to cover on the road.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (-2) – My pick is Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings crashed the Jimmy Garoppolo bandwagon, forcing him to throw three interceptions last week. The Vikings talented secondary forced him to throw into double teams all game. He didn’t have much luck throwing into man-on-man coverage either. He did find TE George Kittle, so covering talented tight end could be their Achilles’ Heel on defense. Running backs Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray both moved the ball, even though their YPC wasn’t ideal. New quarterback Kick Cousins also had some accuracy issues, but he found WR Adam Thielen six times on twelve targets. He should improve that catch-ratio as he gets more in-game experience with him. The Packers played like garbage in the first-half against the Bears on Monday night. QB Aaron Rodgers had to miss some time due to a bad-looking injury to his knee. He returned and led the Packers to a come-from-behind win. He threw three touchdowns and targeted wide receiver Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison in crunch time. I don’t see the Packers receiver corps having that level of success against the Vikings secondary. I’m taking the point in this game.

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) – My pick is Philadelphia Eagles

Don’t read too much into last week’s performance by Tampa Bay. The Saints pass defense just imploded and never looked good. They made QB Ryan Fitzpatrick look like a future Hall of Famer. He found wide receiver Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson every single time he targeted them. Both receivers had over 140 yards receiving. The Bucs defense also allowed Saints QB Drew Brees get back into the game late. He was 37 for 45 for 439 yards with three touchdowns. The Eagles opened the season off with a win versus Atlanta. QB Nick Foles needed a little razzle dazzle to get the win, but their defense forced Matt Ryan to complete less than half of his passes. This preseason I predicted the Bucs to be a six-to-seven win team. Not much has changed and the Eagles should probably be a 4.5 or 5-point favorite, so I’m taking Philly to cover.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-6) – My pick is Carolina Panthers

Last week, The Panthers beat the Cowboys 16-8. Neither team wowed me, but QB Cam Newton was able to use his arm and legs with success. Also, second-year RB Christian McCaffrey improved his YPC and caught six passes on nine targets for 45 yards. The Falcons lost a pretty winnable game last Thursday. QB Matt Ryan just made too many bad passes. The Panthers pass rush may cause him to throw a few too many errant passes this week. I’m taking the points in a close inter-divisional game.

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints (-10) – My pick is Cleveland Browns

The Browns won’t lose sixteen games this season due to their tie with the Steelers on Sunday. They had a few moments where they could have won the game, but fell short. Their defense is pretty darn good for a young squad. Rookie defensive back Denzel Ward picked off Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger twice and DE Myles Garrett sacked him twice. Cleveland’s defense is underrated. I can’t say the same for the Saints defense. They were a huge reason why the Saints made the postseason last year, but they did not impress anyone by giving up 48 points to Tampa Bay. The Browns should give the Saints some fits and as long as the Browns offense shows up, I think this one will be close. I’m taking the points.

Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins (-5.5) – My pick is Washington Redskins

The Colts lost a very winnable game against the Bengals last Sunday. They collapsed in the fourth quarter and a late fumble from TE Jack Doyle. I worry about the Colts against a talented secondary. The Colts have zero wide receiver depth behind T.Y. Hilton. QB Andrew Luck tends to keep game close, but he will need some guys to get open. Redskins relied on both their new QB Alex Smith and even newer RB Adrian Peterson in their win last week. Peterson proved that he still had plenty left in the tank. He had 96 yards on the ground and another 70 yards receiving. He should have success against the Colts weak front-seven. I’m taking the Redskins to cover at home.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (-3) – My pick is Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins beat the Titans 27-20 in QB Ryan Tannehill’s first game in over a year. He was fairly accurate completing 20 of 28 passing attempt, but he also threw two picks. He got some help on the ground from running backs Frank Gore and Kenyan Drake. The Jets ate Lions QB Matthew Stafford’s lunch. He threw four interceptions and the Jets defense said they knew the play was before Stafford even threw the pass. Backup QB Matt Cassel even relieved Stafford and threw an interception. They said they had a great week of film study. Has the Jets secondary improved by that much, or was the Lions offense lazy by not changing their calls and formations? Jets QB Sam Darnold showed a lot of poise after seeing his first NFL pass intercepted and ran back for a touchdown. He turned the good field position into a lot of points. It’s probably a little of both. These two teams are fairly close in terms of talent. I think this divisional game will be close. The Dolphins are a bit underrated, so I’m taking the points.

Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-13.5) – My pick is Los Angeles Rams

I really want to take the Cardinals here, but the Rams looked so damn good against the Raiders. They have so many studs on defense that Arizona QB Sam Bradford will have a difficult game. He wasn’t very productive against the Redskins defense, so I’m predicting less output. Also, Adrian Peterson ran all over the Cardinals last week. Rams RB Todd Gurley has a nice match-up and should rack up a ton of fantasy points. The Rams are good enough on both sides of the ball to cover such a large spread.

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers (-6) – My pick is Detroit Lions

The 49ers are overrated. The way they finished the season made people believe they would be a playoff-caliber team this year. They still need depth at many positions and QB Jimmy Garoppolo did not look great last week. Don’t take a ton from the Lions blowout loss to the Jets. They will change the calls and be less predictable QB Matthew Stafford is a better quarterback than who showed up on Monday night. I’m taking the points. 

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars (+1) – My pick is New England Patriots

The Patriots are healthy and beat the Texans 27-20 last Sunday. Tom Brady found TE Rob Gronkowski and WR Phillip Dorsett enough to secure the win at home. The Jaguars defense is stacked and should cause some headaches for Tom Brady…but I’m not sold on the Jags offense to keep up. It looks like they will be without RB Leonard Fournette, and they desperately need him. RB T.J. Yeldon has done well when needed, but I fear for them if they can’t move the ball on the ground. There’s no way QB Blake Bortles can beat the Pats without some help from the backfield. I’m taking the Pats to cover on the road.

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (-6) – My pick is Denver Broncos

The Raiders had a good first quarter against the Rams, and then the wheels came off. They have no pass rush and QB Derek Carr looked like his brother out there. He made some awful throws, throws an NFL quarterback shouldn’t make. The Broncos should be able to move the ball if they have protection for QB Case Keenum. Even if the Raiders pressure him, he’s one of the most accurate passers in the league when scrambling. The Broncos are underrated and should cover the spread at home.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (-3) – My pick is New York Giants

The Cowboys offense is struggling this year. They never got going this preseason and only managed eight points against the Panthers. They are missing some key offensive linemen, and the offense had struggled when missing just one piece of that line. The Giants are better than last year. They are healthy and rookie RB Saquon Barkley gives QB Eli Manning a running game, something he hasn’t had much of since early in his career. Manning connected with WR Odell Beckham Jr. eleven times on fifteen targets for 111 yards last week. I really don’t like the Cowboys right now, so I’m taking the points.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears  (-3.5) – My pick is Seattle Seahawks

The Bears blew a lead and lost to the Packers on Sunday Night Football. They get another shot at primetime on Monday Night Football. The Bears offense isn’t complete right now. QB Mitchell Trubisky is still a few pegs below other young quarterbacks. He’s lucky to have running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen behind him. Those guys will keep the Bears in games this season. I know the Seahawks don’t play as well on the road. QB Russell Wilson tried to throw his way back into the game last week in a loss to Denver. He threw for 298 yards with three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. It doesn’t help that WR Doug Baldwin will probably miss the game. I still think they have enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to keep this one close, and possibly beat the Bears. I’m taking the points on MNF.

*These picks are for entertainment purposes

Sweetbob’s NFL picks against the spread record in previous seasons:
2013: 133-95-10
2014: 131-114-9
2015: 150-108-9
2016: 143-120-13
2017: 144-115-16
2018: 9-6-1

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob