My pick: listed first. Home team: CAPS.
Postgame comments in italics.

1:00p:

COWBOYS -3.5 vs. Falcons — Dallas really screwed themselves last week with typical Jason Garrett play calling, which was strange to see, given that Garrett is now with the Giants and Mike McCarthy took over at Dallas. But it’s hard to get to the Super Bowl starting the season 0-2, so I figure Dallas has to win this one. Maybe when they face 3rd and 4 this week, they’ll run plays designed to pick up more than 3 yards. ❌ I’ll take the loss here. Gotta love this headline: “Quinn: Falcons Players ‘Definitely’ Know Onside Kick Rules”.

Lions +6 vs. PACKERS — Talk about teams screwing themselves out of a win: Matthew Stafford tossed a would-be-game-winning TD pass right into wide-open rookie running back D’Andre Swift’s hands and he dropped it. Watch enough football and you learn that it’s harder to catch the ball when you’re wide open — it gives you time to think. 6 is a lot of points, I love rooting against the Packers, and I lost a ton of money last year betting against the Lions, so I’ll go with them here. ❌ I don’t care who they’re playing next or what the line is I’m betting against the Lions.

Panthers +8 vs. BUCS — 2× bet of the week. I feel like this line is fat on Tom Brady nostalgia. The Brady I’ve been watching looks like a has-been who can’t move and throws a pick-6 or two each game. Matt Rhule’s Panthers squad lost to the Raiders last week, but looked good — or least looked fun — doing it in a 34-30 shootout. 8 points! ❌ This one hurts, because the Bucs tacked on an extra touchdown on a fluke play while running out the clock. So it goes.

NINERS -7 vs. Jets — San Fran has a lot to prove after last week’s turd of a game, and the Jets are a turd of a team. Look for a blowout. ✅ Should have been another 2× pick in hindsight. This blowout seemed inevitable.

4:30p:

Chiefs -8.5 vs. CHARGERS and Chiefs-Chargers OVER 47 — When Mahomes is healthy I feel like the Chiefs are always a threat to put up a basketball score on offense. ❌ ❌

Sunday Night Football:

SEAHAWKS -4 vs. Patriots — This could be a preview of the Super Bowl, and what a rematch of a Super Bowl that would be. I still have nightmares about the end that game. And just like that game, my money is on the Hawks this week. I am convinced that the Patriots are a better team with Cam Newton than today’s Tom Brady, perhaps terrifyingly so, but I think Newton still isn’t comfortable. They should’ve scored more than 21 last week against Miami. ✅ What an ending. There were like 10,000 tweets saying the same thing after the game ended, but the exciting high-tension end to this game is why we love football.

Monday Night Football:

Saints -5.5 vs RAIDERS and Saints-Raiders OVER 48.5 — The Raiders’ home opener in Las Vegas would be a hell of a scene … if there were going to be fans. I continue to be bullish on late-model Drew Brees and this New Orleans offense. I feel better about the OVER on this one than the Saints covering. ❌ ✅ The bad news: I lost on the Saints. The good news: I think the Raiders are for real, and it’s always good for the NFL when the Raiders are good.

Last week: 4-3
This week: 3-6