NFL Week 2 picks against the spread

New England Patriots (-2) @ Jacksonville Jaguars

In a rematch of the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots are still getting points on the road. That’s not going to go over well with that Jaguars locker room. Players like Jalen Ramsey and Calais Campbell will use that as motivation.

However, they might be without Leonard Fournette. T.J. Yeldon is a decent backup, but he’s no Fournette. Then, you have Blake Bortles. It seems like a new contract and an offseason to learn from his mistakes did not change him. He threw for less than 200 yards despite throwing the ball 33 times. He didn’t face immense pressure. The Patriots worked this offseason to add to its front seven.

This is not a formula for success for the Jaguars. Their defense will be awesome again, but the Patriots are too good, even with Phillip Dorsett leading all receivers. The Patriots will feast upon the opposing quarterback. Tom Brady will do enough to win again. Go with the team you know can win.

New England 21, Jacksonville 10

Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos (-5.5)

I don’t know what to make of the Denver Broncos. They played well against the Seattle Seahawks last week, and squeaked out a win. Case Keenum broke 300 yards, but threw three picks. The defense looked like it did from years past, especially a star-studded performance from Von Miller. However, Russell Wilson was still able to move the ball against them despite losing Doug Baldwin. I mean, Brandon Marshall even scored a touchdown.

The thing is we know what the Oakland Raiders are. Bad. They are bad. After looking decent for about a quarter, the Rams blew the doors off Jon Gruden’s debut. The Broncos may have question marks, but the Raiders have exclamation points. Those exclamation points come after their flaws. The Broncos have this one in the bag.

Denver 21, Oakland 14