Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season was loaded with upsets between Sunday and Monday action. Could NFL Week 2 have more of the same in store? It’s time to make our Week 2 NFL picks as the likeliest upset candidates with some fun matchups yet again, starting with the Chiefs and Chargers kicking things off on Thursday night.
In Week 1, we saw teams like the Denver Broncos go down on the road against Seattle, the Steelers beating the Bengals in overtime, the Giants stealing one against the Titans, and the Vikings absolutely destroying the Packers in Minneapolis. Which teams across the league should be on upset alert in Week 2? Let’s take a look at the top five candidates.
Week 2 NFL Picks: Kansas City Chiefs a top 5 upset candidate?
Chiefs Week 2 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers (in Kansas City)
After Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and the Chiefs were essentially padding stats at the end of a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals, it’s hard to put them on upset alert. The Chiefs look like one of the most well-oiled machines in the league and they certainly quelled any concerns people may have had over what kind of impact losing Tyreek Hill would have on their offense as a whole. Go figure: Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes.
Still, it would be ridiculous to think the Chiefs are just going to go out and roll over the Los Angeles Chargers, right? Right?
The Chargers have a great quarterback of their own in Justin Herbert. Their newest addition on the edge defensively — former Defensive MVP Khalil Mack — shut up a lot of doubters with a three-sack performance against the Raiders last weekend. JC Jackson is going to give playing a shot and could make his Chargers debut.
There are plenty of reasons to think the Chargers could go into a hostile environment like Kansas City and get themselves a win. They have played the Chiefs tough with Justin Herbert at quarterback. As a matter of fact, Herbert has a 2-2 career record against the Chiefs. Okay, one of those wins was in his rookie season when the Chiefs started Chad Henne in the regular season finale, but eerily enough, Herbert and the Chargers went to Arrowhead in September just last season and got a win as well. Could history repeat itself?
More Week 2 NFL picks as upset candidates: Bucs on upset alert?
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Opponent: New Orleans Saints (in New Orleans)
It’s an upset anytime someone can go out and beat Tom Brady, right? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a pretty boring but also pretty convincing Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys lost Dak Prescott in that game and the Bucs still only ended up winning by a final score of 19-3.
The New Orleans Saints slightly flirted with disaster against the Atlanta Falcons, who were one losing team from Week 1 that still exceeded expectations, but ultimately the Saints showed some resolve and got a one-point win. It’s not going to be easy for New Orleans, even playing at home, to get a win over Tom Brady and the Bucs, but it’s possible.
Jameis Winston is playing against his former team and has a chance with a full arsenal of weapons at receiver and hopefully, for his sake, Alvin Kamara will be able to plow through the injury he’s dealing with that kept him out of practice on Thursday.
3. Atlanta Falcons
Opponent: Los Angeles Rams (in Los Angeles)
Now this would be an upset. The Los Angeles Rams are coming off of an embarrassing loss at the hands of arguably the favorites in the AFC (the Buffalo Bills) but they looked bad in that game. Simply put, the Rams are not as good of a team as they were last year and they have some serious issues when it comes to their pass rush off the edge and whether or not their offensive line will be an issue without guys like Andrew Whitworth (retired) and Austin Corbett (Panthers).
It’s important to remember, not every single one of these upset picks will come to fruition but in Week 1, I called three upsets out of five and another one of my picks ended up in a tie.
The Falcons racked up over 400 yards of offense against the Saints’ defense in Week 1, they had 26 first downs, and they scored 26 points. Marcus Mariota had almost 300 total yards of offense and Younghoe Koo made four of his five field goal attempts.
The Falcons weren’t far off from a win in Week 1 and if they can clean up some mistakes, they might be able to steal one on the road against the Rams.
NFL Picks: Indianapolis Colts an upset candidate in Week 2
4. Indianapolis Colts
Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars (in Jacksonville)
The Jacksonville Jaguars dropped their Week 1 opener to the Washington Commanders with a fourth-quarter collapse and the Indianapolis Colts finished with a tie against the Houston Texans. Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season was actually pretty spot on for the AFC South, actually, wasn’t it?
Literally, nobody won.
I’m going to get a little crazy and say that someone in the AFC South will win in Week 2. I know, it’s out there. Maybe even a borderline bold prediction for this week’s NFL picks. I am extremely low on the Indianapolis Colts, and I’m not yet sure why. Maybe it’s Matt Ryan, maybe I’m underwhelmed by the overall skill player talent.
Whatever the case, the Jaguars managed to lose a game last week where they forced three turnovers and only turned the ball over once themselves. Unfortunately, they lost the time of possession battle, were atrocious on third downs, and had a whopping 13 penalties. I’m thinking the Jaguars will clean some of those things up in Week 2 and get a win against their division rivals from Indy.
5. Buffalo Bills
Opponent: Tennessee Titans (in Buffalo)
Just last season, the Tennessee Titans got one of their signature wins on the road to the top seed in the AFC over the Buffalo Bills in October. It was a shocker of a game because the Bills looked like a juggernaut last year just like they do this year.
Why am I putting this game on the list, especially considering it’s being played in Buffalo? The Titans may have lost in Week 1. They may be trending down. But they are still a well-coached team that can grind out a defensive battle with one of the best and toughest backs in the game, Derrick Henry.
The Titans had one of the highest pressure win rates of any team in Week 1 and the Giants still managed to sneak out of Tennessee with a win. The Titans just feel like one of those weird teams that will play up or down to their competition all year. The Bills are riding high after a big road win against the Rams, so maybe they could be in for a letdown against the Titans. Again, probably not, but that’s why we call these upset picks.