Week 2 brings a fresh batch of bold calls, and this time the aim is to rebound after a rough opening week. The first set of predictions didn’t land much at all: the Jets beat Tennessee but didn’t intercept Cam Ward, the Buccaneers didn’t knock off the Bengals, and Chargers back Omarion Hampton didn’t outrush the Cardinals while Mike LaFleur’s team got stunned at SoFi Stadium.
This week’s slate features three swings at potential surprises.
The Panthers and Falcons look headed for another tense finish in Atlanta. Both NFC South teams were beaten badly in Week 1, with Carolina dropping a 59-37 decision to the Bears despite scoring 37 points, and Atlanta falling at Pittsburgh after Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass to teammate Bijan Robinson and another to Steelers outside linebacker T.J.
Watt. Still, Dave Canales’s team has taken three straight in the series, including back-to-back wins in Atlanta, and both of those road victories went to overtime.
The prediction here is that Sunday adds another five-quarter game to the rivalry.
New Orleans also gets pulled into another familiar script, this time against Baltimore. Kellen Moore’s team didn’t reach 30 points in a game until its 16th contest of the 2025 season, when it beat Tennessee 34-26 in Week 17.
The Saints followed that up by rallying from a 21-7 third-quarter hole at Ford Field behind second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. That comeback pushed the game to overtime, where the teams traded touchdowns before Shough and the Saints fell 31-30 after failing on a two-point conversion try.
The bold call says New Orleans gets to 30 again, but still comes up short at Baltimore.
And the Jaguars’ regular-season run is picked to end in Denver. Liam Coen’s team has lost only once since Week 11 of 2025, and that came in the AFC wild card round at home to the Bills, 27-24.
In the regular season, Jacksonville has won nine in a row by a combined 303-126, including a 34-20 win at Denver in Week 16. But Sean Payton’s Broncos are coming off a rough Monday night, a 31-10 loss at Kansas City, and Trevor Lawrence and company, despite avoiding turnovers against the Browns last week, are forecast to give it away this time in the Mile High City.
In Other News...
Jaguars Defense Gets An Early Chance To Expose Denvers Biggest Problem
The Broncos left their season opener with plenty to sort through after a 31-10 loss to the Chiefs, and much of the postgame attention centered on how quickly the offense has to steady itself. Bo Nix acknowledged the rough start but framed it as a problem to fix rather than a reason to panic, while Sean Payton took responsibility and pointed to the teams overall shortcomings as the bigger issue.
For Jacksonville, that makes this coming matchup feel like an early measuring stick for a defense looking to take advantage of a team still searching for answers. The Jaguars will get a look at a Denver group that knows it has to play cleaner and more complete football in a hurry, and the pressure is already on Paytons side to show the opener was a stumble, not a sign of a deeper problem. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Just Gave Jaguars Fans A Big New Reason To Watch
Travis Hunter is back on the field for Jacksonville after a long recovery from an LCL tear that kept him out for 318 days, and his first game back offered the Jaguars a fresh glimpse of why they were so eager to get him involved again. He worked mostly on defense, mixed in a few snaps on offense and finished with one catch and one carry, a small but meaningful step in reintroducing a player the team plans to use in more than one way.
Hunter and the Jaguars defensive coordinator both sounded encouraged by what they saw, which matters because this is still the start of figuring out how far his workload can go. Special teams could be next on the list, adding another layer to a role that already asks plenty of him and giving Jacksonville even more reason to keep watching how the plan unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Mile High Problem After A Shaky Week 1
The Jaguars spent the early part of the week looking hard at the kicking game as they get ready for Denver, where the elevation at Mile High Stadium can change the way kickoffs play out. Jacksonvilles special teams had a rough opening weekend, giving up more than 200 kick return yards and producing only one touchback on seven kickoffs, leaving field position as an immediate concern heading into Week 2.
Heath Farwell and Doug Pederson are weighing game-management adjustments to help limit damage and create better starting spots for the defense. With the Broncos waiting and the altitude factor in play, the Jaguars know this is more than a routine special-teams cleanup job - it may shape how they choose to attack kickoffs and control the game flow on Sunday. [Read more 🡒]