NFL Week 2 picks, odds: Aaron Rodgers, Jets avoid dreaded 0-2 start; Patriots fans handed a dose of reality

Here's how Week 2 is shaping up as we continue the start of the 2024 season

By Tyler Sullivan Sep 11, 2024 at 11:29 am ET• 5 min read

We have a week under our belts and certainly took our lumps to begin the year. While not an unmitigated disaster, the opening slate did zig when we expected it to zag in certain respects. Like many, we fell victim to yet another sleepy start to the year from Cincinnati, which was upset at home by New England. Also, the debut of Kirk Cousins with Atlanta didn't inject that burst of life into the offense like many, including yours truly, anticipated. 

Still, we had some solid wins among the opening slate, including the Chiefs handling the Ravens in the opener and Minnesota throttling the Giants on the road. Of course, it's important not to swing too drastically after seeing just one game from these clubs to begin the season, but Week 1 did give us some lessons we'll be taking into Week 2. We'll get things started with my five locks of the week. 

2024 record

Locks of the Week ATS: 2-3
ATS: 5-9-2
ML: 9-7

All NFL odds via SportsLine consensus odds.

Jets at Titans

• Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+) 

Like I noted in the intro, we're not going to overreact too drastically and make sweeping declarations about teams depending on whether or not they won or lost in Week 1. As it relates to the Jets, I'm not pushing the panic button on them because they couldn't pull out a road win against arguably the best team in the NFL. Yes, they were gashed by Jordan Mason on the ground. Yes, the offense ran hot and cold throughout the game. That said, this New York team is too talented to fall to 0-2 on the year, particularly with a much easier opponent on the horizon in Tennessee. The Titans melted down and gave away a double-digit lead to the Bears last week, and Will Levis didn't look much improved as he's now taking the reins as the full-time starter. His decision-making was a problem in the opener, and he'll only face stiffer competition against this Jets unit. This is a solid bounce-back spot for New York, albeit as a somewhat large road favorite. 

Projected score: Jets 23, Titans 17
The pick: Jets -3.5

Seahawks at Patriots

• Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)  

It's not exactly ideal to back a road favorite that has to fly across the country, but here we are. New England spoiled a bunch of folks' Survivor pools with their opening upset against the Bengals, but everything had to go right for it to do so. Cincinnati was flat, turning the ball over in the red zone and muffing a punt to contribute to the upset. Even with the Patriots starting 1-0, I believe they'll end up with one of the worst records in the league as they continue to rebuild. The offensive line is still a major question, as they allowed the highest pressure rate in the NFL in Week 1 and were mixing and matching left tackles throughout the game. What happens when a defense bottles up Rhamondre Stevenson and forces Jacoby Brissett to go throw-for-throw? That's when I think their issues could come further into focus. Seattle was admittedly sloppy in its opener (two safeties allowed??), but this is an opponent it should handle by more than a field goal.