NFL Week 2 Picks: Predicting the Winner of All 16 Matchups

Close games. They’re what every NFL fan wants, except when trying to pick the winners.

A crazy opening weekend refused to ease viewers back into football’s drama. Eight games were decided by four points or fewer, and only one (the Philadelphia Eagles’ 29-10 win over the Cleveland Browns) ended in a double-digit margin before Monday.

That caused great intrigue but greater frustration from anyone whose picks turned sour because of a missed field goal, last-minute score or gutsy two-point conversion. It takes little imagination to picture nearly every Week 1 game swinging the other way.

In all likelihood, Week 2 will unfold in similar fashion. Any minuscule detail could alter the outcome of these contests, but let’s try to decipher the victors anyway. 

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants

When these two teams met last year, Drew Brees posted 505 passing yards and seven touchdowns during a 52-49 thriller over the New York Giants.

Shootouts aren’t a one-off deal in this matchup; the winner of their last four encounters has registered at least 48 points. Brees averaged 397.8 yards per game in those contests, high even for his standards. Now it’s time to see if the Giants spent wisely during the offseason.

Following a rocky start, their new-look defense impressed in a narrow 20-19 Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Containing rookie Dak Prescott to five yards per pass attempt isn’t an amazing accomplishment, but limiting Ezekiel Elliott to 51 yards on 20 carries forebodes a long day for Saints back Mark Ingram. 

New Orleans’ abysmal secondary had no answers against Odell Beckham Jr. last season, surrendering 130 yards and three of Eli Manning’s six touchdowns to the star wideout. It could get ugly again. According to the Times-Picayune’s Josh Katzenstein, the Saints will play without their top cornerback:

Sean Payton said Delvin Breaux had surgery this morning on his fractured fibula. Timeline about 6 weeks.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) September 12, 2016

Although Terrance …

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