We’ve only made it through one week of the 2025 NFL season and things are already totally out of control.

The Colts look like the best team in the league, the Cardinals are on top of the NFC West and based on a quick glance at the standings, the Giants have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so I guess some things are still normal. Also, the Chiefs are in last place and they haven’t won a game since Travis Kelce got engaged to Taylor Swift. I’m not saying they should call the engagement off, but I am going to pre-order Taylor’s new album because I feel like they need my support. 

You know who else could use some support? Browns’ fans. There is no team better at demoralizing their own fan base than the Browns. Every year, Browns fans have high hopes and every year, the Browns set those hopes on fire in Week 1. If you missed the Browns’ opener, I’m not even going to tell you what happened, because I don’t want Browns’ fans to have to re-live it. They’ve already been through enough. 

Although the Browns lost a game they should have won, at least they didn’t blow a 15-point lead in the final four minutes, which is exactly what happened to the Ravens. And fittingly, the Browns and Ravens will be facing each other in Week 2 and if this goes anything like Week 1, both teams are going to try to give this game away until the bitter end. 

So who’s going to win the Browns-Ravens game? Let’s get to the Week 2 picks and find out. 

Actually, before we get to the picks, here’s a quick reminder that you can check out the weekly picks from every CBSSports.com NFL expert by clicking here. However, if you don’t want to click over, I totally understand. As someone who is easily sidetracked, if I leave this page to go read another story, there’s a 100% chance I will end up going down some sort of internet rabbit hole and if that happens, I’ll never make it back to the story I was originally reading. So I guess maybe you shouldn’t click over. 

Bet NFL Week 1 games at DraftKings, where new users get $300 in bonus bets and over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket. Click here to get started:

Anyway, let’s go down the rabbit hole of my picks. 

NFL Week 2 picksCommanders (1-0) at Packers (1-0)

Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime)

The first Amazon Prime game of the season is here and since the Packers are hosting it, I’m going to celebrate that by ordering $700 worth of cheese off Amazon Prime. I love cheese. The only thing better than cheese is this game, which definitely feels like the best game in Week 2. 

The new big cheese for the Packers is Micah Parsons, who made his debut with the team in Week 1 against the Lions. Parsons and the Green Bay defense made the Lions offense look like Swiss cheese, which is a big reason why Green Bay was able to roll to the win. OK, I’ve taken this cheese thing way too far. I promise not to mention cheese again. 

It’s a cliche to say that a team is “one player away” from being a Super Bowl contender, but the Packers might have actually been one player away last year. All they needed to do was find a All-Pro pass-rusher and they had one land in their lap thanks to Jerry Jones, who probably doesn’t even like cheese. Based on what happened in Week 1, Parsons seems like the final piece of the puzzle for the Packers’ defense. 

Last season,  the Lions averaged 29 points per game against Green Bay, but with Parsons in the lineup, things were quite different this year with Detroit only scoring 13 points. The defense is playing smarter, it’s playing faster and now that Parsons is on the roster, they feel like a true Super Bowl contender. 

That being said, I would like to point out that I’m going to take back every nice thing I just said if the Packers defense gets run over by the Commanders, which is certainly possible. The Commanders rushing attack steamrolled the Giants in Week 1 with 220 rushing yards, but it’s hard to be impressed by that, because it was against the Giants. Including the playoffs, the Commanders went 1-4 last season when they were held under 100 yards rushing, but they went 13-2 when they crossed 100 yards. This Packers defense held the Lions to under 50 rushing yards and if they can stifle the Commanders, they should be able to win. 

Washington hasn’t won a road game against the Packers since 1988 and that didn’t even come at Lambeau, it came in Milwaukee. Yup, that’s right: MILWAUKEE used to host NFL games. I bet they have good cheese there. 

The Commanders haven’t won at Lambeau since 1986 and I feel like that 49-year drought is going to continue. 

PICK: Packers 30-27 over Commanders | Commanders +3.5 | Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, where new users get $300 in bonus bets after a winning $5 wager:

Browns (0-1) at Ravens (0-1)

1 p.m. ET (CBS, Stream on Paramount+)

If we were to rank the most painful losses of Week 1, the losses by the Browns and Ravens would probably top the list. The Browns held the Bengals to just 141 yards of offense, but still managed to lose, because they’re the Browns. Since the NFL expanded to 17 games in 2021, teams were 19-0 when holding their opponent to 145 yards or less, but that streak is over thanks to the Browns. 

In most year, that would have been the most demoralizing loss of Week 1, but it’s not, because the Ravens exist. Baltimore somehow managed to blow a 15-point lead over the final four minutes against the Bills, which honestly shouldn’t actually be that surprising to anyone, since the Ravens have perfected the art of blowing a big lead. They don’t lose often, but when the Ravens do lose, they go down in flames: No one is better at blowing double-digit leads than Baltimore. 

OK, so the key this week for the Ravens is to not have a double-digit lead at any point. 

When you look at this game, the obvious pick here seems to be Baltimore, but I hate doing the obvious thing. That’s why I never order pancakes from the International House of Pancakes. Too obvious. 

The Browns have actually played surprisingly well against the Ravens over the past few years. Since the start of the 2022 season, these teams have played six times and the series is split 3-3. Even last year, when the Browns went 3-14, they still managed to find a way to beat Baltimore. 

I don’t necessarily trust Joe Flacco, but he outplayed Joe Burrow in Week 1 and there’s no reason to think he can’t put up decent numbers against a Ravens defense that surrendered 389 passing yards in their opener. Yes, that was against Josh Allen, but this is the same Ravens’ defense that gave up the second-most passing yards in the NFL last year, and it doesn’t look like they’ve fixed anything. There is no one Flacco wants to beat more than the Ravens, so I’m starting to feel like he might go off for 300 yards. 

One other thing about this matchup is that it feels like a trap game for the Ravens. They opened with the Bills, and after playing the Browns this week, they’ll play the Lions in Week 3 and the Chiefs in Week 4. If you were going to overlook one team during that stretch, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be the Bills, Lions or Chiefs. 

I think the Browns take this down to the wire before finding a new way to lose that’s even more painful than the way they lost last week. 

PICK: Ravens 30-23 over Browns | Browns +12.5 | Odds via DraftKings, where new users get $300 in bonus bets and over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket. Click here to get started:

Jaguars (1-0) at Bengals (1-0)

1 p.m. ET (CBS Stream on Paramount+)

After watching the Bengals play in Week 1, I’ve decided that they need to change their name to the opossums because they always seem to play dead for the opening week of the season before eventually coming alive later in the year. Roger Goodell, if you’re reading, please tell me if we can make this opossum thing happen. I mean, let’s be honest, opossums is actually kind of a cool name and they would sell more merchandise than any other team. I’ve already got three opossum jerseys on back order. 

Anyway, if you missed the Bengals game last week, they somehow managed to beat the Browns even though they totaled -18 yards in the fourth quarter, and yes, that is a negative sign in front of that 18. It was the fewest yards by any team in a fourth quarter since at least 1991. It might actually be the fewest EVER, but we don’t know for sure, because that’s as far back as the records go for yards per quarter. 

The good news for the Bengals is that Joe Burrow threw for 113 yards and if you’re wondering why that’s good news, it’s because Burrow almost never plays two bad games in a row. The Bengals quarterback has been held under 200 yards passing a total of 14 times in his career and here’s what he’s done in the following game: He’s averaged 298.4 passing yards, 2.1 touchdown passes and just 0.6 interceptions. 

Burrow is a self-learning cyborg who never makes the same mistake twice, and now, he gets to go up a against a Jaguars defense that surrendered the most passing yards in the NFL last season. To the Jaguars credit, though, their defense did play extremely well in Week 1, but  they were playing the Panthers, so I’m not sure if it counts. The Panthers might actually be worse than they were last year, which is saying a lot, because they were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season. 

The Jaguars could end up being a surprise team this year, but there’s no way I’m picking against the opossums in this spot. 

PICK: Bengals 27-20 over Jaguars | Bengals -3.5 | Odds via BetMGM, where you can get up to $1,500 back in bonus bets if your first football wager loses:

Broncos (1-0) at Colts (1-0)

4:05 p.m. ET (CBS, Stream on Paramount+)

I don’t want to say that we were all wrong about Daniel Jones, but we might have all been wrong about Daniel Jones. You know how sometimes people are way better off after a breakup? Well, that’s Jones leaving the Giants. Apparently, all he needed was a chance to play for any team besides them. 

In his first game with in Indianapolis, the Colts had the ball seven times and they scored on all seven possessions making Jones the first quarterback since at least 1978 to pull that off. 

Peyton Manning spent 14 seasons with the Colts and he didn’t accomplish that a single time. Am I saying that Daniel Jones is better than Peyton Manning? Maybe. OK, I’m not, but I do think that Shane Steichen is the perfect coach to unlock him. 

Starting against Miami in Week 1 was perfect for Jones, because the Dolphins were so bad that it was like a practice game. Jones made smart, quick decisions while throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown. I mean, just look at the throw below: Jones threaded the needle between two defenders for a 36-yard gain to Alex Pierce. 

Where was that during his time in New York? Never mind. I don’t want to know. 

On the Broncos’ end, I have no idea what to make of them. I predicted that they would make the playoffs this year, but that prediction was made under the assumption that Bo Nix would be taking a step forward this year, and I’m not sure what he was doing in Week 1, but he definitely didn’t take a step forward. Nix threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, but the Titans were so bad that the Broncos still won. 

I predicted that the Colts would be a surprise this year by finishing second place in the AFC South and beating the Broncos would definitely count as a surprise. 

In somewhat related news, I think we all need to agree to fully embrace the Indiana Jones nickname. Danny Dimes was fun for awhile, but he lives in Indiana now and his last name is Jones, so we just need to roll with it. And once we all agree to call him Indiana Jones, we can start referring to the Colts’ home stadium as the Temple of Doom. And now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, um, I’m not picking against Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom. 

PICK: Colts 19-16 over Broncos | Colts +2.5 | Odds via Caesars Sportsbook, where you can get 20 100% profit boosts with the promo code CBS20X. Get started here:

Eagles (1-0) at Chiefs (0-1)

4:25 p.m. ET (Fox, Fubo, try for free)

The last time we saw these two teams on the same field came back in Super Bowl LIX when the Eagles absolutely destroyed the Chiefs, 40-22. The Chiefs’ offense couldn’t move the ball in that game and I don’t see things getting any easier this week. 

For one, two of their top receivers could be out on Sunday. Rashee Rice definitely won’t be playing because he’ll be serving the second game of a six-game suspension, and then there’s Xavier Worthy, who suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1. 

The Chiefs almost always look unbeatable, but after watching them play in Brazil, I’m not so sure about that anymore. Their offense got off to a slow start in Sao Paulo and I’m pretty sure their defensive game plan got confiscated by, because that’s the only way to explain how badly they struggled against the Chargers’ offense that put up 394 yards. 

The problem for the Chiefs is that the Eagles offense might be even better than what the Chargers have. As a matter of fact, the Eagles entire roster might be better than what both the Chargers and Chiefs have. I’m starting to think that the Eagles might score more points than they did in the Super Bowl. 

The only reason I’m afraid to pick the Eagles is because of Patrick Mahomes. If there’s one quarterback you don’t ever want to pick against coming off a loss, it’s definitely Mahomes. 

Over the past five seasons, Mahomes is 14-2 following a regular-season loss and in those 16 games, he’s thrown 37 touchdown passes. And I would like to note that the two losses came by three points and six points, and they both easily could have been wins. 

Also, Mahomes almost never loses in the month of September. I’m not sure if it’s because he has a September birthday, but since he took over the Chiefs starting QB job in 2018, Mahomes is 19-4 in the month of September and in those 23 games, he’s thrown 63 TD passes compared to just 11 interceptions. 

You should never pick against Mahomes after a loss, you should never pick against him in September and you should certainly never pick against him after a September loss, but I’m going to do it. In Super Bowl LIX, I predicted that the Eagles would win by double digits and although I think it will be closer this time around, I think Philly still wins. 

PICK: Eagles 23-20 over Chiefs | Eagles -1 | Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

NFL Week 2 pick: All the rest

Cowboys 24-17 over Giants
Lions 23-16 over Bears
Rams 24-13 over Titans
Patriots 20-17 over Dolphins
49ers 21-16 over Saints
Bills 34-27 over Jets
Steelers 27-23 over Seahawks
Cardinals 23-13 over Panthers
Falcons 20-16 over Vikings
Buccaneers 20-17 over Texans
Chargers 31-23 over Raiders

Last Week

Best pick: Last week, I predicted that the Bills were going to win a wild shootout over the Ravens and guess what happened? The Bills won a wild shootout over the Ravens. The only problem is that the win came in front of a half-empty stadium because thousands of fans decided to leave early. These people paid money to miss the most exciting comeback in Josh Allen’s career. 

There are only two rules when it comes to attending a Bills game: Never leave early and try not to catch on fire if you let someone bodyslam you through a flaming table. 

I’d say the second rule is more important than the first one, but they’re both important. 

Worst pick: My worst pick of Week 1 was taking the Chiefs over the Chargers. I thought for sure that the Chargers would do what they always do, which is blow a lead late in the game, but apparently, the rules of “Chargering” do not apply in Brazil. I’m starting to think the Chargers should make a request to the NFL to have all of their games moved there. 

Picks Record

Straight up in Week 1: 11-5
SU overall: 11-5

Against the spread in Week 1: 7-9
ATS overall: 7-9

You can find John Breech on Facebook or Twitter, and if he’s not doing one of those things, he’s holding a fundraiser so he can by opossum jerseys for everyone.