FOOTBALL FREAK: Big upsets highlight opening week

The Freak had his seat belt on, but was blindsided by some big upsets that always happen in Week 1 of the National Football League season.  
Buckle up, here are the picks for Week 2!

The sure thing
You need to pick any team playing the Bills, especially with their quarterback situation. I usually don’t like a West Coast team coming east, but in this case the Chargers will fly across the country for a road win.
The Saints were upset last week, and can’t imagine losing back-to-back games as heavy favourites at home. The Browns lose their first game of the season after an opening-week tie. The Saints get back to .500.
Arizona looked lost against Washington while the Rams looked like gangbusters against Oakland. It’s the Rams’ home opener, and they don’t disappoint pounding the Cardinals.
The Redskins were dominant on the road last week, and now head home to host the Colts. Indy’s offence is much improved with quarterback Andrew Luck back, but the fact is their D is still poison. Washington wins big.

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Don’t mortgage the house
Atlanta heads home after a sub-par performance in the NFL opener in Philly. The Falcons are already banged up on defence, and now go up against a physical Panthers’ team. However, Carolina had a big distraction in Hurricane Florence, and that will show. Take the Dirty Birds.
The Bucs aren’t facing the Saints’ D at home; they have the Super Bowl-champion Eagles. Ryan Fitzpatrick falls back to earth. The Eagles fly home with a win.
The Steelers looked out of sync while Kansas City looked dynamic, but some good old home cooking can change that. Steelers win at home.
What happened to Matt Stafford on Monday night? Five interceptions, he looked like the rookie. The Lions head out west to play the 49ers, who have a solid team on both sides of the ball. Detroit will end up with jet lag, and another loss.
The Bears blew it against the Packers, but will rebound against the Seahawks, who were good three years ago. Don’t let them fool you, this is a rebuild around Russ Wilson – and they have a long way to go. Wilson meet Khalil Mack, Bears win!

Flip a coin
Tennessee is banged up at quarterback with the fragile one, Marcus Mariota, and they lost its best receiving threat in tight end Delanie Walker. Houston battled with the Patriots to the end on the road, despite a bad game from quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Texans win as the Titans can’t get out of their own way on offence.
Mr. Rodgers saved the day against the Bears, but don’t think he can do it against the visiting Vikings. ARod has bad memories from his last meeting with the Purple People Eaters, who broke his collarbone. The Vikings will be doing the Lambeau Leap with a road win.
The Jets scored in all three phases against the Lions while Miami won in the longest game in NFL history due to the weather. The hometown fans will be amped up after that big road win, and the debut of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. Jets win.
The Giants have a big divisional game in Big D. New York appears to be a better team than last year, but then again they need to clean up the big mistakes that end up costing them football games. Don’t think this New York team is ready to win on the road. The Cowboys win at home.
Not often do you see the Patriots as an underdog, but they are on the road in Jacksonville. The Freak watched the Jags’ D dominate last week, and Jacksonville will be thinking revenge after losing to New England in the AFC Championship game. In a tight game, take the Jags.

Upset special
Chucky hates the Broncos, and will try to win his first game in his return to coaching the Raiders.
A road game to bring the team together is what is needed.
Oakland upsets Denver as the Raiders’ offence comes to life.

John Turner is a Summerside school teacher and coaches youth football. His column appears every Saturday during the NFL season. Feel free to e-mail questions and comments to [email protected].