Preseason Week 2 Late Games

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Thursday, August 18

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (-3 1/2, 40 1/2), 7:00 pm - Strange as it may seem, the Eagles are the team coming off a win, though it was at home and against the Buccaneers (17-9). The Steelers opened their preseason with a 30-17 thumping at home from the Detroit Lions, which just doesn't sit right in the Steel City. Something wrong? Probably not; too early to tell, but the Eagles appear to have thrown off the shadow of Chip Kelly and have some solid players on their roster. They win the ballet of Pennsylvania.

Coin Flip: Coin goes for Philly

Prediction: Eagles 24 Steelers 17

Cincinnati at Detroit (-2 1/2, 41), 7:30 pm - As mentioned above, the Lions are coming off a solid win. The Bengals lost by a point (17-16) at home to the Vikings, which isn't as bad as it appears. These are two talented teams and it should be a great game, especially since the Lions are at home. Not to downplay the strength of the Bengals, but the Lions have much to prove and will likely do so in this early Thursday meeting.

Coin Flip: Heads (home team). Detroit

Prediction: Lions 24 Bengals 16

Atlanta at Cleveland (-2 1/2, 37), 8:00 pm - Here we have two teams seeking identity. The Browns had the worst record in the league, tied with the Titans at 3-13, while the Falcons were outclassed in the NFC South by Carolina, finishing a distant second at 8-8. Atlanta was led by Matt Schaub's 179 yards passing last week in their 23-17 victory over the Redskins. Now they'll be asked to win on the road. But, this is the Browns, here, 17-11 losers to Green Bay last week. Home field only means they'll be booed more. The Browns may actually already have an identity: Losers. Difficult to find any positives in Cleveland football.

Coin Flip: The coin wants to get some tails in Atlanta.

Prediction: Falcons 24 Browns 12

Oakland at Green Bay (-3, 42 1/2), 8:00 pm - The Raiders may have something cooking after their stunning 31-10 victory at Arizona last week and they get to prove themselves on the road again, this time against another 2015 playoff team, the Packers.

Traditionally, Green Bay is a tough place to win, but this being preseason, and based on Oakland's performance from last week, they look capable of pulling off the minor upset. Were this regular season, the line and maybe the pick might be different, so we're challenging the Raiders to prove us right. Or wrong.

Coin Flip: Likes Green Bay

Prediction: Raiders 28 Packers 24

Chicago at New England (-4, 41), 8:00 pm - The Patriots are, after all, the Patriots, so it may be folly to take a stand against them at just about any point of the preseason or the regular season. They just keep redefining themselves and winning and winning. The Bears were shut out by Denver last week, 22-0, so they're already looking pretty bad, and that game was at home. This could be the week's most reliable pick.

Coin Flip: Came up tails (Bears)

Prediction: Patriots 30 Bears 13

Minnesota at Seattle (-3 1/2, 38 1/2), 10:00 pm - Very good match-up here, against two likely playoff contenders. The Vikings have to prove themselves every week, but, with Adrian Peterson in the backfield (though fans won't see much of him here) they're going to be a threat all season. The Seahawks always like to win, and the fact that this is just preseason doesn't really matter to them. They will get their starters plenty of work here.

Both teams won by the same, 17-16, score last week, Seattle at KC and the Vikes at Cincinnati, making this pick a tough one. Those 3 1/2 points look pretty darn good, so we'll go with Minnesota.

Coin Flip: Seattle

Prediction: Vikings 21 Seahawks 19

Friday, August 19

New York Jets at Washington (-3 1/2, 40), 7:30 pm - The Jets roughed up Jacksonville last week at home, 17-13, which isn't really saying much, but if anything can be said about the Jets, it's that they're pretty consistent and they don't beat themselves, which are good traits to have this early on.

The 'Skins were topped by Atlanta, 23-17, and this is their initial home game, so they're likely to be fired up. The Redskins probably won't be very good defensively, to the Jets advantage.

Coin Flip: Redskins

Prediction: Jets 23 Redskins 21

Miami at Dallas (-3 1/2, 40 1/2), 8:00 pm - Last season, the question was would the Cowboys go 8-8 for the fourth straight year? Turns out they didn't, but sadly, they finished with a record of just 4-12, or, just one game better than the worst in the league (Cleveland and Tennessee). Miami was actually better, at 6-10, and they started off the preseason with a 27-10 thumping of the Giants in NY last week. The Cowboys produced the only push of the week, losing at LA to the Rams, 28-24. Dallas will likely be better at home and Miami will probably not be as fortunate (four turnovers by the Giants last week).

Coin Flip: Miami (ouch!)

Prediction: Cowboys 30 Dolphins 17

Arizona at San Diego (-1 1/2, 40 1/2), 9:00 pm - The Chargers were 4-12 last season and judging by their 27-10 loss to the Titans (3-13 in 2015) last week, they may not be much better. The more playing time Phillip Rivers gets the better for them, but that won't be the case here. Arizona was shocked by the Raiders, 31-10, at home, and is looking to notch a victory on a short hop.

Look for the Cardinals to be a little more devoted to playing actual football, instead of flaying around as they did last week. It was a little embarrassing.

Coin Flip: Cardinals

Prediction: Cardinals 26 Chargers 14