There were a couple of square pegs trying to fit into round holes in the first week of the NFL season. For one, Adrian Peterson doesn’t look as if he belongs in a Saints uniform or in their game plan. Then there is Rex Ryan, whose occasional gregariousness as a coach did not seem to translate to his role as an ESPN game analyst in his first try.
But one guy who looks as if he has landed in the perfect spot is Marshawn Lynch. Beast Mode appears to be just what the Raiders needed — a power back who breaks tackles and takes some of the focus away from Derek Carr. Lynch finished with a modest 76 yards on 18 carries against a tough Titans defense in Oakland’s 26-16 road win. His value went well beyond the numbers, though, as he moved the chains, set up some scoring plays and softened up the Titans defense to allow the Raiders’ smaller, faster backs to make plays late in the game.
The Jets at least resembled an NFL team last week in hanging fairly close with the Bills. But they were outgained by 194 yards, are incredibly inexperienced, and have little depth anywhere. Don’t see them putting up any type of challenge here.
The pick: Raiders, -13.
Titans (-1) over JAGUARS: Not going to downgrade the Titans too much for losing to the Raiders. The Jags had an impressive 10-sack, 29-7 blowout of the offensively foul Texans, but lost top receiver Allen Robinson for the season. Take the Marcus Mariota-vs.-Blake Bortles advantage and run with it.
Browns (+8) over RAVENS: Baltimore put up just 268 yards of offense in a 20-0 win. Even with DeShone Kizer making his first NFL road start in a tough building against a defense coming off a shutout, willing to take the big points to see if last week’s death battle with the Steelers was for real.
Bills (+7) over PANTHERS: Both teams had defensive gems against terrible offenses, as the Bills held the Jets to 214 yards and Panthers limited the 49ers to 217. Buffalo coach Sean McDermott was Carolina’s defensive coordinator for the past six years, so he knows a thing or two about Cam Newton.
Patriots (-6) over SAINTS: Never mind what happened to the Patriots in the 537-yard Thursday night debacle vs. K.C. Bill Belichick will get all of that fixed. The Saints holding Sam Bradford to an 84 percent completion percentage? That seems more likely to persist.
Cardinals (-7) over COLTS: Can’t consider taking the Colts until Andrew Luck comes back, which might not be until October. Their 46-9 mess at the Rams was that bad. Not crazy about the Cardinals at this price with David Johnson out, but we have to pick someone (though you don’t).
CHIEFS (-6) over Eagles: Philadelphia got the call of the week on the Kirk Cousins Fumble-Six that sealed its win over the Redskins. Chiefs have a few extra days to amp up their diabolical offense after destroying the Patriots, and Andy Reid will have some surprises for his former team.
Vikings (+5) over STEELERS: Something appeared off with the Steelers, as they managed just 14 offensive points and had 143 yards in penalties in Cleveland. If this rebuilt Vikings offensive line is for real, the uber-accurate Bradford can get a lot done.
BUCCANEERS (-7) over Bears: The Bucs finally get to play a game, after having the opener postponed by Hurricane Irma. Looking forward to what Jameis Winston can do with newcomers DeSean Jackson and O.J. Howard. Bears QB Mike Glennon comes back to play against ex-team.
Dolphins (+3?/?) over CHARGERS: Jay Cutler vs, Philip Rivers could be spectacularly awesome or awful, making this game at the tiny soccer stadium in Carson worth watching. Cutler, in his Dolphins debut, has some good weapons in Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry.
RAMS (-2?/?) over Redskins: Sean McVay, the Rams’ 31-year-old head coach, was the Redskins offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Holdout DT stud Aaron Donald makes his debut. This team could have something going on.
Cowboys (-2?/?) over BRONCOS: Denver gave up an unconscionable backdoor cover to the Chargers and barely held on to the win. The Giants D couldn’t rush Dak Prescott out of his comfort zone, and the Broncos will have a hard time doing so, after sacking Rivers just once.
SEAHAWKS (-14) over 49ers: No fun giving two touchdowns with a Seahawks team that scored no touchdowns and managed 225 yards in Green Bay. But the alternative seems even worse.
FALCONS (-3) over Packers: When these teams last met in the NFC title game, Matt Ryan was unstoppable, throwing for 392 yards and four touchdowns. Great matchup to open the new dome, even if its Chick-fil-A has to remain closed.
Monday
GIANTS (-3) over Lions: Eli Manning is telling everyone to take a deep breath, so that is what we’ll do. Stafford crushed the Cardinals in the second half, but the Lions do enough Stupid Lion Things to give you faith in the Giants in what feels like an early must-win game.
Best bets: Raiders, Titans, Dolphins
Lock of the Week: Raiders (Locks 0-1 in 2017)
Thursday night: Bengals (L)