Steve Brownlee

OK, so apparently we’ve finished with NFL preseason Week 1, so now it’s on to preseason Week 2.

That’s my only explanation for all the upsets, let alone crummy play, exhibited in the actual regular season Week 1 of the NFL.

With the new trend being to never play any starters throughout the preseason, this past week became the equivalent of the first week of the preseason the way it used to be not that long ago.

Under this new strategy, players don’t have their seasons ended due to serious injury during a meaningless game in August, but is it worth losing a game that counts in early September?

This not playing in the preseason will probably remain a trend for a few more years until some head coach gets the brilliant idea of playing their starters for a series or a whole quarter during the first one or two preseason games. Especially if it’s the coach of a team that goes on to win a Super Bowl.

Onto this week’s picks:

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Today, 8:15 p.m.

Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City — Not that you’ll be able to watch this game unless you’re subscribed to (i.e., paying for) Amazon Prime Video, but here are two Week 1 winners, though KC looks in midseason form already, while the Chargers barely eked past “Da’ Rai-duhs.” Chiefs, 36-30.

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Sunday, 1 p.m.

Miami at Baltimore — Again, two Week 1 winners. But I’ll take the more established team this early in the season. Ravens, 27-23.

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New York Jets at Cleveland — My “reverse momentum” theory says take the Jets — it’s the theory that a team coming off a loss plays better the following week than one coming off a win. But I just can’t, at least not until this New York team proves to me something, like that they’re not the worst team in the league. Browns, 20-15.

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Washington at Detroit — I hate to rain on my Lions parade so early — even though I was right in picking against them last week — but Detroit needed to at least slow down the Eagles a little bit last week to show they’ve actually improved. Commanders, 27-24.

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Indianapolis at Jacksonville — Two disappointing performance from these teams last week, so I’ll go with the team I have my hunch about showing great improvement this year. Jaguars, 24-20.

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Tampa Bay at New Orleans — Tampa looked more convincing in its win last week against arguably a better opponent. Buccaneers, 21-16.

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Carolina at New York Giants — Here’s reverse momentum at play. Carolina should be annoyed losing to Baker Mayfield’s old team, while the Giants had to be ecstatic getting a win, especially over last year’s No. 1 seed in the AFC, Tennessee. Panthers, 23-20.

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New England at Pittsburgh — The “reverse mo” says take the Patriots, but I just can’t, at least not yet. Steelers, 19-14.

Sunday, 4 p.m.

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Atlanta at Los Angeles Rams — Wouldn’t it seem like the defending Super Bowl champs are desperate to not start 0-2? Me thinks so. Rams, 33-20.

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Seattle at San Francisco — The Seahawks made their season beating their old quarterback Russell Wilson in prime time on Monday night. Plus the road team has the short week. 49ers, 31-22.

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Cincinnati at Dallas — The Cowboys were up against it BEFORE Dak Prescott was knocked out for awhile. Bengals, 37-21.

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Houston at Denver — Just as the Seahawks should be fat’n’happy after their Monday night win, Denver should be lean’n’mean right about now. Broncos, 27-17.

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Arizona at Las Vegas — Unless Kyler Murray is spending four hours every night studying, I’ll expect underwhelming performances from the Cardinals for awhile. Raiders, 28-20.

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Sunday, 8:20 p.m.

Chicago at Green Bay — Reverse mo rules this game as the Packers don’t want to start 0-2 and the Bears have already reached their win goal for the first month or two of the season — one. Packers, 32-24.

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Monday, 7:15 p.m.

Tennessee at Buffalo — If this turns into a good game, will TV viewers keep watching this game or switch over to the other Monday game that starts 75 minutes later? Shouldn’t be a problem with my expectation of a Buffalo beat-down. Bills, 38-19.

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Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Philadelphia — Should be the better of Monday night’s two games, but maybe only by default. Vikings, 34-23.

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Last week — 7-8-1, 47 percent.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.