Welcome back to the second installment of Hart’s Picks for the 2026 NFL regular season. For Week 1, I was 11-5 with my predictions. Not too shabby, but a few of the outcomes were a bit of a surprise—but that is what makes football fun. Let’s see how I do with my Week 2 slate of picks.
Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills — Thursday Night Football
Both the Lions and Bills were able to hold off their opponents and eek out close victories in Week 1. In my opinion, this has the fixings of a high-powered offensive matchup. I believe we will see a lot of points on the scoreboard.
Can Jahmyr Gibbs be stopped? Can Josh Allen keep the connection to DJ Moore strong? Those are things I’ll be watching closely. This is tough to predict, but I’ll take Buffalo at home in this one.
Winner: Bills
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons — Sunday (Early Game)
This NFC South matchup features two teams who started their seasons off with a loss. The Falcons fell short in a one score game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Panthers had 59 points dropped on them by Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. I don’t feel very confident about this pick, but I’m taking Carolina on the road with the Falcons poised to start Cooper Rush again.
Winner: Panthers
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals — Sunday (Early Game)
Two potential playoff contenders go head-to-head in this one. The Texans fell short to the Bills in Week 1, while the Bengals were able to topple Tampa Bay in a thrilling game. Early word on this game is quarterback Joe Burrow is dealing with some back issues which may hinder his ability to be at his best against a Texans defense known for bringing pressure. If so, that could be an issue. I’m thinking the Texans bounce back this weekend and come up with a big victory on the road.
Winner: Texans
Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans — Sunday (Early Game)
Every week there are games on the docket that don’t require much analysis. Long story short, Cam Ward and the Titans offense will likely struggle immensely against Philadelphia and Vic Fangio’s defense. They didn’t look good at all against the New York Jets last weekend.
Winner: Eagles
Green Bay Packers at New York Jets — Sunday (Early Game)
The Jets are coming off a win over the Titans, whilst the Packers had a hard time protecting Jordan Love who took a beating in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings. I’m concerned about their ability to run the football which was an issue going up against Brian Flores’ defense. Can their offense be more cohesive this weekend against the Jets and will their offensive line step up and give Love the time he needs to succeed through the air? They’ll have to or they’ll wind up being 0-2 to start the year. I think Green Bay finds a way to win on the road.
Winner: Packers
New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens — Sunday (Early Game)
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but the Saints gave it all they had in their Week 1 overtime loss to the Lions. Unfortunately for them, they have a tough opponent on the road in the Ravens, who manhandled the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. I’ll diverge here for a change and go with a home team for only the second time thus far.
Winner: Ravens
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears — Sunday (Early Game)
I love a good NFC North rivalry matchup and this one centers around two teams whose offenses really impressed in Week 1. It sounds like Carson Wentz is likely to start for the Vikings after Kyler Murray exited the game against Green Bay early on with a concussion. Though I’m not sure Wentz and Minnesota’s offense can keep up with Caleb Williams and the Bears who were on fire last week scoring 59 points. I think the Bears win this matchup.
Winner: Bears
Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Sunday (Early Game)
You can count on less than one hand the number of times you will see me pick the Browns to win a game this season. This Sunday against Tampa Bay isn’t going to be one of them.
Winner: Buccaneers
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots — Sunday (Early Game)
The Steelers barely beat a bad Falcons team while Drake Maye struggled immensely against the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season opener. I’m still high on Maye’s ability as a quarterback and think he will have a much stronger performance against the Steelers in Week 2. I’ll take New England at home to get back to .500 on the season.
Winner: Patriots
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
The Chargers losing in epic fashion to the Arizona Cardinals was one of my Ls in my Week 1 picks. I didn’t see that one coming. Meanwhile, the Raiders were able to handle the Miami Dolphins thanks to a strong rushing attack. Can Ashton Jeanty have similar success going up against the Chargers? That will be a must if they want to win. However, I think Justin Herbert will have a rebound game and avoid going 0-2—putting both these AFC West teams at 1-1 to start the ‘26 season.
Winner: Chargers
Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
Jacksonville impressed with a Week 1 victory while Denver was dominated by the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Broncos Country isn’t going to be happy with me picking against our team, but the Jaguars were one of just three teams to deliver Denver a loss in 2025 and have a very good team. I’m not very optimistic Denver can right all their wrongs quickly on a short week. I’m taking Jacksonville here. Sorry friends.
Winners: Jaguars
Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
The loser of this NFC East matchup will be the bottom dwellers of the division to start the season. The Commanders played the Eagles tough and the Cowboys struggled to establish the run against the New York Giants. In order to win this weekend, Javonte Williams needs to have a much better game. They can’t put it all on the arm of Dak Prescott to lead them to victory. I’ll go with my gut and choose Dallas.
Winner: Cowboys
Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
The 49ers toppled the Los Angeles Rams down under in Australia and the Dolphins lost to the Raiders. I think it’s a relatively safe bet to take Kyle Shanahan’s squad to go to 2-0 on the year hosting Miami. San Francisco all the way.
Winner: 49ers
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals — Sunday (Afternoon Game)
Okay, so the Cardinals surprised most all of us and beat the Chargers. That being said, there really isn’t a good reason to believe lightning will strike twice. The odds of them being the victors against the defending Super Bowl Champions? Not good. I’ll be taking the Seahawks.
Winner: Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs — Sunday Night Football
These teams both had strong performances from their running backs in Week 1, but Kenneth Walker II was on a different planet with the way he ran roughshod over the Broncos’ defense. I expect Andy Reid and the Chiefs to keep their ground game strong against a Colts defense who gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground to the Ravens in Week 1.
Winner: Chiefs
New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams — Monday Night Football
The John Harbaugh era started off with a bang with the Giants toppling the Cowboys in Week 1. The Rams’ season started off on a low note being walloped by the 49ers in Australia. Even worse? Myles Garrett will be out for the foreseeable future after having knee surgery a few days ago. My heart wants me to pick the Giants for a feel-good story here, but my mind has settled on Sean McVay and the Rams rebounding and earning a dub in preimtime.
Winner: Rams
