Casino City's Week 2 NFL Circa Million IV Pro Football Contest Picks

Good news and bad news to report following Week 1 of the Circa Million IV Pro Football Contest.

On the downside, we were 2-3 for the week, which means our “mythical” entry into the contest would be tied for 2,451st place out of the 4,691 brave souls who plopped down the $1,000 entry fee.

The good news? There are 17 weeks remaining for us to make up ground and over 2,000 contestants fared the same or even worse than our picks in Week 1.

#CircaSportsMillion IV Standings Update ????

?? Full Season Standings: https://t.co/yBpNI5WD81 pic.twitter.com/KRm7XjaeRP
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) September 13, 2022

So, as we head into Week 2 in the middle of the pack, here are our five picks for Week 2 based on the following spreads from Circa Sports:

#CircaSportsMillion IV ????
Week 2 Contest Point Spreads

?? PDF: https://t.co/RiyY8o3VBb pic.twitter.com/VckYzW02BC
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) September 15, 2022

1. Minnesota +2 over Philadelphia
The Vikings had Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers visibly upset and frustrated last week in the 23-7 win for Minnesota, which was one of our two wins last week.

Now, the Vikings head to Philly for the Eagles’ home opener and both teams are 1-0. Philly beat Detroit, 38-35, in Week 1, but giving up 35 points to the Lions is a red flag for that defense. This week, the Eagles get to deal with offensive weapons such as Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen and Kirk Cousins.

In Week 1, Justin Jefferson made it pretty clear that he is going to continue his destruction of NFL secondaries as he tore apart Green Bay for nine catches, 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles proved they can score in their win, but they also showed that they couldn’t stop the opposition from scoring either. Give me the Vikings, plus the points.

N-V-P!

N-V-P!@JJettas2 takes home the prestigious @Nickelodeon Most Valuable Player for Week 1. pic.twitter.com/ut5JlovKB5
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 14, 2022

2. Cincinnati -7 over Dallas
It might only be the second week of the NFL season, but if last week showed us anything it’s that there are ebbs and flows to every game. Would Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow like to have the first pass of the season back rather than into the arms of Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick for a pick-6? Sure, he would, but Burrow knows he’s going to have to pick his spots rather than go for the big shot on every play.

This weekend, Burrow, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and running back Joe Mixon will look to get into the win column against a beat-up Cowboys team in Big D. Even before quarterback Dak Prescott injured his throwing hand in Dallas’ Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, Jerry Jones’ bunch didn’t have much going on.

Now with Dak out, well… what’s an animal do when it sees a weak prey? It takes its time and pounces, and Joe “Cool” and the Bengals will do just that this weekend!

Working towards Sunday ?? pic.twitter.com/iTduvfmo23
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 15, 2022

3. San Francisco -8.5 over Seattle
Great situation here for the Niners, who come in off an upset loss to the Bears in a game that was played in a torrential rain storm and saw San Fran blow a 10-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are off an upset win over their former QB Russell Wilson and the Broncos on Monday night. Seattle was fortunate to escape with that win when you consider the Broncos went 0-for-4 in the red zone, including two fumbles inside the 1-yard line.

Off that emotionally draining win, tthe Seahawks are in a major letdown spot, playing on the road on a short week and will be without their best defensive player (Jamal Adams). Lay the lumber with the Niners in a bounce back spot at home.

4. New England -2 over Pittsburgh
New England stays on the road after a very mediocre performance in Miami in which it scored just seven points. Protecting Mac Jones was a major reason for a lack of offense last Sunday and Pittsburgh will be without one of the best pass rushers in the game in T.J. Watt, who was just placed on IR yesterday.

If the Patriots can find ways to keep the pocket clean, they have a good chance to be in control of this game. The defense for New England held the Dolphins’ offense to 13 points last week as one score came off a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The Steelers are coming off a wild overtime victory against the Bengals, but they needed five turnovers from Burrow to have a chance.

If Jones and New England takes care of the ball, we like them to even its record at 1-1 convincingly.

“They’ve got playmakers all over the field, it’s a really good defense to go against.”

Patriots players on preparing for Week 2 against the Steelers. pic.twitter.com/5JiDyDUSIc
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 14, 2022

5. New York -2 over Carolina
One of the bigger upsets in Week 1 came by the hands of the New York Giants, who won a nail-biter in Tennessee, 21-20, after the Titans missed a last-second field goal for the win.

We see the Giants riding this momentum into their home opener at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as they host Carolina, which took the loss against the Browns and backup QB Jacoby Brissett.

Giants’ QB Daniel Jones was average in the Week 1 victory, but didn’t make any major mistakes down the stretch. The highlight for the Giants was RB Saquon Barkley, who looked like his old self with 164 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.

The Panthers’ defense struggled against the Browns offense and we think the Giants will have success putting points on the board against them in Week 2.

Week 1 Results: 2-3
Season Record: 2-3