NFL picks against the spread, Week 2: My SuperContest picks

Earlier this week, I put together a quick rundown of my picks for Week 2, to get us ready for Thursday Night Football. I'm off to a roaring 0-1 start having picked the Steelers to cover the 2.5-point spread against the Baltimore Ravens. So much for that.

I submitted my five picks for the LVH SuperContest Friday evening, and figured I'd share what I finally decided on. For those that don't know, the LVH SuperContest is a pick 'em contest that runs the entire season. Participants pick five games against the spread each week. Each contestant is allowed to choose his own games. One of our partners, Odds Shark, sponsored my entry, as well as entries for a handful of other people. You can track our results here, and the entire contest standings here. My entry is simply titled "Fooch".

I went 2-3 last week with the 49ers and Chargers covering, while the Broncos and Steelers failed to cover, and the Bucs lost outright. This week, I'm mixing some underdogs with some favorites to see how it will play out. Hopefully I can improve on last week's 2-3 performance.

BILLS (+1) over Dolphins
Patriots (-3) over VIKINGS
CHARGERS (+6) over Seahawks
BUCCANEERS (-5.5) over Rams
49ERS (-6.5) over Bears

I did not submit my picks till last night, but I had already planned on picking the Patriots before Adrian Peterson was deactivated. The Patriots stumbled in the second half last week, but I don't see that happening a second straight week.

The Chargers and Bucs picks are probably the two I had the most questions about. The Seahawks have actually covered a lot of road games the last couple years, but the Chargers are probably the toughest opponent they have faced during that stretch. I would not be surprised to see Seattle win, but I think it will be a close one. And if the Seahawks blow them out, I might have to start grabbing the Seahawks each week (minus two specific weeks!). Let's hope they don't put me in that position!

And of course, I went with the 49ers a second week in a row. I told myself before the season I would never pick them, but his is two straight weeks I really like their matchup from a gambling perspective. They face a defense that is struggling, and they could face an offense without a playmaker at wide receiver, or at least dealing with a banged up playmaker. Anything can happen on a given Sunday, but I just like the matchup. I'll take any kind of 49ers win, but a comfortable margin of victory would be nice!

Here are the rest of my Week 2 picks.

RAVENS vs. Steelers (+2.5) - Steelers
PANTHERS vs. Lions (+3) - Panthers
BILLS vs. Dolphins (-1) - Bills
WASHINGTON vs. Jaguars (+6) - Jaguars
TITANS vs. Cowboys (+3.5) - Titans
GIANTS vs. Cardinals (-2.5) - Giants
VIKINGS vs. Patriots (-3) - Patriots
BROWNS vs. Saints (-6.5) - Browns
BENGALS vs. Falcons (+5.5) - Falcons
BUCCANEERS vs. Rams (+5.5) - Bucs
CHARGERS vs. Seahawks (-6) - Chargers
RAIDERS vs. Texans (-3) - Raiders
PACKERS vs. Jets (+8.5) - Jets
BRONCOS vs. Chiefs (+13) - Broncos
49ERS vs. BEARS (+6.5) - 49ers
COLTS vs. Eagles (+3) - Colts