Pro Picks: So you think this is easy? Look how weird opening week was

  • By BARRY WILNER
  • Thursday, September 15, 2016 12:30am
  • Sports

So you think this is easy? Here’s what Pro Picks was up against on opening weekend: road teams going 9-7, nine teams trailing in the fourth quarter before winning.

We’ll take our 13-3 straight up, not publicize barely breaking .500 against the spread, and look to Thursday night’s Jets vs. Rex, Part 3.

Rex Ryan’s current club, the Bills, swept his former team, the Jets, in 2015, including keeping New York from making the playoffs with a victory in the season finale.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“I think when you put everything you had into a place, and then you leave it, it was more emotional,” Ryan said of being fired after the 2014 season, then landing immediately in Western New York.

“But now it’s been a year away, and I’m firmly, well, firmly, maybe some people don’t think I’m firmly situated here. But I feel that I’m firmly grounded here, and this is my new team and my new home in Buffalo. All the other stuff I think is not in play as much as it probably was last year.”

While Buffalo’s offense was invisible in a 13-7 defeat at Baltimore, New York fell 23-22 to Cincinnati in part because its always-reliable placekicker, Nick Folk, missed a field goal and, for the first time in his nine-plus NFL seasons, an extra point.

The Jets (No. 16 in AP Pro32) are 3-point underdogs at Buffalo (No. 25). That’s the value of a Folk field goal. He’ll actually make more than one — and all his extra points

JETS, 20-10

KNOCKOUT LEAGUE TIP

We’re not very prescient when it comes to these picks, as our choice of the Chiefs last week showed. But they survived in overtime, which leads us to selecting CAROLINA this week.

No. 27 Atlanta (plus 4 1-2) at No. 12 Oakland

Jack Del Rio won’t need to go for the 2-point conversion to win at the end of this one.

BEST BET: RAIDERS, 30-21

No. 9 Kansas City (plus 2) at No. 11 Houston

KC nearly burned us in knockout pool last week. We didn’t learn.

UPSET SPECIAL: CHIEFS, 24-23

No. 22 (tie) Indianapolis (plus 6) at No. 2 Denver

Tempting to make this the best bet.

BRONCOS, 22-13

No. 4 Green Bay (minus 2 1-2) at No. 10 Minnesota

New stadium, but Vikings need some old-fashioned Adrian Peterson, which wasn’t there vs. Titans.

PACKERS, 27-23

No. 26 San Francisco (plus 13) at No. 5 Carolina

A huge spread, but Niners come off Monday nighter for cross-country journey.

PANTHERS, 30-12

No. 20 Miami (plus 6 1-2) at No. 1 New England

Dolphins will give Patriots a good test.

PATRIOTS, 17-14

No. 6 (tie) Seattle (minus 3 1-2) at No. 31 Los Angeles

If the Rams play in their return to L.A. like they did at the 49ers, SoCal might boot them back to St. Louis.

SEAHAWKS, 19-13

No. 24 Dallas (plus 3) at No. 21 Washington

If the Redskins play in their second home game like they did vs. Pittsburgh …

REDSKINS, 17-16

No. 15 Tampa Bay (plus 6 1-2) at No. 8 Arizona

After winning at Atlanta, the Bucs could make a real statement here.

Nope.

CARDINALS, 30-23

No. 6 Cincinnati (plus 3 1-2) at No. 3 Pittsburgh

Both teams are 1-0 despite being short-handed. Both have plenty left.

STEELERS, 24-23

No. 19 Philadelphia (plus 3) at No. 30 Chicago, Monday night

These aren’t the Browns that Philly is facing.

BEARS, 16-14

No. 22 (tie) New Orleans (plus 5) at No. 14 New York Giants

Drew Brees will pile up more yards, TDs, points — and another loss.

GIANTS, 33-30

No. 29 Tennessee (plus 6) at No. 17 Detroit

Titans showed little at home against Minnesota. Lions showed plenty at Indy.

LIONS, 31-17

No. 13 (tie) Baltimore (minus 6 1-2) at No. 32 Cleveland

Ravens used to call Cleveland home. It will feel comfy Sunday.

RAVENS, 18-6

No. 18 Jacksonville (plus 3) at No. 28 San Diego

Each team performed decently in opening defeat.

CHARGERS, 28-26

2016 RECORD: Against spread (8-7-1). Straight up:(13-3)

Best Bet: 0-1 against spread, 1-0 straight up.

Upset special: 1-0 against spread, 1-0 straight up.

More in Sports

tease
Saturday: Homer baseball tops Petersburg, Ketchikan

The Homer baseball team finished up play at the Ketchikan Round Robin… Continue reading

tease
Bears end season with sweep at the hands of Ice Dogs

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs swept a Friday and Saturday series from the… Continue reading

Morgan Aldridge leads riders down a hill at the start of Week 3 of the Soldotna Cycle Series on Thursday, July 18, 2019, at Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Sterling’s Aldridge wins duathlon at Lavaman Triathlon

Sterling’s Morgan Aldridge, 43, won the individual duathlon at Lavaman Triathlon 2025… Continue reading

tease
Friday: Homer baseball picks up 1st win of season

The Homer baseball team defeated Petersburg 11-3 on Friday at the Ketchikan… Continue reading

tease
Thursday: Homer baseball drops opener

The Homer baseball team opened its season Thursday with an 11-10 loss… Continue reading

tease
Peninsula Piranhas sweep South Central Area Championships

The Peninsula Piranhas swept the South Central Area Championship Meet on Friday… Continue reading

Soldotna's Adarra Hagelund grabs a rebound in front of Kenai's Denali Bernard and Emma Beck, and SoHi's Tanner Inman, at Soldotna High School on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna graduate Hagelund uncorks top high jump in Alaska history

Soldotna High School graduate Adarra Hagelund leapt to the top of the… Continue reading

Trevin Moore of Soldotna and Connor Schnatterie of Clarkston (Washington) battle for the ball at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna boys soccer notches victory over Clarkston

The Soldotna boys soccer team opened its season with a 5-1 victory… Continue reading

Levi Strong of Kenai Central and Stephen Alfred of Clarkston (Washington) battle for the ball Monday, April 7, 2025, at Ed Hollier Field at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai boys soccer defeats team from Clarkston, Washington

The host Kenai Central boys soccer team opened its season with a… Continue reading

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in