Well.
Week 1 was fun.
Week 1 was 11-5.
Week 1 made me feel like I knew what I was talking about.
Week 2 reminded me that I absolutely do not.
After going 11-5 in the opening week of the season, Walsh’s Winners came crashing back down to Earth in Week 2, finishing 7-8 on the picks from last week.
Not exactly what I had in mind.
The good news?
I still got more right than I got wrong.
The bad news?
There were several picks where I would like to formally apologize to anyone who listened to me.
So, let’s talk about it.
THE EARLY SLATE
Bears Over Vikings
The Pick: Chicago Bears
The Result: Vikings 9, Bears 3
Starting off the day with a loss is always a fun way to begin.
And this game was absolutely disgusting.
Nine points. Three points. Field goals everywhere.
The Bears had the ball for over 32 minutes, ran 70 plays and still managed to score three points.
THREE.
I picked the Bears because I thought they would win a divisional game at home.
Instead, I watched them turn Soldier Field into a place where offensive football goes to die.
Record: 0-1
Eagles Over Titans
The Pick: GO BIRDS DICKHEAD
The Result: Eagles 24, Titans 20
This one almost killed me.
The Eagles looked like they were going to cruise.
Then they decided to make things interesting.
Jalen Hurts threw two interceptions. Saquon Barkley got hurt on the first play. Dallas Goedert went down. The offensive line had issues.
And somehow, with under two minutes left and the Eagles trailing 20-17, Hurts went down the field and won the damn game.
A 65-yard drive.
A huge catch by DeVonta Smith.
And then Darius Cooper catching his first career touchdown with nine seconds left.
That’s the kind of game where you don’t care how pretty it was.
2-0.
I’ll take it.
Record: 1-1
And yes, I will absolutely be saying “GO BIRDS DICKHEAD” every time I pick the Eagles from now on.
Packers Over Jets
The Pick: Green Bay Packers
The Result: Packers 20, Jets 17 OT
Never in doubt.
Okay, that’s a lie.
This game went to overtime.
But still.
A win is a win.
Jordan Love didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but Green Bay found a way to get it done after blowing a 17-7 lead and allowing the Jets to tie the game late.
Then the Packers marched into overtime and kicked the game-winning field goal.
I’ll take the ugly wins.
Record: 2-1
Panthers Over Falcons
The Pick: Carolina Panthers
The Result: Panthers 34, Falcons 3
THIS.
This is why I write this blog.
Because every once in a while, I look like I actually know what I’m doing.
Carolina absolutely destroyed Atlanta.
34-3.
The Falcons turned the ball over five times.
Bryce Young threw three touchdowns.
And the Panthers turned what I thought would be a divisional rock fight into a complete ass kicking.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect THAT.
But I did pick Carolina.
So I’m taking the victory lap.
Record: 3-1
Ravens Over Saints
The Pick: Baltimore Ravens
The Result: Saints 24, Ravens 17
Yeah.
Not great.
Baltimore was up 17-9 entering the fourth quarter.
Then the Saints scored 15 unanswered points and completely flipped the game.
Lamar Jackson threw a late interception, and that basically slammed the door shut.
This was one of those picks where you spend three quarters thinking you’re a genius before football reminds you that you’re an idiot. The Saints are frisky and that’s what I learned.
Record: 3-2
Texans Over Bengals
The Pick: Houston Texans
The Result: Bengals 20, Texans 6
I don’t even know what to say.
The Texans had 374 yards of offense.
C.J. Stroud completed 30 passes.
And they scored six points.
SIX.
Meanwhile, Joe Burrow threw two touchdowns and Ja’Marr Chase caught both of them.
This was one of those games where the box score makes absolutely no sense until you look at the scoreboard.
And then it makes even less sense.
Record: 3-3
Buccaneers Over Browns
The Pick: Tampa Bay
The Result: Browns 23, Buccaneers 19
Remember when I said:
“This might be the easiest pick of the weekend.”
Yeah.
About that.
The Browns won.
I said Tampa wasn’t going 0-2.
Tampa went 0-2.
That one is entirely on me.
The worst part is that I didn’t even give myself an out.
I basically walked into this loss, shook its hand and asked it to kick me in the nuts.
Record: 3-4
Steelers Over Patriots
The Pick: Pittsburgh
The Result: Patriots 20, Steelers 3
Good lord.
This wasn’t even close.
The Steelers scored three points.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 187 yards and had an interception.
Then, because apparently things weren’t going badly enough, he fumbled a snap/sack in the fourth quarter and the Patriots returned it for a touchdown.
Just an absolute disaster.
Record: 3-5
And that’s where the wheels officially started coming off.
THE LATE SLATE
Broncos Over Jaguars
The Pick: DUUUUUUUVVAAAALLLLL
The Result: Broncos 20, Jaguars 13
I’m starting to think maybe screaming a team’s name doesn’t actually make them win.
Jacksonville had their chances, but Denver took care of business at home.
The Jaguars offense couldn’t quite get enough going, and my beautiful DUUUUUVVVAAALLLLL pick went directly into the trash.
Record: 3-6
Chargers Over Raiders
The Pick: Los Angeles Chargers
The Result: Raiders 26, Chargers 14
Herbie.
What happened?
I specifically asked you not to do this.
The Chargers came into this game as the team I thought would take care of business.
Instead, the Raiders walked out of Los Angeles with a 26-14 win.
And yes, I did make the Madison Beer joke last week.
Maybe the football gods saw it and decided I needed to suffer.
Record: 3-7
THE 4:25 SLATE
Seahawks Over Cardinals
The Pick: Seattle
The Result: Seahawks 31, Cardinals 7
FINALLY.
A team I picked decided to actually do what I expected them to do.
Seattle absolutely handled Arizona.
31-7.
No drama.
No fourth-quarter collapse.
No overtime.
No bullshit.
Just a good old-fashioned ass kicking.
Thank you, Seattle.
Record: 4-7
49ers Over Dolphins
The Pick: San Francisco
The Result: 49ers 35, Dolphins 13
Another one where I look like I know what I’m doing.
The Dolphins were never really in this game.
San Francisco put up 35 points and took care of business at home.
This was probably my favorite kind of Walsh’s Winners pick:
I said the Dolphins were bad.
They were bad.
The 49ers won.
Everyone goes home happy.
Record: 5-7
Commanders Over Cowboys
The Pick: Washington
The Result: Cowboys 37, Commanders 20
I hate everything about this.
I hate that Dallas won.
I hate that I picked Washington.
And I especially hate that I spent part of last week’s column talking about Cowboys Twitter having a meltdown if they started 0-2.
Instead, the Cowboys scored 37 points.
Dak and the Cowboys offense did exactly what I did not want them to do.
This one hurts.
Record: 5-8
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Chiefs Over Colts
The Pick: Kansas City
The Result: Chiefs 33, Colts 30
Okay.
I’ll take this one.
Although Kansas City apparently wanted to make me sweat for it.
The Chiefs survived a 33-30 thriller and got the win at Arrowhead.
Patrick Mahomes did Patrick Mahomes things.
And for once, the team I picked actually handled business in primetime.
Record: 6-8
One more.
Just give me one more.
Please.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Rams Over Giants
The Pick: Los Angeles Rams
The Result: Rams 28, Giants 6
THANK YOU.
The Giants looked good in Week 1.
I said there was no way the Rams were starting 0-2.
And I was right.
The Rams took care of business on Monday night, beating New York 28-6.
So we finish the week with a win.
Because apparently Walsh’s Winners needed to give me a little bit of hope before I started writing this recap.
Final Record: 7-8
SO… WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?
Last week I went 11-5.
This week I went 7-8.
That’s a pretty significant drop.
But I’m not panicking.
It’s Week 2.
There are still a whole lot of football games left.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from doing this already, it’s that the NFL makes absolutely no sense.
The Panthers win by 31.
The Browns beat Tampa.
The Saints beat Baltimore.
The Raiders beat the Chargers.
The Patriots beat the Steelers 20-3.
The Packers and Jets go to overtime.
And the Eagles somehow find a way to win after trailing with less than two minutes left.
That’s football.
And that’s why we’re here.
So after two weeks, Walsh’s Winners sits at 18-13 on the season based on the picks recorded in the first two columns.
Not exactly the start I was hoping for after going 11-5 in Week 1.
But we’re still above .500.
And most importantly…
I’m still talking shit.
That’s what matters.
Week 3 is coming.
Time to forget about Week 2, pretend I learned something from it, and convince myself I know exactly what’s going to happen next Sunday.
See you next week.
Overall Record: 18-13
-Walsh
Bet responsibly. If you choose to gamble, only bet what you can afford to lose.
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