Famous in Our Own Minds: The Pick ’Em Showdown Week 2
Week 1 brought highs, lows, and at least one full-on disaster. Jeff went 2-1, Jack scratched out 1-2, and Jay? Well, Jay went 0-3 and is now leading the league in bad beats and regret. Still, hope springs eternal in Week 2 — the board resets, the confidence returns, and the questionable logic rolls on.
Jay Ballard
9/13/20252 min read
Jay’s “Bounce Back” Attempt
After last week’s shutout, Jay is putting faith in matchups that most people wouldn’t touch with oven mitts:
Seahawks at Steelers over 39.5. That’s Sam Darnold trying to outscore T.J. Watt’s pass rush. Optimism is a beautiful thing.
Browns at Ravens over 44.5. Cleveland’s quarterback is 73-year-old Joe Flacco, who’s so old he might qualify for Social Security checks between possessions. Jay’s betting the Ravens will do most of the heavy lifting here.
Eagles -1.5 at KC. Philly stomped the Chiefs in last year’s Super Bowl, and Jay’s betting history repeats itself. It’s gutsy… or maybe just short-term memory loss.
Jack’s Steady Hand (Sort Of)
Jack, sitting at 1-2, is trying to claw back to respectability:
Bears +6 at Detroit. This is less a bet and more a prayer that Chicago remembers how to score points.
Cowboys -4.5 vs Giants. Safe enough, except the Giants are now led by Russell Wilson — his fourth team in five seasons. He’s running out of zip codes faster than he’s running out of cookbooks.
Chargers at Raiders under 46.5. Jack’s anticipating one of those ugly AFC West games where both teams kick too many field goals and nobody’s happy.
Jeff’s Early Victory Lap
Jeff’s the only one who looks like he’s read a gambling book before:
Bills at Jets over 46.5. He’s betting Josh Allen and Justin Fields will produce fireworks, though Fields has looked more like a magician trying to escape defenders than a quarterback lately.
Giants at Cowboys over 44.5. Unlike Jack, Jeff’s counting on Russell Wilson to “let it cook” just enough to make this interesting. Bold move, given Russ has been reheating leftovers for a while now.
Bengals -3.5 vs Jacksonville. He trusts Joe Burrow to remind Trevor Lawrence who the real golden boy of the AFC is.
The Big Picture
It’s only Week 2, but storylines are already forming. Jeff’s chest is puffing out after one good week, Jack is searching for steady ground, and Jay is just trying to avoid the dreaded 0-6 start that gets you reassigned to covering Little League.
The games will be played, points will be scored (probably), and at least one of these picks will implode spectacularly. That’s the fun of it.