Picking winners in the first week of an NFL season is usually about as easy as guessing how many marbles can fit into a five-gallon jug. The best you can do is offer up an educated guess and hope you’re not too far off.

Well this season is no different. There were several upsets along the way, and most games came down to the final few minutes. Although I managed to pick ten out of sixteen correctly, two of the six that I missed were in last week’s featured games.

Week two is usually a little bit easier to pick, so let’s see what we’ve got for this weekend.

This week’s Lock of the Week (1-0).

San Francisco at Carolina.

This is a case of two teams that were involved in upsets last week. Carolina was supposed to go to Denver and get revenge for last year’s Super Bowl humiliation. They came out swinging and jumped out to a solid lead, only to get shut down after halftime and walk away 0-1.

Meanwhile, the 49ers were supposed to be outclassed by the visiting Rams. Not only did they turn the tables and win the game, but they absolutely destroyed Los Angeles, beating them solidly in every aspect of the game.

Don’t look for the same results this week. The Panthers will be playing their home opener, so you can count on the Carolina fans to bring their twelfth man attitude with them. And love him or hate him, Cam Newton will not allow his team to collapse two weeks in a row.

The 49ers will come crashing back down to earth, having to travel across three time zones to play in the home of an actual football team. Instead of leading the Lambs to slaughter, they will be this week’s easy prey.

Final score – Carolina 38, San Francisco 16.

This week’s Upset of the Week (0-1).

Jacksonville at San Diego.

I was surprised to find that the Vegas odds-makers designated the Chargers as the favorites in this one. Okay, so they jumped out to a big early lead at Kansas City last week. But after their monster #1 wide receiver went down with a season ending injury, they completely fell apart, allowing the below average Chiefs to storm back for the win.

And yes, the Jags are 0-1 and traveling across the country to play this one. But they very easily could be 1-0, having given the Packers all they could handle last week.

This matchup involves two teams going in opposite directions. The Chargers, having lost their most potent offensive weapon, are destined to remain in the cellar of the AFC West, while the Jaguars, with a much improved defense and one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league, will compete week in and week out.

Final Score – Jacksonville 27, San Diego 17.

This week’s Game of the Week (0-1).

If you enjoy a good heavyweight championship boxing match, then you will love this one!

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh.

There were a couple of games that would fit the bill for this category in week two, but none with the intensity level that this game is sure to bring. Not only are these the top two teams in the AFC North, but they absolutely hate each other.

As you know, I picked the Steelers to represent the AFC in this season’s Super Bowl. They are loaded at every position and, even with the suspensions, are a threat to blow up the scoreboard at any time. But the home opener against their divisional rival, the team that is notorious for cheap shots and injuring key players? Don’t tell me they won’t be pumped up for this one!

Meanwhile, Cincinnati is trying to get rid of their bad reputation as a dirty team (hey I warned you about Burfect several years ago, after watching his childish outbursts and bonehead cheap shots for four years at Arizona State, but did you listen?) But there’s something about the Steelers that seems to bring the animal side out of the Bengals.

Look for a very physical game with a lot of flags thrown and possibly a player or two being carried off the field on a cart.

And in the end, look for a Steelers victory!

Final Score – Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 20.

So there you have it. Week two’s picks are locked in. So place your bets, fire up the grill and let the games begin!