Upset alert for NFL Week 2? Why these 5 favorites could easily drop their matchup, including the Ravens

The NFL isn't shy about throwing curveballs. Whenever you think you have teams pegged and know how a given week will unfold, the league reminds you that anything can happen. 

We were reminded of that right out of the gate in Week 1, where there were several upsets across the league. The most noteworthy of them all came from the Arizona Cardinals. They were the biggest underdog of the entire Week 1 slate and, despite that, pulled off the outright win over the Chargers on the road. The New York Giants were another team that defied the odds and beat out the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. 

Those two upsets weren't on our radar last week, but we did guide you to two of them. We correctly put the Titans and Rams on upset alert, and they each came out of the opener 0-1, losing to the Jets and 49ers, respectively. We nearly had another in the Houston Texans, but Josh Allen's late-game heroics and C.J. Stroud's fourth-quarter fumble fumbled that opportunity away. 

Now, we turn our attention to Week 2, where we've again identified five favorites that could be on upset alert. 

All NFL odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Detroit Lions (+4.5) at Buffalo Bills

• When: Thursday, 1 p.m. ET | Where: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park)
• Stream: Prime Video
• Lions ML odds: +194

We kick off Week 2 with a doozy of a matchup where points should come in bunches. Along with two high-octane offenses, the Bills will be opening up the new Highmark Stadium, so there will be plenty of buzz on Thursday night. While the narrative surrounding both teams centers on their offense, they each allowed at least 30 points on defense in Week 1. 

Specifically, as it relates to Buffalo's defense and Detroit's chance of pulling off the upset, I'm not sure they fixed their inability to stop the run. While they held David Montgomery (3.0 yards per carry) in check from an efficiency standpoint, the Texans' back still totaled 60 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. He also caught all three of his targets for 19 yards and another score. Meanwhile, Woddy Marks rushed for 42 yards on just nine carries, and his longest rush went for just 12 yards, so there was success to be had against this unit that'll now try to contain Jahmyr Gibbs. 

Gibbs is coming off a career-high 34 touches in Week 1 and was electric with each one of them. He rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while forcing 10 missed tackles (per Next Gen Stats). If he can get rolling and help Detroit win the time-of-possession battle, it could go a long way toward helping the defense limit Josh Allen's impact. 

Dan Campbell has also been superb at getting his team to play up for Thursday Night Football, owning a 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Jared Goff is 21-8 in primetime games since 2019. 

Cincinnati Bengals (+3) at Houston Texans

• When: 1 p.m. ET | Where: Reliant Stadium (Houston)
• TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
• Bengals ML odds: +134

Is Cincinnati's defense ... good? In the Week 1 win over Tampa Bay, the Bengals' defense forced four fumbles and totaled 20 points off of those turnovers. Their slew of new additions to that side of the ball made immediate impacts, namely edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook. 

Three of those forced fumbles were the Bengals getting after Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, and they'll look to put a similar dent in C.J. Stroud. The Texans' signal caller doesn't have a reputation for being the most secure with the football and lost two fumbles in the opening loss to Buffalo, so there is an opportunity for Cincinnati to keep the turnover momentum rolling in Week 2. 

If that happens and Joe Burrow and Co. have short fields, it'll only help them put points on the board against the Texans' defense. Speaking of Houston's defense, they didn't look like the shutdown unit they were in 2025 in Week 1. 

If this is an early indication that the unit may regress (even slightly) from their stellar production last season, the Bengals could be live. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow has typically played well in this setting. In the last 11 games Joe Burrow has started as a road underdog, the Bengals have a +4.1 points-per-game differential. 

Green Bay Packers at New York Jets (+3.5)

• When: 1 p.m. ET | Where: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford)
• TV: Fox | Stream: (Fubo, try for free)
• Jets ML odds: +162

The Green Bay Packers have my attention, and not in a good way. Not only did they blow a 12-point lead to the Carson Wentz-led Vikings, but Jordan Love left little to be desired in the process. He completed just half of his passes and had an off-target rate of 23.8%, the worst among all quarterbacks in Week 1. When you pair shaky quarterback play with a nonexistent running game and a defense that gave up 29 unanswered points in the second half, they are liable to get clipped by anyone. That includes the New York Jets. 

That's especially true given that the Jets looked solid in their road upset win over the Titans in Week 1. Geno Smith's numbers won't jump out of the box score, but he was extremely efficient. Remember what I said about Jordan Love's off-target rate? Well, Smith's was the polar opposite, not throwing a single off-target ball in the win. Provided he keeps it clean again and doesn't make Green Bay's life easier, New York could mess around as a home dog and win outright. 

Dating back to last year, the Packers are currently on a six-game losing streak, which coincides with Micah Parsons' injury (he suffered a torn ACL in the first game of the losing streak). In that time, their production has fallen off a cliff, averaging 19.7 points per game while allowing 30.5 points per game. 

Jacksonville Jaguars (+2.5) at Denver Broncos

• When: 4:05 p.m. ET | Where: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
• TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
• Jaguars ML odds: +126

Watching the Denver defense on Monday night was jarring. Their tackling was as sloppy as you'll see in the NFL, missing 28 on the night and allowing 247 yards after those misses, according to Next Gen Stats. Meanwhile, handing the offensive play sheet to Davis Webb feels like an unnecessary downgrade from Sean Payton, and the unit couldn't move the ball consistently down the field. 

Whether it's Payton calling the shots or merely overseeing things from the sidelines, his Broncos teams have a propensity for starting slow. Payton has the most 0-2 starts (7) by a head coach in NFL history and is 2-8 over his Broncos tenure in the first three weeks of the season. 

Meanwhile, going into Denver and pulling out a win isn't foreign to the Jaguars. Back in Week 16 of last season, they did just that in the form of a dominant 34-20 victory. Those 34 points allowed were the most Denver surrendered in any game last season. 

New Orleans Saints (+8.5) at Baltimore Ravens

• When: 1 p.m. ET | Where: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
• TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
• Saints ML odds: +320

The Baltimore Ravens look like they are back to being a juggernaut after a dominant win over the Colts, dropping 41 points in the process. While Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry will continue to be the straws that stir the drink of the offense, the receiver room did take some sizable hits in the winning effort. Standout rookie Ja'Kobi Lane is slated to undergo wrist surgery, while top wideout Zay Flowers' status for Week 2 is in question due to a hamstring injury that knocked him out of the opener. If he's sidelined for this game or limited due to the injury, it takes some of the potency out of the Baltimore offense. 

As for the Saints, their defense did keep the Lions offense in check in the first half, allowing just seven points. Things went off the rails in the second half and overtime, but they did show an ability to slow down a high-profile offense (at least momentarily). As for Tyler Shough, he shook off some early-game struggles and played well down the stretch against Detroit, finishing with 410 yards passing, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. 

If this turns into another shootout, Shough has shown he can at least hang around. 

I also wonder if this is quietly a look-ahead spot for Baltimore, which will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after this matchup for a Week 3 contest against the Dallas Cowboys.