Pro Picks: Rams will rebound but Giants will cover the spread

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Pro Picks: Rams will rebound but Giants will cover the spread

2026-09-17 04:29 Last Updated At：04:40

Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo and the rejuvenated New York Giants gave John Harbaugh a successful debut.

A sleepy effort in Australia has the Super Bowl favorites reeling after one game. Now the Los Angeles Rams won’t have Myles Garrett for a month. And, Aaron Donald’s status is uncertain.

Still, the Rams (0-1) are 7 1/2-point favorites against the Giants (1-0) on Monday night.

Expect Sean McVay to have his team ready to rebound after ill-advised travel plans led to a dismal performance against the 49ers.

Harbaugh’s team made a statement against the Cowboys. It’ll be a tough challenge on the road against Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and Los Angeles.

Pro Picks likes the Rams to win but the Giants to cover.

RAMS: 27-20

Line: Bills minus 4 1/2

Josh Allen was spectacular against Houston’s stingy defense, though he was a dropped pick away from losing the game. Joe Brady’s Bills will be fired up to play their home opener in a new stadium. Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and a new-look offensive line were impressive against New Orleans. The defense struggled, as usual.

BILLS: 30-23

Line: Buccaneers minus 8 1/2

Deshaun Watson could be making his final start for the Browns, who were dismal at Jacksonville. Watson has to play well or Cleveland may turn to Shedeur Sanders sooner than later. The Buccaneers lost an opener for the first time since 2020 when they won the Super Bowl. Baker Mayfield can’t turn the ball over three times again.

BUCCANEERS: 24-17

Line: Eagles minus 7

Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the rest of Philadelphia’s offense had a successful opener under a new coordinator but have plenty of room to improve. They’ll play better against the Titans. This should be a rough day for Tennessee’s Cam Ward going against a tough defense.

EAGLES: 27-16

Line: Packers minus 3 1/2

The Packers have lost six straight games since Micah Parsons was injured last December. Their offensive line is struggling to protect Jordan Love and they were undisciplined, committing 12 penalties in Week 1. Enter the Jets. Yes, they won their opener. But they beat the Titans.

PACKERS: 26-17

Line: Texans minus 2 1/2

The Bengals may finally have a strong defense to match Joe Burrow and a prolific offense. A defensive collapse cost the Texans the opener but C.J. Stroud was a standout on offense. It’s early but Houston can’t afford to lose two straight at home to start the season.

TEXANS: 26-23

Line: Patriots minus 5 1/2

Drake Maye can’t be turnover-prone or the Patriots won’t come close to last season’s success. He won’t have A.J. Brown so Romeo Doubs needs to step up. It could be a struggle against T.J. Watt and Pittsburgh’s stout defensive front. Aaron Rodgers is going to need a better run game and some help from DK Metcalf.

PATRIOTS: 22-20

Line: Bears minus 5 1/2

Caleb Williams and the Bears won’t score 59 this week against Brian Flores’ defense but they don’t have to. Carson Wentz was efficient coming off the bench for the Vikings against Green Bay. He’ll have a full week to practice with the starters but this won’t be easy, even though Chicago’s defense gave up 37 last week.

BEARS: 27-16

Line: Panthers minus 1 1/2

Bryce Young and Carolina’s offense were dynamic in Week 1. The defense was horrendous. The Falcons have Bijan Robinson but problems at quarterback. The Panthers are 0-9 straight up as a favorite since 2021. Time to end that odd streak.

PANTHERS: 24-18

Line: Ravens minus 8 1/2

Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers are going to look unstoppable more often than not. The Saints nearly overcame a 21-0 deficit to stun the Lions. Tyler Shough had a strong finish, but needs to do a better job avoiding turnovers and sacks.

RAVENS: 30-20

Line: Broncos minus 2 1/2

Trevor Lawrence is going to get early MVP attention if he beats the Broncos on the road. Bo Nix struggled and Denver’s talented defense had a terrible day against the Chiefs. The Broncos also seemed to miss Sean Payton’s play-calling.

BRONCOS: 24-20

Line: Chargers minus 6 1/2

Justin Herbert’s debut in Mike McDaniel’s offense was lackluster. Chargers new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary also had a disappointing debut. But they should get on track against the Raiders. Klint Kubiak got his first win out of the way. Beating teams other than the Dolphins will harder.

CHARGERS: 27-16

Line: 49ers minus 13 1/2

The only thing that can slow down Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers is the jet lag after spending 10 days in Australia. The Dolphins are going to be in the running for the No. 1 overall pick and Arch Manning. Spending the week in Napa instead of South Beach isn’t going to help.

49ERS: 30-13

Line: Seahawks minus 4

The Cardinals pulled off the biggest upset in Week 1, knocking off the Chargers. Now, they face the defending Super Bowl champions on extra rest. Seattle’s suffocating defense will cause trouble for Jacoby Brissett. Drew Lock won’t have to do too much filling in for Sam Darnold other than protect the ball and manage the game.

BEST BET: SEAHAWKS: 24-13

Line: Cowboys minus 3 1/2

A bonehead celebration penalty by Stefon Diggs and questionable play on a 2-point conversion cost the Commanders a shot at an upset in Philly. The optimism surrounding the Cowboys’ defense has quickly faded after a poor opener. Dallas hasn’t been 0-2 since 2010. Dak Prescott won’t let it happen.

COWBOYS: 27-23

Line: Chiefs minus 6 1/2

Patrick Mahomes is back to his old self despite ACL surgery nine months ago. Kenneth Walker III gives the Chiefs a run game they’ve lacked for years. The Colts got whacked by the Ravens and their new-look defense was awful. That’s eight losses in a row for Indianapolis since an 8-2 start last season. It’s going to be hard to avoid nine, though the Chiefs could be in for a letdown off an emotional Monday night game.

UPSET SPECIAL: 24-23

Last week: Straight up: 10-6. Against spread: 5-11.

Overall: Straight up: 10-6. Against spread: 5-11.

Best Bet: Straight up: 1-0. Against spread: 0-1.

Upset Special: Straight up: 0-1. Against spread: 0-1.

Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Driver arrested in a bus collision that happened before a deadly news helicopter crash in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A motorist was arrested on murder charges after authorities say she slammed her SUV into a city bus in Los Angeles, killing at least two people and injuring six others in a prelude to a second deadly tragedy: the fiery crash of a TV news helicopter that was covering the collision.

Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, was arrested Tuesday night and is being held at a Los Angeles jail with bail set at $4 million, police said Wednesday. The case is being forwarded to the district attorney's office, which will decide whether to file the charges in court or pursue different ones. Information on a lawyer who could speak on her behalf was not immediately available.

The helicopter, which was used by NBC and Telemundo, crashed about two hours after police say Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, ran a red light and struck a vehicle before hitting the bus. One passenger was fully ejected from the bus and another was partially ejected, police said.

Rios’ mother, Cindy Rios, said she was shocked and saddened by the string of events. She said she had not spoken to Bailee Lynn since her arrest and had not been contacted by law enforcement.

“It’s just horrible,” Cindy Rios told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. “The fact that my daughter was involved and was the cause of it is just extremely disturbing.”

“If anything, I’m sorry for the other families,” she added. “My daughter’s alive. People lost their lives.”

NBC4 Los Angeles reported that two people aboard the helicopter — reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw — were killed when the chopper went down Tuesday in the Chatsworth neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley north of downtown.

A person on the ground, identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, died in a parking lot, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said. He was from Guatemala, the country's consulate confirmed.

The crash happened as news crews were reporting on the collision involving the SUV that slammed into the bus.

There were no immediate details on what caused the helicopter crash, but an alarm could be heard sounding inside the helicopter's cockpit as it lost altitude in the final seconds of video the crew broadcast before the crash.

Just after the beeping noise starts, a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. The woman says “You can’t pull up?” before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground.

“That video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar said Wednesday at a news briefing.

Salazar said the sounds were consistent with the helicopter's engine changing speed, as well as what he said were likely advisory tones for the pilot. The NTSB said it is also investigating the bus collision.

The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, went down near a large storage facility. At least four cars and two storage containers burned after the helicopter caught fire. NBC4 reporter Robert Kovacik was at the bus scene and saw black smoke and rushed to the helicopter crash site.

Moreno was a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station’s aerial coverage. She and Marciniw were both were employees of Angel City Air, which operated the chopper for the station.

Moreno, born in Orange County, joined Angel City Air in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. She reported for several news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, the NBC4 website said.

Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.

“I think a lot of us are still trying to process what happened, this terrible loss,” NBC4 reporter Lauren Coronado told viewers early Wednesday as she stood near the crash site. A hazmat crew was cleaning up jet fuel, she said.

In a tribute to Moreno and Marciniw, the newscast referred to them as “the team in the sky,” saying Moreno would often post videos from her job and was in awe of the view. Anchor Lynette Romero held a colleague’s hand and wiped away tears after hearing Moreno’s voice when one of her posts was played.

In an interview with the station, Esteban Jimenez, a pilot, said he had known Marciniw since the 1990s. He said Marciniw had been his instructor.

“I just talked to him on Sunday. We were talking about the aviation business and retiring,” he said.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the alarm sounding in the helicopter’s final video sounds like the low rotor RPM warning horn that signals the main rotor is no longer spinning enough to keep the helicopter in the air.

“It just has all the earmarks of a potential loss of engine power and a dangerous decrease in the main rotor speed,” said Guzzetti who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA.

Guzzetti said the pilot appeared to be trying to perform an emergency maneuver to use the wind to force the rotor to spin again much like a breeze turns a windmill. Doing that can create a bit of lift that could help cushion the impact, but Guzzetti said there would have been little opportunity to do that because the helicopter had been hovering at a low altitude beforehand.

There are risks to news helicopters particularly in a major city like Los Angeles where multiple helicopters respond to an incident, but the pilots all coordinate closely over the radio to ensure they maintain a safe distance from each other. The industry also shares best practices to help keep these news flights safe.

“It’s a very unique form of flying. And the community is very good about lessons learned,” Guzzetti said. “And so because of that, you don’t hear about too many of those accidents. So they’re rare, but they do occur, just because the mission is a risky one.”

The station said this is the second aviation tragedy in its history.

In 1977, a KNBC news helicopter crashed when it ran out of fuel while returning to the station after covering a wildfire in Santa Barbara, killing the pilot and camera operator. The pilot, former U.S. Air Force officer Francis Gary Powers, had been in the news years earlier when he was shot down and captured while flying a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union for the CIA, an ordeal portrayed in the movie “Bridge of Spies.”

There have been at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the U.S. since 2000, killing 16 people, according to a review of federal accident records and news accounts. They include a 2023 crash in a New Jersey forest that killed the pilot and a photographer aboard a helicopter used by Philadelphia station WPVI, a 2022 crash beside a Charlotte, North Carolina, interstate that killed a pilot and meteorologist during a training flight for WBTV and the 2007 midair collision in Phoenix of two TV news helicopters that were covering a police chase.

This story has been updated to correct that Marciniw, not Moreno, graduated from Burbank High School and to correct the spelling of Jeff Guzzetti's last name.

Golden reported from Seattle, and Collins from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Allen Breed in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed.