The NFL season is continuing to pick up and it has certainly
been exciting.
Quarterbacks throwing
for 400-yards? How about another three last week (lead by Aaron Rodgers’ 480
yards) and eight more throwing for over 300 yards.
Last second finishes? The Bills, Bears, Saints and Chargers
all won with 10 seconds or fewer remaining in the game, the Texans won in
overtime and a total of 10 of the 16 games last week were won by a single
touchdown or less.
For good measure, how about a blockbuster trade? It may not
have involved many pieces, but the Browns traded last year’s No. 3 pick in the
draft Trent Richardson to the Colts for a first-round pick next year.
Who will come out on top in Week 3?
Kansas City (2-0) at Philadelphia (1-1)
It will be a reunion of sorts when Andy Reid brings his new
team to Philadelphia the same night the Eagles will retire Donovan McNabb’s
number.
Philadelphia’s offense has been good to open the season. The
defense hasn’t been as stellar, allowing an average of 30 points per game.
The difference maker in this game, despite how efficient the
Chiefs have been this season, is injuries. Starting tight end Anthony Fasano is
doubtful while his backup, Travis Kelce, is questionable. Cornerback Brandon
Flowers is also questionable. Jamaal Charles isn’t on the injury report, but
had a thigh contusion last week and had only 55 yards on 16 carries.
With a short week and going on the road, not giving players
the ample time to heal well enough and having to prepare for Philadelphia’s new
offense, the Chiefs just might not have enough going for them this week.
Philadelphia wins.
Green Bay (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1)
The Packers will be on the road, but did you see what their
offense did last week?
Aaron Rodgers was remarkable, throwing for 480 yards and
four touchdowns. Equally impressive was the team’s usually non-existent running
game. Filling in for starter Eddie Lacey, who left the game with a concussion,
James Starks ran for 132 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. It was the first
time the Packers had a 100-yard rusher since Brandon Graham had 115 yards on
October 10, 2010 (fittingly, that too was against the Redskins).
The Bengals D is a lot better than that of Washington’s, and
they are at home, but that’s still a lot of yardage for any defense to be
dealing with. Especially for a team that isn’t quite lighting up the stat sheet
as hoped.
Green Bay wins.
St. Louis (1-1) at Dallas (1-1)
This one surprisingly might be a shootout. Dallas and St.
Louis rank 24th and 27th in passing yards allowed per game, respectively. And
while Dallas is only 17th in passing yard gained per game, they are only about
20 yards behind Arizona, and Carson Palmer threw for 327 yards in Week 1
against St. Louis.
Neither team has run the ball very well in the early going.
It will be a close one, but Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray
have played well against the Rams in the past. At home, they get the edge.
Dallas wins.
San Diego (1-1) at Tennessee (1-1)
Both teams have lost to the Texans this year.
The Titans have played fairly well in the early going, not
turning the ball over. There have also been small improvements in individual
play from Week 1 to Week 2.
But Philip Rivers is on too much of a roll right now. He has
614 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception. He most likely won’t
have Malcolm Floyd to throw to against Tennessee, but he still has team
receiving leader Antonio Gates and Eddie Royal, who leads in touchdown
receptions.
Just have to go with the hot hand here.
San Diego wins.
Cleveland (0-2) at Minnesota (0-2)
Both teams have had a rough go of it early this season, but
Cleveland looks to be in shambles and already thinking about 2014 and beyond.
They just traded starting running back and the No. 3 pick in
last season’s draft, Trent Richardson. They had no legitimate runners backing
him up and are taking a look at Willis McGahee, who was dinged up at the end of
last season and wasn’t even on a team getting reps in the offseason.
They are also down to their third-string quarterback.
The Vikings have not been sharp, but they do have Adrian
Peterson.
Minnesota wins.
Tampa Bay (0-2) at New England (2-0)
The Patriots have been far from impressive this early in the
season. But they are still a team. They are working through it. Tom Brady is
still the team’s leader and Bill Belichick still has the team working together.
Playing in Tampa Bay doesn’t seem to be a pleasant thing
these days. Rumors have surfaced that quarterback Josh Freeman wants out and
Darrelle Revis, who was just acquired this offseason, reportedly isn’t happy
with head coach Greg Schiano.
The idea of malcontent players and media reports being “distracting”
to a team may sound cliché, but in this case it may be appropriate.
New England wins.
Arizona (1-1) at New Orleans (2-0)
Neither team has run the ball particularly well in the early
going, and that might be just the way the Saints like it.
When both teams strengths are in the passing game, how can
you not favor Drew Brees? Especially when the New Orleans pass defense is
eighth in the league in passing yards allowed per game.
New Orleans wins.
Detroit (1-1) at Washington (0-2)
In two games, the Redskins have surrendered 1,023 yards.
That’s two shy of the most yards allowed in the first two weeks in history.
Matthew Stafford may be known for getting hurt a lot in the
beginning of his NFL career, but he’s also known for throwing for a ton of
yards, especially to Calvin Johnson – who is arguably the best wide receiver in
the game.
Detroit wins.
New York Giants (0-2) at Carolina (0-2)
It has been an awful start for both these teams,
particularly the Giants. They’ve turned the ball over 10 times in the first two
games.
The Giants can’t be written off though. They tend to be
inconsistent early in the year in recent history and tend to start off slow.
They also tend to play fairly well on the road.
Since Cam Newton has been the starting quarterback in Carolina,
the Panthers have just found way too many ways to lose games. Not saying Eli
Manning hasn’t either, but the Giants do have two Super Bowl victories with
him.
New York wins.
Houston (2-0) at Baltimore (1-1)
The Ravens will induct Ray Lewis into their ring of honor
this weekend, and they really could use him against Houston.
The Texans are one of the top offensive teams in the league
right now, while the Ravens have not been quite as hot, especially in a tough
14-6 win over the Browns last weekend. Ray Rice was banged up last week and
against an aggressive Houston defense it’s tough to imagine how well he will
fare.
And while Lewis will return to Baltimore in some type of
suit, former Raven icon Ed Reed will be showing up in a Texans uniform. You
have to imagine he’ll be looking to have an extra good game.
Houston wins.
Atlanta (2-0) at Miami (2-0)
The Falcons are a very good team with a lot of weapons. They
will be the Dolphins’ stiffest test to date.
But they’ll be without Steven Jackson on Sunday. They will
be on the road and they are 0-1 on the road so far this season. And on defense,
Sam Bradford just torched the Falcons secondary for 352 yards and three
touchdowns.
Ryan Tannehill threw for 319 yards last week and got Mike
Wallace (better than any receiver the Rams have) into the mix more than in his
debut. It’s Miami’s first home game of the season and they are riding a lot of
momentum. Enough momentum, that is, to take down the Falcons.
Miami wins.
Buffalo (1-1) at New York Jets (1-1)
It’s a battle of rookie AFC East quarterbacks in New Jersey
this weekend. E.J. Manuel has vastly outplayed Geno Smith so far (although you
would hope a first round draft pick would do exactly that).
Buffalo is supporting Manuel with better weapons, like C.J.
Spiller, Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson. New York has gotten solid play from
the likes of Bilal Powell, Chris Ivory and Stephen Hill, but nothing
exceptional.
The Jets defense has been much better than that of the
Bills, however. And against a rookie quarterback and at home, they might be
able to do enough to pull one out despite any Smith interceptions.
New York wins.
Indianapolis (1-1) at San Francisco (1-1)
The 49ers just got figuratively punched in the mouth by the
Seahawks last week. There is no way to drum up anything positive from that game
from a 49ers perspective. But good teams – and San Francisco is a good team –
make sure not to be embarrassed two weeks in a row.
They have more talent than Indianapolis does and they will
be looking to rectify the situation.
San Francisco wins.
Jacksonville (0-2) at Seattle (2-0)
Seattle is known for being one of the toughest places to
play on the road. They just beat the 49ers at home, 29-3. Is Jacksonville as
good as San Francisco?
No.
Seattle wins.
Chicago (2-0) at Pittsburgh (0-2)
The Steelers are 26th in the league in passing yards per
game, 31st in rushing yards per game and 30th in points scored per game. They’ve
also yielded seven sacks (tied for fifth in the league).
On the flip side, Jay Cutler has only been sacked once this
season, Brandon Marshall is eighth in the league in receiving yards, and
Pittsburgh has only one sack so far this season.
Chicago wins.
Oakland (1-1) at Denver (2-0)
Has any team looked as good as the Denver Broncos so far
this season?
Peyton Manning is third in the league in passing yards, first
in touchdowns (9) and has zero interceptions. And while the running game is
currently 21st in the league, Knowshon Moreno bounced back from a poor first
game to rush for 93 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries last week.
Oakland has the most rushing yards per game so far this
season, but just watching the two teams play (with Denver playing supposedly
tougher opponents) the Broncos just look sharper and better.
Denver wins.
Last Week: 13-3
Overall: 25-7
Photo Credit.
Eli Manning: AP Photo/Kathy Willens
No comments:
Post a Comment