I had an OK Week 1. 10-6. Not great, but enough for a wild card. I'll take it, though. Especially since I got a real scare when Jacksonville took a 17-0 lead on the Eagles in my survival game. Fortunately the Eagles pulled it out and somewhat salvaged my week.
...Then I go pick the Steelers on Thursday and they get slaughtered. So it looks like I'm going to need a good Sunday/Monday to redeem myself.
Thursday Night: Pittsburgh (Loss)
Dolphins (1-0) at Bills (1-0): Miami-After both recording upsets last week, the Dolphins and Bills are tied for first in the AFC East. (OK, technically Miami's in first place since they won a division game, but that's besides the point.) A lot of things are going well for the Bills right now. They're 1-0. It's the home opener. It's Dolphins Week. And Sabres owner Terry Pegula is going to buy the team and keep it in Buffalo. All signs are pointing towards a Bills victory here. But I'm going to play the odds and take the favored Dolphins.
Falcons (1-0) at Bengals (1-0): Cincinnati-How impressive was Atlanta last week?! I knew the Falcons were going to show they actually aren't as bad as they were last season, and a win over New Orleans went a long way towards proving that. As for Cincinnati, I don't know why people are surprised they went into Baltimore and won. The Bengals are good. Probably the best team in the AFC North. And they're looking at 2-0.
Saints (0-1) at Browns (0-1): New Orleans-It might sound weird to call Week 2 a "must-win," but you've gotta think the Saints are already feeling the pressure after losing to the Falcons. Especially since Carolina won without Cam Newton last week. Fortunately for the Saints, they're playing the Browns. Cleveland came close to pulling off the upset in Pittsburgh, and very well might again this week. But once again, I think they'll come up short and the better team will win.
Cowboys (0-1) at Titans (1-0): Dallas-This was perhaps the hardest game of the weekend to pick. Dallas got thumped by the 49ers, while the Titans went into Kansas City and pulled out a win. Total toss-up here. The Cowboys are one of the most schizophrenic teams in football. If the Good Cowboys show up, they should be able to beat the Titans.
Patriots (0-1) at Vikings (1-0): New England-When's the last time the Patriots were in sole possession of last place in the AFC East? (You have no idea how wonderful it felt to type that!) After losing in Miami, they now head to Minnesota for the Vikings' opener at their home-away-from-home for the next two years. Hopefully this game goes better than that Monday nighter they played at U of M a couple years ago and the Bears effectively ended Brett Favre's career. Anyway, New England never loses two in a row, and I don't see them starting now.
Cardinals (1-0) at Giants (0-1): Giants-They both played on Monday night, so there's no rest advantage here. Except the Cardinals played the later game and are flying cross country for a 1:00 start. The Giants were bad against the Lions, and last year they were done in by their incredibly slow start. They can't have that happen again. That's why they really need a victory over an Arizona team that's better than they are and probably should win.
Jaguars (0-1) at Redskins (0-1): Washington-The Jaguars visit an NFC East opponent for the second straight week, while the Redskins take on their second straight AFC South foe. I can't really say much more about the No. 6 regional game on CBS that you'll only be able to watch in DC and North Florida. The Redskins are home. Let's say they win.
Lions (1-0) at Panthers (1-0): Carolina-Cam Newton comes back for a Carolina team that picked up a division road win without him. The Lions looked mighty good in their Monday night demolition of the Giants, though. Unfortunately for Detroit, Carolina has a much better defense than the Giants, and this week they're on the road. We'll see if that extra day off has an impact, too. That's why I'm going with the Panthers.
Seahawks (1-0) at Chargers (0-1): Seattle-It seems like forever since the Seahawks-Packers season opener, doesn't it? Baltimore and Pittsburgh have played twice since then! Anyway, this is a tough draw for a Chargers team that lost a game it could've (and maybe should've) won in Arizona on Monday night. Thursday night vs. Monday night. How'd that happen? That's not fair to the team on short rest. Especially when their opponent is the defending champions. Seattle's 2-0 going into the Super Bowl rematch.
Rams (0-1) at Buccaneers (0-1): Tampa Bay-If the Rams without Sam Bradford are the team we saw last week, it's going to be a long season in St. Louis. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, looked good last week despite losing to Carolina. Now I can see why all those people were so high on the Bucs. Lovie gets his first win with his new team.
Chiefs (0-1) at Broncos (1-0): Denver-Kansas City's not as good as they were last season, and they're not going to have the same benefit of an easy schedule. Last year, these two met twice in three weeks, and Kansas City was undefeated going into the first one. Three weeks later the Chiefs had two losses and everyone knew who the best team in the AFC West was. That hasn't changed.
Jets (1-0) at Packers (0-1): Green Bay-The records here are deceptive. The Packers opened in Seattle. Most people expected a Green Bay loss in that game. The Jets opened at home against the Raiders. They were impressive, but consider the opponent. If they can repeat the feat in Green Bay, then we can talk. But there's a reason why the Packers were a popular preseason Super Bowl pick.
Texans (1-0) at Raiders (0-1): Houston-Like the Falcons, I think the Texans are on their way to a much better 2014 than 2013. Of course, they haven't had the most difficult of opponents so far this season, but you play who's on the schedule. And it's good that they're getting games like this out of the way now, especially since Jadeveon Clowney will be out at least a month. At the same time, this is a great opportunity for the Raiders to get in the win column. I don't see it happening, though.
Bears (0-1) at 49ers (1-0): San Francisco-We stay in the Bay Area for the Sunday night game, which will be the opener of the 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara. I'm surprised Chicago lost at home to Buffalo, and it doesn't get any easier for them against the 49ers. While I expect this game to be competitive, I seriously doubt the 49ers are gonna let the Bears come into their shiny new home and spoil the Grand Opening party.
Eagles (1-0) at Colts (0-1): Indianapolis-Back to one Monday night game, and the NFL hooked us up with a good one. I'd expect a lot of points to be scored with Philadelphia and Indianapolis both on the field. It might be a case of who has the ball last wins. Although, after seeing Andrew Luck almost steal that game in Denver last week, I'm not going to count him out. (He's starting to build a reputation very similar to the previous Colts quarterback.) Two of the better teams in the league will both be 1-1 at week's end.
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 10-6
Season: 10-7
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