Rough week last week. Some unexpected results across the league, with surprising upsets and teams that I thought were good once again underperforming. It's still early, though, so I guess there's plenty of time for things to get straightened out on the Road to Super Bowl 50. And with some significant injuries already coming into play, it's going to be an interesting season indeed.
Thursday Night: Giants (Win)
Raiders (1-1) at Browns (1-1): Cleveland-These are two of the teams that surprised me last week. I think the Raiders just took advantage of a shell-shocked Ravens team that spent a full week on the West Coast prior to the game. Now a trip to Cleveland for their third straight matchup against an AFC North opponent. The Browns got a win last week with Johnny Manziel at quarterback, leading to the inevitable calls of Johnny Overrated being the permanent starter. But Josh McCown is back and Manziel returns to the bench for this one. It's a chance for Cleveland to go above .500 before heading west to San Diego next week. The Browns are a better team than the Raiders, and Oakland's traveling for a 1:00 game. I like Cleveland.
Falcons (2-0) at Cowboys (2-0): Atlanta-Over the first two weeks of the season, Atlanta, despite playing in the NFC South, has proven to be the best team in the NFC East. In fact, both of these teams have beaten both the Eagles and Giants in their first two games. Except Dallas suffered a big loss last week when Tony Romo went down. This is now Branden Weeden's team for at least the next two months, although they did trade for Matt Cassell just in case. In a weakened NFC East, Dallas is still in a good position to win the division if they can hold out until Romo's back. I need to see the Romo-less Cowboys first, though. That's why I'm going with the Falcons here.
Colts (0-2) at Titans (1-1): Tennessee-My parents are actually going to this game during their trip to Nashville that also included a Saturday night stop at the Grand Ole Opry (so jealous). Anyway, Marcus Mariota makes his home debut after looking great in Tampa and shaky in Cleveland. The Colts, meanwhile, a popular preseason Super Bowl pick (including by this guy) don't look like it after two lackluster performances against the Bills and Jets. Where is this vaunted Colts offense? Indy badly needs a win, but I think Mariota and the Titans are going to be amped up to finally play at home. I'm calling the upset. Titans match last year's win total.
Steelers (1-1) at Rams (1-1): Pittsburgh-Where was that St. Louis Rams team that beat the Seahawks last week? Did they stay in St. Louis while some other guys borrowed their uniforms and flew to Washington? Now they return home to face a Steelers team that sure got over the sting of opening night by absolutely thumping the 49ers. The Rams should be 2-0 right now. Instead, they'll come out of this game 1-2.
Chargers (1-1) at Vikings (1-1): San Diego-Another matchup of 1-1 teams in the Twin Cities. San Diego travels east for an early game for the second time in as many weeks. The Chargers lost in Cincinnati, but it was a close game against a good Bengals team. The Vikings won their home opener against the Lions, but I still haven't seen this team some are calling a sleeper playoff pick. Even though the chalk says to pick Minnesota, I'm feeling the Chargers here for some reason.
Jaguars (1-1) at Patriots (2-0): New England-Don't look now, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are in first place in the AFC South. Well, actually, look now, because they're headed to New England this week. It's conceivable that the entire AFC South could be 1-2 at the end of the day, while the Patriots will be among the handful of teams that are 3-0.
Eagles (0-2) at Jets (2-0): Jets-It hasn't quite clicked for Chip Kelly's Eagles yet this year. Hence all the DeMarco Murray memes that have popped up all over social media this week. The Jets, though. They look like the real deal, especially on defense, after that performance in Indianapolis on Monday night. I still think the Eagles are a better team than the Jets, and I do expect Philly to turn it around. But not after they fall to 0-3 in their first of two visits to the Meadowlands this year.
Saints (0-2) at Panthers (2-0): Carolina-OK, I'll admit it. I was wrong about the Saints. Their time may be over. They're 0-2, they just lost at home to the Bucs, and now they won't have Drew Brees behind center for the first time since he came to New Orleans. Maybe it'll be just a one-week thing, but this was the worst possible week for that to happen. Because they'll effectively be four games behind Carolina after just three weeks.
Bengals (2-0) at Ravens (1-1): Cincinnati-Here we go. An AFC North battle between two playoff teams from last year. Baltimore finally gets to play at home after starting with two out west. Unfortunately, that first home game is against a division rival that's on a roll. The Bengals went out to Oakland and got a win, then knocked off San Diego. Can they make it 3-for-3 in Baltimore? The Ravens sure hope not. Especially with a short week before a Thursday-night visit to rival Pittsburgh.
Buccaneers (1-1) at Texans (0-2): Houston-I really don't know what to make of either of these teams. The Texans are 0-2, but they've played two good teams in Kansas City and Carolina. Tampa Bay got completely destroyed at home by Tennessee, only to go to New Orleans the next week and win. Unfortunately for them, Jamies Winston hasn't met J.J. Watt yet. Gimme the Texans to finally get in the win column.
49ers (1-1) at Cardinals (2-0): Arizona-Last year's Super Bowl host and this year's Super Bowl host square off in Phoenix with first place in the NFC West on the line. I think the 49ers team we saw last week in Pittsburgh is a more accurate representation of what we can expect from them this year. My confidence in them as they take a road trip to Arizona for a matchup with a Cardinals team that seemingly scores at will is limited.
Bills (1-1) at Dolphins (1-1): Buffalo-They're both coming off losses, and falling to 1-2 in a suddenly ultra-competitive AFC East isn't an intriguing possibility for either. The Bills losing to the Patriots could've been expected, even if Rex's vaunted defense was anything but. I'm still trying to figure out how Miami lost to Jacksonville, though. That shouldn't have happened. But since it did, that's enough of a reason for me to go with the Bills. Although, they hate going to Miami early in the season when it's still hot.
Bears (0-2) at Seahawks (0-2): Seattle-Can someone explain to me why a game between two NFC teams is the doubleheader game on CBS? I'm still trying to figure out how this whole "cross-flexing" thing works. Anyway, the Seahawks limp home at 0-2 after looking like a shell of the two-time defending NFC champions. However, Kam Chancellor's holdout is over, so I think we can expect Seattle to get a lot of its swagger back. Especially since they're playing a Bears team that isn't good. They'll be the one that drops to 0-3.
Broncos (2-0) at Lions (0-2): Denver-For the first time in its 10-year history, "Sunday Night Football" comes to Detroit. They go there to see Peyton Manning and the Broncos, who haven't played well at all this season (except for maybe five minutes in the Kansas City game), yet are 2-0. The suddenly awesome Denver defense might have a lot to do with that. For all the talk about who's got the best defense in football, I think it might be the Broncos, who are barely mentioned in those discussions. Peyton will be Peyton again before the season's out. But until then, I expect the defense to lift Denver to another win.
Chiefs (1-1) at Packers (2-0): Green Bay-We've got another Super Bowl rematch on Monday Night Football. It's fitting that on the 50th anniversary of the main event, the teams that met in the first one square off in the regular season. Kansas City has had extra long rest after giving the game away against Denver on Thursday night. The Steelers have that same thing coming up, and I don't like it. You shouldn't get two extra days off before a Monday night game (or go 11 days without playing!). But that's just me. Anyway, the Packers made a statement with their Sunday-night win over the Seahawks. Green Bays is my pick to win the Super Bowl and just might be the best team in the NFL. The Packers should be 3-0 come Tuesday.
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 8-8
Season: 20-13
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