Well, Week 1 sure was something, wasn't it? Four one-point games, two two-point games (which would've been three if not for that meaningless last-play safety in the Lions-Colts game), and an overtime game in Kansas City that saw a crazy Chiefs comeback. Oh yeah, and New England won when nobody expected them to because, well, that's just what the Patriots do.
I also didn't notice this until the games were actually being played, but there were 10! interconference games in Week 1. That's kinda crazy if you think about it. In Week 2, we make up for it. Only two interconference tilts, with most of the games this week division matchups. We've also got the NFL's return to LA (which wasn't last week why?) and the opening of the Vikings' new stadium (with Sam Bradford at quarterback for the home team).
With all those division games on tap, we're gonna see some intense rivalries come to the surface. None more so than the first Bengals-Steelers game since last year's playoffs. One of those intriguing division games already happened, with the Jetropolitans beating their old coach for the first time, prompting Rex to fire his offensive coordinator after just two games.
Now on to the rest of the league...
Ravens (1-0) at Browns (0-1): Baltimore-Cleveland got smacked around last week in Philly and lost RG3 for two months. He never even got to play a home game before getting hurt! The Ravens, meanwhile, won despite scoring only 13 points. They probably won't need much more than that this week, either.
Titans (0-1) at Lions (1-0): Detroit-Detroit's win in Indianapolis was perhaps the most surprising result in Week 1. We didn't know what kind of a team the Lions would put on the field in game one of the Post-Megatron Era. But all indications look good so far. Granted, it was only one week, but it was on the road against a good Colts team. The Titans aren't good, so the Lions should be able to do it again in their home opener.
Dolphins (0-1) at Patriots (1-0): New England-While Tom Brady's off playing catch with Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, his team takes the field with Jimmy Garroppolo under center in the first of three straight home games before Brady comes back. If Patriots fans were worried about Garroppolo, they're not anymore. And this was one of the games people figured New England would win anyway, so I have no reason to go against the Patriots here.
Saints (0-1) at Giants (1-0): Giants-New Orleans missed an extra point--and ended up losing to the Raiders when Jack Del Rio made the gutsy decision to go for two. The Giants, meanwhile, won by one--helped in large part by the Cowboys' clock mismanagement. You know they want to atone for coming up on the short end of that shootout in the Superdome last year, and you know they'll want to impress in Ben McAdoo's first home game as head coach.
Bengals (1-0) at Steelers (1-0): Pittsburgh-Definitely one of the most-anticipated matchups of the week. Cincinnati will give Pittsburgh its best shot after handing the Steelers that playoff game in January. And they won't have Vontaze Burfict because of his stupid penalty that helped lead to that winning Pittsburgh field goal. It would've been better for them if he was playing. Because the Steelers are clear favorites here.
Cowboys (0-1) at Redskins (0-1): Dallas-It's too early to call a Week 2 game a "must-win," but this one sure seems like it. Especially for the Cowboys. Because a Dallas loss wouldn't just make them 0-2, it would make them 0-2 in the division. Things are already going to be difficult for them without Romo, but the playoff hopes would be all but gone if that happened. That's why I'm taking Dallas in this one.
49ers (1-0) at Panthers (0-1): Carolina-Ron Rivera is still on the whole Week 1 Super Bowl rematch thing. He says he feels "disrespected" that they didn't open at home. Well, you know what dude? Get over it! The NFL only scheduled you in Denver to start the season because of the unique opportunity to have a Super Bowl rematch. It had nothing to do with you or how they feel about your team, which should've won that game, by the way. They'll take it out on the 49ers, who aren't as good as their 28-0 win over the Rams might make some people want to believe.
Chiefs (1-0) at Texans (1-0): Kansas City-Bengals-Steelers isn't the only Week 2 AFC Wild Card Game rematch. Although, the Kansas City-Houston playoff matchup was significantly less competitive. Houston has been waiting months to get another shot at them, and the Texans will have a much better showing this time. But after what the Chiefs managed to pull off last week, how can you go against them?
Seahawks (1-0) at Rams (0-1): Seattle-Can someone explain to me (1) why the Rams opened on the road and (2) why their first home game is against Seattle? Last week's Monday night game against San Francisco should've been the NFL's triumphant return to the City of Angels. Instead, it'll be Russell Wilson and Co. that get the honor of winning the first NFL game in Los Angeles since Christmas Eve 1994 (when, ironically enough, both the Rams and Raiders were home).
Buccaneers (1-0) at Cardinals (0-1): Arizona-Most people figured that the team heading into this game 1-0 would be Arizona. But the heavily-favored Cardinals got dropped by the Brady-less Patriots. Which makes this game that much more important. They can't start 0-2 if they want to win the division. Especially since they're already a game behind the Seahawks.
Colts (0-1) at Broncos (1-0): Denver-Peyton Manning's retirement has taken most (if not all) of the luster out of the Indianapolis-Denver matchup, hasn't it? There's still this, though. The Colts are visiting Denver for the first time since that 2014 divisional playoff. That's motivation enough for the Super Bowl champs.
Falcons (0-1) at Raiders (1-0): Oakland-Jack Del Rio gave everyone an indication of what this year might be like for the Raiders when he went for the win last week in New Orleans...and it paid off! If this is the beginning of their final season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas, it could be a good one for the Raiders. Traveling cross country and getting a win in always a tough task, especially when it's a trip you only make once every eight years, which is how frequently Atlanta visits Oakland.
Jaguars (0-1) at Chargers (0-1): San Diego-Last week, both of these teams showed us how improved they are. Yet one of them is still going to start the season 0-2. Unfortunately, I think that's probably going to be Gus Bradley's guys. Even though they completely impressed me against the Packers.
Packers (1-0) at Vikings (1-0): Green Bay-See, now this is the way you open a new stadium. Sunday Night Football against your biggest rivals. The same one that you beat in Week 17 last year to snag the division title. Except you're already down to your third quarterback, and said rival is among the preseason Super Bowl favorites. Al and Cris are excited to see the stadium that's going to host next year's Super Bowl. So am I. This should be a good one.
Eagles (1-0) at Bears (0-1): Philadelphia-A group of Eagles players have announced that they're going to join in Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest on Monday night. So I guess this is just a thing now, huh? I guess that's good. Because eventually people will stop caring enough for it to be a "story" every week. As for the game, Philly will have played Cleveland and Chicago, which would make them probably the weakest 2-0 team in the league, but a 2-0 team nonetheless.
Last Week: 10-6
This Week: 1-0
Season: 11-6
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