Last week sure was an interesting start to the NFL season. We had our first Week 1 tie since 1971, a ridiculous comeback in Green Bay, some rookies impressing, and all seven rookie head coaches losing. The good news is with the Lions playing the 49ers this week, we're almost guaranteed to have at least one of them win this week (although, as the Steelers and Browns showed us, it's not a 100 percent certainty).
Thursday Night: Cincinnati (Win)
Panthers (1-0) at Falcons (0-1): Atlanta-Should the Falcons have beaten the Eagles in the opener? Probably. But the fact that they lost shouldn't really have too much of a lingering effect (unless, of course, that head-to-head loss to the Eagles ends up coming into play). The Panthers were impressive in their opener. But Dallas wasn't, so how much of that was the Panthers and how much of it was the Cowboys? I guess we'll find out this week, when I'm sure Carolina will give a little bit extra after the hurricane. Atlanta, though, knows the importance of being either tied with the Panthers or two games behind them.
Chargers (0-1) at Bills (0-1): Chargers-My brother-in-law has decided that he's just taking whoever's playing the Bills in his survival pool each week. It's not a terrible strategy. Because clearly that performance by Buffalo last week didn't inspire much confidence. They definitely looked like the worst team in the league in Week 1. They'll be better in their home opener. Only because they can't be much worse.
Vikings (1-0) at Packers (1-0): Green Bay-What's left to say about Aaron Rodgers? The guy is truly remarkable. He hasn't practiced all week after that ridiculous comeback against the Bears. Does that matter? I'm still fairly certain he'll start. And I'm still fairly certain he'll do another spectacular Aaron Rodgers thing. And not only will it make Green Bay 2-0, it'll make the Packers 2-0 in the division, with a head-to-head win over the Vikings.
Texans (0-1) at Titans (0-1): Houston-I think the Titans-Dolphins game is finally over! It's not totally fair to judge the Titans based on that totally odd situation last week in Miami. But they did blow a fourth-quarter lead and lost to a Dolphins team that they probably should beat. Now they play DeShaun Watson and Houston. Yes, the Texans are also 0-1. But they played the Patriots in Foxboro! A healthy Houston team is better than Tennessee.
Browns (0-0-1) at Saints (0-1): New Orleans-Cleveland didn't lose last week! True, the Browns didn't win either. But not losing was the first step for this team, and they definitely had their chances, too. The Saints, meanwhile, had no problem putting up points. Their defense was a bit of a problem, though. After all, they made Ryan Fitzpatrick look like a freakin' All-Pro. I'm expecting better from New Orleans this week. It'll be close, but I think the Saints hang on for the win.
Dolphins (1-0) at Jets (1-0): Miami-Clearly starting Sam Darnold in Week 1 was a good call. Wow! That was an impressive performance on Monday night! Is it all smoke and mirrors, though? We'll find out in the Jets' home opener. I also have no clue how good Miami actually is. That was just a weird game. But they showed some nice resilience in coming out of those seven hours with a victory. If they can do that, a game that takes a normal amount of time should be a piece of cake.
Chiefs (1-0) at Steelers (0-0-1): Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh always beats Kansas City. It's six out of seven for the Steelers over the Chiefs. I don't know why, but this matchup always goes to the black and gold, no matter what the state of each team is entering the game. Although, this is a bit of a must-win for the Steelers, too. They didn't beat the Browns, and a loss this week would already put them a game and a half back of the first-place Bengals. Do you really think Ben Roethlisberger is gonna let that happen?
Eagles (1-0) at Buccaneers (1-0): Philadelphia-Remember when these two met in the playoffs like four years in a row? That has nothing to do with anything. It's just the first thing I thought of when I saw the Eagles-Bucs matchup. Philadelphia was shaky in the first half of its opener, but in the second half they sure looked like the defending Super Bowl champions. Tampa Bay, meanwhile. Where did that come from? Will they put up points nearly as easily against the Eagles' defense? Probably not.
Colts (0-1) at Redskins (1-0): Washington-Alex Smith was better than I thought he'd be in his first game with the Redskins. Sure, some of that might've been a result of playing the Cardinals, but so what if it was? And they're playing the Colts this week, so the chances of him looking that good again are strong. Indianapolis has Andrew Luck back, but all that did was turn them from a terrible football team into a bad one. The Redskins continue to take advantage of their soft early schedule and go to 2-0.
Cardinals (0-1) at Rams (1-0): Rams-It was after I had already gone to bed, but that must've been an impressive second-half performance by the Rams on Monday night. Now they head to the Coliseum for their home opener against a Cardinals team that struggled to do much of anything against Washington. I doubt they'll be able to do much against LA, either. The Rams have arguably the best defense in the NFC. Arizona's offense simply isn't good enough to compete with it.
Lions (0-1) at 49ers (0-1): San Francisco-Former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garroppolo will be reunited with Matt Patricia, his former coordinator in New England. Patricia's debut as a head coach didn't go very well. They made the Jets look like Alabama to their Texas Southern. The 49ers also lost, but they were at least competitive in Minnesota. The Lions, coming off an embarrassing loss, on a short week, flying cross country, doesn't look like a recipe for a win. I'm taking Kyle Shanahan as the first rookie head coach to pick up a victory.
Raiders (0-1) at Broncos (1-0): Denver-Have they done it? Have the Broncos actually found a real, life NFL quarterback? It sure looked like it last week, as Case Keenum carved up Seattle's once-vaunted defense. I don't know what happened to the Raiders on Monday night (again, I was asleep), but things don't get any easier in Jon Gruden's first AFC West divisional game in 17 years.
Patriots (1-0) at Jaguars (1-0): New England-An early-season AFC Championship Game rematch. The Jaguars almost pulled it off last year. They were five minutes away from the Super Bowl when Brady did his thing. They're eager to prove they belong on the same field as New England, and they'll get a chance to show it. Jacksonville will probably be outclassed, though. This is the type of game where the Patriots usually make a statement of their own and it's a blowout by halftime.
Giants (0-1) at Cowboys (0-1): Giants-Our annual Week 1 Giants-Cowboys Sunday night game was pushed back a week. And they both come into it at 0-1. But they're vastly different 0-1's. The Giants have to be encouraged by their performance against the Jaguars. And the Dallas defense isn't nearly as good as Jacksonville's. The Cowboys, meanwhile, really miss Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. They need to figure out something offensively or they'll have trouble scoring all year. Even worse, they could end up 0-2 by the end of the night.
Seahawks (0-1) at Bears (0-1): Chicago-Hopefully someone reminded the Bears that games are FOUR quarters long, not three. There's really no way to explain what happened to them last week. They just have to move on from it. And they can be really happy they have their new toy Khalil Mack. They can also be happy that they're playing a Seattle team that's the shell of Seahawks past. I'd also like somebody to please explain to me why the Chicago Bears, who've finished last four years in a row, went 5-11 last season, have a new head coach, and haven't been to the playoffs since 2010, got two national prime time games to start he season!
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 9-6-1
Overall: 10-6-1
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