Through two weeks, the NFL has been turned upside down. The top two teams in most power rankings right now are the Rams and Jaguars. We're also getting a weekly tie now (which I hope doesn't become a new thing). And even the Browns have a win!
Thursday Night: Cleveland (Win)
49ers (1-1) at Chiefs (2-0): Kansas City-OK, I was wrong about Patrick Mahomes. He certainly appears to be the real deal. And the Chiefs, once again, look like one of the best teams in the league. San Francisco got its first win of the Kyle Shanahan Era last week against Detroit. The Chiefs are a better team than the Lions, though. This'll be a tough one for San Francisco.
Raiders (0-2) at Dolphins (2-0): Miami-The Miami Dolphins are in first place in the AFC East. Just take a second to let that sink in. For the Raiders, meanwhile, Jon Gruden's return hasn't quite gone as they expected. Perhaps they miss Khalil Mack more than they were willing to let on. I've been surprised by how strong Miami has looked. Considering how bad the Raiders have been, I see Miami getting to 3-0.
Bills (0-2) at Vikings (1-0-1): Minnesota-One thing I think we can pretty much all agree on is that Buffalo is one of the worst, if not the worst, team in football. The Bills are really bad. The Vikings are not. If not for two missed field goals in overtime last week, they'd be 2-0. Make that 3-0. Because I don't see any way Minnesota loses to them at home.
Colts (1-1) at Eagles (1-1): Philadelphia-Frank Reich returns to Philadelphia for the first time as Colts coach on the same day Carson Wentz returns to the Eagles' lineup. I can understand why they wanted to make the move back to Wentz after that lackluster performance in Tampa last week. Reich's reunion is a fun little added storyline. He'll get his ring, and they'll celebrate his brilliant play call on that trick-play TD pass to Nick Foles. Then Foles will watch from the sidelines as Wentz leads the Eagles to victory.
Packers (1-0-1) at Redskins (1-1): Green Bay-A miracle comeback and a tie. Certainly not what we expected from the Packers in the first two games of their 100th season. Now they hit the road and head out of the division for the first time. The Redskins, meanwhile, face an actual opponent for the first time this season. They crushed Arizona in Week 1, then went home and laid an egg against the Colts. We'll see how things go against Green Bay.
Bengals (2-0) at Panthers (1-1): Cincinnati-Well, look at that. The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0 and in first place. It's seems like forever since they've played, but that was a complete effort against the Ravens last Thursday. This will be a big road test against a good Panther team, but Carolina hasn't really impressed me that much so far. For some reason, I see Cincinnati pulling out the victory.
Titans (1-1) at Jaguars (2-0): Jacksonville-That was a BIG statement the Jaguars made last week. Now they need to follow up their victory over New England with a solid performance against the Titans. Otherwise, beating the Patriots will matter very little. Since it would give Tennessee an early division tiebreaker. Don't count on that happening.
Broncos (2-0) at Ravens (1-1): Denver-Denver and Baltimore. One has been reinvigorated by its free agent QB. The other has its fans itching to see their rookie. The Ravens have had plenty of time to consider what went wrong in Cincinnati, but I'm not sure if they have the answers. The Broncos, meanwhile, hit the road for the first time, so we'll see how Case Keenum does outside of the mile-high air. I think he'll do fine.
Giants (0-2) at Texans (0-2): Houston-Both of these 0-2 teams are badly in need of a win. The Texans just had bad luck with the schedule, starting at New England and at Tennessee. The Giants, meanwhile, have had trouble scoring despite having both Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley. Against J.J. Watt and Co., things won't get any easier on that front. Don't count on the Texans dropping their home opener.
Chargers (1-1) at Rams (2-0): Rams-Bold prediction: LA will win. This is the first meeting between these teams since they've begun sharing the city, and the next time they play, it'll be in their shared stadium. They're also both among the best teams in the league. I don't disagree with those rankings that have the Rams at No. 1. They're really good. And they'll be 3-0 by day's end.
Bears (1-1) at Cardinals (0-2): Chicago-For the first time this season, the Chicago Bears are actually playing on a Sunday afternoon. I'm still not sure why the NFL decided that America wanted to watch them nationally in prime time in each of the first two weeks. The fourth quarter has been a problem for this team so far. They should've beaten Green Bay if not for a fourth quarter collapse. Then they held on against Seattle only because their lead was big enough. Fortunately, the Cardinals aren't a very good team, so they should be able to hold on to a fourth quarter lead again this week.
Cowboys (1-1) at Seahawks (0-2): Dallas-It wasn't too long ago that this was a marquee matchup that you circled on your calendar. Not so much anymore. Because the Seahawks, while they might not want to admit it, are in a full-scale rebuild. Dallas isn't that much better. The Cowboys will have trouble scoring points all season unless they can find some other sort of offensive option. The good news is Ezekiel Elliott will be enough to beat Seattle.
Patriots (1-1) at Lions (0-2): New England-My, oh my, the Detroit Lions have been tough to watch. First, they get smoked on the opening Monday night against a Jets team that we've all seen isn't actually as good as they looked that day. And now we're subjected to them on a Sunday night against a Patriots team that hasn't lost back-to-back games in like 10 years. Don't count on that changing. I have no idea why NBC and the NFL decided this should be a Sunday night game. Because it won't be a particularly good one.
Steelers (0-1-1) at Buccaneers (2-0): Pittsburgh-Are the Steelers really this bad? I don't think so. Are the Bucs really this good? I don't think so, either. But Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the MVP over the first two weeks and Pittsburgh has looked like anything but a Super Bowl contender. As a result, they find themselves in last place (behind even the Browns!). For some reason, I think the Steelers begin to rebound on Monday night.
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 9-6-1
Overall: 19-12-1
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