Week 2 has many intriguing headlines heading into Sunday. There are a few “must win games” for supposed contenders, and a few “prove it to me games” where some teams who surprisingly won last week want to show everyone that they are for real.
Baltimore at Philadelphia — Baltimore dismantled the Bengals in every way possible. Their defense was stingy, and the new hurry up offense was displayed for the first time. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco looked great. Flacco, who is in the last year of his contract, wants to prove to everyone he is indeed an “elite” QB. If week 1 was any indication, the Ravens better be prepared to write a BIG check next summer.
The Eagles are 1-0, and every Philly fan feels like they are 0-1 because of the awful performance Vick and the rest of the offense showed against the Cleveland Browns. I don’t want to take too much credit away from the effort of the Browns defense, but Vick was brutal. He threw 4 interceptions and had about 3 more would be interceptions dropped, including one in the end zone on the final game winning drive with just over a minute left in the game. I don’t expect the Vick led Eagles to look that bad again this week but I do expect them to lose to the newly high powered Ravens offense, a term I would have never thought to use just 2-3 years ago when the team was known for its defense. I expect a close game, with the Ravens winning by 7.
New Orleans at Carolina — Both of these teams are coming in 0-1. The Saints lost to an RG3 motivated Redskins Team that went up and down the field with ease against the Saints defense. While Drew Brees failed to gain any rhythm with his wide receivers, the running game was non-existent. I am interested to see if the Saints offense can be more balanced, using the run game to aid in the play action. That is the strategy that they used so well last year to find star tight end Jimmy Graham over the middle time after time. This is still not a guaranteed win for the Saints unless the defense improves drastically.
The Panthers did not look like the 2011 Panthers at all. They only had 10 total rushing yards the entire game. DeAngelo Williams and Cam Newton are big time play makers, but they were kept in check and bottled up the whole game. Cam threw for a lot of yardage, but he only had 1 touchdown paired with 2 interceptions. The Bucs defense looked greatly improved from last year but that still was no excuse for them to only score 10 points. I expect this to be a shootout with the Panthers offense breaking out to beat the Saints 37-34.
Jets at Steelers — The Steelers looked good against Denver last week on offense. They had the running game going with Redman and Dwyer, and were great on 3rd downs. However, the same reoccurring problem from last year resurfaced, the Steeler offense settled for field goals in the red zone. The defense seemed to play two different games. In the first half they were really good against Peyton, causing a few sacks and a fumble, but in the second half they could not stop the no huddle led Peyton offense. James Harrison sat out last week due to injury, but he is expected to play this week. Polamalu did not practice today and is questionable for Sunday.
The Jets looked incredible on Sunday against the Bills. Sanchez through 3 touchdown passes, the running game looked good, and the defense and special teams both scored a touchdown… a total team effort for the victory. Everyone who watched that game is wondering “Are the Jets that good or the Bills that bad?”. It is a little of both, and with Revis looking like a game time decision after suffering a concussion on Sunday this will be a big test for the Jets to win in Pittsburgh. I predict the Steelers win by a late field goal.
Detroit at San Francisco — This looks to be a good game on paper, but after watching the way the 49er’s defense stifled the Packers on Sunday I expect the same to happen against Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Stafford played a terrible first half last week against the Rams throwing 3 interceptions, but he brought them back late in the 4th quarter by throwing a touchdown to running back Kevin Smith with 10 seconds left. Calvin Johnson was only targeted 7 times on Sunday, a number that should double if the Lions want to win this game.
San Francisco showed great balance between the run and the pass last week. Alex Smith is the perfect game manager, he takes what the defense gives him by taking shots down field to Davis and Moss when he sees the opening, yet he doesn’t force it. I like the 49ers to easily win this game 27-14.
Denver at Atlanta — This should be a great Monday night football game. The Broncos looked good on both sides of the ball last week with Peyton looking like the old Peyton. Demaryius Thomas looks like he will have a huge season, the 6’5 wide out has the speed and athleticism to dominate in this league, and with Atlanta’s star corner back Grimes out for the year (torn achilles) it could be another big week for Thomas. The Broncos defense has two stars in Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil at defensive ends, they need to put some pressure on Matt Ryan and the high powered passing offense that came out flying last week against Kansas City.
Julio Jones had an incredible game for Atlanta, catching 2 red zone touchdowns that tallied over 100 yards. In his second year he is poised to have a breakout season. It will be interesting to see if the Falcons use Michael Turner more this week, or if the continue to be a pass heavy offense. I predict the Falcons to win in a shootout at the Georgia Dome 34-27, with another big game from Matt Ryan.
