Houston at Baltimore
Fun fact: The Houston Texans are the first team since the merger to win their first two games of the year on the last play. They have not looked impressive in either game but have shown a lot of heart with their two comebacks, albeit against lesser opponents. This week they travel to Baltimore, and look to move to 3-0. The Texans should get their first real test against a legitimately talented team, even if the Ravens will be missing Ray Rice. But they’re at home and their defense should give Houston a stiff test. This game is a toss-up, but if Houston can avoid the hiccups they’ve experienced the last two weeks, they should be able to stave off a weak Baltimore offense.
Houston 24 – 21 Baltimore
NY Giants at Carolina
It’s the battle of the winless. The Carolina Panthers offense has been anemic through two weeks and their secondary has blown two straight games. The Giants, on the other hand, have seemed like they’re playing hot potato with the amount of turnovers (ten) they’ve had. But can the Giants really go 0-3? It seems too hard to fathom.
NY Giants 30 – 23 Carolina
Green Bay at Cincinnati
Last week, Aaron Rodgers was downright lethal. He’s only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have thrown for 800 yards and at least five touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season, and he’s going up against a thin Bengals secondary. Cincinnati is going to provide a much tougher contest than the Redskins did last week, but the question is will they be able to score enough to keep up? It’s tough the see Andy Dalton keeping pace with Rodgers.
Green Bay 34 – Cincinnati 20
St. Louis at Dallas
Last week was a weird week for both of these teams. The Cowboys lost in typical Cowboys fashion, with poor play calling and correctable mistakes. The Rams probably would’ve beaten the Falcons if it wasn’t for a terrible first 10 minutes to start the game. But the bright spot for the Cowboys was how their defense has performed so far this season. Sam Bradford and the Rams offense is far from explosive, so their defense is going to need to make plays to win the game. They will, but maybe not enough.
Dallas 20 – 17 St. Louis
Cleveland at Minnesota
On the heels of the Browns trading away their best offensive player in running back Trent Richardson, they travel the Minnesota to face a team in dire need of a bounce back. Cleveland’s defense may be able to hold Adrian Peterson in check, but their offense is downright pathetic. Brian Hoyer is starting, Willis McGahee is joining the roster, and the Browns are gearing up to become the laughingstock of the NFL once again. But maybe next year things will change.
Minnesota 16 – 9 Cleveland
Tampa Bay at New England
Will Tom Brady give us a third clunker in a row? He hasn’t had three consecutive games below a 60% completion rate since 2006, so you probably shouldn’t count on it happening this year. His receivers may be historically bad, but he’s historically great. And oh yeah, the Buccaneers suck.
New England 27 – 13 Tampa Bay
Arizona at New Orleans
Drew Brees hasn’t exactly lit it up this year. He’s had two subpar performances, but his defense has bailed him out, keeping the Saints at 2-0. He has to breakout soon right? But it may not be against the Patrick Peterson led Cardinals. This one is going to be closer than most people think. Still, the Saints can’t lose at home to the Cardinals, can they?
New Orleans 23 – Arizona 21
San Diego at Tennessee
These teams have had extremely similar seasons so far. Both have upset wins against thought-to-be better teams from Pennsylvania, and both have blown up in devastating losses to Houston. In games with teams this similar, it usually comes down to turnovers. I trust the Titans more than I do the Chargers to hold onto the ball.
Tennessee 17 – 16 Chargers
Detroit at Washington
Most people would pick Detroit in this game, due to Washington’s horrid defense and Detroit’s explosive offense. But before you put the Lions down to go 2-1, think about how Reggie Bush most likely won’t be able to play. And think about how going 0-3 for the Redskins would be a death sentence.
Washington 28 – Detroit 20
Atlanta at Miami
What happened to the Falcons? They’re supposed to be Super Bowl contenders. They’re supposed to be offensive juggernauts. They’ve looked extremely mediocre through two games. The Dolphins have looked like an upstart team, with Ryan Tannehill proving to be one of the better young quarterbacks in the NFL. And this is the Dolphins home-opener. Don’t bet against the crowd and the hype.
Miami 30 – Atlanta 23
Buffalo at New York Jets
Believe it or not, but Buffalo might be the best offense the Jets have played all season (yes, I know they played Tom Brady and the Patriots last week). EJ Manuel has handled the NFL admirably, and CJ Spiller provides a spark unlike most others in the NFL. With Geno Smith being a turnover machine, the Jets can’t win this game unless their defense is next to perfect. That won’t happen.
Buffalo 20 – 16 NY Jets
Jacksonville at Seattle
Um, what really needs to be said? Jacksonville sucks and Seattle is at home. Next.
Seattle 34 – 6 Jacksonville
Indianapolis at San Francisco
Many Colts fans think the addition of Trent Richardson means the next coming of Peyton Manning/Edgerrin James will be found with Luck/Richardson. But it’s tough to see that starting this week against the 49ers. Since Harbaugh become coach, the Niners have given up a total of 50 points in 7 games following a loss, and are 7-0. They’re going to be 8-0 in that category after this week.
San Francisco 31 – 20 Indianapolis
Chicago at Pittsburgh
The Bears have had two mistake-filled weeks but have come through in the clutch and stroll into week 3 at 2-0. The Steelers have been one of the worst teams in the league and if they weren’t the Steelers, people would already be putting them in line for a top 3 draft pick. Simply put, Chicago has way more talent than Pittsburgh and sometimes, talent can win you a game without the need for a superior gameplan. This looks like the year where it sucks to be a Steelers fan.
Chicago 23 – 13 Pittsburgh
Oakland at Denver
Lucky for Raiders fans, Terrell Pryor has made them watchable. They also lead the league in sacks thus far (how did that happen?). Couple that with the fact that the Broncos will be without pro-bowl left tackle Ryan Clady, and this one could be closer than people think. And by closer, I only mean not a total blowout (see; Jaguars/Seahawks).
Denver 38 – 24 Oakland