NFL Round Up, Week Two

Big Game

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Chiefs 23/Raiders 17. The Raiders were able to play Kansas City closer than I thought they would. With Randy Moss Oakland will be able to produce enough offense to stay in games like they did Sunday night and last week against New England. It’s the Raiders defense that will cost them a winning season.

Big Upsets
New England Patriots at Carolina Panthers – Panthers 27/Patriots 17. This was a must win for the Panthers after losing week one to New Orleans which made it a tough spot for the Patriots and also showed that the defending World Champs are vulnerable. I called it last week on My Opinion on Sports.


Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys – Redskins 14/Cowboys 13. I was there in person to see the Cowboys snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Dallas became way too conservative on offense and the defense became over confident in the 4th quarter. It is amazing how quiet 70,000 people can become.

Buffalo at Tampa Bay – Bucs 19/Bills 3. It’s not so much the fact that Tampa Bay won, it’s that Buffalo only scored 3 points in their loss. Maybe the Bills have more maturing to do than we thought after week one. Cadillac Williams seems to be the real deal.

Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers – Browns 26/Packers 24. Huge win for the Browns. Devastating loss for the Packers who are now 0-2.

Worst Game
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals – Rams 17/Cardinals 12. Wow, what has happened to the Rams? Week one they are upset by the 49ers and now they are a Kurt Warner blunder, time clock management, away from possibly being upset by the Cardinals. I initially thought the Rams would challenge the Panthers for the division, but now I’m not sure.

Welcome HomeThe Saints began their home season Monday night on the road in New York against the Giants. Despite having Saints banners around the stadium and the field painted with their logo and colors this was clearly a home game for the New York Giants. The NFL should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen. There are plenty of places in the Southern United States where this game could have been played. If I am an NFC team battling for a Wild Card spot, I would be hot under the collar if the Giants were ahead of me by one game.

Looking Ahead at Week Two

Big Games
Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills – Both teams stumbled in week two and now need a win to keep from going 1-2. Both teams would play in very tough divisions and would have their work cut out to recover from being below .500 this early in the season. I think Atlanta has the better defense. Both teams have explosive offenses but I like Atlanta’s running possibilities if Vick is healthy.
Prediction: Atlanta 24/Buffalo 10

New England Patriots at Pittsburg Steelers – This could be a possible preview of the AFC Championship game. I don’t think it will be. I predicted the Patriots vs. the Colts. The Patriots are looking to prove they are still the best team in the AFC and the Steelers are trying to take that spot. This should be the best game on Sunday and if you are not planning on watching it then you are not a football fan.
Prediction: New England 27/Pittsburg 24

Possible Upset
Cincinnati at Chicago – The Bengal’s are making serious strides towards becoming a play-off contender and their offense is explosive. However, I like the Bears defense and I think at home they will have a great chance to give Cincinnati their first loss of the season.
Prediction: Chicago 17/Cincinnati 13

Miami DolphinsThe Dolphins suffered a horrible loss in a game they really needed to win against the Jets. Miami struggled to run the ball against the Jets and that allowed New York to focus more on Miami’s passing game as well.
Miami has their work cut out for them this week as they host the Carolina Panthers. I honestly can’t see how Miami wins this game. I hope that I’m wrong, but I think that the entire Dolphin offense will struggle against the Panthers defense.
Prediction: Carolina 21/Miami 3