A week 2 wrap-up of all NFL games..
* Houston over Cincinnati- The Texans laid an egg in the season opener at home, which was a surprise. I thought they would come out emotionally charged-up after the Houston flooding . They beat up on the lowly Bengals. You gotta wonder how much longer Cincy coach Marvin Lewis will survive. The Texans go to New England this Sunday, a tough task for sure. The Patriots will not lose two in a row at home. Meanwhile, the Bengals travel to Green Bay to play the pissed-off packers, who lost Sunday night to Atlanta. The Pack have key players injured, but c'mon- no way the Bengals win in Green Bay.
* Baltimore over Cleveland.- The Ravens unexpectedly won at home and line-up for a showdown with Pittsburgh, as both teams start 2-0. Baltimore flies to London this week to encounter Jacksonville ( a Jaguar home game). The Ravens aren't flying across the Atlantic Ocean just to get beat. Meanwhile the Browns are a road favorite for the first time in a long time, Cleveland a 2 1/2 point favorite ober Indianapolis. Even though the Colts look bad, especially without QB Andrew Luck, I can't go with Cleveland winning any game, let alone a road game, until they show me something more than moral victories.
* Carolina over Buffalo- A real snooze-fest was the Panther 9-3 win over the Bills. The Panthers are 2-0 and play in Carolina this week against a desperate New Orleans Saints club. Carolina is without TE Gregg Olsen for 6-8 weeks. The Panthers continue to have atop-notch defense, but do they have the firepower to ultimately stay with division rivals Atlanta and Tampa Bay? The Bills beat the lowly Jets on opening week, then only scored 3 points in Carolina.This week they have the 2-0 Broncos coming to Buffalo, fresh off a smack-down of Dallas. Look for the Denver defense to contain Shady McCoy, even on the road. Don't forget, Buffalo started the season in tank-mode, collecting draft picks.
* Arizona over Indianapolis- The Cards won in overtime over the Colts. I'm not sure how good-or bad- the Cardinals are. They lost at Detroit on opening week ( the Lions look like a decent team), and barely beat a struggling Colts squad. Arizona has their home opener this week vs. the Cowboys. Arizona seems to always play Dallas tough, in or out of the desert. As mentioned, the Colts are scuffling big-time. To be underdogs at home against Cleveland tells you all you need to know.
* Tennessee over Jacksonville-The titans avoided going 0-2 with a win in Florida over the Jags. Tennessee follows that up with a game this Sunday at home with Seattle. Interesting match-up. The Seahawks are thinking Super Bowl but lost in week 1 and just barely got by San Francisco- in Seattle- last week. The Jags go to London to get hammered by the Ravens.
* Washington over Los Angeles Rams- As I predicted, the Redskins couldn't afford to start the year 0-2, so they eeked out a win on the West Coast. They come home to play the Raider, who are the better team but must fly across country. The Rams will do as they did last year- start off with promise then fade into the 4 or 5 win team that they are. The Rams go to the 49'ers this Thursday night for a less-than-thrilling contest.
* Atlanta over Green Bay- The Falcons opened their new stadium with a win on Sunday night over the Pack, the Falcons at 2-0. They are an excellent team, but I don't think they return to the Super Bowl this year.So this week Atlanta is on the road at Detroit in a really interesting match-up. The Lions are 2-0 but are coming off a short week, having played last night. The Falcons play in a dome, so it's even there. Green Bay has Cincinnati at home and, despite the injuries, should take care of business.
* New England over New Orleans- The Pats responded in a big way, blowing out the Saints in New Orleans. Tom Brady threw for three touchdown passes alone in the first quarter. The Patriots return home on Sunday to face the Texans. No way New England will lose two in a row at home. The Saints have a tough road divisional game with Carolina. But with Drew Brees at quarterback a desperate Saints' team is capable of pulling the upset.
* Pittsburgh over Minnesota- Pretty easy game for the Steelers with Vikings' QB Sam Bradford out. Pittsburgh has Chicago on the road this week. The Steelers are the far superior team over the Bears, but this is lining up in the exact situation as last season when the Steelers came into Philly as favorites, starting 2-0, and got crushed by the Eagles. The Vikes are in Minnesota against the Buccaneers. Everything will depend on if Bradford can play or not..
* Tampa Bay over Chicago.- Again, I think the bears have a fighter's chance over Pittsburgh at home. They were completely overwhelmed in Tampa. Meanwhile, the Bucs go on the road to Minnesota in a winnable game.
* Miami over Los Angeles Chargers- The Dolphins squeaked over a road win in LA, and sit 1-0. They stay on the road with a game in New Jersey against the hapless Jets. Flying across country you would think this would be a perfect upset game for New York, if they weren't so awful. The Chargers are a bad team in a strong division, not a good combination. If the Chargers win three games this season they will be lucky. They are in LA again this week with the red-hot Chiefs.
* Oakland over New York Jets- The Raiders destroyed New York at home. No surprise there. Oakland hits the road this week for a cross-country game at Washington. I think the Redskins come up big here. The Jets are vying with the Giants for the first draft pick next spring. They are set-up for a win this Sunday against the Dolphins.
* Seattle over San Francisco- What's wrong with the Seahawks ? Losing in week 1, then barely escaping against he Niners in Seattle.. The Seahawks find themselves again up against it this Sunday vs a good Titans team. San Fran has a winnable match-up with the rams on deck.
* Detroit over New York Giants- The Lions had a pretty easy time with the fraud Giants in New York. Detroit is at home this week with Atlanta in what should be a good match-up.The Giants come to Philadelphia to get slaughtered in the Eagles' home opener. Eagles-Giants games are usually close, however, often 3 points or less. The Giants are desperate but will their offensive line hold up to the Birds' pass rush?
Last week I went 11-4 straight-up in my NFL games, not great. This week will be tougher, but I do see more upsets on the horizon
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