The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Week 2

The Armchair Quarterback’s Week Two Predictions

Jets at Patriots

Last week the Jets surprised many (myself included) by beating Tampa Bay. The Patriots surprised too, but not in a good way as they struggled to beat the Bills. The Patriots may have “eeked” out a win, but the offense showed that losing as many skill position players as they have does take its tole. That having been said this game is still a battle of Tom Brady and Geno Smith at QB. Knowing Brady’s competitive spirit, he won’t take the struggles against Buffalo lightly. The Jets may be able to keep it respectable, but don’t count on them pulling out the surprise win this week.

Jets 17
Patriots 27

Rams at Falcons

Both of these teams were involved in games that came down to the wire last week. The Falcons fell just short in New Orleans and the Rams pulled out a last minute field goal to beat the Cardinals. The Falcons are too good of all around team to fall to 0-2 to start the season, especially at home. This also a chance for Steven Jackson to go against his former team, so look for him to being running hard all day. The Rams showed some guts last week so they’ll make it a game, but Atlanta is the better team.

Rams 20
Atlanta 27

Panthers at Bills

Every week there are a couple of games that are really hard to predict. This is one this week. Carolina’s offense got shut down by a very good Seattle team last week and now go on the road to face Buffalo, who almost pulled off a major upset of the Patriots in their first week game. I still think that Carolina may be the better team, but with the game being in Buffalo, it should be close. In the end, I think I like CJ Spiller, Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson, and company to pull it out in what some might consider a mild upset.

Panthers 23
Bills 24

Vikings at Bears

The Detroit Lions defense made Christian Ponder look bad last week. Now he has to go into Chicago and face the Bears. You see what I’m getting at here? Adrian Peterson is the best running back on the planet, but if a quality defense like Chicago can key in on him without having to fear the passing game it contains the threat. I’ll actually be at this game (my first ever trip to Soldier Field) and frankly am not brave enough to pick against the Bears here, even if I wanted to.

Vikings 13
Bears 24

Redskins at Packers

This is an interesting match up between playoff teams from last season that both are trying to avoid going 0-2. RGIII looked terrible at the start of last week’s game in Philly, but seemed to find his mojo as the game went on. The Packers gave the 49ers a good fight, but fell short on the road. I think the smart pick is to take Aaron Rodgers at home over RGIII still working his way back on the road. My guess is that Clay Matthews may try to take out the opposing QB for the second week in a row. This should be a good one.

Redskins 27
Packers 31

Dolphins at Colts

The Dolphins went on the road and disposed of an improving Browns team while the Colts struggled to beat the Raiders at home. That could lead some to pick the Fins here, but I just can’t do it. Miami needs to prove it can run the ball to help out Ryan Tannehill. Although, Andrew Luck doesn’t have the strongest run game to back him up either, I trust him to carry an offense more than I do Tannehill. This should be another close game, and Luck has been nails so far in close ones.

Dolphins 23
Colts 24

Cowboys at Chiefs

(Homer Alert) The Chiefs defense absolutely abused Blaine Gabbert and the Jags offense last week to the tune of 7 sacks and 2 interceptions (one a pick six). Meanwhile, Tony Romo and the Cowboys needed 6 turnovers from the Giants in order to pull out a win. The new KC attacking defense should force a mistake or two out of Romo, and while Alex Smith isn’t flashy he protects the football. The home field advantage at Arrowhead combined with both Romo and Dez Bryant being a little banged up will give the Chiefs a slight edge (at least that’s what I’m hoping).

Cowboys 20
Chiefs 24

Chargers at Eagles

Both of these teams jumped out to big leads on Monday Night Football only to see them disappear in the second half. The difference is that Philly hung on to win and the Bolts did not. I already voiced my opinion on Kelly’s offense being unsustainable in the NFL with his current personnel, but for the time being while they’re healthy, they are still a force to be reckoned with. Plus, San Diego has to travel to the east coast on a short week after playing on Monday night. Not a good combination for trying to keep up with a high speed offense. As long as Michael Vick and Lesean McCoy can make it through another game, the Eagles should win this one.

Chargers 24
Eagles 34

Browns at Ravens

I really do think the Browns are an improving team. They are one of those teams that are going to surprise people by knocking off a team or two that most people think are out of their league. That having been said, I don’t think this is that week. The defending Super Bowl Champions got smoked by Peyton Manning in the kick off game. While their defense may not be what it was last year yet, facing Brandon Weeden will seem a lot less intimidating after seeing Manning in action last week. Cleveland’s defense will keep them in it, but look for Baltimore to get the win.

Browns 17
Ravens 27

Titans at Texans

Of everything that happened in the opening weekend of games, the Texans defense getting manhandled by the Chargers offense in the first half caught me the most off guard. So what happened? Is Phillip Rivers back and playing elite football? Was the Texans defense too cocky and needed to get smacked around a little before they woke up? On paper, they still look like a major AFC contender. Meanwhile, the Titans walked into Pittsburgh and beat up the Steelers. While that performance is worthy of a lot of respect, I’m not sure it translates into beating the Texans. The Texans have a much more balanced offensive attack and their defense is more susceptible to the pass than the run. That doesn’t bode well for a team that wants to rely on Chris Johnson over Jake Locker.

Titans 16
Texans 27

Saints at Buccaneers

Time to eat some crow (sigh). I blasted the New Orleans defense last week. I didn’t think they could hang with the high powered Atlanta offense. They proved me wrong. The Bucs, on the other hand, got beat by the Jets. If the Bucs couldn’t outscore Geno Smith how are they going to outscore Drew Brees? I learned my lesson last week. Saints win.

Saints 30
Buccaneers 20

Lions at Cardinals

I smell a shootout. The addition of Reggie Bush to the Detroit arsenal makes them down right scary to defend. However, there are still serious questions about their secondary. Yes, they picked off Christian Ponder three times, but that’s different than facing Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. Whatever the total points line for this game is in Vegas, I’d bet the over. In the end, Bush makes the Lions offense a little more balanced than Arizona’s.

Lions 41
Cardinals 34

Jaguars at Raiders

Before the Raiders put up a great fight against Indy, I might have predicted this game to be a 0-0 tie. Given the Jags pitiful offensive display against KC, it’s hard to pick them to beat anybody on the road. The good news for Jacksonville fans, losing this game to another team projected to do poorly this year will be a positive step towards landing Teddy Bridgewater in April.

Jaguars 13
Oakland 19

Broncos at Giants

I picked against Peyton Manning in the season opener last week. That was stupid. However, I can only imagine what practice is like for the Giants after the turnover-fest that was their game against Dallas. It’s a safe bet that Tom Coughlin will have his team playing better this week. The Manning Bowl should be fun to watch, but I think this one goes to the big brother.

Broncos 31
Giants 27

49ers at Seahawks

The best game of the week is right here. The 49ers looked great in their win over Green Bay last week while Seattle struggled to find the end zone versus Carolina. That may lead some to pick the 49ers here. However, don’t forget that Seattle thumped the Niners in Seattle last year late in the season. They may have struggled to get in the end zone last week in Carolina, but I think when they return to the confines of their incredibly loud home stadium those FGs will turn into TDs. Don’t be surprised if this is the first of three match ups between these two teams this season.

49ers 27
Seattle 30

Steelers at Bengals

Sorry Steelers fans, but there’s reason for concern with your team. They got absolutely shut down by the Titans defense and now you’ve lost one of the few pieces of your offensive line that wasn’t a question mark. Big Ben is great, but I’m not sure there’s enough left standing around him to get it done. The Bengals were this close to beating the Bears at Soldier Field last week before it slipped away. I don’t see the Bengals falling to 0-2 here.

Steelers 17
Bengals 23