Fansided

6 NFL Teams in need of a Week 2 win

By Luke Dahlgren

Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) walks off the field after the first half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) walks off the field after the first half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Anthony Dixon (26) jumps and scores a touchdown during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Colts 27 to 14. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Anthony Dixon (26) jumps and scores a touchdown during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Colts 27 to 14. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Indianapolis Colts

Week 2: vs. New York Jets

The least expected result from the league’s opening week occurred in Buffalo, where the Bills flattened the Colts 27-14 – and that score is deceivingly close; the Bills dominated throughout on both sides.

The team’s defensive struggles came as no surprise. The Bills outperformed their expectations.

The league’s most anonymous starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, went a sharp 14 for 19 for 195 yards. He made smart throws designed to protect the lead, while taking his opportunities to extend the field by targeting his receivers deep. The Colts’ paltry pass rush was no match for Taylor’s mobility. Percy Harvin was unfrozen from his cyrogenic stasis, and helped out with 5 catches, 79 yards and a 51-yard touchdown.

What thrust the Bills into the lead was the running game, as the stable of Karlos Williams, LeSean McCoy and Taylor himself were able to eat up chunks of yardage and keep the Bills in the lead for virtually the entire game.

The matchup between the Bills offense and Colts defense was between two units that looked shaky heading into the season. Only the Colts defense looked shaky. But the story was always going to be how the Bills defense without Marcel Dareus would match up with Andrew Luck and the Colts passing offense. The result of this unit matchup makes the rest of the AFC East lay waste to their shorts.

Even without Dareus, Luck routinely faced pressure from the Bills front seven, who all overwhelmed the Colts constantly shifting offensive line. The Bills secondary forced two Luck interceptions and blanketed the Colts receivers in the first half. Luck only completed 47% of his first half passes, and made most of his success in the second half when the Colts had completely abandoned the running game. Even without Dareus, the Bills turned the COlts into a 1-dimensional offense, and feasted upon the easy opportunities for turnovers. With Dareus back next week to eat up attention from Patriots blockers, the Bills could understandably make the jump to 2-0.

The Colts, meanwhile, need to be more nervous about the state of their offensive line. It’s not often that they will face a defensive front seven with the same impact as the Buffalo Bills, but it looks like Week Two may be one of those times.

The Colts host the Jets, a team built remarkable similar to the Bills. Ryan Fitzpatrick is not likely to be efficient in the same way as Taylor, but the Jets have a bonafide number one back in Chris Ivory with a nose for the end zone. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall will challenge Vontae Davis all game long. Yet, the important element of the Jets is their front. Even without Sheldon Richardson, the line features the explosive Muhammad Wilkerson, run-stuffer Damon Harrison and versatile rookie Leonard Williams will clear up space for the Jets edge rushers to make plays when they aren’t making them themselves.

Throw in the revamped secondary that returns Darrelle Revis and (a banged-up) Antonio Cromartie and the Colts could be staring down the barrel of an 0-2 start. They’ll be able to pull out a 21-19 victory over the Jets. If not, the Colts take two losses at the easiest part of their schedule and seriously wound their chances of taking the next step into playoff dominance. Two losses that should have been wins will not look good around Week Six, where the schedule picks up (v. New England, v. New Orleans, @ Carolina, v. Denver).

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