The 3 NFL games you can’t afford to miss out in Week 2
A pair of marquee showdowns in the NFC and a desperation showdown on Monday Night Football rate as must-see TV for diehard football fans in Week 2.
Week 1 sure was fun, wasn’t it? Football fans got a lot of interesting games in the first full week of the NFL season, headlined by a thrilling showdown in Carolina between the Panthers and Rams and an absolutely bonkers ending to the Saints-Texans showdown on Monday Night Football.
The fun continues in Week 2, and there are three games you absolutely have to watch this weekend, beginning with a critical showdown in the NFC North.
Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Green Bay Packers (1-0)
One of the NFC North’s best rivalries is on display in Week 2, with the Green Bay Packers opening their home schedule against the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams picked up big wins in Week 1, with the Packers stifling the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field while the Vikings ran all over the Atlanta Falcons at home.
The Vikings won the season series a year ago, although that came with an asterisk since the teams tied at Lambeau Field in Week 2. The Packers had a ton of trouble stopping Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins, who completed 74.4 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and one pick against Green Bay a year ago.
Green Bay has made significant defensive improvements, and they stifled the Bears in Week 1, so they should be more up to the task of slowing the Vikings down. Minnesota went run-heavy against the Falcons in Week 1, so it will be interesting to see if they rely more on Cousins to pick apart the Packers this time around.
The winner will be in sole possession of first place in the NFC North, and if the Packers win they would be off to a 2-0 start in the division. That makes this showdown absolutely massive and appointment television.
New Orleans Saints (1-0) at Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
One of the most highly-anticipated games in the 2019 season is the NFC Championship rematch between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. This does lose a few points for being in Los Angeles instead of the Superdome, but the storylines write themselves.
No one will ever forget the horrendous missed call that robbed the Saints of a place in the Super Bowl, but it is important to note that New Orleans did get the ball first in overtime and blew a chance to win it on their own. The Rams will be out to prove that their win in that contest wasn’t a fluke and they did rightfully earn their place in the Super Bowl.
Both of their meetings in 2018 came in New Orleans, with the Saints winning a shootout in the regular season while the Rams got revenge in the postseason. Each team picked up a win in Week 1, with the Rams grinding out a road victory at Carolina while the Saints walked off with a victory over the Texans on Monday night.
This contest could prove to be massive for seeding purposes in the postseason, with the winner potentially gaining a leg up for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Add in two explosive offenses filled with stars like Drew Brees, Jared Goff, Alvin Kamara, and Todd Gurley and fans could be set up for a thriller at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at New York Jets (0-1)
After a tremendous start to the Monday Night Football slate a week ago, ESPN has to be absolutely delighted to have this game on their schedule. The Cleveland Browns and New York Jets were two popular sleeper picks entering the season, and now both enter this game in desperation mode after Week 1 losses.
The losses came in different fashion, with the Browns getting their brains beat in by the Tennessee Titans at home while the Jets blew a 16-0 lead in the second half in an epic collapse against the Buffalo Bills. As a result, both teams are in crisis mode and staring an 0-2 start in the face if they can’t win this game.
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The matchup itself was plenty intriguing entering the year, with the matchup of the top two quarterbacks from last year’s draft between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold earning it the prime time spotlight. These two teams met a year ago, with Mayfield coming off the bench in his NFL debut to lead the Browns to their first victory in over 600 days.
The best part of this game is that both teams really have to win it to avoid a potentially lost year even before October hits. Fans will be nervous all week as the game approaches, and those nerves could lead to a very amped up MetLife Stadium on Monday.