Week Two NFL Games Predictions

By Derek Lofland, NFL director at Fantasy Football Maniaxs

After a wild Week One, where I went  9-7, I look to redeem myself in Week Two. I present you Week Two of the 2008 NFL games' picks. Just straight winners.

Indianapolis (0-1) at Minnesota (0-1): These are my favorite early-season games. Two teams that many considered playoff teams with Super Bowl hopes. Both teams stand at 0-1. Barring the rare tie, one of these teams is going to fall to 0-2. 

The Vikings did not look very good on defense. Ryan Grant had 92 yards. Aaron Rodgers completed over 80 percent of his passes in the game, wasn’t sacked, and didn’t turn the ball over. 

On offense, Tarvaris Jackson really struggled. Manning should rebound now that he has a week under his belt. I can’t see the Colts starting the season 0-2. 

Look for Joseph Addai to bounce back a bit, but still not have a very big game. Really, look for Manning and the passing offense to rebound. 

Winner: Indianapolis 

San Francisco (0-1) at Seattle (0-1): This is a crucial game for the Seahawks and the 49ers. The 49ers lost a divisional game to Arizona last week. To start the season 0-2 in the division is a significant hole. Seattle can survive a bad loss to an AFC team, but they need a strong showing at home to calm their fans. 

Seattle has so many skill-position players hurt. They can’t afford to lose anymore. The key is Seattle’s defense.

They gave up three points in two games last season vs. San Francisco. While the 49ers have improved their offensive personnel, they are still not among the strongest offenses in the NFL.

I don’t expect the Seahawks to score a lot of points, but I think they make enough plays on offense to win the game. 

Winner: Seattle  

New England (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0): It is hard to pick a game like this, because you don’t know how the Patriots react to the Brady injury. Even though I am not a Patriot fan, and I was hoping that Favre could do well with the Jets, I was also looking forward to two Brady vs. Favre duels this the season. Now we don’t get that. 

The Jets will have to play better on offense, as I expect the Patriots defense to be much better than what the Dolphins had to offer.

What this allows the Jets to do is not worry about Favre having to score every drive and use their running game and defense to stay in the game, control field position, and allow Favre to make the timely plays to help put big points on the board. 

I like the Jets to beat the Brady-less Patriots, but for it to be a very close game. 

Winner: New York Jets 

Pittsburgh (1-0) at Cleveland (0-1): Cleveland was a team that I expected to win 10 games this season and contend for a wild card. I am quickly losing confidence. The Steelers were very impressive at home, and the Browns look to be regressing.

They excelled as the hunter last year. No one expected them to win. Now that they are the hunted and people aren’t preparing for them like they do their bye week, the Browns don’t seem to have adjusted. Dallas ran through the Browns. I expect the Steelers to do the same thing. Steelers and Steelers big. 

Winner: Pittsburgh

Philadelphia (1-0) at Dallas (1-0): Both these teams were very impressive in their season opener. Philadelphia roughed up a very bad St. Louis team at home. The Cowboys traveled to Cleveland and beat a Brown’s team that has looked really bad since they opened preseason.

These were my two picks to represent the NFC in the Championship Game. 

I think Dallas is a very tough place to play. I also think the Eagles will miss their injured receivers against a real NFL defense. I expect a typical NFC smash-mouth game, but I expect Dallas to prevail in a close game based on their superior offensive firepower. 

Winner: Dallas 

And the rest…

Tennessee (1-0) at Cincinnati (0-1):

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