NFL Week 2 Picks: Matchups That Will Lead Denver Broncos over Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons will host the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in Week 2 of the NFL season, and several matchups favor the visitors.

Both teams are coming off victories, with the Broncos earning a hard fought victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Falcons blowing out the Chiefs.

Now, both teams have high hopes for this season, and both will be desperately trying to improve to 2-0 on national television.

Here are the matchups that will doom the Falcons to a disappointing loss at home.

Broncos' Cornerbacks vs. Falcons' Wide Receivers

Julio Jones and Roddy White exploded in the Falcons’ 2012 debut against the Chiefs. 

Jones had six receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns while White had six catches for 87 yards. 

But this week, the two wide outs will go against the Broncos’ pair of veteran cornerbacks. Champ Bailey and Tracy Porter were excellent in coverage against the Steelers last week.

This will be a fascinating battle, but the Denver defensive backs will do enough to slow down these talented receivers. Without the same production on the outside, the Atlanta offense will stall.

Peyton Manning vs. the Falcons' Secondary

Losing Brent Grimes for the season will hurt the Falcons’ defense in this game.

It is certainly possible that the Atlanta defense will overcome the loss of its Pro-Bowl corner and go on to have a successful season, but it will take time for players to adjust to Grimes’ absence.

The last quarterback in the NFL that a secondary wants to face while going through changes is Manning. No signal-caller in the league is as adept at reading and recognizing defenses before the snap.

Manning will ensure that the Broncos attack Atlanta defensive backs who are playing outside of their comfort zone. Speaking of comfort zones, this will be Manning’s first game of 2012 in a dome.

Michael Turner vs. Broncos' Front Seven

The Broncos have talent along the defensive line and at linebackers, but they do not have an especially fearsome unit.

But the Falcons will find out in this game that Michael Turner is not the back he used to be. He is 30 years old and has had over 300 carries in three of the past four seasons.

His style of running causes his body to take a significant amount of punishments. At his age, running backs often start to decline.

If Porter and Bailey are playing well and the pass rush is active, then the Falcons will need to turn to Turner. He will not deliver and the Falcons offense will be disappointing in this game.