NFL Picks Week 2: 13 Teams Who Run the Risk of Starting 0-2
A loss to start the season is disappointing but two is a nightmare and some teams face that this week.
Being 0-2 is almost a crippling blow to a team's playoff chances. It's just a big hole to dig out of and it starts a lot of questions that most teams don't want to answer. It's going to create a lot of compelling games this week as teams fight and claw to avoid that record.
I'm giving you 13 teams that have a chance of going 0-2 with the higher rank, the higher chance I think they have of going 0-2. If two winless teams played each other, I only picked one from that matchup with the team I think will lose.
If you disagree, leave it in the comments.
No. 13: Dallas
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Of all of the 0-1 teams, the Cowboys have the least chance to lose their matchup this week.
The Bears looked bad in their win against the Lions and Chicago should struggle against the tougher Dallas defense. The Cowboys will put more of a focus on the running game and run a more balanced offense than we saw against Washington last week.
They have to, Tony Romo won't last very long back there getting nailed by the pass rush. Run the ball and the rest of the offense will open up.
No. 12: Minnesota
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The Vikings are just too good to go 0-2.
Minnesota didn't look great against New Orleans last week, but then again, they didn't look bad either. With some extra time to practice and rest, the Vikings will be better for it and we'll see a better connection between Brett Favre and his wideouts.
Minnesota should be fresh coming into this game and if I'm wrong, then it may be time to start worrying if you're a Vikings fan.
No. 11: San Diego
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I'd like to chalk the Chargers loss on Monday night up to just one of those things that happen every once in a while.
San Diego had chances to win that game against Kansas City but just let it slip through its fingers. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Norv Turner is their head coach. Turner is the reason why the Chargers will never win a Super Bowl as long as he's the head coach.
But I digress. Jacksonville is a middle of the road team and I think the Chargers should take care of business on Sunday.
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No. 10: Indianapolis
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The Colts got manhandled by Houston on defense last week and that will have to change if they're to avoid an 0-2 for only the second time in Peyton Manning's tenure as quarterback.
It will be hard without Bob Sanders in the lineup yet again and going against Eli Manning and the Giants but if there's one thing I know, it's that Manning is killer in regular season primetime games. With a lot of people questioning the Colts, I think Manning is going to rise to the occasion.
Look for Indianapolis to steady the ship and get to .500.
No. 9: Carolina
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The Panthers had a great chance to go 1-0 against the Giants before three red zone turnovers by Matt Moore sunk their chances and gave the Giants all the momentum they needed.
This week Carolina gets Tampa Bay, which should be a welcome relief after having to play New York. Tampa played well enough to beat Cleveland last week but it needs to be noted that it was the Browns. Carolina will pound the ball to lessen the load on Moore.
Then again, maybe they won't. It's John Fox we're talking about here.
No. 8: Atlanta
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Atlanta was dominated by the Pittsburgh defense in week one and Matt Ryan looked nothing like the quarterback we thought he was in his rookie year.
Ryan should find some relief against the Arizona defense this week, who gave up a good chunk of yards to Sam Bradford and his merry band of no-name wideouts (excluding Mark Clayton). Look for Ryan to target Roddy White a lot next week and the Falcons to try and get Michael Turner involved after being shut down by the Steelers.
I'm not really sold on Atlanta, but they can't be as bad as they looked last week.
No. 7: Cleveland
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Normally Cleveland would be higher on this list but the Browns drew Kansas City and I'm hesitant to put the Browns higher on this list.
Are the Chiefs for real this year or are they just the same team we saw the past couple of years? The answer is probably somewhere in between but that doesn't mean Cleveland can't sneak up and beat them. Jake Delhomme will have to limit his bonehead mistakes in this game if the Browns have any shot and hand Peyton Hillis the rock.
Then again, this is Cleveland and nothing good happens to that city so maybe they should be higher.
No. 6: Denver
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Denver lost a close one to Jacksonville last week and now the Broncos will host Seattle who I think was more beneficial of a 49ers team who didn't show up to play than a team who isn't any good.
However, I think Seattle will be a tough matchup and could really hurt the Broncos the way that Jacksonville did through the air. Matt Hasselbeck looked like the quarterback of old against San Francisco and he did it with a bunch of no name targets.
Denver will have to be ready to defend the pass and try and make Seattle one-dimensional if it hopes to win this week.
No. 5: Oakland
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Oakland looked awful on Sunday against Tennessee. There's no other way to describe it.
They couldn't protect Jason Campbell, they couldn't get open downfield and they couldn't stop Chris Johnson, Vince Young and the Titans' offense. It was just a sloppy, sloppy game from a team who some people thought could be a bit of a sleeper.
The Raiders will take on St. Louis, who looks to have some fight with the addition of Sam Bradford at quarterback. The Rams may not win every game, but they're going to be competitive and Oakland needs to be ready to play on Sunday.
No. 4: NY Jets
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What's the best way to rebound from a frustrating, humiliating loss on Monday Night Football in your home stadium?
It's certainly not returning to the scene to take on New England. The Patriots are coming into town after pummeling the Bengals last week and look like the better team after week one. The Jets couldn't move the ball at all against Baltimore and while that has some to do with the Ravens' fierce defense, it also has to do with poor gameplanning.
New York looked like it didn't trust Mark Sanchez to make plays and it has to open it up for its quarterback if they want any chance of winning the game.
No. 3: Cincinnati
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The Bengals were looked at as a contender by a lot of people coming into the season and it had those people doing a double take after they got slapped around by the Patriots last week.
Cincy now has to host Baltimore and that's no easy task with the way the Ravens looked in their victory over the Jets. Carson Palmer has to step up this week. He looked flustered against the Patriots for most of the game until New England called the dogs off.
It's going to be much worse against the Ravens this week and the type of looks they'll be showing.
No. 2: Detroit
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With Matthew Stafford on the shelf for a little bit as he recovers from yet another shoulder injury, it's going to be a long week for the Lions.
Detroit will face Philadelphia with Michael Vick under center and he's going to cause all sorts of problems for the Lions' defense with his legs. The Eagles have a lot of weapons on offense and Detroit doesn't have the type of players on defense to keep up with them.
The Lions had some promise coming into this season but without Stafford, I don't like their chances.
No. 1: Buffalo
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What can I say about Buffalo's chances this week other than they have none?
The Bills are traveling to take on Green Bay and it's just going to be a beatdown in Lambeau. Aaron Rodgers is going to have a field day throwing up and down the field on Buffalo's secondary. The Packers are an exponentially better team than the Bills and it'll show on Sunday.
This is going to get ugly, and fast.
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