NFL Predictions Week 2: Picks for Every Game

With Week One of the 2011 NFL season behind us, it's now time to predict the winners for Week Two.  There were some surprise winners in the first week of the season and there are sure to be a few more this week.

Who would have thought the Bears would dominate the Falcons or the Ravens would blow out the Steelers?  Those two games were expected to be much closer than they actually were.

Then there were a few other subtle surprises such as Buffalo man-handling the Chiefs and the Jaguars squeaking one out against the Titans.  The Lions put on a strong performance as well against an upstart Tampa Bay team.

The saying "any given Sunday" has never been so true as it is in this era of NFL football. 

So, what does Week Two have in store?  Might there be any upsets?  Who will win the close games? 

Find out here!

Kansas City at Detroit

The Chiefs are coming off their worst home loss in 35 years.  They were badly beaten down by the Buffalo Bills, 41-7. 

Matt Cassel averaged 3.3 yards per pass, if that gives you any indication just how badly the Chiefs played. 

Now they get to travel to Detroit to face a Lions team that just may have its roar back.

The Lions were able to overcome some mistakes and beat a decent Buccaneers team on the road, 27-20.  Mathew Stafford threw for over 300 yards and three TDs.

The Lions have set lofty expectations for their themselves this season.  They also play in a tough division where every single win they can get is critical. 

I don't think the Chiefs will play as bad this week as they did against Buffalo, but they won't play well enough to beat Detroit. 

The Lions will feast on the Chiefs this week.

Oakland at Buffalo

Buffalo is coming off of a great opening game by whipping the Chiefs, 41-7.  Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four TDs and Fred Jackson ran for over 100 yards.

The Raiders were able to hold off the Broncos, thanks to the strong leg of Sebastian Janikowski and his record-tying 63-yard field goal.

However, Oakland will have to travel to the east coast and play a 1:00pm EST game on a short week.  Just based on that, the odds of the Raiders winning this week aren't favorable.

I see the Raiders being a little too drowsy to hold off a Buffalo stampede.

Tampa Bay at Minnesota

The Vikings are coming off of a road loss to the San Diego Chargers in a game where Donovan McNabb threw for a grand total of 39 yards—39 yards?!  They still only lost by seven points to a Charger team with a potent offense.

The Buccaneers couldn't get much offense going in their Week One loss to the Lions.  Their running backs only totaled 30 yards on 12 carries.

Offensive juggernauts these guys aren't.

However, this should still be a good contest in terms of being a close game.  I foresee Donovan McNabb rebounding in Week Two and throwing for over 200 yards and two TDs.

The Vikings win a close one over the Bucs.

Chicago at New Orleans

The Saints are coming off what was the best contest of Week One to play in what could be the best matchup of Week Two.  They lost to the Packers last week, 42-34, in a game that came down to the final play.

New Orleans must be a little upset with themselves, particularly after having the chance to tie the game up at the end.  Instead of passing the ball, they chose to try and run it in from the one-yard line on the final play.  Running back Mark Ingram was stopped cold.

The Saints are one of the top teams in the NFC and are expected to compete for the Super Bowl.

Chicago was the No. 2 seed in the playoffs last year and are coming off a convincing 30-12 victory over a quality Atlanta Falcons team.

The last time these two teams met was in 2008 when Chicago was quarterbacked by Kyle Orton.  The Bears won in overtime, 27-24.

It should be another close game this week, but I think it comes down to the Saints playing at home and being disgruntled about their season-opening loss to the Packers.

Ultimately, Drew Brees and co. are too much for the Bears to handle.

Baltimore at Tennessee

In one of the more stunning lopsided losses of Week One, the Ravens dominated the Steelers, 35-7.  Joe Flacco threw for over 200 yards and three TDs and Ray Rice rushed for over 100 yards while scoring twice.

The Titans, on the other hand, struggled against a Jacksonville team led by future Hall of Famer...err...new starting QB Luke McCown. 

Kenny Britt's performance, however, was a bright spot for Titans fans.

Tennessee was also taking it easy with Chris Johnson.  With all the time he missed during his holdout, they didn't want to overwork him.  If they want to unleash him this week, it won't get much better against a stout Baltimore defense.

The Titans will improve as the year goes on, but that doesn't matter for this week.  The Ravens will win this game by at least seven points, probably much more.

Cleveland at Indianapolis

I'm not sure what Kerry Collins is doing in the above picture, but he looks old doing it—that's for sure.

With the 38-year-old Collins at QB, the Colts just aren't the same team—not even close.  But he did put up respectable numbers for a guy that was just signed less than three weeks ago (197 yards and TD).

The Colts were shellacked by a Texans team that seems finally ready to claim the division.  And without Peyton Manning, the Colts will find themselves hard-pressed to compete in most games this year.

Cleveland has a second-year QB in Colt McCoy who has some positive buzz about him.  Unfortunately for him, the Browns lost their season opener to division rival Cincinnati.

The Browns are a popular sleeper pick this year to make the playoffs.  They'll have to play better than they did against the Bengals if they want to see that come to fruition.

They'll get it going this week against a Colts team that is already on the ropes this early in the year.  Collins and the Colts will play better this week, but the Browns will win the game.

Jacksonville at NY Jets

Both teams come into this game after winning close Week One contests.  The Jaguars held on against the Titans, 16-14, and the Jets won on a late field goal to beat Dallas, 27-24.

The Jets are a team that should make the playoffs and compete for a Super Bowl while the Jags look like a team ready to transition to a new era.

It shouldn't be long before Jacksonville hands over the reins to rookie QB Blaine Gabbert.  If they even win half their games this year, it would be a surprise.  Jags head coach Jack Del Rio took a huge gamble in releasing David Garrard just before the start of the season.

New York should win this game easily.

Seattle at Pittsburgh

Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted three times and Rashard Mendenhall could only muster 45 yards rushing in a humiliating loss to division rival Baltimore.

Seattle was locked in a division battle themselves with the Arizona Cardinals.  They kept pace until they allowed Tedd Ginn Jr. to kill them with two special teams touchdowns.

The Seahawks made the puzzling move to let QB Matt Hasselbeck leave town and replace him with Tarvaris Jackson.  It's going to be a long season for Seattle fans.

On the other hand, the Steelers have a solid team.  The loss to the Ravens was a mirage.  They'll be back in a big way this week, crushing the Seahawks in Three Rivers Stadium.

Arizona at Washington

Are the Redskins for real?  Did Rex Grossman just pass for over 300 yards and two TDs?  Well, to put it in perspective, he did it against an injury-ravaged Giants defense.

Nonetheless, Grossman and the Redskins put on a good performance in a 28-14 victory over their nemesis.  Tim Hightower also looked very good in Mike Shanahan's vaunted zone-blocking scheme for the run game.

Out in the desert, new Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb was hot—posting a 130.0 QB rating after throwing for over 300 yards and two TDs. 

Maybe Grossman vs. Kolb will be like Week One's Brees vs. Rodgers matchup. 

Maybe?  Okay, not quite.

This has the makings of a very good game itself.  Kolb is familiar with the Redskins from his time in Philadelphia.  Hightower might be able to give the 'Skins some insight into the Cardinals tendencies on offense.

The problem for Arizona is that they just gave up over 400 yards passing to a rookie QB.  Rex Grossman might very well look like Brees or Rodgers versus that pass defense.

That's why I'm taking the Redskins in this one.  Kolb will have a tougher time against the Redskins defense than Grossman will against the Cardinals defense.

St. Louis at NY Giants

The above picture of Danny Amendola pretty much describes how Week One went for the Rams.  They lost much more than just the game versus Philadelphia.

The Rams had injuries to Steven Jackson, Jason Smith, Sam Bradford and Danny Amendola.  Those are the four most important players on their offense.

Luckily, it appears Bradford will be back in time for Week Two. Amendola, though, is likely out for the year and it appears Jackson will miss this week's game.  Looks like they dodged a bullet on Smith's injury as well.

Meanwhile, the Giants looked terrible in a loss to their division rival Redskins.  New York has also suffered more than their share of injuries during the preseason.

Maybe the American Red Cross should sponsor this game.

Since neither team was too impressive in Week One, I'll have to take the home team here and go with the Giants.

Green Bay at Carolina

Cam Newton was very impressive in his Week One opener with the Panthers.The rookie QB completed 24 out of 37 passes for 422 yards, two TDs and one interception.

Not bad for a first career start.

The Panthers have made some pretty good moves this offseason by retaining several of their own free agents.  If Newton continues on what he showed in the opener, they may have just found themselves one heck of a QB for the future.

But for the present, they are getting ready to face the defending Super Bowl champions.  The Packers are just too good right now for Carolina to even think about winning this one.

Green Bay will win easily.

Dallas at San Francisco

In Week One, the Cowboys lost a game they probably should have won against the Jets.  However, Tony Romo sealed the loss with two costly turnovers in the second half. 

Romo fumbled inside the Jets five-yard line late in the third quarter, squelching a scoring opportunity.  He then threw an interception in the final minute when they were trying to tie the game and force overtime.

The 49ers won in dazzling fashion when Ted Ginn Jr. scored on two kick returns to seal the victory.  Unfortunately, that was the only good thing about the 49ers performance in Week One.

Alex Smith and Frank Gore turned in pedestrian performances against an average Seahawks team.  I believe Jim Harbaugh will get that team going in the right direction and will play Dallas tough this week.

The Cowboys have much more talent on both sides of the ball right now and will get their first win this week.

Philadelphia at Atlanta

In this week's Sunday Night matchup, Michael Vick makes his return to Atlanta for the first time as a starting QB.  This is another candidate for Week Two's game of the week.

The Eagles started off the season beating an average and injury-ravaged Rams team, 31-13.  The score indicates the Eagles handled them rather easily but make no mistake, there were some deficiencies for Philadelphia.

The Atlanta Falcons threw all of their chips on the 2011 table when they made a huge trade with Cleveland in April's draft to move up and select WR Julio Jones.

Unfortunately for them, they started the season on a serious down-note by being dominated by the Chicago Bears.  The lopsided loss was perhaps the most surprising score of Week One outside of Baltimore/Pittsburgh.

The Eagles and Falcons are pretty evenly matched teams. 

The Falcons will be motivated to prove they belong in the upper-echelon of the NFC.  The Eagles will be looking forward to a good test against a good team so they can see where they truly are at this point.

This game will be decided by one score.  How would Atlanta fans feel if Michael Vick led the Eagles down for a last minute drive to win the game?

The Eagles will win the battle of the birds.

San Diego at New England

Tom Brady threw for an amazing 517 yards and four TDs in their Week One win against Miami.  Just another day at the office for Tom Terrific.

The Patriots are perennial contenders and always a tough team to play against.

The Chargers and Patriots have faced each other four times in the past four years, including once in the playoffs.  Every time Brady was at QB, the Patriots won.  Matt Cassel started in the only Pats loss.

Last season, these two teams played a close game that was decided by a field goal.  I can foresee a similar game this week.

We're going to see another awesome display of aerial assaults between Brady and Philip Rivers.  Although this is another one of those west-to-east coasts travel games, I think the Chargers will fare better since it's a 4:15pm EST game.

Here is my upset special for the week: Chargers by a field goal (but who will kick it?).

Houston at Miami

Houston started out their season in grand fashion by destroying a Manning-less Colts team, 34-7.  They seem finally ready to seize a golden opportunity to win the AFC South.

With the likes Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Mario Williams, the Texans might make some noise in the playoffs this year.

Even though the Dolphins lost to the Patriots in Week One, they have reasons to be optimistic.  Chad Henne, Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall all looked good in their season opener.

However, the Texans will continue their roll this week and hand the Dolphins their second loss.

Cincinnati at Denver

In what I thought was a mild surprise, the Bengals won their season-opener against Cleveland, 27-17.  Rookie QB Andy Dalton, the guy one scout said wouldn't be successful because he has red hair, looked good in his debut before leaving with a wrist injury.

Dalton and backup Bruce Gradkowski did just enough to help the team win, but the Bengals primarily won thanks to the running of Cedric Benson.

Denver fell just short on their comeback attempt against the Raiders in Week One.  New head coach John Fox loves to run the football but the Broncos struggled in that area against Oakland.  Therefore, Kyle Orton had to air it out a hefty 46 times on Monday night.

This is a game that won't make for many headlines but it should be a close contest.  However, the Broncos will get themselves on track at the expense of a young Bengals squad.