NFL Preview Week 2: 5 Biggest Questions Heading into the Season's 2nd Round

As fans around the country sat in anticipation, the NFL 2011-2012 season finally kicked off this past Thursday and the weekend's games did not disappoint.

The season started in Green Bay where the Packers and Saints kicked off the season with a high-flying, action-packed thriller that had both quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees combining for over 700 passing yards.

On Sunday, as the country paid tribute to those lives lost on September 11th 10 years ago, the rest of the NFL showed how sports play such a huge role in our everyday lives.

Sunday's games were filled with action as well as plenty of storylines.

The Buffalo Bills came into Kansas City and dominated the Chiefs in the clear pick for upset of the week.

Rookie quarterback Cam Newton played spectacular in his NFL debut (more on that in a bit) and showed he was well worth the risk as the first overall draft pick.

While Newton found success, the injury bug found the St. Louis Rams as three different offensive weapons were taken out of Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Running back Steven Jackson left with a quad strain, quarterback Sam Bradford left with a bruised finger, and wide receiver Danny Amendola left after dislocating his shoulder.

We also saw plenty of the same faces in new places including Matt Hasselback in Tennessee, Donovan McNabb in Minnesota, and the most talked about free agent this offseason, Nnamdi Asomugha, debut in Philadelphia.

With the 2011-2012 NFL season finally underway, the next five months of the season will have plenty of excitement.

So let's take a look at the top questions leading into next week's action.

1) Can the Buffalo Bills Contend for the Playoffs?

The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the surprise teams last season. After an awful 4-12 season in 2009-2010, there was not much hope for the Chiefs in 2011.

However, the Chiefs rebounded and won their first AFC West title since 2003, making the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

The Chiefs were finally on the rise as a team to reckon with in the AFC.

The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, were a team that continued to struggle last season, finishing 4-12 and adding yet another losing season to the board.

The Bills have not had a winning season in seven years and when these two teams heading in opposite directions met in Week 1, many assumed that the Chiefs would dominate.

However, the exact opposite happened as the Bills handed the Chiefs their worst opening loss in team history with a 41-7 final, their worst home loss in 35 years.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes and is making a good case for himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Meanwhile, running back Fred Jackson ran for 112 yards on 20 carries and helped the Bills move the ball easily down the field.

I know this is only Week 1, but this is a completely different Bills team than we have seen in the past and it makes me wonder if the Bills are finally ready to compete again in the AFC East.

It will be a tough task to accomplish as they are in one of the toughest divisions in the conference, as well as the league, as they match up against the powerhouse New England Patriots and New York Jets, and the always competitive Miami Dolphins.

If the Bills can go out and put another great performance together against the Oakland Raiders in Week 2, the Bills could find themselves in playoff contention discussions.

2) Is Steven Jackson's Body Forcing Him into an Early Retirement?

Running backs that would rather use their size and muscle over their speed, like St. Louis Rams Steven Jackson, tend to have very short careers as that bruiser mentality takes a toll on a person's body.

Jackson, 28, now has seven NFL seasons under his belt and has had to deal with several different injuries over his career, including quad, hamstring and groin injuries.

Jackson had assured everyone that he still was 100 percent healthy and he proved it on his first run against the Philadelphia Eagles, going for a 47-yard touchdown run.

However, in his last few strides on his way to the end zone, it seemed that Jackson slowed and it looked as if something was holding him back.

What was holding him back was a strained right quad that after one more run, took Jackson out for the rest of the game and possibly next week's matchup against the New York Giants.

The weird thing about the injury is that no Eagle defenders were around Jackson when the injury occurred.

Could Jackson's body finally be catching up to all of the bumps and bruises he has taken as he barrelled over opponents?

No one knows as of yet as Jackson is only set to miss one game, but if he continues to have frequent stops on the injured reserve list, it may be a sign that his best days are behind him and his days could be numbered as an elite running back.

3) Are the Steelers No Longer the Dominate Team in the AFC?

When AFC North division's elite in the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers get together, fireworks are always guaranteed.

The NFL was not going to wait long before they gave fans their first dose of this rivalry and scheduled the two to meet in Week 1.

In the past, these two lined up so well against each other that almost every game was close, including their several playoff matchups against each other.

However, the Ravens have lately found themselves on the wrong end of this matchup when it comes to the postseason, including last season, as they have not been able to make it back to the Super Bowl since their victory in 2000 over the New York Giants.

That Super Bowl drought could soon come to an end as the Ravens dominated the AFC's Super Bowl representative last Sunday, winning 35-7.

It did not take the Ravens long to get that bad taste out of their mouth from their playoff defeat last January, as they manhandled Pittsburgh, forcing seven turnovers, including three interceptions against quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who before this game, had won seven straight starts against Baltimore.

At halftime, the Steelers were still very much in the game, only down 21-7 and turned the ball over only once. But, in the second half they fell apart with their six turnovers.

Baltimore's Ray Rice ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

Even though this is just one game, I am pretty sure that the Ravens have not dominated the Steelers like they did in this game for quite some time, if ever.

The Ravens could soon become the elite team in the AFC, but expect fireworks yet again when the two meet in Pittsburgh later in the year.

4) Is Cam Newton for Real or Is the Rookie a One-Hit Wonder?

Although the Carolina Panthers could not come out of Arizona with a Week 1 win, there were plenty of positives that came out of the game, including rookie quarterback Cam Newton.

No rookie had more pressure on him to impress this season than Newton and he did not disappoint, setting a rookie record for yards in an opener, passing for 422 yards.

The Heisman Trophy winner became the first NFL rookie to throw for at least 400 yards in his debut.

The only bad thing about Newton putting up such spectacular numbers in his first game in the NFL is that the expectations will be even higher come next week.

This slide is in no way saying that if Newton cannot put up 400 yards passing a game he will be considered a one-hit wonder.

But, after such a stellar performance, he is quickly becoming a leader on the Panthers' offense and will be depended on by his teammates when the game is on the line.

If he can continue to put up good numbers week in and week out, the Panthers could soon become a factor in the AFC South, something they have not been able to do in the past few seasons.

Newton will have his work cut out for him in Week 2 when the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers come to Carolina to take part in the Auburn Tiger's home debut.

If Newton can lead the Panthers to an upset victory over the Packers, the rookie of the year award could have a favorite early on.

Newton went 24 for 37 and threw for two touchdowns, as well as ran for one late in the third quarter.

5) Can Indianapolis Colts Get It Together without Peyton Manning?

When Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was going through rehab after offseason neck surgery, it was only assumed that he would miss one or two games.

However, last week, it was reported that Manning required a second surgery that would keep the elite QB out of the Colts lineup indefinitely.

As shown in the preseason, the Colts backup quarterbacks, Curtis Painter and Nate Davis, were not ready to take over as the starting quarterback and the team knew it.

So to try and fill the void left by Manning, the team lured quarterback Kerry Collins out of retirement and into the starting lineup for their first matchup against the Houston Texans.

Even without star running back Arian Foster in the lineup, the Texans were still able to cruise to a 34-7 victory.

Collins struggled in the little time he had to learn the team's offense, as he fumbled the ball on consecutive snaps that would set up touchdowns for Houston early on in the game and sacked the 38-year-old.

With how the Colts looked without Manning compared to how they look with Manning under center shows how much of an impact the 14-year veteran makes when he is on the field.

If Collins cannot turn it around next week against the Cleveland Browns, the Colts may be looking for another solution until Manning is ready to return.

One big reason he struggled so much against the Texans was the fact that he only had a few days to learn a brand new offense. With more time between games to work on plays, Collins' play could improve over time.

However, Manning was so successful with the Colts offense because of his ability to see the defense and call the appropriate audible almost every time. Collins is not that type of quarterback and could falter in the Colts' system

Depending on how long Manning is out (there is no timetable for his return) this could be a very very long season for the Colts.