SneakerReporter NFL Week 2: Preview And Predictions
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Atlanta Falcons vs Green Bay Packers
The Jordan Love era began with a win against the Bears as he passed for three touchdowns for 245 yards on 15/27 passing. Rookie running back Bijon Robinson went for a total of 83 yards and one receiving touchdown to get his NFL career started.
Green Bay is wanting to try and stay relevant in the NFC north this year without Aaron Rodgers, and Jordan Love looked brilliant in his first game this season. The big question going into this matchup will be how is Aaron Jones doing with the apparent hamstring injury he suffered in the week one win.
The Falcons offense looked strong against a very young Panthers team. Jessie Bates debut made huge plays in having two interceptions. Desmond Ridder passed for only 115 yards but on a very efficient 15/18 passing, as he
came out and stated he isn’t interested in individual stats that he rather get the win.
Score Predictions Falcons 23 – Packers 20
Buffalo Bills vs Las Vegas Raiders
Josh Allen had a sloppy first game of the season with a loss that ended by a punt return touchdown in overtime. Jimmy Garoppolo played well in his Raiders debut throwing for 200 yards on 20/26 passing with one interception. Get ready to expect a bounce back by Josh Allen and the Bills this weekend.
Josh Allen had four turnovers Monday night and lost to the Jets. The Bills offense will need to wake up the weekend to avoid a 0-2 start to the year. Allen will need to play smarter and have better decision making this week against a strong defense this weekend.
The Raiders defense will need to come out strong and try and get multiple takeaways to keep them in this game. If Josh Jacobs could get going early they could keep this game close, if not then this may be a long day for the Raiders.
Score Prediction Bills 31 – Raiders 20
Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens
This matchup of two teams that had slow starts to the season where Joe Burrow passed for 82 yards on 14/31 passing. Lamar Jackson didn’t nearly play any better but was accountable for 207 total yards but had no touchdowns.
Joe Burrow will need to come out this week and get the passing game going early to open up the run game against the Ravens.
Ja’Marr Chase only had 41 total yards isn’t going to help your team stay in a game as the Bengals were blown out by the Browns in a game where Joe Burrow got benched, but
who is to know other than Joe Burrow how healthy he is while recovering from a calf injury.
Lamar will have to take over this weekend where we saw J.K. Dobbins who goes down with yet another season ending injury. They did find something special in Zay Flowers who was explosive with the ball in his hands. Look for Lamar to get going early on the ground and through the air this week.
Score Prediction Bengals 13 – Ravens 23
Detroit Lions vs Seattle Seahawks
Detroit started the season stunning the defending champs in week one, while the Seahawks could get things going in their week one loss to the Rams. Geno Smith was trying to pick up where he left off last season as the winner of the comeback player of the year award but only threw for 112 yards on 16/26 passing. While Jared Goff was able to do just enough to sneak away with the win against the Chiefs.
The Lions were so high on first round draft pick Jahmry Gibbs but had a limited role in the week one win, where the Lions needed a running back that could get through tackles rather than bounce to the outside where Gibbs is explosive. The Lions defense was good enough to beat a Travis Kelceless Chiefs team.
Seattle will have to get over the let down of a week one performance they had as a total team last week. DK Metcalf lost his cool multiple times last week being the only player to score a touchdown last week on 3 receptions for 47 yards last week. Seattle will need to find their signature 12th man that will step up and make a difference this week or this game could get out of hand.
Score Prediction Lions 27 – Seahawks 13
Tennessee Titans vs Los Angeles Chargers
Austin Ekeler proved why he is worth every penny of a new contract that he is due for in the week one loss to the Dolphins as he had a total of 164 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback concerns are the big question in Tennessee with Tannehill poor play in week one.
Justin Herbert threw for 229 yards on 23/33 passing against the Dolphins in a game where it was full of fireworks. Ekeler was shining in the game where he did a bit of it all. The Chargers had two takeaways against the Dolphins Sunday and going up against a team that gives the ball away often will show the strength this season.
When will the Titans make the Qb switch that is finally needed, Tannehill hasn’t been the answer for them the past couple of years but
haven’t had the best luck with picking a Qb to take over the team. The Titans will be trying to discover themselves this week and won’t have much success against the Chargers defense.
Score Prediction Titans 10 – Chargers 38
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs stunned the Vikings last week in an exciting game, while the Bears struggled to get going against the Packers. Tampa Bay’s defense looked like the aggressive defense that we’ve come to know these past few years against the Vikings with three takeaways including a huge interception late in the second quarter in the red zone.
Baker looked like the number one pick that we expected to see coming out of Oklahoma, he threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 21/34 passing. The defense will have to be on their toes this week against Justin Fields who can be elusive with the run game. The deep ball was the only problem that the Bucs
defense struggled as Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson exploited that weakness.
The Bears will need more out of the receiving game, as multiple times you could see the frustration and poor play by them in week one.
Justin Fields has to be better with the ball in this matchup as he fumbled and threw an interception in week one loss, while throwing for 216 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 59 yards.
Score Prediction Buccaneers 20 – bears 13
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs
Rematch of a dramatic AFC divisional playoff game that may have been the start of a young rival between these two teams. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs didn’t have playmaker Travis Kelce in week one loss to the Lions or star defensive tackle Chris Jones.
These two teams can put up points in a blink of an eye so get your popcorn ready for a great game.
Jacksonville got star receiver Calvin Ridley back in week one and he made his presence known quickly with 8 receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. Trevor Lawrence passed for 241 yards on 24/32 with two touchdowns and one interception. The defense had three takeaways last week but will have their hands full with Mahomes having Kelce back this week.
Mahomes will be thankful to have Kelce back this week as last week passes were going to receivers hands. Not only will Kelce being back be huge but Chris Jones ended his contract holdout after week one loss to come
back and help be the veteran player on the defensive side of the ball that is needed for the Chiefs defense to be successful.
Score Prediction Jaguars 38 – Chiefs 27
Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts
A battle between two top 10 picks in this past draft, both rookie’s looked good in their week one games. Two teams that are still in the early stages of a rebuild so look for these two teams to get their young QB’s a lot of play and allow for each of them to make plays and have mistakes to grow from.
Anthony Richardson threw 24/37 for 223 yards and one touchdown and one interception with 40 yards and one touchdown on the ground to get his NFL career started, while the Colts are still trying to figure out what Jonathan Taylor is going to be doing this season the leaned on their backup running backs to try and get the run game going but only tallied 65 yards on the ground all game. Look for C.J. to get his first NFL career touchdown this week.
C.J. Stroud didn’t pass or rush for a touchdown but had 262 yards of total offense with one fumble, but took 5 sacks for a loss of 46 yards. If the offensive line can hold up this young QB could find success quickly.
Score Prediction Texans 17 – Colts 13
Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers
These two teams started off strong in week one blowouts against young teams. Brock Purdy showed that he was needed in the NFC championship that he got injured in last year.
Matthew Stafford came back after a season ending injury last year and played well in the win in week one. Both teams’ defenses were dominant last week. While the Rams were missing their star receiver
Cooper Kupp.
The Rams came out in week one and diced up the Seahawks defense as Stafford threw for 334 yards on 24/38 passing, while the running attack is where they put up all their touchdowns last week.
While Kupp was out, Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell combined for 238 yards of offense.
Brock Purdy kept his hot playing that he had to end the season last year by throwing for 220 yards on 19/29 passing. Star running back McCaffrey rushed for 152 yards on 22 carrieds and one touchdown, and Brandon Aiyuk caught 8 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The 49ers defense had two takeaways against a young Steelers last week in their statement win.
Score Prediction Rams 17 – 49ers 31
Arizona Cardinals vs New York Giants
Another matchup of two teams that struggled to anything going as the Cardinals and Giants offenses did the bare minimum.
The Giants were blown out 40-0 by the Cowboys last week and the Cardinals lost 20-16 to Washington but only a touchdown came from a fumble recovery.
The Cardinals are in the early rebuild stages so expect a repeat of last week’s game as they continue to wait for Kyler Murray to come back from an acl injury that he suffered last year.
This season in NFC will be competitive and will be a long year for the Cardinals as their team is depleted.
The Giants will bounce back against a broken down team as the Cardinals are just trying to survive until next year to try and make some noise again in the NFC, Daniel Jones was paid a nice new contract last year but to only
pass for 104 yards on 15/28 passing and rushing for 43 yards and two picks and two fumbles. A team that has offensive vocal points has been the dynamic duo between Jones and Barkley should be used a lot this weekend to get back into groove and try and establish the run game this weekend.
Score Prediction Cardinals 10 – Giants 28
Dallas Cowboys vs New York Jets
Just like that Aaron Rodgers first season in New York came to an end as he tore his achilles on the first drive of the game last week, so the Jets will look to Zach Wilson to lead the team. Dallas made easy work of the Giants last week, in a game where the defense had two touchdowns.
Dak will look to get the offense rolling this weekend after passing for 143 yards on 13/24 passing last week. Tony Pollard RB1 season is here as he made sure the league was put on notice as he had 70 yards for two touchdowns on 14 carries. The big story for the Cowboy’s this past weekend was their defense and special teams. Dallas’s defense had three takeaways against the Giants and had 28 points off turnovers.
Aaron played 4 snaps before a devastating injury that will put the rest of his career up in the air. The Jets snuck away with a win off a walk off punt return for a touchdown against the Bills on Monday night football last week.
Breece Hall came back from a season ending injury and rushed for 127 yards on 10 carries. Garrett Wilson showed his catching skills with an acrobatic touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Score Prediction Cowboys 27 – Jets 17
Denver Broncos vs Washington Commanders
Sean Payton started his Denver Broncos head coaching career with a one point loss to the Raiders, while the Commanders
started the season with a win against the rebuilding Cardinals.
Russell Wilson had a head scratching start to his Broncos career last year but started this season with 177 yards on 27/34 passing with two touchdowns.
The Broncos one point loss came to the hands of the kicker missing the extra point in the first quarter. Javonte Williams came back from 52 yards, while Denver was without Jerry Jeudy who suffered an injury this preseason.
Washington won a close game against the Cardinals last week where Sam Howell threw for 202 yards on 19/31 passing with one touchdown and one interception, and one rushing touchdown. The offense gave up the ball three times which will need to be cleaned up this week against a good young defense.
The Commanders will need to try and get Brian Robinson Jr going early in the game to try and open up the passing game for the offense. The offense line will need to get their act together to protect Sam Howell and lead the way for Brian Robinson Jr.
Score Prediction Denver 20 – Commanders 17