The first game of the doubleheader features the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills on ESPN. The Titans were upset in week one by the Giants team. No one expected the Titans to lose in the season opener so now 0-1 they face the Bills who dominated their season opener against the defending champs LA Rams.
Titans had a rough showing against the Giants in the opener starting with the defense. They gave up 194 all-purpose yards to Saquon Barkley and allowed him to score a touchdown. And Daniel Jones threw for 2 touchdowns on the Titan’s defense but the worst part of that game was allowing the Giants to come back from 13 and lose the game. There wasn’t much from their offense as you would expect with Derrick Henry rushing for 82 yards but no touchdowns and Ryan Tannehill throwing for 2 but wasn’t enough to secure the win. The big question going into Monday night’s game is can the Titan’s defense show up and make stops when needed? Facing the Bills Monday it’s not going to get any better for their defense.
That spells trouble for the Titan’s defense facing the Bills who scored 31 on the defending champs as Josh Allen threw for 3 touchdowns and rushed for 1 and cruised to victory. A big game from Stephon Diggs with 8 receptions and 122 yards and 1 touchdown. The bills looked like the champs in week one dominating the Rams on both sides of the ball. The Bill’s defense made a huge impact on the victory as they were able to apply pressure the majority of the game and sack the quarterback 7 times and record 3 interceptions. It’s easy to say the Bills are looking like the heavy favorite this season and showed it in week one and will continue to show in week two dominating the Titans and starting season 2-0
There is so much to discuss about Sunday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. Let’s start with the QB matchup between an all-time great Aaron Rodgers who is locked in the hall of fame up against Justin Fields who is part of the future QBs in the league in the years to come. Also, this matchup features an ongoing rivalry that started back in 1921. A lot of history between the two teams as both teams have combined for 22 NFL Championships (including 5 Super Bowls) and produced 48 Pro Football Hall of Famers. It’s been a great rivalry in the past but lately, it hasn’t been much of a rivalry as Aaron Rodgers has dominated the Bears since entering the league with a 21-6 record since 2005, and recently Rodgers has won 9 of the last 10 meetings between the NFC North Rivals.
Bears coming off a win at home against the San Francisco 49ers. Justin Fields looks good in the season opener despite only throwing 17 passes in the game. He completed 8 passes and two were for touchdowns. Not much from the rest of the offense to really excite you going into Sunday night as the running game only has 99 yards overall with one touchdown. If the Niners want to win against the Packers Justin Fields and the rest of the offense will have to ramp up their game and put more points on the board. The Bear’s defense was able to hold the Niners only to 10 points in the win but was only able to get 2 sacks and 1 interception with very little pressure on the QB. Chicago Bears need to be on another level Sunday night to show the rest of the league that they can compete with anyone, especially Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Despite losing in week one after a bad showing Green Bay is expected to win this matchup. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t at his best against the Vikings throwing 22-34 for 195 yards and no touchdowns. Not your typical Rodgers performance but not something that you will see back-to-back weeks. Packer’s offensive line couldn’t protect Rodgers allowing 4 sacks an area that will need improvement if Aaron Rodgers wants to get the offense going. The Packers defense didn’t produce much on their end only getting one sack and allowing 23 points.
There isn’t much to say about the Packers right now as they have many areas that need improvement to be a winning team as we are used to seeing. An NFC North rivalry matchup against the Bears may be what the Packers need to light a fire in the team and perform better than what we saw in the season opener. As for the Bears this game not only would they start the season 2-0 but it would also show that the Bears are heading in the right direction for the future with Justin Fields leading the way as the franchise quarterback. A win for the Bears could be the start of a new win streak versus the Packers and possibly Aaron Rodgers is just not the same guy we are used to seeing or maybe the Packers aren’t the same anymore. Only time will tell but the Sunday Nights game will give us a view of what is to come for both franchises.
Prediction: The Green Bay Packers will win this game 24 – 14
New York Jets go into FirstEnergy Stadium after a tough loss to the Raven in week one. Not how the Jets fans wanted to start the season but without Zach Wilson. The starting job at quarterback will continue to be Joe Flacco’s in week two against the Cleveland Browns who are coming off a win against former quarterback Baker Mayfield. The browns are feeling good after their win and should have great momentum against the Jets. The Browns defense will dominate the majority of the game and help the Cleveland Browns start the season 2- 0 as they should cruise through this week 2 matchup. Expect both running backs, Chubb & Hunt, to eat all game long in this one as well.
Score Prediction: Browns 28 – Jets 10
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions
Carson Wentz and the Washington Commanders start off their first season together strong with a victory in week one over the Jaguars and now go into week 2 to face the Detroit Lions. Wentz had a good game to start the season throwing 313 yards on completing 27 of 41 attempts and 4 touchdowns so guess you can say it was a great start for him. On the other end, the Detroit Lions lost their season opener too in a high-scoring game against the Eagles to only lose by 3 points. Lions will look to build off that game and are favorites to win the week 2 matchup versus the Commander. Lion could be a team to watch as they have the potential to make some noise this year throughout the season. Look for St.Brown & Swift to make the proper plays to give the victory to the Lions in this nailbiter.
Score Prediction: Lions 31 – Commanders 28
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints
Big division matchup in week 2 and should be the game of the week between the Bucs and the Saints. The Saints led by Jameis Winston host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Saints won their week one game by a field goal at the end of the game but not sure that will be enough to beat the Bucs at home. Winston and the Saints defense will have to perform at their highest level to beat out the Bucs. Brady and the Bucs cruised in week one against the Cowboys and will look to do the same against the Saints but it’s never easy when it’s a divisional game between these two. The game is going to come down to whose defense will make that one stop to secure the win. Don’t expect a high-scoring game in this matchup. Look for the Saints to utilize Taysom Hill in this game as well because Alvin Kamara & Mark Ingram are coming in this game banged up.
Score Prediction: Saints 24 – Buccaneers 21
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
No one expected the Giants to win week one but after a big game from Saquon Barkley the Giants pulled off a week one upset against the Titans. Coming back after being down by 13 points the Giants secured the win with a touchdown pass from Daniel Jones. Barkley finished with 194 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in Giants win. After a performance like that you expect him to do the same against the Panthers so Carolina will have their hands full going up against the giants. But don’t think it will be easy as Baker Mayfield is coming off a loss versus his former team and a game, he wanted to win badly but didn’t get the job done as a team. Expect Baker to show up and be locked in against the Giants. If the Panther’s defense can keep Saquon Barkley under control, then they have a chance to beat the Giants.
Score Prediction: Giants 24 – Panthers 17
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
What momentum for the Steelers going into week 2 after beating the defending AFC Champs and division rival Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener? No one expected the Steelers to win, but they played hard and kept the game close to win it on a Boswell 53-yard field goal. Now the Steelers look to carry that momentum against the New England Patriots who are coming off a tough loss to the Dolphins. Mac Jones just didn’t look the same in the opener as he did last year. But can Bill Belichick and the Patriots bounce back against the Steelers and show they are better than what they showed in week one? Usually, Bill always finds a way to win so I would expect it to be a close game and a better performance from Mac Jones.
Score Prediction: Patriots 27 – Steelers 17
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
Another AFC South matchup between the Jags and Colts. Colts coming off a tie against the Texans and the Jags losing week one to the Commanders in a close game. The matchup between the veteran Matt Ryan and up-and-coming young star Trevor Lawrence. Matt Ryan looks to perform better in week 2 after his debut as a Colt didn’t go as expected in a game most picked for them to win. Jaguars’ offense looked solid with Lawrence under center with some help from running back James Robinson and receiver Christian Kirk, but the young team Jaguars couldn’t do enough to win the season opener but look to improve week by week and could show it in the matchup against the Colts.
Score Prediction: Jaguars 27 – Colts 23
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens
Ravens versus the Dolphins features two young stars in Tua Tagovailoa and Lamar Jackson. A matchup that can be high scoring and full of excitement as both quarterbacks have plenty of weapons to spread the ball around or make plays with their feet. Both teams are coming off impressive victories and this one is hard to really predict who will come out on top. It’s a game that will come down to the defense being able to make that one stop. Despite contract discussions between Ravens and Jackson or whether Tua is the guy for Miami both quarterbacks performed very well in season openers and would only expect them to get better through all the controversy or obstacles. It’s a must-watch game if available in your area. Grab your popcorn for this one.
Score Prediction: Miami 34 – Baltimore 31
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Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
The Rams look to bounce back after a bad start in the season opener as the defending champions. Matt Stafford and the Rams didn’t look very good in week one but don’t expect that to continue in the week 2 matchup against the Falcons who are also coming off a close loss. Aaron Donald and Ram’s defense will show why they are the defending champs and dominate this week’s matchup. The Falcons had a solid performance from Mariota and running back Cordarrelle Patterson but don’t think they will do enough to challenge the Champs.
Score Prediction: Rams 34 – Falcons 13
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
Seattle looked great in their home opener on Monday night football beating former QB Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos. Won a close game after a missed field goal by Denver in the last seconds of the game but were hit with a huge injury to Jamal Adams who is out for the remainder of the season. Despite that injury early in the game, Geno Smith has a great game throwing 2 touchdowns to help the Seahawks secure win but can he perform the same going up against the 49ers in San Francisco. A 49ers team who put the ball in Trey Lance’s hands to carry the team this season despite Jimmy G’s restructuring his contract to stay with the team this season. But after the week one performance from Trey Lance what is the right move to name him the starter and future of the franchise. The week 2 matchup will give fans another look at Trey Lance and see if he is the guy up against a tough Seahawks defense.
Score Prediction: Seahawks 24 – 49ers 10
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Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
AFC Champs Cincinnati Bengals are in Dallas this week going up against a Cowboys team that has been hit with a major blow after losing Dak Prescott in their season debut. Dak was taken out of their season opener in the 4th quarter after injuring their wrist which will sideline him for several weeks after having surgery on it. Going to be a tough year for the Cowboys without Dak and it’s not going to get better in week two going up against the Bengals. Joe Burrow and the Bengals look to bounce back in week two in a matchup that shouldn’t be much of a challenge and cruise the majority of the game. The Bengals will look the same as last year and dominate on both sides of the ball.
Score Prediction: Bengals 37 – Cowboys 13
Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders
In the week 2 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, the Las Vegas Raiders need to improve on the offense to get the first win of the season. Derek Carr threw for 2 touchdowns with 295 yards but ended with 3 interceptions against the Chargers. Can Carr keep the ball out of the Cardinal’s secondaries hands this week. If can cut back on the interceptions the Raiders have a great chance to win the game and not keep it close against a Cardinals team missing their top receiver DeAndre Hopkins for the majority of the season. Leaving Murray to carry the majority of the workload in the air or on the ground as the Cardinals lacked productivity from their running backs. Without any help from the rest of the Cardinal’s offense, it’s going to be a tough season for Kyler Murray to win games.
Score Prediction: Raiders 28 – Cardinals 13
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
Texans started their season in a tie in a game most expected them to lose but fought hard despite giving up a 20 to 3 lead. How do you bounce back from a tie in a game that should have been locked up going into the 4th quarter? Well going up against a Denver Broncos team led by Russell Wilson is not what the Texans want to see in week 2. A matchup the Broncos look to bounce back from loss and for the Texans a game that will show if they are better than last season or just as bad. Davis Mills has a solid game to start the season throwing 240 yards and 2 touchdowns in a game that should have been a win, but the Texans defense let him down. On the other end, Russell Wilson faced his former team in a revenge game and performed well throwing 340 yards with a touchdown but not enough to get a win against his former team. This game can only go two ways the Broncos blowing out the Texans or the Texans keeping the game close but not able to seal the victory.
We are in for a possible shootout in week two on Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime as the LA Chargers going into Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs. Week 2 Thursday night game is another challenging division game for the Chargers after facing the Raiders to open the season. It’s early into the season but it’s a game both teams want to win to start the season right in their division.
Chargers going into this game after a great win over a division rival and former LA team the Vegas Raiders. Justin Herbert had a great game against the Raiders throwing 26 for 34 and 3 touchdowns finishing with a QB rating of 129.4. Herbert was able to spread the ball around to his receivers including his top receiver Kennan Allen with 4 receptions and 66 yards, but his day was cut short due to a hamstring injury. Touchdowns were caught by Deandre Carter who finished with 3 catches, 64 yards, and 1TD. TE Gerald Everett also contributed 3 receptions for 54 yards and 1 TD reception. On the defensive side, that’s where Khalil Mack made his mark adding 3 sacks to his stat line and Joey Bosa contributing with 1.5 sacks. Overall, the Charger’s defense has a total of 6 sacks, and their secondary were ballhawks as they were able to get 3 interceptions against the Raiders. It was down to the wire as Charger’s defense made one final stop to win the game as Khalil Mack sacked Derek Carr on a 4th and 8 late in the fourth to help seal the win.
After their big win against the Raiders, the Chargers head into Arrowhead with great momentum but the big question for the chargers is will Keenan Allen be ready on a 3-day rest as he is dealing with a hamstring injury. Currently listed as questionable it would be safe to assume that it looks to be a possible game-time decision if he plays which will make a big impact on Charger’s offense. Without Allen, the Chargers offense will look for their run game to come alive after a slow start in week one. As they did in week 1 the receivers will have to elevate their game to fill the hole if Allen isn’t available to play. After what the Chiefs did in week one the Chargers are in for what could be their toughest matchup of the season.
The chiefs are coming off a huge win over the Arizona Cardinals. Kansas City dominated on both sides of the ball. Patrick Mahomes was at his best and looked like what we are used to seeing from him day in and day out. Mahomes was 30 for 39 with 360 yards and 5 touchdowns. Just tore apart the Cardinal’s defense spreading the ball around and hitting Travis Kelce for 8 receptions 121 yards and one touchdown. C. Edwards Helaire also scored two touchdowns coming out of the backfield on short passes from Patrick. Not a lot from the Chief’s defense but were able to keep Kyler Murray under control from getting his game going early. Only allowing 193 yards and 2 touchdowns before Murray sat down as the Cardinals fell behind and decided to rest him. Overall, the Kansas City Chiefs look like that same team from the 2019 Championship year.
Will the Chiefs repeat their performance from the season opener or will the Chargers have a better game plan to slow down such a high-powered offense? Chiefs are the favorite to win this game but with it being a divisional game don’t expect the Chargers to just lay down without a fight. Chiefs have won 3 of the last 5 meetings. It’s going to be a high-scoring game with both teams looking to take a solo lead in their tough division.
Prediction: The Chiefs will run away with this game early and finish with a final 35-14 win against the Chargers. Mahomes will spread the ball around easily and possibly imitate his week one performance. The chargers’ defense is very talented but going into the game with two corners is questionable so Chiefs receivers could have a big day and running backs out of the backfield. Can Herbert handle the pressure from the Chief’s defensive line and the pressure to beat the top team in the NFL after week one? The chargers will struggle on offense without Keenan Allen and will lead to an easy Chiefs victory.
Lately, the WWE women’s division hasn’t had much momentum before the resignation of Vince McMahon. From what seemed very limited superstars to challenge for the Raw or Smackdown Women’s title to the women’s tag team titles that we haven’t heard any news on since the walkout of Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving the belts vacant. With the new Triple H era underway what changes will be made for the division?
As of late, we have mostly seen the women’s raw title switch between a few superstars with little options of a new face to hold the title or challenge that would keep the WWE Universe entertained. The belt has only been held by Charlotte Flair 2x, Becky Lynch 1x, and Bianca Belair 1x all in the past year. Is it time for a new challenger for the Raw belt, someone who could start a great feud with Belair?
With a surprise return at Summerslam Bayley is back after a long-awaited return from injury. A new look and a new attitude to kick off the Triple H era. She was not alone and she was accompanied by Dakota Kai who was released in April and also by her side was Io Shirai. The return of Bayley is a big boost for the division as she is set to face off against Bianca Belair in a 3v3 tag team match at Clash at the Castle which includes Alexa Bliss, and Asuka in Bianca’s corner and Dakota Kai and Iyo sky in Bayley’s.
The new women’s Smackdown Champion Liv Morgan is a feel-good story and refreshing for WWE. Liv went into the Money in the Bank not expected to win but pulled off the victory in a match that included former champs Becky Lynch, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss. On that same night, Liv Morgan was successful cashing in her contract and defeating Ronda Rousey shortly after defeating Natalya to retain the title. The WWE Universe seems to enjoy Liv being the Smackdown Champion and she will be defending her title for the second time at Clash at the Castle against Shayna Baszler.
With all that being said the biggest question of the WWE Women’s division is what is going on with the Women’s Tag Titles? Recently held by Sasha Banks and Naomi after winning the titles at WrestleMania 38 defeating Natalya and Shayna Baszler. The two were looking to be one of the greatest teams to hold the belts and go on a long run but due to some differences with WWE creative team, the two walked out on a live event back in May resulting in a decision made for them to vacate the belts. No details on what exactly happened or what could have upset Sasha and Naomi to walk out on a live show.
Currently, WWE is in the middle of a Women’s Tag Team tournament to decide who will be the next tag champs. New faces in this tournament and after last night’s result on August 23rd during Raw it is very likely that the titles could be held by new faces as Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai move onto the finals and await their opponent between Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah versus the winner of fatal four-way.
Is there a lack of superstars when it comes to the women’s tag division? Seems as if there is a limited number of tag teams and teams that are just randomly put together just to make a match. And most of the teams to hold the titles just don’t last long as champions like the men’s division. Will there be a team in the future to make some noise in WWE? Will there be a team to make you say this team can be champs for a long time and entertain as they continue their reign as the Women’s Tag Team Champions? One of the biggest changes that are needed at the start of the Triple H era.
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(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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