This week does not have the best slate of NFL video games, however dont let the lackluster matchups belie its significance. There is a big distinction in between a 1-1 start and an 0-2 start. Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, teams that start a season 0-2 make the playoffs simply 12 percent of the time, and the variety of 0-2 teams that went on to win the Super Bowl (3) is nearly the like the number of 0-2 groups that went on to finish 0-16 (two). Of course, that historical precedent is not completely appropriate now that the NFL has included two extra playoff spots this season (dont fret if you forgot that– we keep forgetting, too). Even with 14 franchises making the postseason, teams that begin 0-2 are at a big disadvantage. The football may look ugly, but the losses and wins count the very same in September as December. Lets look at the matches, starting with our video game of the week.
Sunday Night Football
Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
The Bucs require to play better today, and thankfully theyre up against a far worse challenger. Carolina lost practically every essential protective contributor this offseason, including all-time terrific linebacker Luke Kuechly, and this group now has among the youngest units in the league. (This spring, the Panthers became the very first group in history to spend all of their draft badgers protective gamers.) Bucs receiver Chris Godwin might miss the video game with a concussion, but Mike Evans has recuperated from his hamstring injury and will play much better without being covered by Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Tampa Bay going from the Saints in Week 1 to the Panthers in Week 2 resembles taking a doughnut off a baseball bat. Do not be surprised if the Bucs look impressive.
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) @ Tennessee Titans (1-0).
While New England may look to pass more this week, the Seahawks will probably do the opposite. Russell Wilson wrecked the Falcons for 322 lawns, four touchdowns, and 15 first downs last week in a 38-25 win, and Seahawks fans were satisfied that Wilson lastly threw the ball early. Incredibly, none of Russell Wilsons 35 throws versus Atlanta last week had a protector within 1 yard of the receiver, according to NFLs Next Gen Stats.
Patrick Mahomess profession record in September: 8 wins, absolutely no losses, 26 goals, absolutely no interceptions. The Chiefs looked dominant in their win over Houston in the season opener, and now Kansas City has had 10 days to get ready for a Chargers team that required a number of big breaks to beat the Bengals. This will be a sad method for the Chargers to make their “home” launching in SoFi Stadium, however a minimum of theyre accustomed to not playing in front of fans.
” Welcome to the Death Star, where our opponents dreams come to pass away.” That is how Raiders owner Mark Davis presented the groups new $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last month. A reporter later reminded Davis that the Death Star was defeated in incredible style– twice. “That was their Death Star,” Davis said. “Not ours. Ours was constructed to sustain.”.
New England Patriots (1-0) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-0).
Arizona beat the 49ers 24-20 last week and now basically gets a rematch. Like the 49ers, Washington recently used the no. 2 pick in the draft on an Ohio State protective end (Chase Young for Washington, Nick Bosa for the 49ers) who has revitalized a protective line that includes five (!) first-round choices. Washingtons front four is ludicrous, and Arizonas offending line is below average, which can tilt a video game. To win, Washington will require to include Kyler Murrays rushing. He gashed the 49ers on the ground recently, running 13 times for 91 yards, one touchdown, and 4 first downs. Itll be 2-0 and stay in very first location in the NFC East if Washington can somehow keep Murray in check and cover DeAndre Hopkins. Wait, what?
Americas record media polarization has actually now extended to Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Individuals can view the exact same Allen efficiency and come away with 2 wildly different interpretations of what they saw. In Buffalos 27-17 win versus the Jets last week, Allen threw for a career-high 312 yards with two passing touchdowns and a 72 percent completion portion. It was easily the finest passing efficiency of his career. But Allen likewise killed two scoring drives with fumble losses that were borderline efficiency art, and he missed a wide-open receiver on what might decrease as the worst pass of the year.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Titans -11 Over/under: 42.5 Over/under individuals who do not root for these teams but will enjoy this whole video game: 42.5.
Detroit Lions (0-1) @ Green Bay Packers (1-0).
The Patriots played the Dolphins last week and now get the Seahawks, which is like when Alabama schedules a season opener against Montana State and then plays Georgia the week after. Patriots quarterback Cam Newton looked excellent tossing the ball last week versus Montana State– or, uh, Miami– but the most significant offensive change was Newtons impact as a runner: He ran 15 times for 75 backyards, eight very first downs, and two goals in New Englands 21-11 win. Newton has actually suffered various injuries in the previous couple of years, and the effect from getting taken on as many times as he did on Sunday might not be sustainable for 16 video games.
Time: 4:25 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Ravens -6 Over/under: 54.5.
Photo by James Leynse/Corbis through Getty Images.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Bills -3 Over/under: 43.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Cowboys -7.5 Over/under: 50.
The Saints, on the other hand, do not draw, though they are less interesting without receiver Michael Thomas, who could miss up to a month with a high ankle sprain. That does not imply the Saints offense will have a bad day. The Raiders tape-recorded just five pressures versus Carolinas bad offending line recently, so while Drew Brees wont have Thomas, he will have lots of time in the pocket to find somebody else. Yet the Raiders cant overcommit to safeguarding the pass due to the fact that of how good Alvin Kamara is at running back. Just Like Luke Skywalker, Kamara requires just a tiny hole to beat the Death Star.
New Orleans Saints (1-0) @ Las Vegas Raiders (1-0).
Denver Broncos (0-1) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0).
At the end of the 2017 season, Wentz watched from the sideline as Nick Foles won the highest-scoring Super Bowl ever. Both had frustrating projects last season, but now Goff is the third-highest-paid player by wage cap while Eagles fans are whispering among themselves about whether Wentz is The Guy.
The winner of this video game will have the sole lead in the AFC South. It will not be extremely stunning if that team is the Titans, as they made last seasons AFC championship, however the Jaguars were the preseason favorites to have the leagues worst record. Delving into playoff position in Week 2 would be the greatest surprise of the season so far, and if Jacksonville wins, expect every father in America to say, “You know that Gardner Minshew kid is respectable,” come Monday.
Time: 8:15 p.m. ETChannel: ESPNOpening point spread: Saints -5 Over/under: 51.
Las Vegas is known for lots of things, but sustainability is not one of them. Not to point out the most essential detail of all: Allegiant Stadium does not look like the Death Star. It appears like a Roomba.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Rams -1.5 Over/under: 46.
This offseason, New York brought the unknown Joe Judge in as head coach and the all-too-familiar Jason Garrett in as offensive coordinator in an effort to stop the group from sucking, however the experiment didnt go well in Week 1. Running back Saquon Barkley had unfavorable hurrying lawns at halftime of the groups Monday Night Football loss to the Steelers.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Packers -6.5 Over/under: 46.
Lets attempt this once again. The Bucs were easily beaten by the Saints in a 34-23 knocking last week, and head coach Bruce Arians publicly ripped into Tom Brady after the video game, blaming him for both of his interceptions. That gave the impression that Tompa Bay was unraveling (although Arians walked back his comment a bit later on in the week), but when Brady was in New England, Bill Belichick would rip into him all the time. He just never ever did it in public. “If you werent so worried about you and Giseles next GQ magazine, maybe, just maybe, you would not have thrown that interception,” Belichick once informed Brady in a meeting, according to former tight end Heath Evans. This sought a video game the Patriots won by numerous touchdowns in 2007. You understand, when they went undefeated in the regular season. It was a ridiculous time for Belichick to be so severe, however thats the point: Holding the best quarterback of all time to a high standard forces everybody on the team to accept that standard. The difference between Belichicks and Arianss approaches is that Arians is doing this in public.
Atlanta Falcons (0-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (0-1).
Aaron Rodgers damaged the Vikings like a displeased Nordic God recently, and a victory versus Detroit on Sunday would give the Packers a 2-0 start and two wins in the NFC North. Rodgers looked like a vintage version of himself against Minnesota, and now he is meeting a Lions team whose defense simply blew a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter to Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears. Detroit will need to push Rodgers to avoid him from carving up its secondary the method he carved up Minnesotas.
Time: 4:25 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Chiefs -5.5 Over/under: 51.5.
Time: 4:05 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Cardinals -7 Over/under: 45.5.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Bucs -9 Over/under: 48.5.
Los Angeles Rams (1-0) @ Philadelphia Eagles (0-1).
These teams both see themselves as Super Bowl competitors, but they both looked more than a little rusty in Week 1. The Vikings could not get any pressure on Rodgers, and he and Davante Adams carved up Minnesotas young cornerbacks. New Vikings protective end Yannick Ngakoue will have to play far much better while star protective end Danielle Hunter is out with a neck injury, and Minnesota might have to blitz the Colts into submission to prevent starting 0-2.
San Francisco 49ers (0-1) @ New York Jets (0-1).
Dont let the cool quarterback matchup of Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson distract you from the fact that the Ravens beat the Texans 41-7 in 2015 (perhaps the current point spread of Ravens -7 was just a copy-and-paste mistake of “41-7”). Jackson and Watson are two of the most interesting quarterbacks in the NFL, but Baltimore built an empire around Lamar Jackson. The Texans traded away DeAndre Hopkins.
Carolina Panthers (0-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1).
Washington Football Team (1-0) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-0).
Those teams sent away a combined 10 draft choices in the first three rounds to make those deals. In that very first season, it looked like Philadelphia had actually struck gold while L.A. had struck a fault line.
San Francisco is flying to the East Coast for an early game, and this group is currently banged up at broad receiver and at cornerback, including a calf injury to Richard Sherman that will keep him out a minimum of a couple of weeks and a knee sprain that tight end George Kittle will try to play through. But the biggest issue is Jimmy Garoppolo. The Niners made it to the Super Bowl almost in spite of their QB last season, and he played inadequately in the teams Week 1 loss to Arizona. Garoppolo has actually failed to raise his team in the past, and now that there are injuries to the surrounding cast, his battles show up again. The 49ers require to be able to control this Jets group that missed out on a league-high 21 takes on recently. If San Francisco cant cover this spread, it might be since the group is spread too thin– or due to the fact that Garoppolo leans excessive on his colleagues to win.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: Colts -3.5 Over/under: 47.
Its perfect since the Raiders are the NFLs Roomba: They move all the time and constantly suck.
Monday Night Football.
Buffalo Bills (1-0) @ Miami Dolphins (0-1).
New York City Giants (0-1) @ Chicago Bears (1-0).
The Giants have the worst record in the NFL through the past three full seasons, and that stretch includes the Browns 0-16 project in 2017. Its time to call the Giants what they are: the worst team in football.
Mitchell Trubisky played 3 horrible quarters of football against Detroit last week but saved himself with a 17-point fourth-quarter resurgence. Theres an excellent possibility he may waltz into a 2-0 start here and even more strengthen his job security, which is the football equivalent of winning the fight and losing the war.
Minnesota Vikings (0-1) @ Indianapolis Colts (0-1).
Have you ever seen a video of a python eating a deer? That is this game. The Steelers will squeeze the life out of the Broncos, however it will take a long period of time and it will not be fun to enjoy.
The 49ers are attempting to make it back to the Super Bowl, and one of the hallmarks of real competitors is that they crush bad groups. The Jets are a bad group. Yet the 49ers opened as just four-point favorites, a surprisingly little figure provided that the Niners are the protecting NFC champs and the Jets are the worst group in the AFC.
He is a living Rorschach test, Jekyll and Hyde, an awesome quarterback who conjures up both gasps and sighs. If he could cut out the cringe plays, he d be phenomenal, and today will show how much he can grow from those errors. Buffalo has Super Bowl goals and can topping the Dolphins to get an easy 2-0 start in the AFC East.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Steelers -5 Over/under: 44.
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: CBSOpening point spread: Chicago -5 Over/under: 43.5.
Late Slate.
Early Slate.
The Colts suffered an even worse loss than the Vikings last week by being up to the lowly Jaguars. Thinking about the investments these groups have actually made to win this year (Indianapolis offering $20 million-plus to Philip Rivers, the Vikings trading for Ngakoue), whichever group loses this contest will have a “look in the mirror” game in Week 3.
Time: 8:20 p.m. ETChannel: NBCOpening point spread: Seahawks -3.5 Over/under: 44Over/under recommendations to the Malcolm Butler interception: 45,000.
Nevertheless, today provides a far more difficult test. The Patriots shredded Montana States– sorry, Miamis– Swiss cheese defense on Sunday, but the Seahawks are more like a brick wall. Inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and strong safety Jamal Adams are perhaps the finest (and hardest-hitting) players at their respective positions. Sending Newton into the teeth of this defense 15 times may not be the best idea, though it would make sense for offending coordinator Josh McDaniels to reveal more play-action death counterattacks.
Baltimore Ravens (1-0) @ Houston Texans (0-1).
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) @ Los Angeles Chargers (1-0).
Time: 1 p.m. ETChannel: FoxOpening point spread: San Francisco -4 (now -7) Over/under: 43.5.
This game will be an interesting showcase for the skill levels of these teams. Washington sacked Wentz 8 times last week, mostly since the Eagles were without their three best offensive linemen. The great news is right deal with Lane Johnson will be back today. The problem is the Eagles are facing the Rams and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Wentz is in a sticky scenario since his worst impulse– the requirement to be a hero– is worsened when the teams mounting injuries indicate he does have to be a hero. Donald may have a big day if Wentz tries to extend plays.
The Patriots played the Dolphins last week and now get the Seahawks, which is like when Alabama schedules a season opener versus Montana State and then plays Georgia the week after. These teams both see themselves as Super Bowl contenders, however they both looked more than a little rusty in Week 1. The Niners made it to the Super Bowl nearly in spite of their QB last season, and he played badly in the groups Week 1 loss to Arizona. The 49ers need to be able to dominate this Jets team that missed a league-high 21 takes on last week. Tampa Bay going from the Saints in Week 1 to the Panthers in Week 2 is like taking a doughnut off a baseball bat.
Mike McCarthy was worked with to give the Cowboys an elite offense, and this would be a fun time to see some early results. Atlantas defense cant take on, cover, or rush the passer. As pointed out earlier, the Falcons didnt have a defender within 1 yard of a receiver on any of Russell Wilsons 35 tosses last week. Dallas needs to control every matchup on offense, and this is the game when Dak Prescott can appear like an MVP candidate. If this offense doesnt begin humming today, it will be cause for concern.
