It’s time for my 2011 NFL Week 2 predictions and picks. What’s on tap for the 2011 NFL Week 2 schedule?
There are no Thursday games in the coming week so we’ll move straight ahead to Sunday games.
Let’s start with Kansas City at Detroit. The Lions looked terrific in a win over Detroit. The defense sparkled as expected and Matthew Stafford found a real connection with Calvin Johnson during week 1. The Chiefs struggled and were absolutely crushed by a surprising Buffalo Bills team. Can we expect Kansas City to fold like a cheap suit on the road in what is guaranteed to be a hostile and hungry Detroit home crowd?
I don’t think the Lions will put up the blowout numbers provided by the Bills in week one. But I do feel as if Detroit will win convincingly. Lions win at home 34-17. I’d expect at least one defensive touchdown from Detroit as the Lions go to 2-0.
The week 2 schedule continues with Buffalo hosting Oakland. The Bills as we mentioned were simply dominant in Kansas City. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked all world and put up his best career performance to date. Still, Oakland is a hungry team with lots of potential on the ground and on the defensive side of the ball. I think the Bills win a decent game 23-20.
Tampa Bay travels to Minnesota in a battle of 0-1 teams. The Vikings looked good on the road in San Diego fo a half-but as we all know that doesn’t count. The Bucs were within 50 yards of sending their game with Detroit to overtime during week 1. What are my predictions and picks for this week 2 battle? I’ll take Minnesota to win at home thanks to the fine running of Adrian Peterson. Peterson compiles 2 touchdowns and 134 yards and the Purple wins 26-13.
Next up on the 2011 NFL week 2 schedule is one of the more interesting matchups of the week. Chicago, who rolled over Atlanta, will try to roll into New Orleans. Only one problem-the Saints will be very angry after losing on a goal line stand in Green Bay. The Bears defense looks legitimately sound but the Saints offense is also back in gear. With Marques Colston out, the Saints will be one receiver short. I think the Bears will provide some road fireworks and find a way to win a tough battle, 26-24 on the road in what could and should be the game of the week. If the Saints can find a way to make Cutler turn it over, this one could be drastically different.
Baltimore is at Tennessee after thrashing Pittsburgh at home. The Titans meanwhile found life tough on the road in Jacksonville with a 16-14 loss. What is perhaps the most intriguing matchup in this 2011 NFL week 2 matchup is Chris Johnson and the Titans “O” line against the Baltimore defense. I think Johnson will do much better than he did on the road in week 1 at the Jags. He’ll have a few more reps under his belt and the Titans offensive staff won’t be as worried to give him a few more carries. Johnson gains 135 on 20 or more carries with 2 touchdowns and the Titans win 24-20. This could be the stunner of the week.
Cleveland is in Indianapolis to play the Colts. What are my 2011 NFL week 2 predictions and picks for this battle of 0-1 teams? The Colts absolutely have to play better than what we witnessed last week in Houston.
The Browns lost a tough one to Ohio neighbor Cleveland. So something has to give, right? I look for Kerry Collins to be much better with one more week of practice under his belt and the Colts win 30-17.
Jacksonville is on the road to play the New York Jets. I can’t imagine the Jags will be able to perform as well on the road as they did at home against what appears to be a weaker opponent. The Jets are getting tuned up quickly after struggling early against the Cowboys on Sunday and I expect a New York knockout here.
Jets romp 38-7.
Seattle is in Pittsburgh. The Steelers aren’t happy. Neither is Seattle but that won’t matter when they face the angriest Steelers we’ve probably ever witnessed in the past decade. I don’t expect this to be a good battle in week 2. In fact, I have Pittsburgh rolling to the tune of a 34-10 win. But believe me, they’re still ticked about what happened against the Ravens.
Arizona is at Washington during week 2 in a battle of 1-0 teams. The Redskins looked decent against the Giants at home. Rex Grossman surprisingly looked every bit of the quarterback that took the Bears to the Super Bowl a few years ago. Maybe the Skins have something going on and I think they’ll win for the second straight week by a 24-14 margin.
My NFL week 2 predictions and picks continue with Green Bay in Carolina. Sure, Cam Newton fired off 400 yards of passing and hurdled his way into the endzone for a breathtaking touchdown in week 1. I don’t think he’ll be as fortunate against a solid Packer defense. Green Bay puts on a show on the road and beats Carolina by a 35-17 final.
The 2011 NFL week 2 schedule continues with Dallas at San Francisco. The Cowboys were stunned with a nice Jets comeback on Sunday night. I think Dallas will have no ill effect from that loss and will emerge as a 26-20 winner on the road in lovely San Francisco.
San Diego plays at New England in what could be the matchup to watch in week 2 of the 2011 NFL season.
The Chargers rallied to beat the Vikings but the Patriots are still the Patriots-particularly when they play at home. I think Tom Brady passed for 4 touchdown passes in what could be a shootout against Philip Rivers and company. Still, I believe New England holds fort at home with a 35-28 win that rivals some of the old West Coast rivalry games.
Houston is in Miami trying to make it 2-0 after throttling the Colts. I don’t particularly like this matchup for the Texans if Arian Foster sits. Sure, the Texans have some nice backups but playing on the road is often much tougher. I am going Dolphins here for a 23-21 upset(if you can call it that).
Cincy is at Denver to face the Broncos. The Bengals could go 2-0 with a win on the road. The whole quarterback situation for Cincy makes me think the Broncos will win 27-16.
Michael Vick returns to Atlanta as Philadelphia faces the Falcons. This will be interesting as the Falcons try to rebound from a really bad loss to Chicago. Vick and company looked strong in St. Louis but the Rams simply aren’t the Falcons. I look for Matt Ryan and the Falcons to rebound with a 34-31 victory. It will be high scoring, fun and should come down to the final minute.
The final game of the 2011 NFL week 2 schedule pits the Rams on the road at the Giants. St. Louis is having significant receiver injury issues and that spells trouble for Sam Bradford-not to mention the Giants defense is always significantly better at home. I look for New York to rebound from their loss at Washington with a 30-13 victory on Monday night over the Rams.
That’s it for my 2011 NFL week 2 predictions and picks. I’ll be back with another round of predictions in week 3.