September 16, 2020 by Mike Madden
NFL Week 2
Last week
Sorry, 6-10 is somewhat of an embarrassment, but its week 1, and last year I didn’t even make predictions for that week. I am sure NFL Week 2 will be much better! So what did we learn? In the AFC the Chiefs and the Ravens will play out the Championship game. The Bills and Patriots put together good wins, and the Steelers surprised a few. The NFC is less clear. The Packers, Saints and Seahawks impressed, with the Rams showing they could be a force, although their game was probably decided by a dubious play call. The Bucs, Eagles and Lions all disappointed, and all find themselves under pressure in Week 2.
Superbowl
Regular readers will know that I believe the Superbowl can only be won by an elite Quarterback. So that leaves the following:-
Chiefs
Saints
Packers
These teams have elite Quarterbacks past their best!
Steelers
Buccaneers
These teams may have elite Quarterbacks, we just do not know yet!
Giants
Cardinals
Bengals
Dolphins (if they promote Tua)
Week 2 Predictions
Bengals 17 Browns 20
This could go either way, and for opposite reasons. The Browns are the most hyped team of recent seasons and probably the biggest under achievers. The Bengals were the worst team in the league last year, but they have Burrow, Green and Mixon, so they must be better.
Jaguars 14 Titans 27
Minshew can’t do it two weeks running, and although the Titans are not great they should have enough here with Tannehill and Henry racking up the points.
Panthers 17 Buccaneers 24
Brady gets his first win as a Buc as he settles in to the new system. Panthers fall to 0-2 as Bridgewater keeps it close.
Broncos 10 Steelers 21
Big Ben comes through again on the back of a ferocious defense. The Broncos fail to make an impact on either side of the ball.
Rams 31 Eagles 20
The Eagles will already see problems after last week’s shock loss. This will make things worse as Jared Goff orchestrates another W and Aaron Donald gives Wentz nightmares.
49ers 17 Jets 20
Kittle is a massive loss for the 49ers. You might think the same about Bell for the Jets, but it could be that the shackles are off without the big name distraction. Jets produce an upset as Garoppolo misses his targets and Darnold does just enough.
Bills 24 Dolphins 13
Another solid performance from the Bills as the Dolphins get one step closer to the Tua era. Josh Allen gives another all round performance.
Vikings 31 Colts 27
Cousins to have one of his better days as Rivers struggles again without his number 1 RB.
Lions 13 Packers 38
Packers build on last week’s showing with a home blowout. Expect more from Aaron Jones, and the Packers D to be all over Stafford.
Falcons 10 Cowboys 32
Cowboys bounce back from a dodgy call as Cooper and Elliott walk all over the hapless Falcons.
Giants 24 Bears 17
Jones proves that last week’s drive (that ultimately failed) was not a fluke. If he removes the takeaways from his game he could be a great QB. Trubisky is more like a journeyman, despite last week’s win, and he won’t cope with the Giants pass rush. Bears running game is the only thing that keeps it close.
Washington 10 Cardinals 28
No, Washington cannot do it again. Their D is above average, but that’s about it, and Kyler Murray should easily have enough to take the win with his new favourite receiver.
Chiefs 31 Chargers 13
Chargers just about squeezed past the Bengals but now face the Chiefs who are Superbowl favourites. Expect a one-sided contest and a tough night for Tyrod Taylor.
Ravens 34 Texans 21
It doesn’t get any easier for Houston against another AFC Championship contender. Jackson and the Ravens take control whilst Watson looks forward to Pittsburgh next week. David Johnson continues to improve.
Patriots 20 Seahawks 27
Wilson dominates Cam Newton as the Seahawks roll on. The post Brady Patriots get brought back down to earth as the Seahawks D stuffs the run.
Saints 31 Raiders 20
Drew Brees uses all of his nous to spoil the Las Vegas party. Derek Carr proves that consistency is not his strong point.
Week 1 Results
Texans 20 Chiefs 34
(My prediction Texans 14 Chiefs 35)
Texans were outclassed and Mahomes did not have to be that good to triumph. If anything the Chiefs are even more potent with the addition of Edwards-Hilaire in the backfield. The Texans will have better days, especially if David Johnson builds on his good opening display.
Eagles 17 Washington 27
(Eagles 24 Washington 17)
Crazy game in which the Eagles appeared to be cruising, but Washington came back strongly. I do not think this indicates that Washington are better than expected, this is alarm bells in Philly!
Dolphins 11 Patriots 21
(Dolphins 10 Patriots 21)
Is it Tua time yet? The Patriots get an expected win with a conservative Cam Newton managing the game well.
Packers 43 Vikings 34
(Packers 31 Vikings 24)
Arguably the most impressive performance of the week as the Pack easily controlled their divisional rivals. Kirk Cousins proved the value of having an elite QB, which he is not.
Colts 20 Jaguars 27
(Colts 24 Jaguars 17)
Rivers easily outplayed by Gardner Minshew which is all you need to know about the outlook for the Colts this season. Jags fans can enjoy their early success as they won’t see much more of it!
Bears 27 Lions 23
(Bears 17 Lions 31)
That ol’ Matthew Stafford magic was alive briefly, but for the Lions to allow Trubisky to come back and beat them can only mean a long season ahead.
Raiders 34 Panthers 30
(Raiders 14 Panthers 31)
Great game that went back and forth. Bridgewater proved that he is worth a start, as did Derek Carr. We already knew that – but has he discovered consistency under the Las Vegas banner? Time will tell.
Jets 17 Bills 27
(Jets 10 Bills 17)
Predictable, but the loss of Bell may be costly. Darnold was disappointing but the Bills defense is bordering on elite.
Browns 6 Ravens 38
(Browns 14 Ravens 34)
Run of the mill blowout for the Ravens. The Browns are already under huge pressure to win their home opener.
Seahawks 38 Falcons 25
(Seahawks 13 Falcons 28)
I really gave the Falcons a chance, and although this is just one game I am writing them off. They stank the place out. Russell Wilson was outstanding – and that bodes well for the Seahawks.
Chargers 16 Bengals 13
(Chargers 14 Bengals 24)
The Bengals have definitely improved, and but for a questionable call and missed kick they could have at least sent this to overtime. However, they will need to give the number one pick more protection if they want to keep him healthy. The Chargers did well, but they will have much stiffer challenges ahead.
Cardinals 24 49ers 20
(Cardinals 17 49ers 28)
Could Kyler Murray be elite? Well it helps if you can throw to DeAndre Hopkins for more than 150 yards. Garoppolo kept the 49ers in it, but their much vaunted all round team were woefully short and they fell to the biggest upset of Week 1.
Buccaneers 23 Saints 34
(Buccaneers 13 Saints 27)
Did the Saints beat TB12 or did Father Time? There are those who will continue to back him, but for me the Bucs are trying to get one last hurrah out of a fading superstar. The Saints could go all the way, the Patriots will not.
Cowboys 17 Rams 20
(Cowboys 31 Rams 24)
Mike McCarthy has to take a lot of the heat for this. 4th and 3, 3 points behind, short field goal? No! He went for it citing the momentum it would have given his team. Its all about analytics. This proves that a football brain trumps analytics every time. He was right about momentum. The Cowboys never got it back and the Rams held on to a game that they should have lost.
Steelers 26 Giants 16
(Steelers 14 Giants 17)
This game turned on one play, when Daniel Jones proved that he has not got rid of those rookie mistakes. The Steelers pass rush is good, but they also bottled up Barkley. Jones needed to get rid of the ball more quickly, and that ultimately led to the interception that cost the Giants any chance of a comeback. Big Ben was rusty, with flashes of greatness, but overall he is on a downward spiral.
Titans 16 Broncos 14
(Titans 10 Broncos 27)
Broncos are definitely off my radar for any success after this. The Titans were not great, the Broncos were worse. If it wasn’t for the travails of the Titans’ kicker this would have been even more embarrassing.
AFC East
Bills
Patriots
Jets
Dolphins
Patriots showed enough to make a run for the play offs, but its still the Bills in pole position.
AFC North
Ravens
Steelers
Bengals
Browns
Browns stay rock bottom as the Steelers step up.
AFC South
Texans
Titans
Colts
Jaguars
The Texans won’t face the Chiefs every week, and they have 6 games against the teams in their division!
AFC West
Chiefs
Raiders
Broncos
Chargers
No changes here, despite the Raiders good win.
AFC Seeds
Chiefs
Ravens
Bills
Texans
Patriots
Raiders
Steelers
AFC Play Offs
Ravens beat Steelers
Bills beat Raiders
Texans beat Patriots
Chiefs beat Texans
Ravens beat Bills
Chiefs beat Ravens
NFC East
Cowboys
Giants
Eagles
Washington
Still can’t see past the Cowboys, but the Eagles defeat was a shock.
NFC North
Packers
Vikings
Lions
Bears
No change but this should be even easier for the Pack than I originally thought.
NFC South
Saints
Panthers
Buccaneers
Falcons
I’m dropping the Falcons and think there will be turmoil in Atlanta before too long.
NFC West
Seahawks
Rams
Cardinals
49ers
49ers on the way down, Cardinals going in the opposite direction.
NFC Seeds
Packers
Saints
Seahawks
Cowboys
Rams
Vikings
Cardinals
NFC Play Offs
Saints beat Cardinals
Seahawks beat Vikings
Cowboys beat Rams
Packers beat Cowboys
Saints beat Seahawks
Packers beat Saints
Superbowl
Chiefs beat Packers