BSB NFL Two-a-Days: Week Two

After an exciting Week One, the NFL continues into the second week of the year with some more juicy matchups.

Sunday, September 19:
1:00 – Buffalo (0-1) at GREEN BAY (1-0)
The Packers, coming off a nice road win at Philly to open the season, get a real easy one here in Week Two.  The Bills are not good and really have no real shot at going into Lambeau and stealing one.

1:00 – Baltimore (0-1) at CINCINNATI (1-0)
So, everyone’s sleeper is now 0-2, with another really tough game.  The Bengals couldn’t get it done in Gillette Stadium in Week One, but they are a very good team and not one that you want to have to play at 1:00 six days after a Monday night tussle with the hard-hitting, emotional New York Jets.  This has all the makings of another tough loss for the Ravens.

1:00 – Pittsburgh (0-1) at TENNESSEE (1-0)
Without Big Ben, the Steelers are going to find it hard to score points, and the Titans should get enough points with Chris Johnson and company to win this game at home.

1:00 – Chicago (1-0) at DALLAS (1-0)
This is no walk in the park for the Cowboys after an emotional Sunday night win over Washington, but they should be able to get it done in the season opener in the Jerry Dome.

1:00 – PHILADELPHIA (0-1) at Detroit (0-1)
Coming off an opening day loss to the Pack, the Eagles should recover and beat the Lions pretty handily.

1:00 – Tampa Bay (0-1) at CAROLINA (0-1)
The Bucs are bad and probably won’t win a road game all year.  They almost definitely won’t go into Carolina and get one.

1:00 – Arizona (1-0) at ATLANTA (1-0)
A 1:00 game for the Matt Leinart and the Cardinals against a really good Falcons team?  Yeah, this one was easy.

1:00 – Kansas City (0-1) at CLEVELAND (1-0)
The Browns are 2-0?  Really?  Ya, I can’t find a reason why they wouldn’t beat Kansas City at home.  It’s not that I think the Browns are all that good, it’s just I don’t think the Chiefs are all that good at all, and the game is in Cleveland.  Give me the Browns to go 2-0.

1:00 – Miami (1-0) at MINNESOTA (0-1)
A real tough spot for a good Dolphins team.  They have to go on the road at Minnesota, who is coming off a tough loss to the defending champs, and the Vikes get 10 days to prepare.  Minnesota should be able to get this one at home and avoid 0-2.

4:05 – Seattle (0-1) at DENVER (0-1)
This meaningless game between two bad teams was probably the hardest one to predict of the entire Week Two schedule.  I went back and forth multiple times, but eventually went with the home team because, well, they’re the home team.

4:05 – St. Louis (0-1) at OAKLAND (0-1)
This should be an easy first Raider win for Jason Campbell.  Yes, it’s the Raiders, but there is no way the Rams come into the Black Hole and beat the Raiders here.

4:15 – HOUSTON (0-1) at Washington (0-1)
Another tough home game for the ‘Skins, as they start the season with back-to-back home losses.  Both teams are coming off tough divisional losses at home, so, despite it being only a Week Two out-of-conference matchup, this game is pretty big for both sides.  I just think that the Texans have slightly more horses than the ‘Skins and should be able to go into FedEx and get a win…but it’ll be close.

4:15 – Jacksonville (1-0) at SAN DIEGO (1-0)
The Jags have to go all the way across the country, a week after a nice win over the Broncos.  This long flight should all but compensate for the short week that the Chargers have to prepare, after a Monday night tilt last week.  The Chargers are the better team, and they are at home.  Give me SD easily in this one.

4:15 – NEW ENGLAND (1-0) at N.Y. Jets (1-0)
For the second straight week, the Jets are playing in what is probably the best game of the week.  The problem with this one is that they are coming off a Monday night bloodbath with Baltimore.  I think that, even though this is one of the biggest games of the year for them, there still is probably a little letdown after an emotional game last week.  Even Rex Ryan can’t get them all the way back.  And, anything that puts you off your game against the Pats could be enough to cost you a game.  Give me New England in a war here in the new digs.

8:20 – N.Y Giants (1-0) at INDIANAPOLIS (1-0)
New defensive coordinator Perry Fewell probably felt good about the opener at home against Carolina and Matt Moore.  I don’t think he’ll be feeling quite as good after a national TV shellacking is handed to him by Peyton Manning down in the RCA Dome.

Monday, September 20:
8:30 – NEW ORLEANS (1-0) at San Francisco (1-0)
The 49ers picked up a big road win at Seattle last week, but they should give that game right back here this week, as they face the defending champion Saints, who have 11 days to prepare.  The only shot the Niners have here is if the Saints spend some of that time looking ahead to next week’s showdown in Atlanta, but that’s probably not much of a chance.  Give me the Saints, maybe not easily, but definitely to pull it out.

STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 2
NFC EAST
2-0 Dallas
1-1 N.Y. Giants
1-1 Philadelphia
0-2 Washington

Two tough losses for the ‘Skins means that they have a LOT of work to do now to get back into the race in the best division in football.  The Cowboys get two tough wins and hold the edge here early.

NFC NORTH
2-0 Green Bay
1-1 Chicago
1-1 Minnesota
0-2 Detroit

No surprises here.  The Vikes avoid 0-2, the Packers continue to roll.

NFC SOUTH
2-0 Atlanta
2-0 New Orleans
1-1 Carolina
0-2 Tampa Bay

The best two teams are still in charge here in the South.  TB takes their rightful spot on the bottom.

NFC WEST
1-1 Arizona
1-1 San Francisco
0-2 Seattle
0-2 St. Louis

This division is terrible.

AFC EAST
2-0 New England
1-1 Miami
1-1 N.Y. Jets
0-2 Buffalo

A huge win for the Patriots over the Jets gives them a huge leg up here in the East.

AFC NORTH
2-0 Cleveland
1-1 Cincinnati
0-2 Baltimore
0-2 Pittsburgh

Wow!  The big surprise in the early going is the Browns holding a TWO-game lead over both the Ravens and the Steelers.  The Bengals got a gigantic win over the Ravens here in Week Two.  The question for the Steelers here is:  Are they going to dig themselves too big of a hole for Ben to dig them out?

AFC SOUTH
2-0 Indianapolis
2-0 Tennessee
1-1 Houston
1-1 Jacksonville

The best division, record-wise, through two weeks in the AFC South.  The Colts have now won 16 straight regular season games with their starters.

AFC WEST
2-0 San Diego
1-1 Denver
1-1 Oakland
0-2 Kansas City

The Chargers on top of a bad division…get used to it.

Click here for Week Three (available 9/4 at 11:00 am).