The buzz around the league, following week 1, was the Atlanta Falcons' upset of the heavily favored Chicago Bears. Naysayers, however, took a "show me again" posture as week 2 approached. Last week, the Falcons would be upset, 33-30, by the Washington Commanders leaving observers to acknowledge that Atlanta is a dangerous team that needs to prove itself. The Ravens, on the other hand, had the exact opposite first week of football as they were dumped, 30-17, by the champion Jets. The game was close at the half, but Baltimore could not get HB Derrick Henry going. The team would, then, have to rally from a 13-3 halftime deficit against the Vegas Raiders in order to pull off a, 29-20, victory last week. QB Lamar Jackson had a less than stellar day and Henry was just OK, but it would be rookie end Dani Dennis-Sutton scooping up a sack fumble of QB Dante Moore and rumblng in from 8 yards out that was the big story for Baltimore. Atlanta would drop a see-saw type game against Washington. QB Michael Penix played well,outside of a lone pick. HB Bijan Robinson eclipsed the 100-yard rushing plateau and TE Kyle Pitts grabbed 9 receptions for 140 yards, but the D just could not hold Washington down.

   Final Analysis: Another test for both clubs here. Atlanta has proven it can score putting up 42 in the week 1 win over Chicago and another 30 last week. Penix, Robinson, and a trio of targets (Pitts, Drake London, and D.J Turner) each have 15 or more receptions! The concern is a defense that has yielded 38 and 33 points in its first two games. Baltimore had a knack for getting into close games much of last season and barely eked a win out over the Raiders last week. Still, they played exceptional D in the second half versus the G-Men and might find some room to score this week. Baltimore 32-25.

1:00 PM-  PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1-1) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-1)

Which Two Teams Will Be Suiting Up This Week?

    Early season football often leads to early question marks. The Steelers were ecstatic after their week 1, 38-31, win over the Miami Dolphins as rookie QB Ty Simpson tallied 4 TD passes. The Bengals, conversely, had their veteran signal caller, Joe Burrow, get sacked four times and toss two picks as they lost, 26-23, to Houston. Last week, Pittsburgh found itself playing in monsoon-like conditions and Simpson suffered through a rough day in the poor conditons while the running game accrued a miserable 12 yards on 10 carries. The D played OK, but it could not contain the Chargers' Omarion Hampton who plowed his way for 174 yards on 24 carries as LA won, 24-8. Cinci would bounce back in a big way as they rolled the New Orleans Saints, 41-13. Burrow threw for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns and backs Najee Harris and Chase Brown combined for 107 yards on 23 carries.

   Final Analysis: The weather conditions in Pittsburgh last week made passing the ball near impossible. One would anticipate Simpson having a much better day this week. Cinci has been a bit of an up and down unit in recent times and still seems a bit too reliant upon the arm of Burrow. See this one as being a high scoring event with an error or two making the difference. Pittsburgh 32-30.

1:00 PM- CHICAGO BEARS (0-2) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (1-1)

Reeling Bears Try To Claw Way Back To Expectations. Punchless Panthers Still Hunting Offensive Consistency

   By all estimates, the Chicago Bears were supposed to run amok through the NFC and onto at least a title game with the Arizona Cardinals. While that could still very well be the case in the end, for now anyways, the jury is back out on the Windy City Gang. For the second straight week, the Bears' defense was manhandled and QB Caleb Williams would misfire on a few too many plays. Williams has thrown for over 700 yards and the offense is still churning out 31 PPG, but something just seems lacking. That missing element has to be the sudden careless attitude Williams is displaying when it comes to protecting the football. Just one season removed from a prolific 54 TD, 11 interception season, Williams already has tossed 6 picks compared to just 5 touchdown passes! The Panthers had a nice win in week 1 over the Minnesota Vikings, but the lack of offense came back into the picture last week as they lost, 31-17, to the NFC South front running Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

   Final Analysis: Despite the worrisome trend from Williams, the fact remains the Bears are still putting up 31 PPG. If Caleb can stop giving the ball away, this team will be very scary going forward. The Panthers, in any case, probably do not have the firepower to run with the Bears. Chicago 35-16.

1:00 PM-HOUSTON TEXANS (1-1) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (2-0)

Texans Try to Avert Separation. Are Titans Contenders?

   Two week into their season the Houston Texans have gotten themselves into a pair or close games that were decided in the second half. While they were not blown out in last week's, 38-27, loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the so-called Battle For Texas, they did collapse in the second half coughing up three different 14-point leads. They have now been outscored in the second half by a whopping 39-16 margin and that is a trend that, obviously, cannot continue. Tennessee nipped Washington, 33-30, in week 1 and followed that up with a convincing, 37-24, whipping of the Chicago Bears on Monday night. QB Cam Ward was excellent throwing for 376 yards and 4 touchdowns and now has piled up 785 yards and 6 TDs in his first two outings without a turnover. He has completed 75% (70-91) of his pass attempts! The D has been a menace accruing 12.5 sacks so far paced by the dynamic play of left edge Oluwafemi Oladejo's 5 traps and 10 TFLs.

   Final Analysis: The Texan D will need to be much better if the team is to have a chance here. They have the talent on that side of the ball to play with anyone. So far, the unit has not been able to establish much in the way of a pass rush (just 4 sacks) nor been able to make plays in the backfield (20 TFLs). Tennessee looked very good in their win over Chicago and might be a serious contender if they can keep this train rolling down the tracks. Tennessee 29-20.

 1:00 PM- MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-2) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-2)

Two Winless Teams Enter. One Team Leaves With a W

   A bit of an ugly game here. Minnesota remains rudderless without a staff in place and the results have been a real disaster. The Saints and QB Spencer Rattler look like a mirage of last season's NFC championship squad. Something has to give here this week for one of these two franchises.

   Final Analysis: The Vikings look dreadful with zero coaching going on. The Saints should benefit from the chaos. New Orleans 26-16.

 1:00 PM-CLEVELAND BROWNS (0-2) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (2-0)

Browns Struggling to Gain Identity. Jags' O in High gear

   The Cleveland Browns had a terrific draft, but have not, as of yet, found a way to translate the haul into winning football. Sophomore QB Shedeur Sanders has been sacked 14 times and completed a mere 56% (41-72) of his passes thus far. The running game really has not materialized with second year backs Dylan Sampson and Quinshon Judkins contributing 100 yards and 24 carries. The defense has not been able to generate pressure, despite the presence of Myles Garrett and rookie Joshua Joseph on the edges, with the front unit totalling only 4 sacks. Jacksonville has been just giddy over the apparent return to expectations of QB Trevor Lawrence. The beleaguered signal caller has been on fire throwing for 592 yards and 4 TDs to date, while completing 75% (53-70) of his attempts. Edges Trevon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen have been demons with 4 and 3 sacks respectively.

   Final Analysis: The Browns' inability to run the football nor pass protect for Sanders has derailed the offense, The team now gets a Jacksonville squad that can get after the quarterback and have their guy playing extremely well. Cleveland can win games, but has to find a way to get the running game going. Jacksonville 27-17.

   1:00 PM- NEW YORK GIANTS (0-2) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (2-0)

G-Men Feeling Pressure? Stampeding Colts Saddle Up For 3-0 Start!

   The Giants were seen as a serious contender in the NFC East, and still might be that, but they have to get going here soon. They have a tough schedule looming on the horizon and starting 0-3 could eventually catch up to them. QB Jaxson Dart has taken 14 sacks despite dropping back only 44 times (A stunning 32%)! He has been solid when he has been able to deliver the ball, but averaging just 15 passes per game is making it very difficult to sustain drives and score. HB Cam Skattebo has 23 carries for 165 yards and fellow back Tyrone Tracy has chipped in 55 yards on 12 tries, but the team is averaging just 249.5 yards and 15 points per game. Now the Giants must contend with a team that, in many ways, plays as New York would prefer. The Colts have run amok in their first two games. They are averaging 300 YPG on the ground and 42.5 PPG! HB Jonathan Taylor has powered his way for 310 yards on 58 carries (29-155-5.3 Per game) with fellow ball carrier DJ Giddens adding 190 more yards on 25 carries. At the same time, Indy always makes sure to get rookie QB John Matteer some numbers as well. Mateer is 37 of 50 (74%) throwing the ball for only 193 YPG, but still has 6 TD passes to his credit.

   Final Analysis: Another Colts' rookie, edge R Mason-Thomas, leads the squad with 5.5 sacks. The Indy D has a league leading 14 sacks and is allowing teams just 70.5 YPG rushing. Those numbers do not bode well for the Giants. Indianapolis 35-16.

 1:00 PM-TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2-0) AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (1-1)

Big NFC Matchup as Revived Bucs Try to Stay Perfect and Tough Pack Hosts in Lambeau.

   A very good game here for sure. Tampa Bay has looked sharp in its first two outings, both wins. Green Bay won in week 1 and almost stunned the Jets last week before losing, 20-17. Green Bay's 23 points allowed is second in the league only behind the Cardinals' league best 20 points surrendered. While the D has played much better than last season, the offense is starting to show some lingering bad patterns. The run game is not, yet again, getting it done and that is putting increasing pressure on QB Jordan Love to shoulder the load. The Bucs, although undefeated, come in averaging just 293.5 YPG of total offense. They may need a bit more O to combat the solid defensive play of the Packers. Both teams can get after the quarterback with the Bucs entering this one with 11 sacks and the Packers with 9.

   Final Analysis: Tough one to call. See both teams perhaps plodding along against tough defenseive units. That could mean which quarterback, Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield or Green Bay's Jordan Love, makes the big error.and costs his team the game?  Green Bay 24-21.

 1:00 PM- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-1) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (1-1)

Is Philly-Dallas Rivalry Back?

    The Philadlephia Eagles have ruled the NFC East roost for quite awhile now, while the Cowboys have not been a factor and are coming off a dead last finish within the division a season ago. The disparity in success and failure has smothered this once great rivalry and made this matchup more routine than emotional. That could all change should the Cowboys find a way to hang in here against a very talented Philly squad led by the great play of QB Jalen Hurts. Hurts had a tough time of it last week against the Cardinals as his Eagles lost, 33-10, in a game that was much closer than the final score may suggest. The game was just 7-0 late in the third quarter before Arizona suddenly broke things open. HB saquon Barkley has not been able to get going yet (31-119-3.8), but has the skills to destroy a team on any given moment. The interior defensive duo of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis is, arguably, the best in football and the Philly D, overall, can flat out play. The Cowboys were run over by the Colts in week 1 and rookie QB Diego Pavia was knocked out early in that one. Pavia returned last week and had a dandy game throwing for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns and earning the NFC's OPOW award in the process! The run defense played much better too limiting backs Joe Mixon and Tony Hardin to a combined 66 yards on 19 carries (3.47 YPC). The offensive line responded to the challenge not ceding a single sack on the day.

   Final Analysis: Dallas is an improved team, but Philly is a stacked sqaud that can make individual plays. Hurts is exceptional at extending plays and then making a big play downfield or beating teams with his legs. The Cowboys may have some trouble powering the ball with their solid inside Oline against the Eagles' big two. The Eagles are still the top dogs in the East. Philadelphia 30-21.

4:05 PM-WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (1-1) AT LOS ANGELES RAMS (0-2)

Cardiac Commanders Eye Easier Times. Tinsel Town Rookies Floundering

    Washington has now played in back-to-back tension filled affairs ending with, oddly, the exact same scores! In week 1, the Commanders lost a tight, 33-30, contest versus the Tennessee Titans, but followed that up with a, 33-30, exhilerating win over the Atlanta Falcons! The newly dubbed "Cardiac Commanders" now face a Rams' team that has, quite frankly, not seen the anticipated production out of their two coveted rookies: QB Fernando Mendoza and HB Jeremiyah Love. LA would suffer a close, 24-21, defeat to the San Francisco 49ers last week as Mendoza would be sacked 6 times and picked off once. The miscues offset his 3 TD performance. Love, meanwhile, has now run the ball a mere 19 times for 73 yards and zero touchdowns after two games. An elite player coming out of college, these type numbers simply are way below what one would expect a player of his stature to have. Washington QB Jayden Daniels doused some hand wringing, at least for another week, as he rebounded from his week 1 mess and finished with an excellent 118.9 QBR. Daniels would throw for 241 yards and a TD but, more importantly, did not turn the ball over and only absorbed 1 sack on the day. 

   Final Analysis: Mendoza showed he can put the ball in the endzone, but he cannot take this many sacks and certainly cannot turn it over. He would be better served, however, if Love was given free reign to do the damage he is capable of. Washington 30-22.

    4:05 PM- LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (2-0) AT DENVER BRONCOS (0-2)

Can ReCharged Chargers Keep It Going? Denver Bucking For First Win

    A season ago, the Chargers habitually shot themselves in the foot with one key mistake after another particularly from QB Justin Herbert. He flipped 20 interceptions last year in a disaster of a campaign that ended with a below .500 record. This year, the Bolts have made a concerted effort to not put Herbert into a positon where he can lose the game. That has meant a renewed effort to run the football and play much better defense. Last week, in a driving rain in Pittsburgh, second year back Omarion Hampton was tasked with a 25 carry workload that led to 174 yards rushing. Herbert would throw the ball 23 times and take 5 sacks, but he avoided the big turnover allowing the club to stay within its game plan. MLB Junior Colson recorded 13 tackles and a sack in the game. Denver had a nasty habit of losing close games last year. That pattern has seemingly rolled over into the start of this season as they lost in week 1 with the score just 13-10 at the half and then were knocked off by Buffalo last week in a 1 point white knuckler. If they can find some way to close out games, the wins will come.

   Final Analysis: Chargers are moving more and more to power football in an effort to offset Herbert's deficiencies. He is oblivious to pressure, hanging onto the ball too long, and than will force passes into tight windows, all too often, leading to interceptions. Denver has done a nice job at defending the run allowing opponents only 137 yards on 44 carries (3.11 YPC). If they can shut off the Chargers' run game and force Herbert to win the game, they have a great shot at getting win #1. Denver 24-18.

4:05 PM- KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-1) AT BUFFALO BILLS (1-1)

Big Game in Western New York: KC/Buf Seeking 2-1 Starts

    This is a game that could have significant ramifications later in the year. The loser of this one will fall to 1-2 and could get themselves into an early hole within their division as well as playoff positioning. The Chiefs had a nice week 1 win and seemed on their way to rediscovering their old winning ways. But they came back to earth quickly last week as QB Patrick Mahomes would be picked off twice and throw for just 143 yards in a, 24-15, defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. HB Brashard Smith did not replicate his week 1 output finishing with 43 yards on 11 carries and the pass rush, which looked so good the week before, was able to generate just 1 sack. Buffalo, as always, had success as they were able to keep QB Josh Allen upright. He would be sacked only twice enroute to throwing for 330 yards and 2 TDs.

   Final Analysis: The formula for winning for both of these teams is well documented. Ultimately, this one could get down to the ability of KC to get after Allen or not. Oddly, it seems the odds of that happening are about 50-50 as Buffalo does not always protect well and Kansas City does not always pressure well. Sigh. Buffalo 27-26? 

    Seattle has come back strong this year after suffering through an unexpected campaign last year. An annual playoff entrant, Seattle fell way off last year compelling head coach Steve Dillon to dig deep. So far, his adjustments and off-season maneuvers have paid off with two straight wins to start the season off and, now, they have a chance to get to 3-0 should they be able to upend the winless Dolphins. The club has returned to its roots with an explosive running game led by the great Kenneth Walker Jr. at tailback, a judicious use of the passing game with veteran Sam Darnold getting the nod over Jalen Milroe, and the usual solid defense. Miami began last season on a roll, but then fell off the back half the year and then exited the playoffs quickly. That negative pattern has spilled over into this season as well thus far. The defense, which had a ton of takeaways last year, gave up 5 TD passes in week 1 to Steelers' rookie QB Ty Simpson and then saw Patriots' QB Drake Maye riddle them for 300 yards and 3 more TD completions last week. While the offense has found a way to score 30 PPG to date, the D simply has not been very good.

   Final Analysis: Seattle is not a passing team which could favor Miami. Still, it just seems these two clubs might be heading in opposite directions. Seattle 38-23.

4:15 PM-DETROIT LIONS (1-1) AT NEW YORK JETS (2-0)

Lions Feeling Prideful After Demolition of Vikings. Jets Survive Green Bay Scare to Remain Unbeaten

   It was almost impossible to envision things getting any better for the Detroit Lions last week as they annhilated the error prone Minnesota Vikings, 51-20. Everything would go their way in a near perfect way as the Vikings turned it over seemigly every time they had the ball and the Lions would step right through each and every open door. In all, the Lions enjoyed 5 Viking turnovers and, amazingly, had a 6th one that led to a touchdown, called back due to penalty! The Jets have now won 21 of their last 22 games, but they almost got caught by the Packers last week before eking out a surprisingly close, 20-17, win. After a season in which they were nearly impossible to stop, the Jets enter this matchup ranked 18th in scoring averaging 25 PPG. Conversely, the defense has played very well giving up only 17 PPG and allowing the O to take a back seat at least for the moment.

   Final Analysis: it is very likely the Jets' offense will kick in. When it does, the good defense will mesh with the O and look out folks. Detroit is always going to be an explosive team, but they did suffer some serious injuries last week losing LT Taylor Decker and HB Jahmyr Gibbs for at least 5-6 weeks!  Losing Gibbs is going to hurt the outside running game and Decker is a Pro Bowl caliber tackle. New York 30-19.

8:20 PM-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1-1) AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (1-1)

Sunday Night Sin City Showdown!

    The Patriots and Raiders meet in a game that could very well have serious playoff implications come the end of the season. Both teams are viewed as playoff contenders. The Patriots finished second in the AFC East last year and were the lone team to beat the champion New York Jets. The Raiders ended the long time domination of the AFC West by the Kansas City Chiefs as they claimed the divisional crown. The Patriots seem to win with an incredibly efficient offense led by QB Drake Maye and the team is coming off a solid, 43-29, drubbing of the Miami Dolphins. Maye would throw for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns, but has been uncharacteristically careless with the football. He would be picked off 3 times last week by the Dolphins (Who were great at getting the INT last year) and also tossed an interception in week 1. Vegas loves to pound the rock with HB Ashton Jeanty doing the damage. He had an excellent outing last week in a, 29-20, losing cause against the Baltimore Ravens posting 128 yards on just 12 carries, but rookie QB Dante Moore was just not quite good enough. Moore has had your typical freshman growing pains and has not been very accurate. He has completed only 57 % (28-49) of his throws resulting in the Raiders converting a lowly 36.32% on third downs.

   Final Analysis: Should be a good one. Maye needs to avoid his early season turnover rate, while the Raiders need Moore to, well, give more.The Pats will need to limit Jeanty...New England 26-20.

8:30 PM-ARIZONA CARDINALS (2-0) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (1-1)

Cards Attempt to Put Niners in Rear View Mirror as SF Eyes Divisional Run

   Arizona can put a serious damper on any San Francisco designs of claiming the NFC West with a win here. To date, Arizona has been everything, and then some, as expected. They have the #1 defense in the league again and are 5th in the PFL scoring 34 PPG! They lead the league in pass defense ceding a measly 96 YPG and also are pacing the PFL with 14 sacks. This is truly bad news for a Niners' team that has had all types of problems protecting QB Brock Purdy. He has already been sacked 10 times and has thrown 7 interceptions compared to just 3 TD passes in his first two outings. 

   Final Analysis: Hard to imagine how San Fran can successfuly navigate their offense against this rugged Cardinal defensive group. If Purdy continues to play under duress, the picks and sacks will follow. Arizona 33-17.