The NFL gets into the second week of the season and last night the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won on the road at Carolina, topping the Panthers, 20-14 to get the action started. There are a slew of anticipated good games this weekend, including the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field on Sunday.Whoever wins that game will be alone in first place in the NFC North division. The Packers defense completely stymied the Chicago Bears (10-3 win) in Week One while the Vikings defense hearkened memories of the old school "Purple People Eaters" defense with the way they suffocated the Atlanta Falcons offense last week in a 28-12 win. The game was never close.
Another division rivalry takes place in Washington, D.C. as the Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The 'Skins almost pulled off a big upset in Week One before eventually falling to Philadelphia, 32-27 in Philly. The Cowboys steam rolled past the New York Giants in Dallas, 35-17 as quarterback Dak Prescott had a huge game, throwing for 405 yards with four touchdowns. This should be a good game, but the Cowboys likely will win as they simply have more talent at the skill positions.
The New Orleans Saints travel west to face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon and you know they would love to stick it to the Rams after the debacle by the referees in last season's NFC Championship Game in The Big Easy.
We all remember that one. The no call on the obvious pass interference by Los Angeles with the Saints driving deep in Rams' territory with the game clock winding down. The game eventually went into overtime as a result of the blown non call and the Rams won the game to go to the Super Bowl. Both teams won their opener last week and they each scored 30 points as well. This one should be a shoot out that again will most likely go right down to the wire.
The Chicago Bears were completely listless on offense last week and now face the Denver Broncos and former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the new head coach for the Broncos. It's the home opener for Denver and their fans will be raucous as they look for their team to even their record after a 24-16 setback in Oakland last Monday night.
It should be interesting to see which teams will be 0-2, which is never a good thing as the stats show through the years that those teams rarely bounce back to make the NFL playoffs. Match ups featuring two 0-1 teams facing each other include Jacksonville at Tennessee, the previously mentioned Chicago at Denver game and the Monday Night Football game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets at The Meadowlands.
Stay tuned.
The following features a capsule style preview of all the remaining action this weekend and following up are the Heftyinfo predictions for Week Two.
San Francisco (1-0) at Cincinnati (0-1) - The 49ers rolled past Tampa Bay last week while the Bengals nearly shocked the Seahawks on the road. Cincy should prevail in this one.
LA Chargers (1-0) at Detroit (0-0-1) - Both of these teams blew fourth quarter leads but the Chargers won their game in OT while the Lions tied the Cardinals. Something has to give in this one.
Minnesota (1-0) at Green Bay (1-0) - Both teams showing solid defense in Week One wins. Toss up in Lambeau Field for this game.
Indianapolis (0-1) at Tennessee (1-0) - The Titans looked mighty impressive in their blowout win in Cleveland. The Colts battled back in L.A. but fell to defeat in OT in their first game in the post-Andrew Luck era. Take the Titans.
New England (1-0) at Miami (0-1) - The real question for this game is whether the Dolphins can limit the Patriots to less than 60 points.
Buffalo (1-0) at NY Giants (0-1) - Will the Giants lose at home to upstate rival Buffalo? They will look to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. Bills had a big comeback win last week vs. the Jets.
Seattle (1-0) at Pittsburgh (0-1) - Can Big Ben and company rebound after opening game disaster? The Seahawks narrowly survived against the Bengals for their opening game win.
Dallas (1-0) at Washington (0-1) - The Cowboys and the Redskins . . . take the Cowboys.
Arizona (0-0-1) at Baltimore (1-0) - Will the Ravens hang 59 points on the Cardinals? Doubtful, but they should still win this game. Cards showed resolve battling back from 18 points down in fourth quarter to tie the Lions last week.
Jacksonville (0-1) at Houston (0-1) - Losing starting QB Nick Foles (broken collar bone) was not the way the Jaguars wanted to start the 2019 season. Texans can score points and should win this game.
Kansas City (1-0) at Oakland (1-0) - The Chiefs will likely win, but most likely will not score 40 points against the Raiders improved looking defense.
Chicago (0-1) at Denver (0-1) - Will the Bears score a touchdown this week? Can the Broncos win their first game under new head coach Vic Fangio? Stay tuned.
New Orleans (1-0) at LA Rams (1-0) - The game of the week for sure. Both of these teams can light up the scoreboard and this one should go down to the wire.
Philadelphia (1-0) at Atlanta (0-1) - Falcons laid an egg in their opener and get a chance to make amends in their home opener. The Eagles offense exploded in second half last week. Toss up here.
Cleveland (0-1) at NY Jets (0-1) - The Monday night game featuring the two teams that it all began with 49 years ago. Both of these teams need a win in this one.
The Heftyinfo picks for Week Two . . . . . . . . (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Cincinnati over San Francisco
LA Chargers over Detroit
Green Bay over Minnesota
Tennessee over Indianapolis
NEW ENGLAND over Miami
NY Giants over Buffalo
Pittsburgh over Seattle
Dallas over Washington
Baltimore over Arizona
Houston over Jacksonville
Kansas City over Oakland
Chicago over Denver
LA Rams over New Orleans
Atlanta over Philadelphia
Cleveland over NY Jets
Last Week's Record - 11-4-1
SEASON RECORD - 11-4-1
Lock of the Week Record - 1-0
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