We have now moved from ‘hopium’ to overaction as we head into week 2 of the NFL off the back of some pretty interesting opening week results. Sure we clocked a few tips & bets last week but we were also way off on a few others. With some blockbuster match-ups and a few less stinkers, this could be solid viewing and punting.
A strange but telling stat here, Joe Burrow was one of the most protected quarterbacks in the league in Week 1. Can Cincinnati’s offensive line do it again against a Texans front coming off a loss to the Bills and looking to come out with a vengeance? If there was a market on total sacks in this one, I would take the over because I don’t think so.
But at the end of the day, quarterback play wins you games, and Burrow is simply the better one on the field. If he stays upright, I think Cincinnati controls this. A strong win here would put them at 2-0 to open the year after years of slow starts, a real statement for their contender credentials.
Should we be worried about Green Bay after an average performance against the Vikings last week? Maybe.
Watson was the shining light in that receiving room(147-yard, 2-touchdown) and now he faces a Jets team that banked what looked like might be their only win of the season.
Nothing about that result changes the read on New York though, Packers should run this.
Two teams that I viewed in completely opposite directions heading into the year, a belief the Ravens would drop off and the Saints would skyrocket.
So far, that read has held up, kinda. New Orleans went toe-to-toe with Lions in Week 1, a two-point conversion away from stealing it outright, while Baltimore looked genuinely strong. If the Saints can hang with this Ravens outfit, it’s the kind of result that turns doubters into believers.
Tyler Shough was excellent in the back half of last week’s game and needs to carry that form for a full game now. On the other side, Derrick Henry remains a man possessed, sitting two games shy of LaDainian Tomlinson’s record for games with 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Two teams that put up plenty of points last week but only the Bears looked confident.
Minnesota is still searching for clarity at quarterback after Kyler Murray went down in a gruesome hit, leaving the door open for Carson Wentz, who was fairly average himself but still helped keep the ship afloat…Just.
Justin Jefferson should have a fun day though against a Bears secondary that was hemorrhaging points to Carolina.
Da Bears though were 1 point shy of 60 last week and that was with nothing from TE Loveland and stuff all from the WR room. Look for them to show up in this one.
Does Bryce Young have it? He looked good going toe-to-toe with Caleb Williams in Week 1, a performance that had both sides of that old draft-day trade feeling vindicated. The question now is whether he can drag Carolina back to the playoffs after last year’s losing record, and he gets a division rival in Atlanta who are desperate for their own quarterback answers to kick things off.
I think this is the week Bryce Young picks a defense apart. Bijan Robinson will do plenty of the heavy lifting for Atlanta, but Chuba Hubbard should have a big day of his own for Carolina.
How much longer does Cleveland wait before putting Shedeur Sanders under center? He’s clearly the locker room favourite, but with $200m committed to Deshaun Watson, the Browns are grinding through this situation regardless. There’s not much to like about this Cleveland side as currently constructed.
On the other side, Baker Mayfield is angry after an underwhelming Week 1 showing and looks primed to bounce back in a big way.
Despite some promising wide receiver play from Carnell Tate, Tennessee still looks like a basket case, and that’s not changing this week.
Philadelphia should use this one to really get their offense clicking after a sluggish start to the post-A.J. Brown era.
This has the makings of a genuinely fun matchup. Denver struggled out of the gate against the Chiefs, with the defense unable to stop the run being the biggest concern, and Bo Nix didn’t exactly light it up either.
Jacksonville is still figuring out their backfield rotation, but with a defense that’s just as mean as Denver’s, it’s fair to question whether the Broncos can bounce back offensively.
Trevor Lawrence has looked good both to close out last season and early this year, and that’s enough to back Jacksonville here.
The Chargers could find themselves in some trouble if they can’t get past a Raiders team that played well in Week 1, albeit against fairly poor competition.
Los Angeles’s offensive line remains a genuine mess, meaning Herbert has to overcome it yet again. Both defenses hold up well, so the passing game could be a grind, but the quarterback advantage clearly sits with the Chargers if they can cash it in.
Expect the ground game to be a big factor here, with both teams wanting to run it and drain the clock.
Arizona has been the surprise package of the young season, but the big story out of this one is Sam Darnold being unavailable for the Seahawks.
There’s something frisky about this Cardinals team that makes picking against them a little uneasy, even though Seattle’s defense should be able to pick apart Arizona’s offense.
Worth noting, it’s been five years since Arizona last beat Seattle, back in November 2021, and there’s little reason to think that drought ends here.
As a Cowboys fan, the hope is Dallas runs away with this behind a high-powered offense putting up 30-plus points. But after one of the worst defensive showings imaginable, especially given all the preseason hype and signings, there’s not a lot to like about this Dallas side right now.
Dallas also copped two big injuries, at safety and linebacker, with a rookie now thrown into the Mike linebacker role.
Washington, by contrast, had a fun little showing in a low-scoring game against Philadelphia, staying in it until the end with Sonny Styles doing some tough hits off the edge.
Could this be an agonisingly close one? I think so.
This one comes down to whether the Melbourne jet lag lingers at all for San Francisco, and even if it does, the Niners have landed a favourable matchup against what’s fast becoming the worst team in the league.
The biggest storyline for San Francisco is the backfield. McCaffrey was rested heavily during the Melbourne game, possibly to keep him fresh for a big performance back on home soil, and rookie third-rounder Kaelon Black has drawn plenty of fantasy interest as a potential complement in a split workload.
On the other side of the ball, it’s hard to see where Miami finds points, their receiver room can’t threaten downfield, which in turn limits what Achane can do on the ground.
Expect the Niners to control this and ease off the gas once ahead.
The Chiefs are back. Adding a proven running back to ease the burden on Mahomes as he works his way back from injury looks like a perfect bit of business, giving Kansas City the ability to take pressure off his shoulders rather than asking him to carry everything himself. It’s an overreaction risk after just one week, but the early signs are strong.
For Indianapolis, everything rests on the running back. The passing game isn’t quite there yet, and it remains to be seen whether Daniel Jones rediscovers his best form, but Jonathan Taylor is an absolute beast.
Expect a physical, hard-nosed running battle between two teams that can both lean on the ground game, or alternatively a day where Mahomes picks Indianapolis apart off play action.
The Giants were arguably the biggest surprise of Week 1, not just for beating Dallas but for how they did it, smash-mouth football under new head coach Harbaugh, with a new system that already looks like it’s clicking.
Jaxson Dart was kept simple, largely just needing to make his reads and throw, though that may have been aided by facing a poor Cowboys defense. New York’s own defense deserves credit too, doing a genuinely good job on that Dallas offense.
The Rams, meanwhile, were well below their best in Melbourne, having rocked up only a day before kickoff and looking every bit like a team battling jet lag. They get the benefit of an extra day’s recovery this time, but will be without Myles Garrett, while a returning Aaron Donald adds intrigue to how they line up.
This could genuinely be closer than the market suggests.