Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks in another instalment of a big-time rivalry. My teams are currently 1-0 up against my Dad’s so I’m looking for the clean sweep! The 49ers were very disappointing in week 1 and ended up losing in Chicago. Trey Lance only threw for 164 yards as well as one interception. They were also penalised 12 times for 99 yards which is really, really bad. As for the Seahawks, they managed to pull out a very unexpected win against the Denver Broncos. Geno Smith actually looked pretty decent, completing 23 of his 28 attempts for 195 yards with 2 touchdown passes. 6/11 on third down conversions is also decent. It’s crazy to think that Seattle are top of the division and have the opportunity to already put 2 wins between them and the 49ers. The Niners won’t want that though and they need a response after last week's poor showing. San Fran are 11th in the power rankings whilst Seattle are 13th.
My Prediction: 49ers win, just
Atlanta Falcons @ Los Angeles Rams
Both the LA Rams and the Atlanta Falcons come into the game looking for their first win of the season. The LA Rams were comfortably beaten by this year's Super Bowl favourites the Buffalo Bills. Matthew Stafford threw for 240 yards with 1 touchdown, but his 3 interceptions were really poor. As for the Falcons, they were looking really good to surprise the New Orleans Saints but somehow, they let 26-10 4th quarter lead slip. Marcus Mariota didn’t throw a pick which is good, but he also didn’t throw a touchdown which isn’t good. Cordarrelle Patterson played well though, running for 120 yards with an average of 5.5 YPC. He also scored a touchdown. The LA Rams are 4th in the NFL Power Rankings, and this is a good chance for them to get a dominant bounce back victory. The Falcons are 30th in the power rankings and the biggest question is, what Falcons side are we going to see. That will determine the score line and potentially who wins the game.
My Prediction: LA Rams get their first victory
Arizona Cardinals @ Las Vegas Raiders
Both the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders have arguably, playoff worthy rosters but, both sides play in tough divisions and have tough matchups. Derek Carr had a poor game last week as he threw 3 picks. He did throw for 295 yards and earnt 2 touchdowns’ but in the end, the Raiders just fell short. The Cardinals, on the other hand, were dismantled by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Murray only threw for 193 yards, but he did get 2 touchdown passes. The biggest issue for Arizona is the fact that they only converted on 25% of their 3rd downs. The Raiders are 14th in the power rankings whilst the Cardinals are in a shocking 22nd place. Both sides need to win, it’s as simple as that.
My Prediction: The Raiders sink the Cardinals to 0-2
Houston Texans @ Denver Broncos
Crazily enough, the Houston Texans actually have a better record than the Denver Broncos. Even crazier, if the season ended now, Houston would be hosting the Ravens in the playoffs. I think this shows that there is a hell of a lot of football still to be played. The Denver Broncos will be disappointed with their performance which ultimately saw them lose to the Seattle Seahawks. To be fair to Russell Wilson, he performed well on his return to Lumen Field. The Elite QB threw for 340 yards with 1 touchdown pass. The problem is, they fumbled the ball twice. The Texans, on the other hand, will have mixed feelings about last week's result. No one expected them to get a result but, to be 20-3 up going into the 4th quarter and not come out with the W is extremely disappointing. Davis Mills threw for 240 yards with 2 touchdown passes. 5/15 on third down conversions wasn’t the greatest either. The Broncos are 16th in the power rankings, and they need to get a victory as a loss would be unacceptable. As for the Texans, they are ranked 28th in the power rankings and aren’t expected to get a result. The important thing for the Texans is to show some sort of quality that they can build on for future weeks.
My Prediction: Denver Broncos victory
Cincinatti Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys
Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinatti Bengals come into this game hoping to get a win on the board. The Cowboys were humbled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they only managed to score 3 points. Dak Prescott threw a pick and eventually got injured, meaning that Cooper Rush is now their starting QB for a while. Dallas were also 3-15 on third down conversions and Ezekiel Elliott didn’t really do much either. The Bengals, on the other hand, had a great chance to win the game but their field goal was blocked, and they ended up losing the game in overtime. Joe Burrow did throw for 338 yards with 2 touchdown passes which is great but, he also threw 4 interceptions which is not expected from a superstar QB. Joe Mixon ran the ball alright and Ja’Marr Chase had a total of 129 receiving yards which is pretty good. A big problem for Cincinatti was the fact that Burrow was sacked 7 times which is extremely concerning. The Cowboys are in a very shocking 27th place in the power rankings and a second loss would hurt them whilst the Bengals sit 9th in the power rankings and with the division they are in, they need to start winning games quick.
My Prediction: Bengals win
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
The 1-0 Chicago Bears travel to Green Bay to take on the 0-1 Packers. Green Bay were pretty poor against Minnesota and this is highlighted with Aaron Rodgers only throwing for 195 yards with 0 touchdown passes and 1 pick. Their third down conversions weren’t great (3/9) and Rodgers was sacked four times. The Packers will need to bounce back this weekend. The Chicago Bears will be really happy with their week 1 result. Despite not scoring any points in the first half, the Chicago offense scored 3 touchdowns in a row to get the win. Justin Fields got 2 of them. The Bears only created a total of 204 yards on offense which they will need to improve on if they want to continue to win football games. A total of one turnover (pick thrown by Fields) isn’t too bad but they will try their best to make it 0 for future outings. The Packers are ranked 8th in the power rankings whilst Chicago are 25th. Green Bay should win this game, they won’t have many excuses if they don’t. As for the Bears, a win here would be amazing and would maybe make you question what Justin Fields, and the Chicago Bears are capable of.
My Prediction: Comfortable win for the Packers
Tennessee Titans @ Buffalo Bills
The Tennessee Titans face off against the Buffalo Bills in an exciting Monday Night Football matchup. The favourites to win the Super Bowl showcased why they are in that position in the opening game of the 2022 season as the Bills cruised past the Los Angeles Rams. Josh Allen completed 26 of his 31 pass attempts for 297 yards with 3 touchdown passes. Allen did throw 2 picks though so he will need to try an iron those out as then, the Bills could be very hard to stop. The Bills had a total of 413 yards on offense and the most amazing stat is that the Bills converted on 9 of their 10 3rd down attempts which is insane. As a defense, they sacked the QB seven times and intercepted the ball 3 times to showcase that the offense isn’t the only great part of this side. As for the Titans, they were looking good going into half time, but they saw their 13-0 lead slip to a 21-20 loss. This will be a tough one to take but they need to get on with it because otherwise, they could get destroyed in Buffalo. Ryan Tannehill did alright, throwing for 266 yards with two touchdown passes. Derrick Henry ran the ball ok, but it wasn’t the incredible performance that we are so used to seeing. The Titans only converted 3 times out of 11 attempts on third down which is not very good. They will need to be much better if they are to get anything out of this game. The Bills are ranked first in the power rankings and will very much expect to go 2-0. My only concern for the Bills is that they get too complacent. Tennessee are 17th in the power rankings and even though they are the underdogs, if Derrick Henry is on-form, they can definitely push the Bills to the end.
My Prediction: Bills win
Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles
The final game of the week sees the Minnesota Vikings take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams are aiming to make it two wins from two so this should be exciting. Jalen Hurts threw for 243 yards and 155 of them went to AJ Brown. Hurts also ran for 90 yards and Miles Sanders ran for 96. A total of 455 yards on offense showcases the fact that the Eagles are ready to compete. However, conceding 35 points against Detroit is a little bit concerning. As for Minnesota, they comfortably beat divisional rivals the Green Bay Packers 23-7. Kirk Cousins was really impressive, they experience QB threw for 277 yards with 2 touchdown passes. Also, Justin Jefferson had a total of 184 receiving yards! That’s mental. 4/13 on third down conversions is something they need to improve on, but sacking Aaron Rodgers 4 times should give the defense line a bit of a confidence boost. The Eagles are ranked 10th in the PR whilst the Vikings are ranked 7th. Both teams have aims to make the playoffs, but which team will be the first to get 2 wins?
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