The previews are brought to you by Derek Tang.
“Xandro’s Fearless Predictions” are brought to you by Alexandro H. Zatarain.
Xandro’s Overall Record: 15-17 (Last Week: 7-9)
Sunday, September 21st
1:00 pm ET @ Ralph Wilson Stadium (CBS)
San Diego comes in hot on the heels of an impressive win against the defending Super Bowl champions Seattle. Losing Ryan Mathews hurts their ability to control the game, so it will be up to Philip Rivers‘ arm and the hands of Keenan Allen and the evergreen Antonio Gates if they are to upend the surprise AFC East leader Buffalo. The Bills have played well defensively, but are vulnerable to the pass. How the Chargers adapt to an eastern time zone kickoff may come into play as well.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: The Bills are off to a great start, can’t deny that. But, if the Chargers march in and play like they did last week, they won’t fare well. Match-up to watch, Jason Verrett at CB taking on Sammy Watkins in a battle between rookies.
Final Score: Chargers 27-Bills 17
1:00 pm ET @ Edward Jones Dome (FOX)
After a disastrous opening game, Dallas did well to pick up the pieces in defeating Tennessee on the road. DeMarco Murray looks like an early MVP candidate already, and their much-maligned defense came up big last week against one of the league’s average QBs. Against either a backup or a third-string starter in the Rams’ Shaun Hill or Austin Davis, and after the Rams’ defense has been shredded by running backs so far this season, this could be a long day for St. Louis faithful.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: Sorry, but what do the Rams bring to the table? Their defense is somewhat decent (could improve in coming weeks) and their offense is struggling. Dallas has had some problems but they have found the running game, which has bumped them up to the #7 offense in the NFL.
Final Score: Cowboys 24-Rams 13
1:00 pm ET @ Lincoln Financial Field (FOX)
For some time now, a groundswell of support has been building for Kirk Cousins to be given the ball for Washington. He gets that chance now, with Robert Griffin III out with a long-term injury. Philadelphia looked very vulnerable to a consistent running game in their Monday Night game earlier this week against the Colts, and the 1-2 punch of Alfred Morris and Roy Helu will fancy their chances to rack up some yards. Given how shaky Washington has looked on defense, it’s almost impossible to count out Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, and Darren Sproles from doing the same. This one could be a high-scoring affair.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: The Redskins have the #1 defense in the NFL and the #5 offense. Yes, you read that correctly. The Eagles have had the benefit of playing the Jaguars and a very “off” Colts team. Both were comebacks, which showed composure, but this match-up should be their toughest yet. I want to pick the home team but my gut tells me otherwise.
Final Score: Redskins 31-Eagles 28
1:00 pm ET @ MetLife Stadium (CBS)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times………” Thus begins the immortal “Tale of Two Cities.” A tale of two franchises will unfold in front of viewers and fans in this matchup, as Houston, a team whose stock is rapidly rising behind the form of team leaders J.J. Watt and Arian Foster and emerging talent like DeAndre Hopkins. New York, on the other hand, seems to be reverting back to the same type of form it showed in early 2013, when they began the season 0-6. They rank near the bottom of the league in rushing yards and total offense, as does Eli Manning in QB rating. An average defense has not done much to keep them in games either.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: Not sold on the Texans quite yet. They beat the Raiders, big whoop. The Redskins, too? Well, the Redskins weren’t too hot in week 1. The Giants haven’t been hot at all. As a matter of fact, they’re just bad. 30th in offense. Only ahead of the Raiders and Jaguars. Both teams will still have a zero on their records.
Final Score: Texans 21-Giants 17
1:00 pm ET @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome (FOX)
New Orleans was tipped as an NFC Super Bowl contender, but have been derailed early by their defensive struggles. Drew Brees is already clicking with Jimmy Graham, but has been somewhat erratic in the early going and will need more consistency from his wide receivers. Their running game will be hampered somewhat with the loss of Mark Ingram to injury, but Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson are already significant contributors to this offense anyway. Minnesota has been hit with off-field issues, and will be looking to somehow regroup after getting thumped by New England last week. If Matt Cassel continues to struggle after a 4-interception performance last week, we may see the debut of Teddy Bridgewater. That may be inevitable anyway, which would boost Cordarrelle Patterson‘s and Kyle Rudolph‘s chances of making an impact.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: The Saints have had a very tough time so far. Late losses to the Falcons and Browns could really put a damper on the start of a season. Lucky enough, it’s their home opener. It makes it a bit easier that the Vikings don’t have Adrian Peterson.
Final Score: Vikings 14-Saints 27
1:00 pm ET @ Paul Brown Stadium (CBS)
Cincinnati’s defense hassled and hurried Matt Ryan all last week in cruising to a comfortable win against a solid NFC team. In this intra-conference game, look for the same defensive pressure to stymie Tennessee’s offense, which sputtered last week after an impressive opening win. If Jake Locker and Shonn Greene are unable to help Tennessee establish ball control, the Bengals will dominate. Even without A.J. Green available, Andy Dalton will lean heavily on dual-threat RB Giovani Bernard and capable Mohamed Sanu for offensive sparks.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: The Titans are nowhere near the Falcons, offensive-wise. Last week, the Bengals shut down that offense. You know, that offense that scored 56 points on the Bucs this past Thursday night. The #1 offense in the NFL. And that Bengals offense is no joke, sitting at #4. We all know where this is going.
Final Score: Titans 14-Bengals 31
1:00 pm ET @ FirstEnergy Stadium (CBS)
To call Baltimore an embattled franchise currently would be a bit of an understatement. Curiously, maybe the off-field controversy has been able to divert media pressure from play on the field, as quietly, Baltimore has played solid football through the last 6 quarters, and would be standing at 2-0 if not for a sloppy first half to open the season. Meanwhile, Cleveland was able to upset New Orleans last week with the help of key turnovers, including a pick-6 to put breathing room between them when the Saints threatened to tie the game. Joe Flacco was steady if unspectacular in beating the Steelers to rebound from their week 1 loss, and he would do well to start involving Torrey Smith more. Baltimore has been strong against the run, so it may be an uphill battle for Terrance West, which would in turn force Brian Hoyer into showing if he can be counted on to pass for a win.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: This is one of my favorite match-ups. Both teams opened up with losses but bounced back and surprised many of us. This specific match-up will be all about defense. With the Browns sitting in dead last on defense, they’ll need to step up to slow down Flacco. Should be a fun game.
Final Score: Ravens 24-Browns 21
1:00 pm ET @ Ford Field (FOX)
Green Bay’s defensive vulnerabilities shone through on home turf against the Jets, and only a furious comeback behind Aaron Rodgers‘ 310-yard day ensured they would not open the season in the worst way possible. Jordy Nelson was in fantastic form in that comeback, finishing with 9 catches for 209 yards, and while Detroit’s secondary may key in on him, Randall Cobb and the emerging Devante Adams remain. Detroit’s powerful offense was shut down by the buzzsaw that is Carolina’s defense last week, but they should face no such troubles this week. Another potential shootout could ensue here, as Matthew Stafford will hand off to the speed of Reggie Bush and the power of Joique Bell…….and he may look for Calvin Johnson at some point as well.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: All NFC North teams are 1-1 but this game can translate into momentum. The Lions have a defense that can easily match the average Green Bay offense. Yes, the Packers are just an average team. Only bright spot they have is Aaron Rodgers and he has essentially done everything by himself. The Packers will need to find something extra if they want to compete at a much higher level.
Final Score: Packers 17-Lions 24
1:00 pm ET @ EverBank Field (CBS)
To be fair to Jacksonville, they have displayed some flashes of brilliance that counter the label of being the worst team in the league – taking a 17-0 lead against Philadelphia and a 63-yard bomb from Chad Henne to Marcedes Lewis last week are prime examples of that. The only problem is that in both cases, the team was unable to do much more from that point, and they now have the dubious honor of leading the league in the number of points given up. In a battle of 0-2 teams, Andrew Luck should be able to lead Indianapolis to a relatively comfortable win, and we may even see significant yardage for Trent Richardson. Favorable matchups are all over the place for Luck, with Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Allen good bets for 100-yard days.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: I’ll keep this simple. I will take Luck over Henne any day.
Final Score: Colts 27-Jaguars 10
1:00 pm ET @ Gillette Stadium (CBS)
New England is either a sleeping giant about to be awakened or a team on the decline. Against the moribund Raiders, odds are they’ll look more like the former. Not much more to add here, not because of apathy, but because there really is nothing of much interest to add to discussion about this matchup. Maybe Bill Belichick will crack a smile.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: Ummm… If I were truly fearless, I would say the Raiders would actually challenge the Patriots but still lose. Meaning, the Pats should win pretty easily.
Final Score: Raiders 13-Patriots 35
4:05 pm ET @ University of Phoenix Stadium (FOX)
Against Chicago on Sunday night, San Francisco looked like the many teams that have fallen to the 49ers’ suffocating defense of the last couple of seasons as they turned the ball over 4 times in the process of blowing a 17-point lead. Arizona will be another formidable opponent, with the caveat that their chances hinge on whether or not Carson Palmer will be healthy enough to start. San Francisco stuffed the run last week, but looked vulnerable defending the pass, and Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd can certainly stretch defenses. Colin Kaepernick will be eager to right the ship after failing to meet his own high standards in that primetime game.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: The 49ers have looked good for 6 quarters. In their final two quarters, they let Jay Cutler and the Bears rally and take a game. Now, this raises flags with not just defense but Kaepernick’s poor play. The Cards have the defense to heavily disrupt the 49ers. If Palmer starts, the Cardinals will stay atop the NFC West. But since he’s NOT, 49ers should steal this one.
Final Score: 49ers 28–Cardinals 17
4:25 pm ET @ CenturyLink Field (CBS)
The Big One. The Super Bowl rematch. The issue for Denver here is that despite their 2-0 start, their defense in 2014 looks even shakier than the one which surrendered a 36-point lead to Seattle in the Super Bowl. And that was played in a neutral venue. Peyton Manning may have Wes Welker back for this game, but the embarrassment of riches he has on offense will be no help for Denver if they are unable to keep Russell Wilson and co. off the field. With Marshawn Lynch‘s unique mix of power and finesse already showing good production in their home opener and Percy Harvin electrifying crowds and adding a whole new dimension to their offense, Seattle will be eager to send a message with a win here, especially after suffering an upset road loss last week.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: Pretty incredible that this isn’t a primetime game. Anyways, the Seahawks may have lost last week, but nobody bothers to talk about how well their offense looked. And that was with Lynch only getting 6 carries. The two big factors will be the crowd and Denver’s mediocre defense.
Final Score: Broncos 21-Seahawks 31
4:25 pm ET @ Sun Life Stadium (CBS)
Jamaal Charles may be lost for a few weeks, but Knile Davis is no pushover. Davis already showed in 2013 that he was capable of being a productive back to spell Charles, and now that he has been given the start, he will be eager to forge his reputation. If and when Andy Reid decides to involve Travis Kelce more in the offense, we may be looking at the next star tight end. Miami will also have to adjust to life without an RB, as Knowshon Moreno dislocated his elbow last week. Though listed as the RB2, Moreno had been more productive than Lamar Miller, who will now be called upon to exploit a favorable matchup. Even in beating New England, Ryan Tannehill was fairly nondescript, to say nothing of his poor performance against Buffalo last week. If he is going to be the next breakout young QB, games like these have to be won.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: I’ve always liked Knile Davis. How can you dislike a guy with the name of Knile? I can definitely see him shine with the loss of Charles. Tannehill hasn’t done much up to this point, and losing Moreno is huge.
Final Score: Chiefs 17-Dolphins 13
8:30 pm ET @ Bank of America Stadium (NBC)
To the surprise of virtually nobody, the Carolina Panthers have begun the season 2-…………hold the press. The team that decimated its WR corps in the offseason and is now starting a rookie in Kelvin Benjamin plus a couple of journeymen, with Cam Newton coming back from offseason surgery and a cracked rib in the preseason? That team now leads the NFC with 2 convincing conference wins? Le’Veon Bell may find it tough going against a defensive front seven that has only given up just over 85 yards per game on the ground. Pittsburgh has better offensive talent, but Carolina has the more suffocating defense (see: Kuechly, Luke August). Which one will give on Sunday night?
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: To answer Derek’s question, it won’t be the home team. The Steelers aren’t the same team of 5 years ago. Success won’t be as easy as prior years.
Final Score: Steelers 17-Panthers 24
Monday, September 22nd
8:30 pm ET @ MetLife Stadium (ESPN)
Even though Matt Forte was essentially shut down by the 49ers last week, the blessing in disguise for Chicago is that Jay Cutler was able to direct an aerial attack to beat a strong defensive unit on the road. With Brandon Marshall in fine form, even at less than 100%, that bodes well for the Bears, as stopping the run but showing deficiencies in the secondary seems to be New York’s M.O. so far this season. Geno Smith is not filling up the stat sheet, but he has been quietly efficient, with the Chris Ivory–Chris Johnson tandem providing more than ample support in the backfield, leading the league in rushing. The Bears have given up an average of 160 yards on the ground. The Jets average 158. Keep a close watch on that stat.
Xandro’s Fearless Prediction: In my mind, the Jets have proved almost nothing. They barely got by the Raiders. They let the Packers run past them after having a good lead. he Bears lost a close one to a pretty good Browns team and got past the 49ers. Which one sounds better?
Final Score: Bears 27-Jets 14
Follow Derek on Twitter: @DTang0426
Follow Alexandro on Twitter: @TheRealZatarain