Thursday, September 11, 2014

2014 NFL SEASON WEEK 2





MUST WATCH GAMES

Steelers at Ravens

The two teams split the 2013 season series with the Steelers winning by 3 in Pittsburgh and the Ravens winning by 2 in Baltimore.

The game in Baltimore last season is remembered for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin involvement on a kick return.



Dolphins at Bills

These longtime AFC East rivals are in a three-way tie for first place in the division after Week 1 upset wins. Miami upset New England at home while the Bills upset the Bears in Chicago in overtime.

Despite Miami finishing the season 8-8, the Bills swept the Dolphins. Fortunately for the Dolphins, they get their trip to Buffalo out of the way early in the season.


Falcons at Bengals

Well, the Falcons and Bengals proved me wrong last week with wins against the Saints and Ravens. Cincinnati's secondary will have challenges taking on Atlanta's receiving corps and quarterback Matt Ryan. Same can be said about the Falcons secondary lining up against Bengals quarterback-receiver combination of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.

If the Bengals are to match the Falcons score for score in this game, they need to do better at finishing off drives. Three of their five field goals scored in the first half at Baltimore in Week 1 were inside their opponent's 20-yard line.


Chiefs at Broncos

The final score on Sunday Night was not a true indication of the game. Denver held a 24-7 lead over the Colts before Andrew Luck made the game close. The Broncos got a 4th down stop inside 2 minutes that sealed the win and made Peyton Manning the second NFL quarterback to defeat all 32 teams. The first was Brett Favre.

Kansas City was flat in their season opener against the Titans. This could spiral out of control real quickly given the Chiefs' schedule. Next week is at a surprisingly competitive Miami Dolphins team, followed by hosting the Patriots on Monday Night, and a late afternoon kickoff in San Francisco in Week 5. Worst case: the Chiefs could be 0-5 by the time they get to their Week 6 bye week.

"Must win" is a cliché regularly used, but for the Chiefs this is very appropriate at this early junction of their season.


Seahawks at Chargers

Seattle were dominant over the Packers in their home opener a week ago. This will be the Seahawks first game in 10 days. For the Seahawks, they better not be looking ahead to their Week 3 rematch against the Broncos back in Seattle.

The Chargers blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter at Arizona last Monday night. Starting 0-2 will not doom the Chargers as their next four games are against teams that did not make the 2013 playoffs, but notching a win against the defending Super Bowl champions should boost morale.


Bears at 49ers

Levi's Stadium, the new home of the 49ers, formally opens their new stadium in Santa Clara this coming Sunday night. San Francisco is looking to keep the momentum going after their Week 1 28-17 win in Dallas while the Bears are looking to play spoiler much like the Bills did in Chicago beating the Bears 23-20 in overtime.


Eagles at Colts

The Colts nearly came back from down 24-7 in Denver last Sunday while the Eagles at home trailed Jacksonville 17-0 before realizing they were playing the Jaguars and won 34-17. Per ESPN's fantasy football scoring system, quarterback Nick Foles had negative 7 fantasy points at one point. Foles ended the game with 19 points.

The Eagles cannot afford to let the Colts build that same type of lead that the Jaguars did last Sunday. A 2-0 start for the Eagles would do wonders in placing some separation between them and the rest of the dumpster fire that is the NFC East.

And now the picks.

Kickoff times are mountain time, games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN), and picks are in BOLD.



Me
WEEK 1
8-8
11-5
8-8
TOTAL
8-8
11-5
8-8


THURSDAY NIGHT, CBS/NFL 6:30 PM
Steelers at Ravens

CBS 11AM
Patriots at Vikings (DEN)
Dolphins at Bills
Falcons at Bengals
Jaguars at Washington

FOX 11AM
Cowboys at Titans (DEN)
Cardinals at Giants
Lions at Panthers
Saints at Browns

CBS 2PM
Chiefs at Broncos (DEN)
Jets at Packers
Texans at Raiders

FOX 2PM
Rams at Buccaneers
Seahawks at Chargers

SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC 6:30 PM
Bears at 49ers

MONDAY NIGHT, ESPN 6:30 PM
Eagles at Colts


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