In the immortal words of former Cardinals coach Denny Green, “They are who we thought they were.”
No, I’m not talking about the Bears, as Green was last fall – Chicago, as predicted in Week 1, lost on the road to San Diego. Instead, I’m talking about the AFC teams most experts expected to be the cream of the crop this season, all of whom won in the first week of the season.
The aforementioned Chargers grinded out a win over the Bears in which their defense forced four turnovers, overcoming an unusually lackluster performance from LaDanian Tomlinson (although the staunch Bears defense might have had something to do with that). The Super Bowl champion Colts dominated NFC favorite New Orleans on Thursday, setting the stage for a possible repeat in February. And the Patriots, who looked primed for a Super Bowl berth after a bevy of offseason additions, did nothing to dispel that notion during a 38-14 win over the Jets on Sunday.
These three will be in contention for the conference title all season long, and they got off to a good start last week. The big question: can they continue that success going forward? In the meantime, here’s a look around the league at the Week 2 games.
Green Bay (1-0) at NY Giants (0-1): OK, I know I picked my G-Men last week at Dallas (and they rewarded me by coming up on the short end of a 45-35 whipping at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys), but they were sacked by injuries and couldn’t get a stop when they needed to. That means this week will be a tough test for the banged-up Giants, and if they were healthy, I’d give them the edge. Without knowing if Eli Manning or Brandon Jacobs is playing, however, I have to go with Brett Favre and the Packers, who have quietly won five straight and feature one of the better defenses in the NFC. Score: Green Bay 20, NY Giants 13.
Jacksonville (0-1) at Atlanta (0-1): The Falcons had a predictable start to their season, looking inept against the Minnesota Vikings last week, while the Jaguars saw their defense – considered the team’s strength – exposed in a loss to the Titans. With no Michael Vick to turn to, and in front of a home crowd that could get hostile if the Falcons start trailing early, the Birds won’t be able to duplicate the Titans’ success against a fired-up Jags’ D. The Jaguars get ahead and hang on for the win. Score: Jacksonville 17, Atlanta 13.
Oakland (0-1) at Denver (1-0): Neither team looked very impressive last week, with the Broncos just barely getting by Buffalo and the Raiders falling at home to the Detroit Lions. Young quarterback Jay Cutler will be the difference-maker in this one, as he looks ready to become a star QB in only his second season. The countdown to top draft choice LaMarcus Russell’s debut with the Raiders is on, but until then, the Raiders will be at the bottom looking up. Score: Denver 31, Oakland 17.
San Diego (1-0) at New England (1-0): The best matchup on the board in Week 2 has the Chargers traveling to Foxboro for a game with early implications in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. The Chargers will rely on L.T. to do something Thomas Jones couldn’t do last week – get a ground game going against the Pats’ D – and while they should have some success, Tom Brady’s offense looks unstoppable until proven otherwise. The offseason additions of Randy Moss and Wes Welker, in particular, add a level of depth missing since New England’s first Super Bowl team. They’ll be enough to hold off the Bolts. Score: New England 27, San Diego 23.
Washington (1-0) at Philadelphia (0-1): The Eagles looked surprisingly inept last Sunday at Green Bay, making me wonder if Donovan McNabb really is all the way back from his knee injury last season. The Redskins didn’t look great against the Dolphins, but they played with poise down the stretch and converted plays when they had to. In an upset, I think ’Skins quarterback Jason Campbell will do enough to help the Redskins win on Monday night, countering Donovan McNabb and an over-stretched Eagles defense late in the game and establishing the Redskins as contenders in the NFC East. Score: Washington 20, Philadelphia 17.
Quick picks: Indianapolis will prevail over Tennessee, St. Louis will rebound to beat San Francisco, Baltimore will top the Jets, Dallas will beat Miami and Cincinnati will keep Cleveland winless.
Last week’s record: 6-4. Overall: 6-4.