After the big anticipation for Week 1 of the NFL season begins to dwindle, teams continue to tinker with their game plans and fix what went wrong the previous week. In this article, I will go game-by-game and analyze the 16 games going on in the NFL in Week 2. 

Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins – Thursday Night Football

The Bills and Dolphins both come into this game with 1-0 records after beating the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively. Josh Allen had a great performance against the Cardinals, totaling 271 total yards and four total TDs. Tua Tagovailoa also played well in a comeback performance vs the Jaguars, throwing for 338 yards and a TD. 

The Bills are 10-2 versus the Dolphins during the time Josh Allen was the starting quarterback. Throughout those 12 matchups, Allen has thrown for 3,363 yards, 33 TDs, and seven interceptions. Allen is 6-1 vs the Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa as the starter.

This matchup will be of two good/great offenses with defenses that can be exploited. A shootout could very well be in the books Thursday night. Josh Allen would have to play another great game for the Bills to win. 

Prediction: Bills 31, Dolphins 27

San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The 49ers and Vikings are both coming off dominant wins over New York teams in Week 1. The 49ers beat the New York Jets 32-13 on Monday Night while the Vikings defeated the New York Giants 28-6 on Sunday afternoon. 

The 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL, even without Christian McCaffrey. On Monday, we saw how valuable it is to have a great running scheme with the emergence of undrafted free agent Jordan Mason, who exploded for 147 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.

Unless Brock Purdy puts the ball in harm’s way, like he did last year against the Vikings, the 49ers should win this game with ease. It’ll be interesting to see how the Niners try to contain Justin Jefferson, though. 

Prediction: 49ers 25, Vikings 13

Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The Patriots, who upset the Bengals 16-10 last week on the road, wish to resume their upset tradition when they welcome the Seattle Seahawks into town. The Seahawks are coming off a 26-20 victory over the Broncos and look to improve to 2-0.

A big matchup in this game is Patriots’ CB Christian Gonzalez lining up against Seahawks WR DK Metcalf. Last week, on the 20 routes he was lined up against Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase, Gonzalez held Chase to three catches for 14 yards.

Outside of that matchup, the Patriots’ offense is one of the worst in the league. Seattle’s defense should stifle that offense en route to a victory.

Prediction: Seahawks 22, Patriots 14

New York Giants @ Washington Commanders – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

Two division rivals go at it both coming off brutal losses to Minnesota and Tampa Bay. Sam Darnold and the Vikings’ offense crushed the Giants’ defense and the Giants’ offense was hindered to almost nothing. Daniel Jones was bad in this game, throwing for 22/42, 186 yards, and two interceptions. 

Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers overpowered the Commanders. The only redeeming quality of this game is how rookie QB Jayden Daniels performed on the ground. He ran 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns. This game from Washington should focus on incorporating Terry McLaurin more into the offense after his quiet two-catch, 17-yard performance. 

Prediction: Commanders 17, Giants 14

Los Angeles Chargers @ Carolina Panthers – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

Bryce Young is hoping to rebound against the Chargers after his poor performance vs the New Orleans Saints. However, after throwing for just 161 yards and two picks, he may have to wait another week.

The Carolina Panthers’ run defense was horrendous, allowing 180 yards on the ground against the Saints. They’ll face J.K. Dobbins, who just seemingly revived his career last week against the Raiders with 135 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. 

Those two stats present a recipe for disaster for the Panthers. There is no way the Panthers can stop the Chargers on the ground or through the air.

Prediction: Chargers 27, Panthers 14

New Orleans Saints @ Dallas Cowboys – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The Cowboys hope their defensive performance from last week can carry into this week. After the Cleveland Browns’ first drive ended in a field goal, the Cowboys made the Browns either punt or throw an interception on the next seven drives until a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a touchdown. But by that point, the game was already decided. On those seven drives, Cleveland had just two yards combined. That goes to show you how dominant the Cowboys are on defense.

An intriguing matchup is how the Cowboys cover Saints’ WR Chris Olave and the Saints cover Cowboys’ WR CeeDee Lamb.

This matchup is very lopsided in the Cowboys’ favor. A very dominant defense with a good offense wins you games in the NFL. The Saints offense doesn’t seem as good as the stats say they are. The Cowboys should win this game-handedly.

Prediction: Cowboys 30, Saints 10

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The Packers begin their journey without Jordan Love as the Colts come into town. With Love out anywhere from 3-6 weeks, it will be a struggle for the Packers to compete in this game. Hopefully, Malik Willis, who is filling in for the injured Love, can mend the ship until he returns. 

The Colts come into this game with a sense of urgency to get in the win column. Anthony Richardson had a good game in the loss vs the Texans, throwing for 212 yards two touchdowns, and one interception. He also overthrew at least two more touchdowns. 

The Colts’ offense should be good enough to run circles around the Packers’ defense. The Colts should win with their dominant offensive performance from Jonathan Taylor after Saquon Barkley and the Eagles ran over them.

Prediction: Colts 27, Packers 16

Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

Two teams who underachieved in Week 1 hope to redirect the ship. The Browns hope Deshaun Watson can fix his issues on the field this week. Last week vs Dallas, he threw for 24/45, 169 yards, one garbage-time touchdown, and two interceptions.

The Jaguars took a gut-wrenching loss to the Dolphins after leading 17-7 in the third quarter. The Jaguars were in position to score another touchdown to widen the lead to 23-7 but Dolphins safety Jevon Holland punched the ball out of Jaguars RB Travis Etienne’s hands. Two plays later, Tua Tagovailoa hit Tyreek Hill on an 80-yard touchdown pass to turn the tide of the game. 

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars offense should play well enough to outweigh Cleveland’s good defense. The Browns’ offense must do a complete 180 against the Jaguars for any chance of winning this game. 

Prediction: Jaguars 21, Browns 13

New York Jets @ Tennessee Titans – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

Aaron Rodgers and the Jets hope to rebound after a tough loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers himself had a good performance for someone who just came off an Achilles tear. Rodgers threw for 13/21, 167 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

The Tennessee Titans were another team that blew a big lead Sunday. Tennessee was up 17-0 in the second quarter and did not score a single point for the rest of the game. The nail in the coffin was when Will Levis threw an interception to Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson who then returned it 43 yards to the end zone to put the Bears up 24-17.

Two good matchups in this game are Jets’ WR Garrett Wilson battling Titans CB Lajarius Sneed and Titans receivers Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins lining up against Jets CB Sauce Gardner.

The Jets’ offense should bounce against an above-average defense in the Titans. The Titans might struggle against the Jets’ secondary and front seven.

Prediction: Jets 26, Titans 17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

A rematch of the Divisional Round last season comes around again. Back in the divisional round, the Lions won 31-23. Both offenses came out to play in that game. 

The Lions won differently last week against the Rams. Their offense wasn’t as high-flying as it usually is. They dominated the ground game with 163 rushing yards. David Montgomery particularly dominated the Rams in that overtime drive where he carried the Lions to that win.

An interesting matchup to look at is new Lions and former Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis against one of Buccaneers WRs Mike Evans or Chris Godwin.

If the Lions can enforce their will on the ground against the Bucs who have a good run defense, they become a very serious threat to the NFC crown. The Bucs have a chance to exploit the Lions porous defensive backs. 

Prediction: Lions 28, Buccaneers 22

Las Vegas Raiders @ Baltimore Ravens – Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The Ravens are determined to right their wrongs from Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Ravens lost a close game to the Chiefs in the first game of the 2024 season. 

The Raiders come into this game after being run all over by JK Dobbins and the Chargers. This week doesn’t seem to change that destiny. Derrick Henry had a lackluster Week 1, running 13 times for 46 yards and a touchdown.

With the insane run threat from Lamar Jackson along with the power that comes with Derrick Henry, the Raiders stand little chance of stopping that dynamic duo. 

Prediction: Ravens 33, Raiders 14

Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona Cardinals – Sunday 4:05 p.m.

Two division rivals meet after losing close games to formidable offensive opponents. The Cardinals lost to the Bills after they led 17-3 in the third quarter. The Rams lost a back-and-forth affair against the Lions in overtime. 

Both teams have good offense to go blow-for-blow against each other. The Rams offense has more firepower than the Cardinals due to Cooper Kupp reminding people that he is not “washed.” Week 1 vs the Lions, Kupp had 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Rams 25, Cardinals 21

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs – Sunday 4:25 p.m.

This will be the fifth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, with Burrow leading the series 3-1. Burrow and the Bengals have won three in a row vs the Chiefs before losing their fourth matchup in the 2023 AFC Championship. 

The Bengals were dominated by the Patriots, who held Joe Burrow to 164 passing yards. The Bengals offense was bad all day. The Chiefs won a nailbiter Thursday night vs the Ravens 27-20. 

The matchup that could be seen in spurts is Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie going against Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase. 

The Chiefs’ defense has been set up for a few years to clamp up the other team’s best player and let “the others” beat them. They hope to do that against a top-five WR in Ja’Marr Chase.

Prediction: Chiefs 27, Bengals 23

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos – Sunday 4:25 p.m.

The Russell Wilson revenge game will not be. Mike Tomlin said that Justin Fields would get the start in Week 2 against the Broncos. Wilson is still dealing with a calf injury. 

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos got humbled vs the Seahawks. He didn’t play his best ball, even as a rookie. Throwing over 35 times for less than 170 yards isn’t a recipe for success in the NFL. 

Meanwhile, the Steelers’ defense dominated Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons and held them to 10 points. TJ Watt was making Kaleb McGary look silly out there. On the stat sheet, Watt only had one sack but he had two more sacks called back due to penalties. He was an incredible force on the defensive end. 

The Steelers’s defense should do more of the same thing against the Broncos because they have a worse line than the Falcons. 

Prediction: Steelers 17, Broncos 15

Chicago Bears @ Houston Texans – Sunday Night Football

Caleb Williams and CJ Stroud, two of the best recent college QBs, gear up to play in this Sunday Night Football game. 

Caleb Williams had anything but a good rookie debut vs the Tennessee Titans. Williams threw for 14/29, 93 yards, and no touchdowns or interceptions. Tennessee made it difficult for Caleb to do some of the extraordinary things he did in college.

CJ Stroud had a good game against the Colts throwing for 24/32, 234 yards, and two touchdowns. His decision-making and ball placement was on point last week and should look to continue against this good Bears defense.

One good matchup to watch in this game is Bears CB Jaylon Johnson against one of Texans’ WRs Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, or Tank Dell. Another matchup to watch for is Texans’ CB Derek Stingley Jr. against either DJ Moore or Keenan Allen.

Prediction: Texans 27, Bears 24

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles – Monday Night Football

Kirk Cousins was disappointing in his Atlanta Falcons debut vs the Pittsburgh Steelers, losing that game 18-10. Cousins threw for 16/26, 155 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Falcons were clamped, mainly due to Kirk’s performance.

The Philadelphia Eagles won against the Packers with help from Saquon Barkley, who totaled 132 total yards and three touchdowns on 26 touches.

Two key matchups this game are Falcons’ CB A.J. Terrell Jr. vs either one of Eagles WRs AJ Brown or Devonta Smith and Eagles CB Darius Slay Jr. against Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts.

The Eagles should continue to feed Saquon no matter who they play just to limit the amount of responsibility that is on Jalen Hurt’s shoulders. That would help Hurts not play hero ball unnecessarily. This Eagles pass rush should feast on the poor Atlanta Falcons pass blockers.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Falcons 23

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