It was a wild first week of the NFL season as quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Drew Brees struggled while passers like Sam Bradford and Alex Smith had incredible days. What’s in store for Week 2? We’ll start off with two teams that had all sorts of quarterback nightmares in Week 1.
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
Odds: Bengals -5.5
The Texans have to decide what to do at quarterback: Do they stay with Tom Savage or go with rookie Deshaun Watson? Watson gave the team a brief spark after Savage melted down, but Watson also turned it over and is considered questionable for the game. Meanwhile, the Bengals were shut out at home by Baltimore after Andy Dalton committed five turnovers. The losing head coach will land on the hot seat.
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Odds: Titans -2
The Titans lost at home to Oakland in Week 1 while the Jaguars might have been the surprise of the week as they trounced the Texans in Houston. The defense was the story for the Jaguars. On offense, rookie Leonard Fournette had 100 yards and a score on the ground in his NFL debut. Believe it or not, the Jags would take early control of the AFC South with a win here.
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs
Odds: Chiefs -5.5
The Chiefs throttled the Patriots in New England to kick off Week 1 but losing safety Eric Berry is a massive blow to the defense. They’ll have 10 days to prepare for this contest. Meanwhile, the Eagles defeated Washington at home as Carson Wentz threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. The sub story of this game will be Andy Reid going up against his former team. His former offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson, now mans the sidelines for the Eagles.
New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
Odds: Patriots -4
The Saints’ “new and improved” defense looked like more of the same from last year as they were shredded by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. They gave up nearly 500 yards of offense while making Sam Bradford look like Joe Montana in his prime. If their defense doesn’t improve, it could be a long afternoon this Sunday when an angry Tom Brady and company take their frustrations out on them.
Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos
Odds: Cowboys -1.5
The Cowboys dominated the New York Giants on both sides of the ball in their Week 1 win at home. Lost in the headlines is the fact that they cut through a pretty good Giants defense with Ezekiel Elliott finishing with 104 yards rushing. The Broncos run defense finished 26th last season, so if Dallas can run in Denver, they could be in line for another win.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
Odds: Falcons -3
This should be the game of the week as the Falcons and Packers meet in Atlanta on Sunday Night Football. This is a playoff rematch from last season when the Falcons embarrassed the Packers defense en route to a 44-21 win. The Packers defense looked improved in Week 1 but that could have been because the Seattle Seahawks have such a pathetic offensive line. They’ll get a much stiffer test on the road in Atlanta in primetime when the Falcons unveil their new stadium.
Detroit Lions at New York Giants
Odds: Giants -5
The Lions got a big game from Matt Stafford in their home win against Arizona doing what they usually do: Coming from behind in the fourth quarter. Now they’ll go on the road to face a reeling Giants squad, who looked nothing short of pathetic in Week 1. The offense finished with 233 total yards while scoring just three points. Keep an eye on the status of Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) as the Giants surely missed him last week.