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| Can Kaepernick lead SF to victory Sunday night? Photo Credit: Getty Images |
The opening week of the season provided fans with some great matches full of touchdowns, interceptions and strangely, shocks. Nobody saw the Bills beating Chicago, nobody saw the Jaguars going 17-0 up against the Eagles and nobody saw the Patriots failing to beat the Dolphins. It was a bad week for me in the predictions as I scored a grand total of 5/12 matches. Once again, I am going to be predicting Sunday’s fixtures but not the late game which features the Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers. Hopefully I can perform better in the 13 matchups that shall occur at the weekend.
By: Alex McMahon
Miami @ Buffalo:
As previously mentioned, both of these sides recorded shocking, yet impressive, victories on the opening day. The Bills put up a great performance whilst defeating Chicago, although I do believe this was a case of opening day nerves and more of a one-off performance from the Bills. This AFC East matchup will be a toughly fought contest however I believe that Ryan Tannehill, along with the help of talented running back and blocker Knowshon Moreno, will be able to lead the Dolphins to victory and remain undefeated with both victories coming against their divisional rivals.
Detroit @ Carolina:
Carolina put in an excellent performance without star quarterback Cam Newton to get a win on the road at Tampa Bay in Week One. Kelvin Benjamin looked impressive and is a huge target in the end zone. Detroit were equally as impressive against the Giants, with Megatron producing astronomical figures once again. This is a tough one to call and could go either way, but the return of Newton will bring fresh optimism for the Panthers and I think they’ll just snatch the victory.
Atlanta @ Cincinnati:
The Bengals defeated a Ravens side facing all sorts of issues at the moment with relative ease at the weekend, racking up 15 points and conceding 0 in the first half. AJ Green scored a 77 yard touchdown and remains the main danger in the passing game, whilst Bernard and Hill are both solid runners of the football. Matt Ryan won fantasy player of the week as he led the Saints to victory with over 400 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Atlanta stand a good chance if Ryan can replicate that form but I believe the Bengals will secure the win.
New Orleans @ Cleveland:
Cleveland suffered the famous tale of two halves problem in Week One, as they were abysmal in the first half yet brilliant in the second. Unfortunately for them, the damage was already done. Although their performance tells a lot about their character as they scored 27 points without star man Josh Gordon who is currently suspended. Gordon may be back sooner than expected and if so, he will undoubtedly boost their offence. Brees has another weapon, who I rated as my best performing rookie of the week, in Brandin Cooks. He fits the Saints system perfectly and I believe he will help the Saints to victory with another touchdown this weekend.
New England @ Minnesota:
The Vikings ran out comfortable winners over the St. Louis Rams at the weekend with no player standing out more than wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who proved that he can rush the football too on multiple occasions. Adrian Peterson was fairly average running the football as he averaged 3.6 yards per carry on 21 attempts. Tom Brady and the Patriots will be hoping their defence tightens up against the Vikings in order for them to avoid starting the season with two defeats. With a fit Gronkowski, Brady should have enough targets in attack to win this one. I’m going with the Patriots.
Arizona @ New York Giants:
The big question for Cardinals fans is – will Andre Ellington play again? He looked sharp in their victory over the Chargers, although has since complained about a pain which made him veer right slightly when running. Even without Ellington, they pose a fairly strong attacking force along with a defensive unit containing Peterson, one of the best defensive players in the league. If Eli plays like he did against the Lions, there is little chance that they will win this one. For the Giants to win, both Jennings and Eli need to contribute more in attack. I cannot see them producing enough though so I’ll have to go with the Cardinals.
Dallas @ Tennessee:
Tennessee put in a commanding performance against an injury-hit Kansas City last time out whilst Dallas were dismal against the 49ers. Romo has the targets and if he is on form then they pose a real threat, but their defence is still up there with the worst in the NFL. The Titans have targets such as Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker, as well as new signing Justin Hunter and I think they will be good enough to win this one.
Jacksonville @ Washington:
Jacksonville raced into a 17-0 lead thanks to two touchdowns from undrafted wideout Allen Hurns only for Nick Foles to get his game together in the second half and put the Jaguars to the sword. RGIII and the Redskins fared no better against the Texans despite an injury to their defensive end and number one draft pick in May, Jadeveon Clowney. RGIII’s statistics looked good but they failed to make a real impact on the offence as many of his completed passes were for short gains. Home advantage will be key here, along with my trust that RGIII will get his game together, so I’ll go with the Redskins.
Seattle @ San Diego:
San Diego were unlucky to lose to Arizona in Week One but they were unable to get star receiver Keenan Allen into the game which cost them dearly. Ryan Matthews performed well in the running game and grabbed a touchdown too. For the second consecutive week they face a team from the NFC West, arguably the league’s toughest division. Seattle are the reigning Super Bowl champions and are fresh from their opening night victory over Green Bay. They have threats all over the offence along with the meanest defence in the league with the Legion of Boom. It will be very rare that I go against the Seahawks this season and I’m not going to do it here, I think they’ll come out on top in this contest.
St. Louis @ Tampa Bay:
Both sides experienced opening week defeats as the Rams were destroyed by the Vikings whilst Tampa Bay lost at home to Carolina. Bucs fans may see that as a missed opportunity against a side without their quarterback and with limited wide-receivers but there were certainly positives to take out of the game. The Rams will need to seriously improve on their performance last week although injuries to yet another quarterback means that their third-choice will probably now be pencilled in to start. The Bucs will win this for me.
Kansas City @ Denver:
Peyton Manning and Julius Thomas destroyed the Colts in Week One, connecting for three first half touchdowns. Montee Ball also got the running game going, although I thought he would fare better against the Colts defence without Robert Mathis. Jamaal Charles was kept quiet in the Chiefs game as he was restricted to less than 50 yards rushed in the contest. Kansas are suffering through injuries at the moment and have brought in former Denver lineman Vickerson to try and tighten up their defence. Denver should win this one comfortably.
New York Jets @ Green Bay:
I don’t think Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will be too alarmed after their opening day mauling by the Seahawks. Seattle is a tough place to visit and the atmosphere was even more electric than usual for the first game at home since their Super Bowl victory. The Jets won on the opening weekend against the Raiders, although weren’t totally convincing whilst facing a rookie quarterback. The main thing is that they won that match, which I can’t see happening this week as the Packers will be too strong at home for them.
Houston @ Oakland:
Oakland fell to the New York Jets in their opener whilst the Texans defeated the Redskins. Although they didn’t get the win, Oakland can take a lot of positives from their performance against the Jets as Derek Carr showed he is well on the way to being ‘NFL-ready’ throwing for 151 yards, two touchdowns and crucially, no interceptions. Houston were given a helping hand on more than one occasion by the poor Redskins special teams and will be without number one draft pick Clowney for the foreseeable future after he picked up an injury. I would like to think Carr may be tested a little more against this Texans defence headed by JJ Watt and that is why I believe that the Texans will win a closely fought contest.Follow me on Twitter: @almacca93
