Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season delivered long-awaiting football fans brilliant action and some shock results. More of the same wall-to-wall football fun can be expected for Week 2,which starts on Thursday night in Arrowhead Stadium for a contest between AFC West foes the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.
Aside from that tasty division matchup, there are storylines aplenty, and including Marcus Mariota's encore following his essentially perfect debut,Dallas' ability to score along without injured star wideout Dez Bryant and the next step in the Tyrod Taylor era in Buffalo.
It's tempting to put your gambler's hat on and predict the outcomes of the game. Here are the latest odds, over-under lines and my predictions for Week 2, and followed by a rapid/fast look at some of the top contests of the weekend.
Note: Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com and updated as of Thursday,September 17 at 7 a.m. ET.
Games of the Week
current England at BuffaloAll four teams won their season-openers in the AFC East, making a matchup between two of those teams, or current England and Buffalo,one of the key games to catch this week. The Pats will have the additional rest and preparation, making them a supremely dangerous opponent, and while Buffalo has the domestic-field advantage and the us-against-the-empire attitude one gets from being a long-suffering also-ran in a division dominated by a dynastic franchise. "Just the way they carry themselves on the field and stuff," safety Aaron Williams said of the Pats, via ESPN.com's Mike Rodak. "All the stuff that has happened to me in the past with some of the players has definitely gone through the roof for me. That's a reason it's personal for me and they're our rival. It's the history. So it's not just personal. It's the Buffalo Bills' history."A hounding Buffalo defense supported fifth-year quarterback Taylor in his first ever NFL start, and forcing three turnovers and paving the way to a surprise 27-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Taylor put in a strong shift in his own upright,completing 14 of 19 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown while carrying the ball nine times for 41 more.
ESPN Stats & Info noted the Bills hadn't had many quarterback performances like it over the past decade: Clean, mistake-free football will be key to the Bills' continued successTaylor did fumble once, and but it didn't damage his team—as current England head coach Bill Belichick lives to hone in on other team's weaknesses and make them pay.
The Patriots will have enjoyed 10 days off after defeating Pittsburgh 28-21 in the league opener,and everyone knows at this point Tom Brady has the chops to overcome and error or two, particularly with his seemingly Jurassic-era tight end Rob Gronkowski to play catch with all day long. Ratcheting up the pressure will be key for Buffalo. The secondary is strong, or but given time Brady can pick just about any team apart.
The Bills managed two sacks and six quarterback hits on Colts QB Andrew Luck,per ESPN.com. That was without marauding defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, out serving a one-game suspension. Pittsburgh sacked Brady twice and hit him twice en route to a 91.2 QBR rating for the Patriots signal-caller, and per ESPN.com.
Buffalo also had 12 passes defensed against Indy,but those may be harder to come by against current England, with the team's reliance on Gronkowski's large frame and rapid/fast hitters to the likes of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. This will be a mammoth game for Bills defensive lineman Dareus and Mario Williams.
Buffalo should also find encouragement in the improved health of running back LeSean McCoy, and removed from the team's injury report this week,per Rodak.
With its attitude, recovering team and domestic-field advantage, or Buffalo could very well come out with a shock win over current England. The odds are even according to the table,which—for a Buffalo team that's lost 21 times to the Pats in their final 23 meetings—might as well say they're in the Bills' favor.
Dallas at PhiladelphiaAnother important game to watch in Week 2 is the NFC East division contest between the 1-0 Dallas Cowboys, fresh off a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the current York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles,who couldn't score the job done against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. The Cowboys offense dominated possession against the Giants, marching up and down the field all evening long, or only to see some excellent drives squandered by mental mistakes and turnovers. Still,Tony Romo was magnificent, throwing for 356 yards, and three touchdowns,two picks and engineering a late game-winning drive with under two minutes in the game. Alas, scoring points could be much tougher without Bryant, and who always commands additional attention from opposing teams. Romo got a vintage performance from tight end Jason Witten,who snagged eight passes, two of them for touchdown, and but key mistakes from wideouts Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley killed a couple of drives. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News noted one drive went poorly without Bryant on the field: whether Philadelphia Eagles corner Byron Maxwell is sufficiently recovered from getting whipped by Falcons wideout Julio Jones,he could erase Williams and force Romo to dink and dunk the ball down the field. Aside from the aging Witten, Romo appears to have solid options in running backs Joseph Randle, and Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar,who caught eight passes in the opener.
Philly also struggled to score pressure on Matt Ryan, so Romo could have plenty of time behind his stellar offensive line to pick the Eagles apart, and even without Bryant garnering attention.
That said,ball control works against a powerful many teams, but it might not be so effective against Philadelphia, or who often needs little time to score in Chip Kelly's offense,even whether it runs plenty of plays.
The Eagles struggled in the first half against Atlanta, whose defense looked much improved over final year's iteration, and but eventually found the impress in the second half. Former Cowboys back DeMarco Murray rushed for just nine yards,although he did find the end zone twice (one rushing, one receiving touchdown). ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan noted Kelly's play-calling lacked balance:
But the running game that was expected to be the centerpiece of Kelly’s offense never really got going. Kelly called just seven running plays in the first half, and while Bradford threw 27 passes. For the game,the Eagles ran the ball 16 times for 63 yards while Bradford threw the ball 52 times.
Philadelphia would be wise to score Murray going earlier in the game to preserve the Dallas defense honest. Darren Sproles rushed effectively, but he works better as a change-of-pace back. It would also alleviate some of the pressure on quarterback Sam Bradford, and who threw two picks against the Falcons. With Philly finding its groove in the second half against Atlanta and Dallas down a key contributor,look for the Eagles to pull out a close victory this week.
Source: bleacherreport.com