NFL Week 2 Preview

Last week the NFL started with a great week of fixtures with 3 division matches being played. Last year’s Superbowl Champions, New England Patriots, got off to a good start by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21 in the opening match last Thursday.

The Superbowl XLIX runner-up and the Superbowl XLIII winners, the Seattle Seahawks, got shocked by NFC West rivals St.Louis Rams, who beat the Seahawks 34-31. Another division game was in the NFC North, where 5 time Superbowl Champions, the Green Bay Packers beat rivals Chicago Bears 31-23 at Solider Field.

This week there is 5 divisional games to be played, but the stand out game is a repeat of the NFC Championship game last year between Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, however it is at Lambeau Field in the late game on Sunday Night.

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs – 18/09/15 – 1:25am

Both teams won last week with the Bronco’s having a 19-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and the Chiefs beating Houston Texans 27-20. The Bronco’s are more of a rushing team than a passing team, though they have veteran Quarter Back, Peyton Manning. Manning only managed 175 yards and no passing touchdowns. This is one of the worst in the League. They only managed to get 1 touchdown last game which was from Defensive play, and only had 219 yard overall. Defensive performance was better though, they had 2 interceptions and 5 sacks.
The Chiefs had a better performance offensively than what the Bronco’s had. Alex Smith threw 243 yards for 3 touchdowns against the Texans. Smith had no interceptions or turnovers in the game and had a good start to the season. Last year he didn’t have the best of season, but he seems to have forgotten about that. Defensively they were also good. They had a interception as well as 5 sacks.
Defensively they are similar, however Cheifs are better in offense. This should work to the Chiefs advantage. The Chiefs should win this but if Manning is on form, there will be no stopping him.

Houston Texans @ Carolina Panthers – 20/09/15 – 18:00pm

The Texans lost to the Chiefs last week 27-20, whilst the Panthers beat the Jaguars 20-9. The Texans main Quarter Back, Brian Hoyer, threw 236 yards for 1 touchdown whilst other Quarter back, Ryan Mallet, threw 96 yards for 1 touchdown. Hoyer had an Interception whilst Mallet didn’t. Texans Defense had only 2 sacks and no interceptions. Texans had a bad game overall.
The Panthers won 20-9 against the Jaguars, in a performance that doesn’t match the score. They only scored 2 touchdowns in the game, with one coming from an Interception return. Cam Newton threw only 175 yards for 1 touchdown, and even got and Interception. They had 105 rushing yards, but no touchdown from this. Defensively, the Panthers were better as the had 5 sacks and 2 interceptions, as well as a touchdown.
Both teams are good teams and the Texans were playing a team who had a decent season last year, but played well against them. The Panthers could win this match if they strengthen up the offense but if they don’t then it could result in a catastrophic failure.

San Fracisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers – 20/09/15 – 18:00pm

The 49ers beat the Minnesota Vikings 20-3 last week, and the Steelers lost 28-21 against the New England Patriots. The 49ers had a strong Rushing performance, with Carlos Hyde running 168 yards and scoring both touchdowns that the 49ers scored. Passing however, they don’t tend to go for. Quarter back, Colin Kaepernick only threw 165 yards, however they didn’t have a Interception all game. Defensively they had 5 sacks and 1 interception, not a bad performance overall.
The Steelers had the ever tough task of being the opponent of the current Superbowl Champions. This time it was against the New England Patriots. They put up a good fight though, Quarter back Ben Roethlisberger threw 351 yards for 1 touchdown.
Will Johnson ran for the other touchdown. 2 field goals and a 2 point conversion on the running touchdown seemed like it should be enough but it wasn’t. Defensively it was always going to be a hard task but 2 sacks on Brady is good for a team.
It will be tightly contested and it is hard to predict a winner, but the Steelers may just steal the win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints – 20/09/15 – 18:00pm

Both teams lost last week, with the Saints losing to division rivals Arizona Cardinals 19-31 and the Buccaneers losing 42-14 to the Tennessee Titans. The Saints had a disappointing season last year and fans would have wanted a good start to help forget about it, that wasn’t the case. Drew Brees managed to throw 355 yards but only managed 1 touchdown and had 1 interception. The Defense didn’t have any sacks or Interceptions in the whole game. It was a bad performance by the Saints in all aspects of the game.
The Buccaneers weren’t much better. Quarter back, Jameis Winston, threw 210 yards and 2 touchdowns but that was it. It wasn’t as good of a match as Buccaneer fans could have expected on the offence. In defense it was more of a catastrophic failing by everyone. Though they managed 2 sacks, they let the Titans score 42 points. They will need to sort out their defense if they want to stand a chance.
It is a game between 2 teams who had bad games last week. They both have the potential to win, but the Saints are a better team.

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings – 20/09/15 – 18:00pm

This is a NFC North face off between 2 teams that lost in their opening games. The Lions lost against San Diego Chargers 33-28 whilst the Vikings lost 20-3 against the 49ers. The Lions were a strong team in NFC North and they should have continued the strength from last season, but didn’t. Lions Quarter back, Matthew Satfford, threw 246 yards for 2 touchdowns. Eric Ebron and Theo Riddick both scored 1 rushing touchdown each, but that wasn’t enough. Defensively, they managed 2 sacks and 2 interceptions. They were good but not good enough for the Chargers.
Vikings had a horrendous game against the 49ers. They only managed 1 field goal which was 37 yards. No touchdowns from anyone proved that the Vikings were a team that could be pushed over easily. 1 sack is all the defense had last match. It was overall a poor display by the Vikings.
The Lions should win comfortably as Vikings are a bad team and the Lions are good, but just got unlucky.

Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears – 20/09/15 – 18:00pm

Arizona Cardinals beat the Saints 31-19 last week, whilst the Bears lost to NFC North Rivals, Green Bay Packer 31-23. The Cardinals put on a good display against the Saints last week, following on from a good year last year. Quarter back Carson Palmer threw 307 yards for 3 touchdowns. There was also a good performance from the rushing team as they managed to get another touchdown. Defensively they only managed 2 sacks and 1 interception. Not as good as the Offense.
Bears lost to the Packers 31-23. Quarter back Jay Cutler only managed 1 touchdown and 225 yards. The other touchdown came from Matt Forte, who got 141 yards. Defensively they no sacks and no interceptions. This isn’t good from the Bears.
The Cardinals should win this as they have a strong offence and a good defense.