What exactly wasn’t exciting about Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season? Not only were there teams that pulled off impressive wins (Buffalo Bills anyone?), but there were some phenomenal performances displayed that nobody could have seen coming–especially with Tom Brady throwing for 517 yards and Cam Newton shining in his first career regular season start after throwing for 422 yards.
Week 2 is filled with plenty of tough matchups once again as some teams that were seen as contenders during the offseason already find themselves in a desperate situation to avoid an 0-2 start. After finishing 9-7 last week, here are the Red Zone Talk football picks for Week 2 of the 2011 season.
Oakland Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills
Let’s be honest–nobody expected both of these teams to be 1-0 heading into Week 2. The Raiders’ defense looked impressive against the Broncos on Monday night and could be in for an interesting test considering how well the Bills’ offense performed against the Chiefs. After containing the worst rushing defense in 2010, Buffalo managed to hold Jamaal Charles to just 56 rushing yards and will face another tough task with Darren McFadden–who led all Week 1 running backs with 150 rushing yards.
Pick: Raiders
Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers
The defending Super Bowl champions against–well, the team that earned the No. 1 pick in April’s draft after finishing 2-14 last season. Despite last weekend’s impressive outing against Arizona, Cam Newton and company will have their hands quite full against a Green Bay squad that put up 42 points against New Orleans on opening night. Don’t expect another 400+ passing yards performance by the No. 1 pick this time around.
Pick: Packers
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Detroit Lions
It’s safe to say the Chiefs would like to pretend Week 1 never happened after receiving a smack down from the visiting Bills. Unfortunately for Kansas City, they face another tough challenge against Detroit–who is coming off a huge road win over Tampa Bay. If the Chiefs’ defense–who lost their star safety Eric Berry for the season with a torn ACL–couldn’t manage to contain the Bills, who knows what to expect when square off against the Lions.
Pick: Lions
Cleveland Browns vs. Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis introduced the NFL world to what life was like without Peyton Manning–and it wasn’t pretty. Still, Manning’s absence was no excuse for the way Indy’s defense and special teams performed against Houston and this team’s reputation of AFC South domination appears to be in serious jeopardy. As for the Browns, they’re still trying to figure out how they let last weekend’s game against the Bengals get away and will look to take advantage of No. 18 being on the sidelines.
Pick: Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings
Even though they only lost to the Lions by seven points, the Buccaneers need to make plenty of adjustments heading into Week 2 against the Vikings–especially when it comes to balancing out their play calling. While Minnesota nearly left San Diego with a win, their offense looked absolutely terrible and the fact that Donovan McNabb managed to throw for just 39 yards in his Vikings debut is just embarrassing. Either one of these teams could have easily been 1-0 heading into Week 2 but instead–both the Buccaneers and Vikings find themselves in a similar situation by looking to avoid an 0-2 start.
Pick: Vikings
Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints
It didn’t take long for the Bears to prove their offseason doubters wrong after their Week 1 win over the Falcons. Unfortunately, the team may be without their star linebacker after news broke Wednesday about the passing away of Brian Urlacher’s mom. The Saints will be anxious for a win after their fourth-quarter comeback against the Packers failed on opening night–but they will face a tough task against a very talented Chicago defense. Not to mention the loss of Marques Colston–who is expected to miss one month with a broken collarbone–means Drew Brees will be without one of his favorite targets.
Pick: Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets
The Jets should consider themselves lucky after Tony Romo’s collapse last Sunday and should have an easier task against a Jaguars team that barely got by the Titans in Week 1. The fact that Maurice Jones-Drew’s knee looked healthy was a huge relief for the Jags–but he’ll face a difficult task against a tough Jets’ defense. If New York has any chance against Jacksonville, they will need to figure out a way to get the ground game going considering Shonn Green and LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for a combined 42 yards.
Pick: Jets
Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they may have to be the victims of a Steelers team that will be anxious to come out firing after they were embarrassed by the Ravens. On paper, there’s no reason why Pittsburgh shouldn’t have their way against Seattle, but on any given Sunday–anything is possible. Still, it the Seahawks’ offense struggled to get anything going against the 49ers–just imagine how much they may struggle against the Steelers.
Pick: Steelers
Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans
Joe Flacco finally got that chip off his shoulder by beating Ben Roethlisberger and the Ravens made a huge statement with their win over the Steelers. It may be just one week into the regular season, but this team seems poised to make a strong run not just for the AFC North, but for the Super Bowl as well. If the Titans have any chance whatsoever against the Ravens, Chris Johnson–who finished with just 24 rushing yards on nine carries in Week 1–will need to find a way to be more effective.
Pick: Ravens
Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Redskins
Another one of those games where it’s hard to believe one of these teams will be 2-0 heading into Week 3. The Cardinals could be in for a long day considering how much they struggled against the Panthers in Week 1 and will face a very tough Redskins’ defense that is coming off a huge win over the Giants. If Cam Newton can throw for over 400 passing yards–just imagine what Rex Grossman may be capable of against Arizona’s passing defense.
Pick: Redskins
Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers
The argument can be made that no quarterback will face as much pressure to come through in Week 2 as Tony Romo after all of the heat he’s taken for his fourth-quarter collapse against the Jets. The Cowboys’ offense will be a good test for the 49ers after they looked impressive against the Seahawks in Week 1–but it certainly won’t be easy considering how many weapons Dallas has on offense. Not to mention Alex Smith and company could be in for a long afternoon against DeMarcus Ware and the rest of Rob Ryan’s defense.
Pick: Cowboys
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos
It took just one game for the quarterback controversy to begin again in Denver after Kyle Orton looked anything but impressive against Oakland on Monday night. At first, it seemed like the Broncos would face a much easier task against a young Bengals’ squad–but this team proved last week they aren’t who we thought they were. If Cincinnati can find a way for Cedric Benson to take advantage of the Broncos’ rushing defense like Darren McFadden did–they may have a shot after all.
Pick: Bengals
Houston Texans vs. Miami Dolphins
Despite Houston’s impressive blowout win over Indianapolis–this Week 2 matchup against Miami seems like one of those “trap games” to keep an eye on. There’s no reason why the Texans’ offense can’t have a field against the Dolphins considering what Tom Brady and company did on Monday night–but let’s not forget Miami kept the game close up until the end of the third quarter. Whether or not the Dolphins can compete with the Texans will rely heavily on the type of performance Chad Henne displays.
Pick: Texans
San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots
If the Chargers have any chance at bouncing back this season and winning the AFC West–they’ll have to perform a lot better than they did against the Vikings. This could be an early preview of a possible playoff matchup, but based off last weekend’s performances–it’s hard not to take the Patriots in this one. While they limited Donovan McNabb to just 39 yards, this is Tom Brady we’re talking about here. Brady had no trouble picking apart Miami’s defense after throwing for 517 yards last weekend and don’t be surprised if he follows through with an impressive encore performance.
Pick: Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons
Don’t let the final score fool you–the Eagles still have plenty of areas in need of work and will be heavily tested against a Falcons’ squad fired up to bounce back after their embarrassing loss to the Bears last weekend. Just like the Chargers and Patriots, this could easily be a preview of what’s to come in January between these two NFC contenders. All eyes will be on Michael Vick as he makes his first return to Atlanta as a starter and if the game against the Rams was any indication of what to expect–he may be forced to scramble even more as the offensive line will face an even more difficult challenge against the Falcons.
Pick: Falcons
St. Louis Rams vs. New York Giants
This game would be completely for the Rams if Sam Bradford (finger), Steven Jackson (quad), and Danny Amendola (elbow) were all 100 percent healthy. While Jackson and Amendola will most likely sit, it appears Bradford will be ready to go–but this matchup against the Giants won’t be easy. Even though New York has been hit with the injury bug a lot over the last few weeks, it’s safe to say they’re the favorites in this matchup considering some of their most dangerous weapons are still healthy.
Pick: Giants
Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for www.RantSports.com/NFL, where he writes and edits NFL content for www.RantSports.com.
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