It’s getting hot under the collar!
Week 2 was another bust here, as I matched Week 1 with a 6-10 effort. Here’s some things that went wrong for those ten:
– Texans QB Ryan Mallett threw 31 incomplete passes at Carolina; teams are now 3-27-1 since 1970 when a QB misses on at least 30 passes in a game.
– The Bears don’t have a single sack through their first two games for the first time since sacks were recorded in 1982; the fact that they couldn’t get through Arizona’s offensive line at Soldier Field is even more troubling for Chicago’s defense.
– The Lions forced multiple fumbles of Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson, but they couldn’t stop the Vikings from rushing for nearly 200 yards and two scores.
– The Buccaneers outscored the Saints 13-0 in the 3rd quarter, and Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin had his first 20-carry game in nearly 2 years.
– The Giants became the first team in NFL history to blow two 4th quarter leads of at least 10 points to open the season; they rushed for 18 yards on only 5 carries in the 4th quarter vs. the Falcons.
– The logistics got the 49ers – and so did Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown, who caught passes of 28, 59, and 56 yards on his way to a 195-yard receiving day.
– Washington held the Rams to 67 rushing yards – 40 came from WR Tavon Austin.
– The Raiders did a great job protecting QB Derek Carr, who was sacked only once during a game in which he threw 46 times for 351 yards against the Ravens.
– The Cowboys stuffed the Eagles 6 times in Philadelphia, their most stuffs in a game since November 2011.
– The Jets run defense deserves a lot of credit, holding RB Frank Gore to 57 yards on 15 carries and recovering his soft fumble on the goal line in the 3rd quarter.
We had something out for the #TNF crowd, but now let’s go ahead to the preview:
2015 #NFL Week 3 picks (6-10 in Week 2, -8 for 2015): NYG, BAL, CAR, CLE, DAL, HOU, MIN, NE, PHI, STL, IND, ARI, BUF, SEA, DET, GB
— Law Murray (@LawMurrayTheNU) September 24, 2015
Washington at New York Giants: All eyes will be on New York WR Odell Beckham, but the bigger question is who will make plays to complement him? TE Larry Donnell would do well to repeat his 3 TD performance from TNF last year at Washington.
Cincinnati at Baltimore: The Ravens have never been 0-3; this may be the most important home opener in franchise history, and they need a big game defending the run from ILB C.J. Mosley.
New Orleans at Carolina: Either the Panthers get a weak-shouldered Drew Brees at QB for the Saints, or they get a weak-armed QB Luke McCown making his first start in 4 years.
Oakland at Cleveland: Speaking of McCowns, Josh is back at QB for the Browns; the leaky Raiders secondary needs to make sure McCown doesn’t find WR Travis Benjamin for big plays like Johnny Manziel did.
Atlanta at Dallas: The only game between two unbeaten teams; expect the Cowboys to give RB Joseph Randle every opportunity to have a big game with fellow Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden starting in place of QB Tony Romo.
Tampa Bay at Houston: A rookie QB hasn’t won their first two road starts since Bears QB Craig Krenzel in 2004; Buccaneers rookie QB Jameis Winston will need to navigate a Houston defense that includes DE J.J. Watt and 2014 top pick OLB Jadeveon Clowney.
San Diego at Minnesota: The Chargers are playing their second straight road game, and they can expect to see plenty of RB Adrian Peterson.
Jacksonville at New England: The Jaguars have never won in New England, and they’ll have to figure out how to block a Patriots pass rush that got 8 sacks and 3 INTs on the road last week.
Philadelphia at New York Jets: The Eagles have never lost to the Jets (9-0), and they haven’t been 0-3 since 1999; how QB Sam Bradford responds to the blitz will go a long way towards Philadelphia’s chances in New Jersey.
Pittsburgh at Saint Louis: The Rams haven’t been 2-1 or better since 2006, but their pass rush has the potential to disrupt Pittsburgh’s high-powered offense; this will be the first game for Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell and Rams rookie RB Todd Gurley.
Indianapolis at Tennessee: The Titans have never beaten QB Andrew Luck’s Colts; rookie QB Marcus Mariota is playing at home for the first time, but expect the Colts to rediscover their pass rush on the road.
San Francisco at Arizona: Cardinals WR John Brown stresses a secondary out with his ability to get deep; expect that to be on full display against a 49ers secondary that was hurt by the deep ball last week.
Buffalo at Miami: The Bills ate crow after giving up 40 points and more than 500 yards at home last week; they have sacked Miami passers 23 times in the last 6 games, so expect the Bills defense to get back on track.
Chicago at Seattle: The Seahawks got SS Kam Chancellor back just in time for ex-Broncos head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase to bring QB Jimmy Clausen with them; but will Seattle discover TE Jimmy Graham?
Denver at Detroit: In a matchup reuniting the losing head coach and QB of Super Bowl XLIV, the hot seat is on the quarterbacks coach from the winning team of that game, current Lions OC Joe Lombardi. He has to get some balance in the offense after ignoring WR Calvin Johnson in Week 1 and ignoring the run game in Week 2.
Kansas City at Green Bay: The Packers have never beaten the Chiefs at home, but they should be able to get it done if they can find a way to block Kansas City OLB Justin Houston.
Broncos QB Peyton Manning has taken a lot of heat for his uneven start, but at least Denver is 2-0. His old coach (Detroit’s Jim Caldwell) and his old team (Indianapolis Colts) are still looking for their first wins of the 2015 season. (Getty Images)