JO_75
Hall of Famer
Chargers @ Chiefs: Prime Video's coverage of the NFL kicks off in Kansas City as the Chiefs play host to the Los Angeles Chargers. If you had any doubt that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense would take a step back without Tyreek Hill, Mahomes' five touchdowns should remove any doubt. Kansas City will be without starting Kicker Harrison Butker but perhaps this will give Justin Reid more opportunities. The Chargers meanwhile look to fully take command in the division following their win over the Las Vegas Raiders, going 2-0 to start the year in the AFC West is the best the Chargers can hope for. To do so, they will be without WR Keenan Allen who will miss the game due to a hamstring injury, as will Tight End Donald Pharm. The winner will get bragging rights early in a division that will likely come down to the last week of the year.
Sunday Sept 18th 1PM Games
Jets @ Browns: In 2018, the Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets to snap their winless streak and give the team their first win since 2016. Now the Jets have a chance to return the favor by ending their September winless streak against the Browns in 2022. Our old friend Joe Flacco once again starts this week while Zach Wilson continues to find comfort in whoever's Mom he is taking to dinner while he heals. It wasn't pretty for the Jets offense last week, they struggled against the Ravens defense which tells me it will be the same story against Myles Garrett & company.
Cleveland managed to give the ultimate screw you to everyone who wanted to see them lose last week by winning. Jacoby Brissett managed the game well against Carolina, the Browns running game was as expected and in a season in which everyone wants the Browns to suffer the greatest amount of karma... we might have to wait on that. Flacco is 17-3 against the Browns so there is that going for the Jets.
Commanders @ Lions: I give the Lions credit, the players have believed in Dan Campbell since last season as the fight to win is seemingly there but they dig themselves too big of a hole to crawl out of. We saw that many times last year and we saw it again last week against the Eagles. This week, they play host to the Washington Commanders who beat the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Carson threw for 4 touchdowns but also two interceptions which allowed the Jaguars to keep the game close. Mistakes like that will be enough to keep this young and hungry Lions team in the mix and finally get them over the hump of winning after trying so hard.
Buccaneers @ Saints: Tom Brady has a 4-5 record against the New Orleans Saints, the fourth and last win came in 2017, when he was a New England Patriot. Ever since arriving to Tampa in 2020, the Saints have been a thorn in his side boasting a 4-0 record against him. This week, Brady heads to the Bayou looking for his first regular season win against the Saints as a Buccaneer.
The Saints themselves are coming off a win where Michael Thomas returned to the NFL with a two touchdown performance in the win against Atlanta. Tampa apparently had one of the few Kickers who wasn't broken and kicked their way to victory over Dallas. With early division implications on the line, both teams look to get a head start on the NFC South race.
Panthers @ Giants: The ManningCast Curse is real. VERY REAL. All active 7 players who went on the show last season on Monday, lost on Sunday. Don't believe me? Russell Wilson appeared on the lone Playoff ManningCast during ESPN's Wild Card Game... and he lost this past Monday. Saquon Barkley becomes the latest active player to try to break this curse and win after appearing on the show the Monday.
The Giants are riding high after a win which saw a gusty two point conversion call and one of many missed kicks by Kickers last week that cost the Titans the game. As for Carolina, they can blame the refs all they want but let's be real, any competent Head Coach not named Matt Rhule would have won that game last week. If there is one coach out there that will mess up this whole ManningCast curse, it would be Matt Rhule.
Patriots @ Steelers: The date was Dec 6th, 1998. Pete Caroll was the Head Coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Cowher was the Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their Quarterbacks? Kordell Stewart and Drew Bledsoe. The Steelers still played at Three Rivers Stadium. This was the last meeting between the two teams without quarterbacks named Brady or Roethlisberger, a stadium not named Three Rivers Stadium or Heinz Field until Sunday. The Steelers start a new era at Acrisure Stadium led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky hosting Mac Jones and the New England Patriots.
Pittsburgh is able to breathe a sigh of relief as star pass rusher TJ Watt won't require surgery and will only miss six weeks opposed to the entire season. Najee Harris' playing status remains unknown after suffering a foot injury in the win over the Bengals. For the Patriots, Mac Jones only had back spasms but should be ok to start this Sunday against a Watt-less Steelers defense. After Pittsburgh's surprising upset last week, they look to start things off right at home against a Patriots team who didn't look quite themselves in a loss to Miami last week.
Colts @ Jaguars: It's hard to believe but they haven't won in Jacksonville since 2014! Andrew Luck was still the QB in Indy, Blake Bortles was the QB in Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence was a freshmen in High School. A lot has changed for both franchises during this 8 year span, the one thing Indy hopes for is that Matt Ryan is the quarterback who ends this winless streak on Sunday. Indy started out slow but eventually made a comeback that resulted in a tie against Houston while Jacksonville was on the losing end to the Washington Commanders. The Colts come into this one banged up as they won't have Shaq Leonard or WR Alec Pierce available on Sunday. Can the QB named "Matty Ice" beat the Florida Heat and put an end to the eight year losing streak?
4:00PM Late Games
Falcons @ Rams: The Rams look to bounce back following their week one loss to the Buffalo Bills as they look to avoid the Super Bowl hangover. They will have to do it without starting Center Brian Allen and wide receiver Van Jefferson who have already been ruled out of the game on Sunday. The story of the week has to be that their former quarterback Matt Ryan led a comeback, but once again the Falcons blew a lead in the fourth quarter. It's like the Falcons are simply cursed to blow fourth quarter leads and will never be able to get over 28-3. Falcons are healthy for the most part as only RB Damien Williams is listed as out.
Mariota played alright last week but had a big fumble that could have put Atlanta up potentially beating the Saints. Perhaps we'll never know the Falcons full potential but if they are able to play four quarters of Football again, perhaps they can Rise Up and regain that success that led them to the Super Bowl a few years ago.
Seahawks @ 49ers: Time will tell on whether we can call Trey Lance the franchise quarterback for the 49ers, for now we shall call him the rainmaker. He made his first NFL start last week in Chicago and heavy rain hit the area hard, and there is now an 84% chance of rain for Sunday's game in Santa Clara. One player Trey Lance won't have to worry about is Safety Jamal Adams as his season is over after tearing his quad last Monday in Seattle. Denver didn't do a good job of it, but having Nick Bosa going against two rookie tackles should open things up for the 49ers defense to make plays when needed and give Trey Lance and the offense multiple chances to win the game.
Despite the criticism of Seattle being content with Geno Smith at quarterback, Seattle shocked the NFL last Monday by beating Russell Wilson and the Broncos. Even if it was mostly because of inept coaching but still, Seattle finds themselves leading the NFC West heading into week two. If the Seahawks offensive line can keep Geno Smith clean for most of the game, there's a chance we are talking about a 2-0 Seattle Seahawks team leading the NFC West and wondering when the critics will start calling for Jimmy G to take back the reigns.
Bengals @ Cowboys: It does seem as if our division rivals catch all the breaks while we seem to be on the other side of things and this is no different. Dallas' offense failed to reach the red zone last week at all against Tampa, and on top of that they have lost Dak Prescott for a few weeks to injury. No Dak means turning to Cooper Rush against the defending AFC Champions who are also 0-1 to start the season after losing to Pittsburgh in OT. The Bengals look to avoid a Super Bowl hangover and a 0-2 start in a division that is going to come down to the wire.
Texans @ Broncos: Imagine trading for Russell Wilson, paying him then not trusting him to convert on a 4th & 5 when your offense had been driving down the field with much success. If the Broncos miss the playoffs, they can look back at Seattle and wonder what if.
Cardinals @ Raiders:
Sunday Night Football
Bears @ Packers: Week one sure made this game more interesting didn't it? The Vikings stunned the Packers under new Head Coach Kevin O'Connell while the Bears escaped the heavy rain with a win over the 49ers. Green Bay hasn't started a season 0-2 since 2006, and considering only 11.6% of teams who start 0-2 make the playoffs, you could say it's do or die time. Yes, the Packers still have Aaron Rodgers but the question now becomes whether the rest of the division has finally caught up to them. The Bears haven't beat the Packers since 2018, and haven't won at Lambeau field since 2015, so no pressure there for Justin Fields and new Head Coach Matt Eberflus.
The inexperience of the Packers receiving core without Davante Adams reared its ugly head last week, and another week of offensives struggles and a second straight loss to a division rival will be cause for concern. Without Allen Lazard, Green Bay relied on rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Dubbs with AJ Dillion ultimately leading the team in receiving yards last week. Whether David Bakhtiari returns to the lineup will get you the same response in Baltimore if you asked about Ronnie Stanley's availability, we simply don't know. That will allow Chicago's pass rushers to feast on Rodgers the same way Minnesota did last Sunday. This could be another upset in the making for the Bears and potentially help turn the page in the NFC North ending the dominance of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Monday Night Football Double Header
Titans @ Bills (7:15PM ESPN/ESPN2):
Vikings @ Eagles (8:30PM ABC, ESPN+):
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