2024 NFL: Previewing Week 2

With the 49ers beating the New York Jets last night in San Francisco; Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season is officially in the books.

Initial impressions from the first week of action, and then a preview of Week 2.

Week 1 Quick Hits:

Chiefs 27 Ravens 20 – Champs are still the champs. Not an unbeatable juggernaut, but a talented team that knows how to win. They’ve increased their team speed, and the defense remains strong. I think the Ravens are excellent, and in for another big year.

Eagles 34 Packers 29 – Players on both sides slipping all over the field in Brazil.  Eagles with Saquon Barkley have elite weapons. Expect both of these teams to be playoff teams.  Green Bay figures to be without Jordan Love for a few weeks, which might be enough to tilt the NFC North to Detroit.

Steelers 18 Falcons 10 – Pittsburgh is better off starting Justin Fields. Their defense is fantastic. If Fields (or Wilson) can be average ish, the Steelers can be a playoff team. I still don’t see a ton of upside beyond that. Disappointing Week 1 showing from Kurt Cousins and Atlanta.  ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointed out that Cousins thrives in play action but spent large parts of this game in shotgun. Could be an indication that last year’s achillies injury is not fully healed. Maybe we see Rookie Michael Penix sooner than expected.

Bills 34 Cardinals 28 – Josh Allen elevates the team around him. 9 Bills caught a pass, led by Rookie WR Keon Coleman’s 4 grabs.  Buffalo’s defense might not be championship caliber, but Allen will give them a chance each week. Arizona Rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr was limited to 1 catch for 4 yards.

Bears 24 Titans 17 – Chicago gets a road W, where they were down 17-0, and Caleb Williams threw for under 100 yards. The Titans have to be kicking themselves. QB Will Levis made as an egregious error as you’ll ever see an NFL QB make.

Patriots 16 Bengals 10 – If I had entered an NFL Eliminator pool, I would be out already based on this game. Just no excuse for the Bengals to lose here.

Texans 29 Colts 27 – Fun divisional game, with the Texans doing enough to get the road win. Colts QB Anthony Richardson is raw, but a special talent. That TD throw over 68 yards was ridiculous. Houston should be one of the AFC’s best, and Indianapolis can be a playoff team.

Dolphins 20 Jaguars 17 – After not picking Jacksonville to make the playoffs, I spent the weekend thinking I may have made a mistake. They have playoff capability with Trevor Lawrence. But this is the type of loss, which makes it hard to believe in them. I’m going to have to see Miami win in cold and windy weather to believe they can; but that’s months away.  The Dolphins early in the year at-least, are a problem. Wasn’t a great game for Miami, but they found a way. One thing to note, only 81 yards on the ground over 25 attempts.

Saints 47 Panthers 10 – Yikes.  I like the Saints defense.  But the Panthers getting demolished like this, is likely mostly about how inept they are vs. the Saints being particularly good. Bryce Young having that performance to begin Year 2 of his career can’t be encouraging to Carolina fans.

Vikings 28 Giants 6 – Minnesota has a good RB, and two quality receivers. if Sam Darnold is more adequate and less liability, they will be competitive plenty of weeks even if they aren’t ‘good.’  The Giants having 240 total yards of offense at home and getting smashed by the Vikings screams long-year, and regime change.

Chargers 22 Raiders 10 – 135 yards on 10 carries for JK Dobbins. Justin Herbert only threw for 144 yards, and the Chargers still won by 12.  LA has pass rushers, a QB will high end ability, and pass rush. If Jim Harbaugh brings physicality and has consistent running game with Dobbins and Gus Edwards; LA could surprise.  Gardner Minshew is an ideal backup and not a guy you really want starting.  But he’s good enough that when coupled with Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and Brock Bowers – that the Raiders might not be the absolute complete dumpster fire I expected them to be.

Seattle 26 Denver 20 – Kenneth Walker averaged 5.2 yards per carry on his 20 attempts. If Seattle gets a regular ground game, to go with their three talented WR’s; that’s a recipe which can work. Not a lot of skill position talent for Denver, which makes the job that much harder for Rookie QB Bo Nix.

Cowboys 33 Browns 17 – Browns gonna Brown. Deshaun Watson looks done. When does Jameis Winston take over? Give Dallas some credit for a road win vs. what should be a good defense. But how much can you read into this game given how poor Watson looked?

Bucs 37 Commanders 20 – Fantastic decision from the Browns going from Baker Mayfield to Deshaun Watson. The Bucs didn’t pile up the yards, but liked that they had 30 attempts on the ground. Had Atlanta as the NFC South favorite, maybe it’s still Tampa Bay’s division. Still have quality WR’s, and I appreciate the chip on the shoulder Mayfield plays with.  The game got away from the Commanders, but they should be pleased with the first showing from Jayden Daniels.

Lions 26 Rams 20 – They had a fun game in the playoffs last January, and this OT Week 1 game was also a good show. These should be two playoff teams once again. Cooper Kupp looked like his preinjury self, but they loss Puka Nacua for at-least a month. Kyren Williams was limited to 2.8 yards per carry. A sack for Rams Rookie Jared Verse. On the Detroit side, the weapons and depth are apparent. They’ve got an opportunity to open up some early distance on Green Bay.

Niners 32 Jets 19 – I think the calculation of everyone is the Jets QB play last year was so abysmal that if Aaron Rodgers is mainly decent, that the Jets are a contender.  His play last night at-least makes you wonder if the lights won’t turn back on for the 40 year old. The 49ers remain my favorite to win the NFC. SF played without Christian McCaffrey, and were able to get a 28 carry, 147 yard performance from Jordan Mason vs. a quality defense.

Week 2 Games

Thursday September 12th

Buffalo at Miami  – Two 1-0, AFC East teams on a short-week. Being at home, Miami needs this game more than Buffalo.

Sunday September 15th

New Orleans at Dallas – Both teams had big showings in Week 1; but both teams faced teams with abysmal QB play.

Tampa Bay at Detroit – The Bucs had a good offensive week vs. the Commanders. They certainly looked like they think they’ll be back in the playoffs. The Lions believe they are Super Bowl contenders.

Indianapolis at Green Bay – The Packers are apparently going to start Malik Willis at QB. Green Bay could easily be looking at 0-2.  The Colts are likely feeling that the Houston game was there for them to win. With Green Bay being without Love, this is a game the Colts should win if they’re going to be a playoff team.

New York Jets at Tennessee – The Jets did a lot of talking all off-season. They believe their defense is elite. An elite defense puts the clamps on Will Levis, and makes sure NY doesn’t start 0-2.

San Francisco at Minnesota – Short week for the Niners.  Do they look past the Vikings?

Seattle at New England – If the Seahawks were traveling across the country to face a better team, I’d be cautious here. It’s hard to envision the Patriots starting 2-0.

New York Giants at Washington – Jayden Daniels should earn career win #1.

LA Chargers at Carolina – Jim Harbaugh should earn his second win with the Chargers. Herbert has unquestioned ability, and lots of questions about if he’s a ‘winning’ QB. If he wants that noise to be reduced, he can’t lose here.

Cleveland at Jacksonville – Two teams with varying playoff aspirations. The Browns believe they’re legitimately good. The Jags believe they can be good.  One of these teams is going to be 0-2.  Is Watson going to still be the QB after half-time, if the Browns start slow here?

Vegas at Baltimore – The Raiders winning here would be shocking.

LA Rams at Arizona – The Rams should win here, but the Cards might have enough offense to steal a W.

Pittsburgh at Denver – The Steelers defense started their year vs. a possibly still hampered Kurt Cousins, and get a Rookie making his second start in Week 2.  Is Pittsburgh going to be 2-0 with two road wins?

Cincinnati at Kansas City – I’m sure the Bengals will look better than they did vs. the Patriots, but you can’t pick them here. KC stays at home, coming off the ‘mini-bye’, and is facing a team which lost to NE. The Bengals spent the off-season telling everyone they are Super Bowl caliber, and they’re staring at 0-2.

Chicago at Houston – Fun game here. Lots of talent. You have to expect Year 2 Stroud at home to be enough to beat Game 2 Caleb Williams on the road.

Monday September 16th 

Atlanta at Philadelphia – The Falcons are another team which entered the year with expectations. Favored to win the NFC South, they could be 0-2, with two L’s vs. the Pennsylvania teams. The biggest story for Atlanta in this game will be how does Cousins look?  No team should run away with the South. If Cousins and the Falcons offense looks improved, you could still picture Atlanta winning 9 games and being in the mix for the South title. If Cousins spends this game again in a lot of shotgun formations, and just looks off; there are going to be all types of questions for the Falcons heading into Week 3.