NFL Roundup Week 2 – Scores & Analysis

Atlanta Falcons 41, Arizona Cardinals 7 – This game reminded us all that the Falcons Offense is a force to be reckoned with. The Cardinals on the other hand, are still trying to fill some holes on the offense, mainly realizing that Kurt Warner isn’t as replaceable as many analysts thought. This game was lopsided the whole way through, but it gave us all a chance to get a good look at Jason Snelling, the 2nd string tailback for the Falcons who blew up big.

Cincinnati Bengals 15, Baltimore Ravens 10 – We all knew that the AFC North would feature a lot of good defense, but I’m not so sure that poor offensive showing from it’s members aren’t partly to credit. The Bengals showed that they still belong in the conversation to win the division, thanks to their 9th straight division win, dating back to 2008. The Ravens, on the other hand are looking for answers on offense – Joe Flacco and Ray Rice were completely shut down, with Flacco turning the ball over like nobody’s business. If the Ravens can’t bounce back next week, they will be looking a long ways up at the Steelers who lead the division. The Bengals just need to win the easy ones to keep pace with this surprisingly effective Steelers team.

Kansas City Chiefs 16, Cleveland Browns 14 – If America was looking for the Chiefs to turn us into believers after their impressive Monday night win against the Chargers, they sure didn’t sieze the opportunity against the lowly Cleveland Browns. Kansas City did just enough to win against the Browns who are struggling to get into any kind of rhythm offensively. At the end of the day, however, the Chiefs are 2-0 which is more than most of the league can say, while the Browns missed a golden opportunity to take advantage of a gimme win.

Chicago Bears 27, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Trouble in Big D? We think yes. This isn’t even about losing to the Bears or dropping to 0-2, it’s about a chance for a football team to finally play a “Home” Super Bowl game and they are blowing it. Over in the windy city, Jay Cutler seems to be revived under Mike Martz’s new offense. He is putting up numbers close to those from 2008 when he was a first-half fantasy stud. The Bears are a surprising 2-0 and in this win, they actually looked good. The true test will take place this week, however, as they face division foe Green Bay.

Philadelphia Eagles 35, Detroit Lions 32 – Well, these two teams can put some points on the board – no question about that. These two teams combined for more points than any other game this weekend and what’s more, both teams did it with backup quarterbacks. Vick and McCoy stole the show for the Eagles, who got much more of a fight than anyone anticipated from the Lions. The Lions two losses have been close, and to what have turned out to be very good football teams. Perhaps we underestimated them heading into this season. They aren’t ready to compete for an NFC North crown, but no longer will playing in Detroit feel like a day off.

Green Bay Packers 34, Buffalo Bills 7 – In stark contrast to the Eagles & Lions game, this was one of the most lopsided victories of the weekend. The Packers beat the Bills like a good team should beat a bad team. They forced turnovers, took advantage of mistakes and looked fresh offensively. The Packers are more than primed for their undefeated showdown with the Bears next week. Over in Buffalo, the Bills are reeling from a pair of losses in which the offense looked ugly. Another bad offensive showing and don’t be surprised to see the Bills look for help, namely at the QB position.

Pittsburgh Steelers 19, Tennessee Titans 11 – The first 15 seconds and the last two minutes of this game made it seem a lot more exciting than it really was. Aside from a late touchdown by the Titans and of course, the opening kickoff return – there was not a whole lot of offense in this game worth mentioning. We will mention that Jeff Fisher has all but opened the can of worms and dumped them on the field by pulling starter Vince Young for Kerry Collins. Not sure how he expects to get any consistency or confidence out of his offense with these antics. A month ago i said that if the Steelers can get through these first four games without Big Ben, that they would be a lock for winning the AFC North – well so far so good. The Titans on the other hand really need to recover from a poor offensive showing. VY is not the only one to blame as CJ2K wasn’t even able to crack 60 total yards.

Miami Dolphins 14, Minnesota Vikings 10 – Quietly, the Miami Dolphins are showcasing an elite defense, and of course, doing just enough on offense to put them at 2-0. Thanks to the Patriot’s meltdown in the Meadowlands, they are now alone atop the AFC East. They shut down Favre and the Vikings and probably would have won by a lot more if not for a couple of costly turnovers. This team is good. The Vikings are feeling the sting of losing their top receiver, as there are just not enough threats for Favre to throw to – although we aren’t convinced that Favre could get them the ball anyways. Despite the low score, this was one of the more entertaining games to watch from the weekend.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Carolina Panthers 7 – This game featured an NFC South showdown between a team with something to prove and a team with nothing to lose. Any guesses as to who was who? The team with nothing to lose (Bucs) prevailed over the team who had something to prove (Panthers). Why do the Buc’s have nothing to lose? because they just aren’t very good and nobody expected them to be. Why did the Panthers have something to prove? Because they aren’t very good but a lot of people out there still think they are. Well everyone got proved wrong on Sunday.

Denver Broncos 31, Seattle Seahawks 14 – This is a game that might not have had a lot of media attention, but it was a game that the All Sports Talk offices were keeping a close eye on. After their drubbing of the Niners in week 1, everyone threw up their hands and began bowing to the Seahawks – the “New Kings of the NFC West.” Well not so fast everyone, as it appears that their win over San Fran was more of an anomaly than anything else. The Broncos came out and thumped them putting doubt in everyone’s mind as to the validity of this team. The Broncos made a statement at home, showing that Mile High is still one of the toughest stadiums in which to play.

Oakland Raiders 16, St. Louis Rams 14 – If I wasn’t keeping this website rated G, I would have a lot more to say about this game. But in the interest of the children, I will just say that this game was pretty bad. Jason Campbell got yanked, which is saying something because the Raiders stuck with Jamarcus Russel for most of last season. The Rams are 0-2 after their loss, letting a couple golden opportunities for wins slip through their fingers. Someone had to win this game (or did they Donovan?) and the Raiders pulled out the win – moving on…

San Diego Chargers 38, Jacksonville Jaguars 13 – If watching this NFL game was your first experience as a fan, I apologize on behalf of the Jaguars and the rest of the NFL – even sports in general. No, I apologize on behalf of anyone in the world who has ever heard of football. The turnovers in this game were so horrendous, you would have thought that the teams switched colors right before the game started, but nobody told the quarterbacks. The teams combined for nine, count them, 9 turnovers in this game and based on the score, I will let you determine who had more. Philip and the Chargers look to be back on track while the Jags who looked good in week 1, took a major step backwards. This game was pretty ugly start to close.

Houston Texans 30, Washington Redskins 27 – Donovan McNabb involved in another overtime game – say it ain’t so! The Texans came back from a fairly large deficit to keep their record unblemished while the Redskins, eager to prove that they belong in playoff discussions, missed a golden opportunity to represent the NFC East as its lone undefeated team. Regardless of the outcome, both teams proved that they belong in each and every playoff discussion. Every week, it seems like the Texans have a new fantasy stud, last week it was Foster, this week it is Schaub. Next week Andre Johnson?? I don’t think that this loss sets the Redskins back a whole lot, as they lost to a very good, streaking Texans team. They still do need to rebound next week, however, in order to stay competitive in the NFC East.

Indianapolis Colts 38, New York Giants 14 – And lastly we have Manning Bowl 2010. This time things were going to be different, this time Eli had the experience and the weapons to beat his little brother, but everyone forgot about the defense of the Colts and that Peyton Manning rarely loses back to back games. The older brother put little bro in his place, looking crisp on just about every pass that flew from his hand. Eli was under duress the whole game, and never had more than a couple of seconds in the pocket before getting hit. This game was really a testament to the Colts D as opposed to anything else. Don’t count the Colts out just yet, despite looking flat in week 1. The Giants need to regroup and the O-line needs to take a good look in the mirror if they want to keep Eli healthy.