Week two in the NFL started with a key AFC North showdown between the Steelers and Ravens in Baltimore. With nine of the last eleven series meetings being decided by four points or less, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the line open at Baltimore -3 and 44. There was not much action midweek before Pittsburgh and the over took some luke warm money late as the game closed Baltimore -2.5 with the high/low 44 and the hook. The desperate Ravens, who were in danger of falling to 0-2 with two division home losses, played lights out in a 26-6 win. Joe Flacco was nearly flawless with a 21-29 night for two scores, but it was the Baltimore running attack that rushed for 157 yards that got Pittsburgh off the field on their way to a 35-25 time-of-possession edge. Three Steeler turnovers were killer to the visitors.
Carson Palmer was a late scratch with a bad shoulder just 90 minutes before game time forcing Drew Stanton behind center for the first time in three years. The ex-Michigan Wolverine did what he needed to do, managing the offense and not turning the ball over in the Cardinals 25-14 win over the Giants. Big Blue turned the ball over four times as it has become painfully apparent that Eli Manning is not suited for Ben McAdoo’s West Coast offense. The G-Men dropped to 0-2 and look to be headed for a top five draft pick. Arizona’s performance was all the more impressive off a short work week and West to East travel for a 1:00 PM EST kick.
The Bills throttled Miami 29-10 to improve to 2-0, but the jury is still out. The Buffalo defense, especially the front seven, has been very good and pressured Ryan Tannehill – who was sacked four times. With that said, the Bills managed just 13 first downs and scored 19 of their points off 103 yards of offense. The other touchdown came on a 102-yard kickoff return by C.J. Spiller. We’ll take a wait and see approach on the northern New Yorkers before they start getting our money.
Glossing over some of the other routs, Cam Newton returned to the Panthers by throwing for 281 yards in Carolina’s 24-7 walk over Detroit. Newton missed the opener (and first game of his career) with bad ribs. The Panther defense was stout in creating three turnovers and holding Motown to just seven points. Cincinnati and Dallas were dominant on both sides of the ball in their respective wins over Atlanta and Tennessee. DeMarco Murray carried the mail for 167 yards and a score in the Cowboys 26-10 win, Jake Locker was horrific in a bad Tennessee home loss. RG III dislocated his ankle early on and Kirk Cousins took over to lead the Redskins to a 41-10 waxing of Jacksonville. The Washington defense sacked Chad Henne 10 times. Houston snuffed Oakland 30-14, the only thing remarkable there was J.J. Watt catching a touchdown pass as a tackle eligible out of the Texans’ jumbo goal-line package.
The San Diego Chargers had the perfect blueprint to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Catch Seattle on the road, go right at the Legion of Boom and hold the ball for 43 minutes. It all translated to a 30-21 win by the Bolts who were led by Philip Rivers 28-37, 281, 3-0 day. Seattle had no answer for the Chargers’ crafty veteran TE Antonio Gates who had 7 catches for 99 yards and three touchdowns. The Seahawks may have been a bit flat with their Super Bowl matchup with the Broncos on deck, but you just can’t take away anything from San Diego. The Broncos escaped with a 24-17 non-cover win over the Chiefs in a game where you could say that Denver was outplayed.
In the Sunday night game, the Bears came back from a 17-0 hole, scoring touchdowns on four straight second half drives to spoil the 49ers Levi Stadium opening with a 28-20 win. Jay Cutler weathered a tremendous hit (that actually seemed to fire the Bears up) to throw four TDs along with no interceptions. The Bears defense played great despite a boatload of in-game injuries- with the secondary picking off Kaepernick three times, twice in the fourth quarter. Chicago won straight up as a six-point dog. Under players (47) in this game took the bad beat of the week in this game as it was 20-7 after three quarters. Three scoring drives in this game were directly attributable to short fields created by interceptions run back to inside the 10.
Andrew Luck had been known as a closer through his first two years in the NFL but not this past Monday night. Luck and the Colts snatched defeat from the mouth of victory with a bad interception late in the fourth in what had to been viewed as poor play calling. Up 27-20 with five minutes left, the Colts threw on third and long, bypassing an almost automatic Vinatieri FG that would have put them up two scores late. Darren Sproles had a huge game for Philly, running for a score and catching 7 passes for 152 yards and another TD. All but 53 of Nick Fowles’ 331 yards passing went to the backs and TEs.