DownSwinging.com

After a very entertaining week 1 of the NFL, fans like myself just can’t wait to get another set of games in. And what a set of games they will be. Just looking at the schedule we can see a very large number of games that could go either way, regardless of whether it’s may be a playoff preview or a battle of the worst. Without further ado, let’s look at some of the matchups.

New England Patriots at New York Jets

This is what we know. The Patriots barely squeaked out a win against the average Buffalo Bills and the Jets (especially Mark Sanchez) impressed against a favored Texans team in Houston. But to me this matchup is a no-contest. If you looked closer at the Bills game, the Pats all but dominated in every category except points, indicating the match was somewhat of an anomaly, or a warmup, you could say. And while Sanchez was good against the Texans, he made a number of rookie mistakes that weren’t capitalized on by the Houston defense. Prediction: New England.

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos

Not a pretty matchup. Neither team was good last week, despite Denver winning on a fluke play at the end of the game. There’s nothing really good to say about the Browns, nor is there to say about the Broncos. Ultimately, I like Brady Quinn better than Kyle Orton (anyone is better than Kyle Orton) so if he can get over the altitude, the game is his. Prediction: Cleveland.

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers

This one could really go either way. With the Chargers getting their annual first-game jitters out of the way you might think Philip Rivers could lead the Chargers to victory, but with LT declining (it’s happening) one might not be so sure. Willis McGahee was good last week, and that could help out Joe Flacco. Really  though, it’s a toss up. Prediction: Baltimore.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears

The spread on this game right now is only favoring the Steelers by three, and quite frankly I can’t understand why. They’re obviously the better team (especially with Brian Urlacher down for the Bears) and Jay Cutler was bad for the Bears last week. Take out that blown coverage on Devin Hester that went for a TD and he was very bad. The Bears defense will still be good without Urlacher, but not as good ast the Steelers’. Prediction: Steelers

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

While my personal bias is going to play in here, I like the Giants’ chances. Well kinda. I give them a 55/45 shot. But considering it’s in Dallas and how well the Cowboys played last week, that’s pretty good. The key for the Giants is figuring out that receiving core. I think Steve Smith is going to step it up, but if he doesn’t Hixon will have to. Eli can’t just throw to Kevin Boss. The Cowboys have a similar problem, with Roy E. Williams probably not having the talent of a number one receiver. Prediction: Giants.