NFL Week Two Afternoon Games

The morning games are almost over and some of them have been quite a ride. The afternoon games are about 30 minutes away. Here’s my quick rundown of these afternoon games in the NFL.

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks should play tough in their home opener. Their defense will be flying around and the offense will be much better. Last week against Detroit they looked like a team that took the preseason off, which they did. The Cardinals are flying high after their opening win against the 49ers in Arizona. It was the 49ers and I think the Cardinals will come back to reality this week.

Pick: Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers looked somewhat improved last week. They lost to Arizona 34-27, but 49ers QB Smith threw a TD—he only had one all of last year. Their task will be about the same this week. The Rams are a middle of the road type of team. Their offense took last week off. Despite beating a rusty Broncos team 18-10, the offense could only get field goals. I think the Rams will struggle a little bit again today, but they should escape San Francisco with a win.

Pick: St. Louis Rams

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

For the Chiefs you have a new QB—Huard. Their starter, Trent Green is out. For the Broncos you have a starter that looked shaky in week one and who’s now looking over his shoulder. Is Plummer on track to be replaced soon? The Broncos looked rusty, but that should be no surprise. They did the same thing last season. I look for the Broncos to get back on track at home. The atmosphere should be too much for Chiefs replacement QB Huard to deal with.

Pick: Denver Broncos

New England Patriots at New York Jets

I like the Jets to upset today. Pennington looked good last week. He had 319 yards passing with 2 TDs and no interceptions. The New England Patriots escaped Buffalo thanks to an error by the Bills. They go on the road to New York today and I think the Patriots will come up short. They are missing too many players now. Tom Brady was 11 of 23 for 163 yards, 2 TDs and 1 interception last week. They will need a strong running game today.

Pick: New York Jets

Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers

The Tennessee Titans came up short in a 23-16 loss last week. The Chargers had a cupcake of a game as they beat the Raiders 27-0. The Titans should pose a much better test this week. Chargers QB Rivers will probably only attempt 10-13 passes again this week. Look for a health dose of Tomlinson. The Titans will need to stop the run if they want a shot to win. I like the Chargers, but I’m going to go out on a limb and pick the Titans. They can stop the run enough to force the Chargers to use Rivers more. It might be the recipe for victory for the Titans.

Pick: Tennessee Titans