NFL Week 2 Preview - Late Games

The battle for supremacy in the AFC East could be up for grabs in the Pats/Jets battle. The Manning Bowl II provides for evening entertainment.

Seattle Seahawks (1-0) v. Denver Broncos (0-1)
FOX/Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa/4:05 PM ET

Seattle: I kept thinking that last week's score was a misprint. The was no way the Seahawks put a 31 spot on the Niners...but they did and they did it after allowing San Fran to put the first six points on the board. It was all Seattle from there, but can the honeymoon with new head coach Pete Carroll continue into week 2?

Matthew Hasselbeck did just enough to lead Seattle to the win. The offense didn't exactly set the tone. The defense did, and that's real Pete Carroll football. Seattle held Frank Gore to 38 yards on 17 carries. The Seahawks don't exactly face a stud RB today, but Seattle will make Denver beat them in the passing game.

The one aspect of Seattle's offense from last week was that the Seahawks did not rely on one guy. The attack was spread about...willingly, too. Hasselbeck, Deon Butler, Deion Branch and Marcus Trufant all scored TDs. The Niners could not key on one person other than maybe Hasselbeck. That can make for a tough defensive after for Denver especially with no Elvis.

Denver: The Jacksonville Jaguars recorded three sacks against the Broncos o-line last week. The Jags recorded 15 all of 2009. That puts into perspective the issues the Broncos have on offense. It will have nothing to do with the QB position all you Tim Tebow fans. It will have to do with protecting whoever is calling signals. Denver's most explosive offensive player, Knowshon Moreno, was held to 64 total yards, too. Losing the turnover battle is never a good thing as Denver was a -2.

Had a feeling that would happen to the Broncos offense with no Brandon Marshall. Teams really only have to worry about Moreno and Seattle held 49ers Frank Gore in check last week. Josh McDaniels better come up with a great gameplan for this game.

Denver's defense, without Elvis Dumervil, played well despite the loss. Jacksonville may have authored the way to beat Denver from an offensive standpoint, balance. The Broncos permitted 299 total yards last week, 134 on the ground and 165 through the air.

It is Denver's home opener, but the offense just has no bite in it. Seattle in a close one.

St. Louis Rams (0-1) v. Oakland Raiders (0-1)
FOX/Ron Pitts and John Lynch/4:05 PM ET

St. Louis: You hope Sam Bradford's arm doesn't fall off considering he threw the ball 55 times last week. But if I'm the Raiders defensive coordinator, this makes me think a bit. The Rams are not afraid to throw with the rookie. You have to honor that. And if you honor that too much, there's Steven Jackson. And the Raiders were ransacked by Tennessee's Chris Johnson last week. Just sayin'.

The Rams defense held up pretty well against Arizona, but we all know the Cards offense isn't what was in years past. Still, the Rams had a shot at the end. With a team that's still developing, you can't ask for much more than having the opportunity.

The Rams must limit the turnovers as they committed four last week. Pressure on the QB will be in order as the Raiders sieve of an offensive line allowed four sacks against the Titans.

Oakland: Week 1 of the Jason Campbell era and not much changed for the Raiders offense. The Raiders did have a running game, but the pass offense stumbled. Campbell threw a pick and was sacked four times. Darren McFadden accounted for 150 total yards (95 rushing, 55 receiving) and a TD. He led the Raiders in both of those categories meaning the wideouts did very little.

Oakland has always wanted to go vertical in the passing game and until the o-line finds a means to protect Campbell, it cannot happen. Check downs will be in order. But the Rams did allow Derek Anderson almost 250 yards last week. At this point, if Oakland can maintain the rushing stats and accumulate about 250 yards through the air, the Black Hole would be compliant.

It's the Raiders defense that will make the difference in this one. They will look to control Steven Jackson and beg the rookie Bradford to beat them. If Oakland can make the Rams rely on the pass, it could mean a victory for the Raiders.

I do like Oakland in this one, but the Rams showed me something last week.

Houston Texans (1-0) v. Washington Redskins (1-0)
CBS/Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts/4:15 PM ET

Houston: RB Arian Foster ripped through the Indianapolis Colts defense last week. I think the Redskins, despite all the distractions, will provide a stiffer test. If the Redskins pay too much attention to Foster, then QB Matt Schaub, the 2009 passing yards leader, could torch the Redskins secondary. Schaub didn't have to throw the ball a lot last week (9-17 for 107 yards) due to Foster's success. And Schaub has more than capable receivers in Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels at his disposal.

But Houston must find that balance against the Redskins defense. No, it's not the best in the league, but new DC Jim Haslett has been around the block a couple of times in his day.

If you look only at the stats, you think Houston gave up way too many yards in the air. Then you realize that Peyton Manning was on the other side of the ball and that Houston held the lead for the entire game. Donovan McNabb is a wily vet, but he's not Manning.

The only thing that concerns me is that Houston suffers a letdown after conquering the one team that's been the thorn in their side in Indy and letting up a bit against Washington.

Washington: The Redskins were gift wrapped a win last Sunday night. There's no other way to put it. Look at these numbers. Outgained 380-250. TOP: Dallas 34:03, Washington 25:57. I know TOP can be overrated depending on the offensive scheme, but I do not think that applies to Washington's offense. Not a quick strike team.

The Redskins seriously do not have all the pieces. One receiver in Santana Moss and TE/HB Chris Cooley is pretty much all you need to defend in the passing game. Keep one eye on Clinton Portis and the running game could be held in check. Mike Shanahan's offense must provide more yards against a more explosive offense.

And the Albert Haynesworth "deal" will radiate all season. If he's not in the game, the camera will find where he is on the sideline. We saw that last week. I think Haynesworth could play a pivotal role this week if they let him play more. Albert can stop the run. Albert can rush a QB.

I'm going with Houston here.

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) v. San Diego Chargers (0-1)
CBS/Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker/4:15 PM ET

Jacksonville: The Jags got a win last week of the strength of...no one in particular. Maurice Jones-Drew had a good game. David Garrard had a good game. No one stat blew you away as the Jaguars showed a bit of offensive balance. We generally think of the Jags as strictly a running team. Most do and then Garrard goes off for a great game.

Where Jacksonville made strides last week compared to last season was on defense. No, Denver's offense won't make you shiver, but the Jags got to Kyle Orton three times for sacks. Those three sacks represent 20% of Jacksonville's sack total from all of '09 (15). They must translate that over to this game and going forward.

It was a complete effort by Jacksonville last week.

San Diego: Boy did the offense look lethargic for the first half against the Chiefs. Philip Rivers woke up at halftime and managed a good game though. And the defense was played well allowing only one huge play (Jamaal Charles' 56-yard TD run).

Where the Bolts were bettered last Monday night was in the return game. I don't think the Jaguars can duplicate the speed of the Chiefs in that phase of the game. The Chargers return game wasn't as solid as it normally is either.

San Diego had all the numbers in their favor last week (TOP, total plays, total yards, first downs, turnover margin) and still lost. That's discouraging when you perform well on both sides of the ball and still cannot manage a win.

Things should change this week. I like SD in their home opener.

New England Patriots (1-0) v. New York Jets (0-1)
CBS/Jim Nantz and Phil Simms/4:15 PM ET

New England: Tom Brady doesn't have to worry about the fans leaving early this week...unless it's the Jets fans and that's if the Pats are blowing the Jets out of their new home.

What New England does have to worry about is a dangerous defense. And Brady will look to exploit their aggressiveness. The Patriots realize this game will be won or loss when they have the ball. And that offense look good against a better than normal Bengals defense last week.

During preseason, the Pats show so much vanilla defense that you have no clue what they're going to do during the regular season. You know Bill Belichick will help devise other plans for a struggling Jets offense. It's his calling card.

New York: Not hearing as much barking this week, are we?

So much was made of the offense last week that we overlook the fact that the defense played an excellent game last week...except for penalties. Well, penalties in general stopped the Jets just as much as the Ravens defense did. That can be corrected. You hope.

And the offense was, shall we say, deplorable. They had two plays of over 20 yards, both rushes. The longest pass play? 13 yards. That will not get it done against New England even though the Pats surrendered 428 yards to Cincinnati last week.

If New York is to win, the offense must open up and not rely solely on the run. They have Shonn Greene, but I still say the absence of Thomas Jones will hurt this team in the long run.

New England here.

New York Giants (1-0) v. Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
NBC/Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer

The Manning Bowl II

New York: The Giants offense will look to run the ball...and run the ball some more. That was the recipe for the Houston Texans last week against Indy. The other priority will be for little brother Eli to not throw interceptions. He had three last week. If they Gmen can run, they can pull off a win.

The wild card in the Giants offense is Brandon Jacobs. We saw what happened to the Colts last week.

But the Giants did put together a good defensive effort last week against a Carolina team that looks to run. The Colts are just the opposite. They throw the ball more than any team in the NFL. Well, it seems that way. The Giants must refocus the defense for a passing game that can dink and dunk you if you allow those plays.

Indianapolis: The Colts were trashed against the run last week, but I do believe they will rebound a bit in that phase of their defense. Texans RB Arian Foster is a bit of a bruiser while the Giants Ahmad Bradshaw is more of a speed threat. With the Colts speedy defense, that could negate Bradshaw and lead the Giants to lean on Brandon Jacobs.

The offense? No real worries there except if they cannot run as in at all. The Colts, unless they are really behind, will try to run even if they are not successful. It's merely to keep the defense honest. Sometimes, that will create an opportunity for big brother Peyton to work his magic.

All questions pertaining to Indy are on the defensive side and I believe they have a better game this week.

You simply cannot go against Indy at home.