This article covers predicted Pro Football top 5 exciting games week 2 and top 5 upsets. Thursday Night Football on NBC is right around the corner on 9/16/21 and that means Week 2 is starting. Time to continue with a weekly cadence of highlighting the best games to watch. Also determining the potential upsets lurking below the radar. Hard part about doing this exercise in 2021, is trying to determine if any of the 2020 trends will continue. 2020 was the season of Covid-19 impacts, no fans in the stands and a surprising post season.
2021 Week 1 Picks Recap
Pro Football Top 5 Exciting Games Week 2
5. Tennessee vs. Seattle
An angry Titans team plays the Seahawks at 4:25 PM EDT. Home field advantage will be back at Lumen Field, with 67,000 fans clad in blue and green, for the first time since December 2019. Titans were pushed around by Arizona in Week #1. Seahawks showed that Russell Wilson still throws a nice touchdown pass or four, against Indianapolis. Derrick Henry reaches 100+ rushing yards, but the new vertical aerial show of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett will be more entertaining.
Prediction: A game of field position and limiting turnovers. Danger Russ leads Seattle to an intense 3 point victory.
4. Los Angeles Rams vs. Indianapolis
Matthew Stafford might have found the fountain of youth moving from the Lions to the Rams. Didn’t the same thing happen with Kurt Warner in 1999? Or was that in 2008? Colts secondary was torched by the Seahawks, but Frank Reich will have this team ready to play. Carson Wentz showed little to no rust in Week #1 and he’ll continue to play stress free football for the majority of this season. Hoping he stays healthy to balance out the football karma gods.
Prediction: Game will be an offensive shoot-out until the Rams defensive line gets to Wentz in the fourth quarter on several key stops. Rams win by 7 points and the rest of the NFC realizes they are back.
3. Kansas City vs. Baltimore
Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson. Do I need to write anything else? Chiefs can’t stop a high school team on defense, therefore Mahomes will carry them on his back offensively. Ravens found out in Las Vegas that they just need to let Jackson run and throw like its 2019 all over again. Both teams will move up and down the field at will, which translates to the last team having the ball on offense wins with a walk off field goal.
Prediction: Kansas City wins by 3 points at the buzzer
2. New Orleans vs. Carolina
Jameis Winston took the starting QB spot with the Saints and threw five touchdowns on only fourteen completions in Week #1. Green Bay’s defense helped a ton with that weird stat line. Panthers played confidently behind their new QB, Sam Darnold. Early season NFC South matchup that looks good, but the Saints are dealing with issues out of their control (Covid-19 infections and Hurricane Ida impacts). Time for Christian McCaffrey to show why he’s a legitimate MVP candidate in 2021.
Prediction: Both teams expended a lot of energy in Week 1 and this game is hard to watch for any flow during the first half. Carolina gets traction in the second half and wins by 10 points.
1. Las Vegas vs. Pittsburgh
Old fashioned AFC matchup that produced one of the most memorable playoff moments in NFL history. Raiders got off the mat several times against the Ravens last Monday night. Won that game in OT without a running game due to injuries. Jon Gruden looks like he enjoys the Vegas buffet lines. Steelers caught the Bills on an off day. Blocked punt for a touchdown and a newly signed TJ Watt led to a big road win. Steelers young offensive line will have their hands full with the Raiders pass rush, but they’ll gain confidence as the game progresses.
Prediction: Steelers hang on for a 4 point victory due to Najee Harris having his first breakout game with 100+ yards rushing
Pro Football Top 5 Exciting Games Week 2 for Upsets that might happen
5. Buffalo vs. Miami
Two teams that used to dominate the AFC East in the 1980s and 1990s until a guy named Tom Brady arrived in New England. Bills played sleepy against the Steelers in Week #1. Dolphins nipped the Patriots by a single point in Week #1. Dolphins are a tough out at home unless the Bills wake up Stefon Diggs and start using next level offensive formations. Game will be close for 60 minutes. Don’t be surprised if Tua and Company are undefeated after Week #2 with a lot of momentum into Week #3.
4. San Francisco vs. Philadelphia
49ers survived the Lions in an offensive shootout. Eagles won easily in Atlanta, but their starting QB (Jalen Hurts) has a long ways to go to be able to manage games effectively. The minor platooning of Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance worked in Week #1 for San Francisco, but I don’t see it being a long term solution unless both players buy into it quickly. Eagles are currently home underdogs according to the experts and will slow this game down to try and confuse the 49ers. As much as I pick on Jalen Hurts, all he does is win football games and puts his teammates first. What a refreshing personality trait in 2021 and hopefully more players copy Hurts.
3. New England vs. New York Jets
Patriots will quickly dismiss their Week #1 loss and get back to gameday business against the Jets. Jets think they’ve truly found a franchise QB by drafting Zach Wilson. Jets are also welcoming back two of their top three WRs this week (Jamison Crowder and Keelan Cole). The more I think about this game, it’ll either be a Patriots blowout victory or a close game into the final five minutes. I’ll take the second option to see if Bill Belichick can frown even more.
2. New York Giants vs. Washington
The pedestrian NFC East is the Thursday night matchup on 9/16/21 at 8:20 PM EDT on the NFL Network. Washington Football Team were a dark horse pick in 2021 by many talking heads, due to the cohesion and chemistry they showed during the 2020 Covid-19 season. Giants lost at home to the Broncos and Daniel Jones continues to struggle when trying to run the offense. Giants always give Washington fits whenever they play and that will continue this week. Can’t get the image out of my mind, when Jim Zorn was a lame duck head coach for Washington during Week #15 in 2009 on ESPN. That was painful to watch and this game will be too.
1. Cincinnati vs. Chicago
Which animal is more fierce? A tiger or a bear? Tigers are hunters and have amazing speed when running. Bears are truly beautiful creatures due to their brute strength and coveted hibernation schedule. I bet the Cincinnati and Chicago fan bases don’t care about those descriptions due to the offensive ineptitude both teams have shown since 2019. Bears usually play better at home and will give Joe Burrow and his teammates a game that will be close into the fourth quarter. If the Bears limit turnovers and their special teams actually help, they might steal a win.
Random fact: AFC has seven teams and the NFC eight teams with animal mascots
Same bat time, same bat channel next week. I’ll review the results of Pro Football Top 5 exciting games week 2 and try again in week #3.
Never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater in Vegas! Hope you enjoyed Pro Football Top 5 Exciting Games Week 2.
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