After a wild Week 1 of NFL action, where four games were decided by a single point, football season is officially underway. Each week, we’re going to highlight our favorite NFL matchups and tell you how we think things will shake out.
Lock of the Week – Saints and Giants hit the over
People are going to look at the 20 points that the Giants scored against Dallas on Sunday and think that New York can’t replicate what Oakland did to the New Orleans defense in Week 1, but they can — and will. Due to Saints cornerback Delin Breaux third quarter fibula break, the Saints are putrid on defense with a loss of 34-35 to the Raiders. Thus, New York runs one of the fastest-paced offenses in the league and Odell Beckham Jr. and Co. will match New Orleans point for point on Sunday. Look for these teams to light up the scoreboard and easily hit the 51 point total that Vegas projects for this game.
Upset of the Week – Jets over the Bills
Rex Ryan’s teams are known for having stingy defenses, therefore, the Jets have the perfect plan of attack for the Bills. Buffalo uses blitzes to create confusion in the middle of the field, but with arguably the best wide receiver duo in the league in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, New York has the weapons to attack Buffalo on the perimeter. The Jets glaring weakness in the first week was against Bengals’ wide receiver A.J. Green, as cornerback Darrelle Revis’ age is beginning to show. With star receiver Sammy Watkins dealing with lingering pain from his off-season foot injury, though, the Bills will have a hard time exploiting that chink in New York’s armor. Not only will the Jets cover the small spread, but they should win this game outright.
Player of the Week – Derek Carr
After throwing for over 300 yards in a win over the Saints, Derek Carr gets the luxury of going home to face a Falcons defense that was just torched for four touchdowns by Tampa Bay’s second-year quarterback, Jameis Winston. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree are matchup nightmares yet Seth Roberts is the best-kept red zone secret in the league. Add in the fact that Oakland rotates four running backs that excel in the passing game, and it’s no wonder that Vegas expects the Raiders to be one of the highest scoring teams of the week, with a lot of those points coming from the arm of Carr.
TJ Hernandez is an editor at 4for4.com and the founder of RosterCoach.com. You can follow him on twitter @TJHernandez.
*The blog is for entertainment purposes only and in no way should be used in making wagers of any kind.