The first Sunday Night games are now in the bag and after a shakey start we finished with 9-4 which when added to our Packers prediction gives us a 10-4 start.
Our Predictions & Actual Results
Atlanta at Chicago – Falcons by 10 points+
Result Chicago 30, Atlanta 12 – we certainly didn’t see this one coming! The Bears defense were the main architects of this win and despite Matt Ryan putting up 319 yards the Bears managed to keep them from scoring. Its too early to read anything into this and with the whole of the NFC South losing it has made little difference to Atlanta.
Cincinnati at Cleveland – Browns by 3-7 points
Result Cincinnati 27, Cleveland 17 – The Browns looked good on offense with McCoy starting to appear like one for the future. However a sloppy disorganised defense will always lose you a game and the Browns will need to sort it if they are going to win any games this year.
Buffalo at Kansas City – Chiefs by 7 points +
Result Buffalo 41, Kansas City 7 – The Chiefs were woeful and slumped to their worst ever season opener at Arrowhead. Are the Bills any good? well Fitzpatrick looked ok and CJ spiller is showing potential, however we will reserve judgement until they play someone who look like they are ready to play. The Chiefs are unlikely to play this badly again.
Philadelphia at St. Louis – Eagles by 14 points +
Result Philadelphia 31, St. Louis 13 – Much as expected the Eagles looked like a team with playoff aspirations while the Rams are still on the rebuild. Sam Bradford showed enough to suggest the Rams will win a few this year and a playoff place from the weak NFC West cant be ruled out.
Detroit at Tampa Bay – Tampa by 3-7 points
Result Detroit 27, Tampa Bay 20 – The Lions have finally roared and they have made a big statement with this win. No one will look forward to playing either of these teams in 2011, although neither are likely to make the playoffs this year -now next season will be a different matter.
Tennessee at Jacksonville – Jaguars by 7 points +
Result Jacksonville 16, Tennessee 14 – The Jags scraped this one mainly thanks to Josh Scobee who remains a reliable field goal kicker. The Titans will be pleased with Matt Hasselbeck’s showing – 263 yards and 2 TD’s is not bad for a supposedlt washed up QB.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – Ravens by 3-7 points
Result- Baltimore 35, Pittsburgh 7 – Is the balance of power finally changing in the AFC North? Flacco looked good and the Ravens defense were nothing short of awesome forcing 7 turnovers while the ravens gave away none. The Steelers will bounce back from this but a statement has been made.
Indianapolis at Houston – Texans by 3-7 Points
Result Houston 34, Indianapolis 7 – Its official the Colts are a one man team and without Peyton Mannings leadership they look mpretty ordinary. The Texans on the other hand are slowly improving and they look likely to pose a serious challenge in the AFC South this year.
NY Giants at Washington – Redskins by 3-7 points
Result Washington 28, NY Giants 14 – A nice win for the Skins all be it against a somewhat below strength Giants side. The much Maligned Rex Grossman had one of his best games in a Redskins shirt and off season aquisition Tim Hightower looked good too, gaining nearly 100 yards of total offense and a TD.
Seattle at San Francisco – 49ers by 7 points +
Result San Francisco 33, Seattle 17 – Seattles travel woes continued with a poor showing against the 49ers. San Fransisco won the game thanks to special teams and fumble recoveries so dont read too much into this win.
Minnesota at San Diego – Chargers by 10-14 points
Result San Diego 24, Minnesota 17 – The Chargers dominated the game but did their best to thow it away (lliterally) as Rivers threw 2 picks. Still the notoriously slow starting San Diego have at least managed an opening day win. One bright spot for the Vikings is their running offense looks solid thanks to Adrian Peterson. Now if only they vcan find someone for Donovan to throw to.
Carolina at Arizona- Cardinals by 7-10 points
Result Arizona 28, Carolina 21 – Cam Newton loked right at home in the NFL throwing for a new rookie record 422 yards. Throwing an interception hardly took the gloss offit and he will have silenced a few critics now. Kevin Kolb was slightly overshadowed – however his performance was equally impressive and when he really gets to know his offense he will put up some big numbers.
Dallas at NY Jets – Jets by 7-10 points
Result NY Jets 27, Dallas 24 – Dallas were a little unlucky in this one as the Jets rallied to a narrow win. Romo looked good for 45 minutes but seemed to run out of steam in the 4th quarted and failing to control the clock cost them dear. Neither team managed to move the ball of the ground which probably reflects the strong defenses rather than the quality of the Running Backs.
Thursday Night
New Orleans at Green Bay – Packers by 3-7
Result Green Bay 42 New Orleans 34
Predictions so far 10-4