Chicago Bears 27, NY Jets 19
So, this is how the Monday Night Football game essentially started for me this week:
My son, my mom, my brother, and I were at my parent's house, which itself is kind of unusual lately, the last couple of months or so. My brother (who's favorite team would be those same Jets) sounded disgusted as soon as he turned on the game, because the Jets had somehow managed to fall behind, 7-0, within the first 30 seconds or so of the game.
Sigh.
And he has sounded disgusted like this before with the Jets, and with good reason. He mentions the more than four decades of futility in the franchise's history since their one truly shining moment with the Super Bowl III upset victory over the prohibitively favored Baltimore Colts. Since then, it has been pretty much one disappointment and heartbreak after another.
Of course, teams don't lose simply because they allow a touchdown within the first minute of the game, not even the Jets!
But the Bears extended their lead to 17-3 by the second quarter! It was going to be a tall order to ask the Jets to win this one!
Yet, they fought back, and made a game of it! A field goal was followed by a touchdown by halftime, to close the margin to 17-13.
But early in the third quarter, Jay Cutler found Martellus Bennett in the end zone, and the Bears were up 24-13, just like that. The Jets were unable to get into the end zone for the rest of the game, and, of course, lost once again.
Cutler went 23 of 38 for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Bears, while Geno Smith was 26 of 43 for 316 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in a losing efforts for the Jets.
Predictions
New York Giants (1-2) at Washington (1-2) - Neither team has looked particularly impressive thus far. Washington has managed to score a lot of points in the last couple of weeks, though, and that kind of scares me. Still, the Giants finally looked solid on both offense and defense last weekend in getting their first victory. This is a game that is essentially already a must win for both teams, if they want to have any chance of keeping up with the other, better teams in the division thus far, Philly and Dallas. Really hard to tell which Giants team will show up, but as a fan, I'll keep my faith in them, and predict that they find a way to win for the second week in a row. Prediction: Giants
Buffalo at Houston - Houston lost their first game of the season last weekend, but that was on the road. They have yet to play a really solid team this season, and it is a question mark how they will respond. As for the Bills, they have played solidly early, although the loss to the Chargers was quite thorough. Usually, that does not bode well for Buffalo, and this will be a road game against a winning team to follow that! Very tough. Prediction: Texans
Tennessee at Indianapolis - The Colts finally got their first win of the year, and they did it in very convincing fashion. The Titans, meanwhile, are coming off of two consecutive losses, in which they played very poorly, and surely lost confidence from their week one win. Now, they have to go to Indianapolis and face a charged up Colts team? Prediction: Indianapolis
Green Bay at Chicago - You get the funny feeling that the Packers are really on the ropes here. They lost a bad game at Detroit last week, and will try to stay in the division race with a tough road win against the Chicago Bears, who have won two in a row on the road, and lost a close call to the Bills in overtime in week one. Both teams seem like they have not quite gotten in gear yet, but the Packers really need this one desperately! I see Rodgers and company putting it into a higher gear and, once again, coming off with an enormous win in Chicago, breaking the hearts of Bears fans. Prediction: Packers
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh - Do I really have to get into this one? The Steelers looked good last weekend at Carolina, and look good at 2-1, while the Bucs look absolutely atrocious! There really are no positives when you look at Tampa Bay at the moment, and having to go to the Steel City to try and notch their first win? Not the ideal, to say the least. I just don't see them doing it. Prediction: Steelers
Carolina at Baltimore - This would be a tough game between two teams with solid defenses. Carolina got off to a very good start, but that was a bad loss against Pittsburgh, and Baltimore is not exactly a great place to try and recover from such a bad loss. The Ravens have won two in a row, and know what's at stake, needing to keep up with the undefeated Bengals and the 2-1 Steelers, who will likely rise to 3-1 after this weekend. Prediction: Ravens
Miami at Oakland - Sooner or later, winless teams are going to win a game, right? The Raiders have looked decent at times this season, and have not played all that poorly, despite three losses in three games. Miami, in the meantime, looked great with a week one win, but looked terrible in the last two blowout losses at Buffalo and to Kansas City. The Raiders are winless, but I'm willing to bet that they won't be after this weekend, because the Dolphins are in trouble right now! Prediction: Raiders
Detroit at NY Jets - The second straight week that the Jets have to host a first place NFC North opponent. The Lions look incredible so far at home, but this game is at the Meadowlands. Still, the Jets look in disarray, with only one win against the Raiders at home to show for their efforts. The Lions offense has looked shaky the last two weeks, after a solid start against the Giants. As for the Jets, they played a very sloppy game on Monday Night Football, and that was one week after their near miss at Lambeau Field. They are 0-2 against NFC North opponents so far, and I see them sinking to 0-3 against them on Sunday. Prediction: Lions
Atlanta at Minnesota - The Falcons are not known as road warriors, exactly. This season seems to be following a familiar pattern, where Atlanta proves too tough a place to play for most opponents, but the Falcons then look suspect in their road games. But Minnesota is in a state of disarray, and the Falcons are a talented team that need this game! I see Atlanta managing a relatively rare road win. Prediction: Falcons
Jacksonville at San Diego - Oh, boy! The Chargers look like true lightning so far, having only missed a perfect 3-0 start due to a tough, one-point loss in week one at Arizona. But they look like they are flying high, while the Jaguars have been blown out in all of their games, and look absolutely terrible! Rivers has ben on fire these last couple of weeks, and I suspect he'll enjoy a big day against the lowly Jaguars. Prediction: Chargers
Philadelphia at San Francisco - The Eagles are hot, and obviously not afraid of deficits! In the meantime, the 49ers have suffered two tough losses in a row, both of which were come from ahead losses. The main thing is that this game is in sunny California, and the question, then is how important home field will be for the Niners. But they have issues. The offense will score more than they did against the Cardinals, but the defense will likely allow more, too. Prediction: Eagles
New Orleans at Dallas - What a game! The Saints are a very talented team that absolutely need this win! But the Cowboys, after a horrible and humbling loss to San Fran in week one, have looked solid with two road wins. Returning back home could provide added pressure on the Cowboys to perform, and I suspect that the Saints urgently need to win this one! Prediction: Saints
New England at Kansas City - This is a tough game! The Chiefs have looked good the last couple of weeks, and the Patriots are....well, the Patriots. It's tough to go against Brady and Belichick. But Kansas City was strong at Denver, and then beat Miami on the road, convincingly. No one will blow out the other, and the Patriots experience should be the difference in this one. Prediction: Patriots
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