NFL Game Previews: Breaking Down Week 2

Denver (+3) at Kansas City - Thursday, 8:25 pm EDT

Comments: Week 2 is actually my favorite week of the regular season, just because it's so easy to overreact to Week 1's results that things can get kinda crazy. Case in point: the line on the Thursday night game has already shifted 4.5 points since it opened (the Broncos were originally favored by 1.5 points, now the Chiefs are giving a field goal), and I don't think that's because of Travis Kelce. It's possible that Peyton Manning's 39-year-old body has finally given out on him, but maybe the Ravens defense should be getting a little more credit for making Manning look bad Sunday afternoon. If a Chiefs defense that just allowed a 100-yard receiving day to Nate Washington can also make Manning look bad, only then will I start writing his fantasy obit. ... While Alex Smith put up good numbers against what is supposed to be a tough Texans defense last week, not a lot seemed to change from last year's dink and dunk plan. Jeremy Maclin led the team with nine targets (resulting in an unimpressive five catches for 52 yards), but half of Smith's 33 attempts went to running backs or tight ends and all the real damage came from Jamaal Charles and Kelce. With Maclin nursing a sore back, don't expect KC's wide receiver scoring drought to end any time soon. ... If you combined the Texans three-headed backfield of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk into one person, then Alfathan Grimepolk would have gotten a solid 92 rushing yards on 20 carries last week. C.J. Anderson looks questionable for Thursday due to toe and ankle issues, though, so Ronnie Hillman should have a decent game if Anderson can't play. If he does suit up, look for the two to split the workload.

Predictions: Rumors of Peyton's demise prove to be exaggerated, and Manning throws for 260 yards and TDs to Demaryius Thomas and Hillman. Hillman also picks up 80 rushing yards on the ground, and Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders each fall just shy of 100 receiving yards. Jamaal Charles has another productive overall game with 110 combined yards, but the Chiefs' offensive line struggles against the Broncos' pass rush and Smith can't duplicate his Week 1 success, throwing for 200 yards and only one TD, again to Kelce. Denver extends its winning streak at Arrowhead Stadium to four straight. Broncos, 20-17

Houston (+3) at Carolina - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: Well, that didn't take long. It looks like Brian Hoyer is out and Ryan Mallett is in at quarterback for the Texans, and Bill O'Brien starts off his head coaching tenure with a plate of waffles. It's not like Hoyer did much to keep the job, but then again it's not like he played well below his usual level through the first three quarters in Week 1's loss to the Chiefs. He put up numbers right in line with his career (sub-60 percent completion rate, YPA in the sixes, a 1:1 TD:INT ratio), so it's fair to ask exactly what O'Brien was expecting from him that his performance last week was disappointing. Mallett was decent in relief at least, but if he struggles too his leash could end up being as short as Hoyer's. ... Well, that didn't take long, part two: Jonathan Stewart lasted all of one week this season before winding up on the injury report with a sore knee. The Panthers say it isn't serious and he should play Sunday, but he didn't exactly light it up last week against what should have been an exploitable Jaguars defense. Expecting him to be able to handle even the fairly modest workload he got last season (the most action he'd seen since 2011) is probably asking too much. He wasn't near the top on my preseason RB sleeper list, but in terms of pure opportunity Cameron Artis-Payne remains intriguing, even if he only saw four offensive snaps in his debut. ... Among the confusing situations that didn't get cleared up in the season's first week, the most chaotic may still be the Panthers' wide receiver corps. Jerricho Cotchery led in catches with four (tied with Stewart, in fact) and caught the only TD, but Ted Ginn Jr. led in targets and yards, even if he only managed to catch two of those seven targets. Devin Funchess and Philly Brown were basically invisible, as was Greg Olsen. That's a lot of ugh and meh. Olsen remains the only safe bet, though, and you can be sure he and Cam Newton took note of the way Travis Kelce abused the Texans defense. If you can get Olsen cheap due to someone overreacting to last week's dud performance, pull that trigger.

Predictions: Mallett doesn't hurt his job security but isn't great, throwing for little more than 200 yards and a TD to DeAndre Hopkins. No Texans back rushes for more than 50 yards again as the committee approach to replacing Arian Foster remains in effect. Stewart is also held to less than 50 yards, but Newton has a productive game, rushing for one score and throwing for 220 yards and touchdowns to Olsen and Funchess. Panthers, 24-17

San Francisco (+5.5) at Pittsburgh - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: In terms of unexpected Week 1 performances, San Francisco absolutely stole the show. Carlos Hyde did a better Adrian Peterson impression than the genuine article on the other sideline, and a supposedly gutted defense rang up five sacks against a baffled and battered Teddy Bridgewater. The question is how sustainable that success is. A lot of the Niners pressure was the result of blitzes rather than the talent of their defensive line (two of their sacks went to safeties). A more experienced QB who's seen his share of gimmicky defenses, say, someone like Ben Roethlisberger, may not be as baffled or end up as battered. ... That said, the Steelers were no better than the Vikings against the run in 2014, allowing about the same number of TDs and about the same yards per carry, but keeping their yards per game allowed low due to teams having to abandon the run to keep up with the Pittsburgh offense. This doesn't seem like the week Hyde is going to turn into a meek Dr. Jekyll. ... As I said in the aftermath of last Thursday's game, DeAngelo Williams' 127-yard performance didn't move the needle for me. He did most of his damage early in each half when he was fresh, and faded noticeably the more carries he got. He's still got some jets, I'll give him that, but the fuel tank empties very quickly. I'm not expecting much from him against a defense that just held Peterson to 31 yards on the ground.

Predictions: Hyde doesn't replicate his huge Monday night, but still picks up 130 combined yards and a score. Colin Kaepernick also rushes for 50 yards but is again held mostly in check through the air, though he does connect with Vernon Davis on a TD. Williams rushes for less than 50 yards, but Roethlisberger dissects the Niners defense, throwing for 350 yards and three touchdowns, two to Antonio Brown and one to Markus Wheaton. Brown also tops 100 receiving yards. Steelers, 30-21

Tampa Bay (+10) at New Orleans - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments:Jameis Winston's Vinny Testaverde-like debut didn't go according to script for the Bucs, but if there's a silver lining to be drawn from it, it's that he knows who his best weapons are. With Mike Evans sidelined, 18 of Winston's 33 attempts went to either Vincent Jackson or Austin Seferian-Jenkins, so the issue clearly wasn't with the rookie QB deviating from the gameplan. Chalk Week 1 up to the kid getting taken to school by Titans defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau, and let's see what he can learn from it. ... So much for the idea that the Saints were focusing more on their ground game this year. Drew Brees hoisted the ball up 48 times last week, and it wasn't like he had a big early deficit to overcome. He did direct 18 passes toward his backfield, but that was still less than the 25 his wide receivers got. Given what Marcus Mariota did to the Bucs defense, this one could get ugly. ... Evans (hamstring) and C.J. Spiller (knee) were both limited in practice this week. Neither seems likely to get back into action this week, but Evans is probably a bit closer.

Predictions:Doug Martin gets an efficient 70 combined yards, but Tampa has to ditch the run game pretty quickly. Winston throws for more yardage than he did in the opener but three INTs this time, though he also connects on two scores to Jackson and Seferian-Jenkins. Mark Ingram rushes for 100 yards and a TD, and Brees throws for 300 yards and three TDs, two to Brandin Cooks and one to Marques Colston. Saints, 34-17

Detroit (+3) at Minnesota - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: The big question from Monday's late game is whether the 49ers are really that good, or whether the Vikings were just that bad. Adrian Peterson looked rusty and sluggish, Teddy Bridgewater threw some embarrassingly awful passes to nobody and the run defense was tragic. Coach Mike Zimmer's decision-making was suspect, as well. I mean, it's Coaching 101 to decline a penalty after a decent punt rather than force your exhausted coverage unit to run downfield two plays in a row, and only a second Niners penalty bailed him out of watching Bruce Ellington make him pay for his mistake with a return touchdown. Minnesota was touted as a possible playoff team coming into the year, but it looked like anything but in the opener. ... The third quarter sequence against the Chargers in which Matthew Stafford threw a pick, watched the Lions defense get the ball back on a fumble three plays later, only to almost immediately throw a second pick might have been the most Stafford-y thing ever. That fumble was also, perhaps not coincidentally, the last stop Detroit's defense made in last week's game. They didn't seem to be missing Ndamukong Suh much early, but their inability to stop Philip Rivers when it mattered doesn't bode well. Cornerback Darius Slay's ankle injury, which has him questionable for Sunday, doesn't help either. ... Back to AP for a minute. In 2012, when he made his unexpectedly early return to action from an ACL tear, he rushed for 84 yards and two TDs in Week 1 but didn't have his first 100-yard game until Week 4 (against the Lions), and it wasn't until Week 7 that he went on the ridiculous tear that pushed him over the 2,000-yard mark on the season. He's now three years older and missed 15 games this time instead of just four, and under more mentally trying circumstances. I'm not saying he won't eventually regain his swagger, but expecting him to burst out of the gate without having missed a beat was clearly expecting too much.

Predictions:Ameer Abdullah takes firm control of the Lions' backfield picture, piling up 120 combined yards and a touchdown. Stafford throws for 270 yards and TDs to Calvin Johnson and Lance Moore. Peterson struggles again, rushing for 70 yards, but Bridgewater connects with Mike Wallace and Kyle Rudolph in the end zone to keep things close. Lions, 24-20

Arizona at Chicago (+1.5) - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: The Cardinals didn't emerge from their Week 1 win unscathed, but the implications of Andre Ellington's knee injury could be far-reaching. Chris Johnson probably will get the first crack to prove he can still carry the load, but with Ellington out of the way, rookie David Johnson will see more touches too. Reminder: Johnson the Younger took his only touch last week 55 yards for a touchdown. If he gets enough action to prove he can be a dependable three-down back (and he has the skills and talent to be exactly that), Ellington could have a hard time getting his job back once he's healed. ... Among my misses last week, and indeed in the entire draft season, Matt Forte may have been my biggest. Instead of showing signs of wearing down and seeing a drop in targets with Marc Trestman in Baltimore, he instead just about single-handedly kept the Bears in the game last week. I still have my doubts about his effectiveness in the second half and, if I had any shares in him, would probably be looking to sell high, but you can't argue with his production or his place in the Chicago offense. ... The Bears' receivers are healthy again, for what that's worth. Forte, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett remain Jay Cutler's primary weapons, but I am intrigued by Marquess Wilson's potential as a deep threat. He looked very good last preseason before getting hurt, and his 50-yard reception last week demonstrated his upside. With Patrick Peterson locked in on Jeffery, this game could provide him with an opportunity to really show what he can do.

Predictions:Chris Johnson rushes for 70 yards, but David Johnson hits for 90 combined yards and a TD in fewer snaps. Carson Palmer throws for 250 yards and a touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald, but also throws two picks. Forte has another big game with 130 combined yards and two scores (one on the ground, one in the air) while Jay Cutler also hits Jeffery and Wilson for TDs. Bears, 31-21

New England at Buffalo (+1) - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: Even though I called the Bills' Week 1 upset over the Colts, the way they did it was still shocking, as they simply never gave Andrew Luck an opportunity to make it particularly close. The key was a running game that had three players effectively moving the sticks in Tyrod Taylor, LeSean McCoy and rookie Karlos Williams. Tom Brady should have better more success against the Buffalo defense, and the Patriots secondary should be more of a challenge for Taylor's abilities as a passer, but if McCoy and Williams can pound away at the Vince Wilfork-less front seven of the Pats the way they did against the Colts, this could be a very interesting game. ... Whatever success Brady does have, it might have to come without another big contribution from Rob Gronkowski. The Bills were excellent against tight ends in 2014 (allowing just two TDs and 5.5 yards per target, the second-lowest marks in the league in both categories) and mostly held the Dwayne Allen/Coby Fleener duo in check last week, though Allen did sneak in a score. Neither of those guys is Gronk, of course, but even Gronk was held out of the end zone last season in his one game against Buffalo (he missed the other one). ... NE's Wheel O' Running Backs gets LeGarrette Blount back this week after a one-game suspension, but it may not matter. Frank Gore got nowhere against Buffalo's front seven, so whether it's Blount, Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden or Curtis Martin coming out of retirement, you probably shouldn't expect much out of any of them.

Predictions: Blount rushes for 50 yards and a short TD, while Lewis doesn't contribute much. Brady also finds Julian Edelman and Aaron Dobson for scores, while Gronk is held to 80 yards. Shady McCoy gains 100 combined yards and a touchdown, while Williams rushes for another 60 yards and a TD. Taylor doesn't throw much again, but Sammy Watkins does pull down 70 yards and a score. Patriots, 27-24

San Diego (+3) at Cincinnati - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments:Philip Rivers doesn't usually get listed among the top QBs in the league (maybe he creeps into the bottom of the top 10), but last week's comeback win after the Chargers fell behind 21-3 partway through the second quarter was an impressive as any single-game effort by a a Rodgers or Brady. He won't be able to bail the team out every time, though, so they really need Melvin Gordon to shake off his debut and start living up to his draft status. ... Now that the Tyler Eifert Era has officially begun he gets a good test against the Chargers, who gave up just three tight end TDs last year, though Eric Ebron hit them up for one last week. Andy Dalton doesn't exactly have a lot of weapons outside of Eifert and A.J. Green, though, so even if San Diego keeps him out of the end zone, expect plenty of targets and yards. ... Danny Woodhead's usage in the red zone likely has anyone with Gordon shares in a panic, and it may not be a fluke. Woodhead has the trust of Rivers and the coaching staff in key situations in a way that Gordon doesn't yet, especially after the rookie's fumble in the opener, so he could keep vulturing looks and touchdowns until Gordon establishes himself as reliable. The Bengals defense is certainly vulnerable to the run, though, so the rookie should get a chance to do exactly that.

Predictions: Gordon does better, gaining 80 yards and a TD, but Woodhead also gains 60 combined yards. Rivers has a predictably quieter game, throwing for 270 yards and a touchdown to Keenan Allen. Jeremy Hill rumbles for 100 yards and a score while Giovani Bernard gains 70 combined yards and also catches a TD pass. Dalton throws for 270 yards, hooking up with Green as well as Bernard. Bengals, 27-23

Tennessee at Cleveland (+1) - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments:Marcus Mariota's basically perfect debut was one of the best stories from Week 1, and now he gets a Browns defense that just made Ryan Fitzpatrick look competent. He may not be able to take the second half off again, but Mariota looks set up for another good performance. ... Isaiah Crowell did little with his first start, but Duke Johnson was only marginally better, so there may not be a switch in the Cleveland backfield just yet. The Titans' defense is far weaker than the Jets' unit, though, and the only thing that prevented Doug Martin from running all over it was the deep hole the Bucs fell into early. Johnson is still the back to own in the long term, but both he and Crowell should do some damage this week. As added bonuses, a strong ground game also keeps the ball out of both Mariota's and Johnny Manziel's hands. ... Delanie Walker is questionable with sprained ligaments in his wrist but seems unlikely to play, taking away one of Mariota's most effective weapons from last week. Anthony Fasano is the next man up at tight end, but Harry Douglas, who saw only two targets last week, would probably see the biggest boost in looks.

Predictions:Bishop Sankey rushes for 80 yards and a TD, and Terrance West also gets into the end zone. Mariota throws for 230 yards and a touchdown to Douglas. Crowell and Johnson team up for 180 combined yards and three touchdowns, though (two to Johnson), while Manziel fires a TD to Brian Hartline and avoids costly mistakes. Browns, 30-27

Atlanta (+2.5) at N.Y. Giants - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: Sunday night's crazy loss to the Cowboys has been dissected enough, but lost in the chaos might have been Odell Beckham's quiet game. The Dallas secondary made a point of laying the lumber on him (safety J.J. Wilcox actually hit Beckham so hard he broke his own nose) and it had a noticeable impact. The Giants star is supremely talented, but he doesn't have the size or physicality of some other elite receivers. You can be sure every other defensive coordinator in the league took notes. ... Julio Jones tore up the Eagles' secondary last week, but his hamstring injury is a major concern even if coach Dan Quinn seems confident that he'll play. The Giants' secondary is even thinner than that of their NFC East rivals, so Jones might still be somewhat effective if he's less than 100 percent healthy, but if he ends up leaving early or being used as little more than a decoy, look for Roddy White and Leonard Hankerson to reap the benefits. ... Tevin Coleman didn't have a huge debut but he was clearly a more dangerous runner than Devonta Freeman, and he didn't get Matt Ryan killed, so the starting job looks like it's his. The kid is basically vintage Chris Johnson in size, running style and pure explosive speed, and that guy ran for 2,000 yards in 2009.

Predictions: Coleman erupts for 130 rushing yards, including two long TD runs. Ryan misses a healthy Julio but throws for 220 yards and two touchdowns to Hankerson and Freeman. Rashad Jennings picks up 70 combined yards and gets permission to run into the end zone. Eli Manning throws for 280 yards and two TDs to Beckham and Preston Parker, but also throws two picks. Falcons, 34-27

St. Louis at Washington (+3.5) - Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT

Comments: This could get ugly. The Rams sacked Russell Wilson, one of the league's most mobile quarterbacks, six times last week. The Washington offensive line only allowed one sack but plenty of pressure against the Dolphins, and while Kirk Cousins isn't a statue in the pocket, he's no Wilson. ... Fortunately for Washington, the St. Louis run defense isn't as fierce as its pass rush, so a heavy dose of Alfred Morris and occasionally Matt Jones is its best bet to keep Cousins off his back. That's not a formula for a lot of points, as they showed last week, but it could keep them in the game. With DeSean Jackson still out of action, they don't really have many other options. ... The Rams backfield offers a lot more intrigue. Benny Cunningham wasn't great on the ground last week but did some damage through the air. Tre Mason is over his hamstring injury, but Todd Gurley is also practicing in full, as well. Any of the three could plausibly start and while Gurley is obviously the future for the team, they could use a committee for a week or two until they're comfortable handing the reins to their first-round pick.

Predictions: The Rams spread touches around among all three backs, but Gurley makes the biggest impact, gaining 60 yards and a TD. Nick Foles throws for 240 yards and touchdowns to Kenny Britt and Jared Cook. Morris rumbles for another 100 yards and a score, but Cousins get sacked four times and doesn't get the time to move the chains, much less find the end zone. Rams, 24-13

Miami at Jacksonville (+6) - Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

Comments: Even on the road, the Dolphins shouldn't have had as much trouble in Washington as they did. Their play-calling was strange, and Ryan Tannehill ran what seemed to be about 47 consecutive play-action passes in the first half rather than actually give the ball to Lamar Miller, who ended up with decent numbers once the team finally did let him touch it later in the game. Only a Jarvis Landry punt return TD bailed them out of what could have been a frustrating loss. Concerns about Miller not getting a big workload this season might just have been justified, but wait to see how they adjust first before hitting the panic button. ... The Jaguars look like they'll be the offense to stream defenses against this year. The offensive line is still swiss cheese, Blake Bortles is mistake-prone and while T.J. Yeldon wasn't terrible in his debut, he doesn't look like a guy for whom you particularly have to gameplan. Allen Robinson is talented enough to still get some decent numbers, but be prepared for some very quiet weeks. ... As if the Jags didn't have enough problems, safety Johnathan Cyprien is uncertain to play with multiple injuries.

Predictions: Miller gets 20 carries for once and collects 110 combined yards and a score. Tannehill also throws TDs to Landry and Jordan Cameron. Yeldon grinds out 60 yards while Bortles gets sacked four times and again throws more INTs than TDs, but he does find Robinson for a touchdown. Dolphins, 30-13

Baltimore at Oakland (+6) - Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

Comments: As I said in the Thursday cap, the Ravens' pass rush maybe deserves at least as much credit for making Peyton Manning look bad last week as Father Time does. If they can make Manning look like Mark Sanchez, though, imagine what they could do to Derek Carr. ... The good news for Amari Cooper in his debut is that he got nine targets, and five were among Carr's 12 pass attempts before he left with a thumb injury. The bad news, of course, was everything else. It's maybe unrealistic to expect the rookie to get nearly half of the Raiders' pass attempts, but Carr really doesn't have anyone else to throw to other than veteran possession receiver Michael Crabtree, and he's probably going to be playing catch-up a lot this season. Cooper's actual production may be erratic, but his targets should continue to climb. ... Justin Forsett got bottled up by the Broncos' front seven last week and came out of the game with a minor shoulder injury, but it looks like he'll play. Rookie Javorius Allen didn't distinguish himself either, but Lorenzo Taliaferro is getting healthier. Forsett needs a good game to re-establish himself as Marc Trestman's go-to guy in the backfield. A game against a defense that just allowed 151 combined yards and two TDs to Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard should be just what the doctor ordered.

Predictions: Forsett racks up 120 combined yards and a receiving touchdown, while Allen rushes for one, as well. Joe Flacco also throws for 240 yards and another score to rookie tight end Maxx Williams. Latavius Murray gets only 50 yards, while Carr gets sacked five times but does manage to throw a TD to Cooper as both rookies celebrate their first NFL touchdowns. Ravens, 27-13

Dallas (+5) at Philadelphia - Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT

Comments: The loss of Dez Bryant, perhaps for six weeks or so, perhaps for the season if you believe Roddy White, is huge for the Cowboys, but it's not insurmountable. They have the pieces in place to fill all the roles Dez covered, using Cole Beasley and Jason Witten as chain-moving third-down targets and Gavin Escobar in the red zone, but they still won't have that essentially uncoverable receiver Tony Romo could just heave the ball to and let him go get it. Not many teams have one of those, of course, but it's very different to never have that in your back pocket versus having it in your gameplan and losing it. ... The Falcons' offensive line wasn't supposed to be good this year, but it somehow held the Eagles to just one sack and gave Matt Ryan the time he needed to engineer a win. Dallas' offensive line is very, very good, even if starting left guard Ron Leary is gimpy, and Romo didn't get sacked at all last week. If Philadelphia can't dial up the pressure that helped it become one of the more fearsome defenses in the league last year, it could be a long season for that patchwork secondary. ... 20 yards on 12 touches is not exactly what DeMarco Murray had in mind for his Eagles debut, even if he did score two touchdowns. He's almost certain to do better this Sunday, but if Sam Bradford keeps putting the ball up 50-plus times a game, it will be impossible for Murray to justify either his contract or his ADP.

Predictions:Joseph Randle again leads the Cowboys backfield with modest numbers, rushing for 70 yards and a TD, but Darren McFadden also catches a touchdown pass. Romo slings the ball around for 300 yards and another three-touchdown performance, connecting with Terrance Williams and Escobar as well as McFadden. Murray tops his successor, rushing for 90 yards and a score, while Bradford throws for 280 yards and three TDs of his own, to Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz, with Matthews topping 100 yards again. A Darren Sproles punt return touchdown proves to be the difference. Eagles, 38-31

Seattle (+3.5) at Green Bay - Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

Comments: Did anyone's fortunes change more radically at the end of training camp than those of James Jones? For that matter, why didn't the Giants try to get a draft pick out of Packers for him instead of simply cutting him loose? Even Oakland managed to get one out of Dallas for Brice Butler. At any rate, Jones may not be a big yardage producer this season, but he's clearly inheriting Jordy Nelson's red-zone looks so while Week 1's performance might be the high-water mark, it likely isn't a fluke. It's also worth noting that of Aaron Rodgers' five incompletions in Week 1, four came on targets to Davante Adams, so the chemistry doesn't seem to be quite there yet with the Packers' nominal No. 2 receiver. ... Speaking of changing fortunes, Jermaine Kearse's eight catches and 10 targets were both career highs for the fourth-year wideout. That reads more like a fluke than Jones' two-TD day, but with the Seahawks' offensive line and ground game looking shakier than it has in the past, someone will have to pick up the slack. They won't suddenly become a Saints or Eagles-style volume offense, but the Jimmy Graham trade might have signaled a shift in philosophy for the Hawks that extends beyond the red zone. ... In addition to Kam Chancellor's holdout, Seattle's defense could be without linebacker Bruce Irvin, who's dealing with a rib injury and hasn't practiced yet this week, slot corner Tharold Simon (ankle/toe) and a couple of other depth players. The unit picked a bad week to be beat up.

Predictions:Marshawn Lynch rushes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while Russell Wilson throws for 280 yards and TDs to Graham and Kearse. Eddie Lacy gets 120 combined yards and a score, while Rodgers has another fairly quiet yardage day (by his standards, anyway) but hits Jones, Randall Cobb and Richard Rodgers in the end zone. Packers, 34-24

N.Y. Jets (+7) at Indianapolis - Monday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

Comments: It's always fun when the schedule-makers set up these kinds of scenarios, where the Colts go from being man-handled by Rex Ryan's new team to taking on his old one immediately afterward. You can't really call it a revenge game, but you know Andrew Luck has something to prove. ... It's weird to talk about the Jets and their weapons on offense, but that's exactly what it looked like in Week 1. Chris Ivory had a huge day, while Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker both found the end zone. Indy cornerback Vontae Davis just got done shutting down Sammy Watkins, so don't expect Marshall to repeat, but Ivory could be in for another productive night against a Colts run defense that wasn't good last year and didn't look any better last week against LeSean McCoy and rookie battering ram Karlos Williams. ... Both secondaries are banged up outside of their elite top cornerbacks (Davis for the Colts, Darrelle Revis for the Jets), but T.Y. Hilton looks questionable with his knee injury, so there could be some interesting names catching passes in this one.

Predictions: Ivory runs for 100 yards and a TD, but Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't productive and finds only Chris Owusu for a touchdown. Frank Gore has another quiet game, but Luck opens things up, throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns to his tight ends, Dwayne Allen (two) and Coby Fleener (one). Colts, 24-20

Last week's record: 14-2, 10-5-1 ATS
Season to date: 14-2, 10-5-1 ATS