Let’s move on to the NFL week two primetime predictions. Week one of the 2020-2021 NFL season has ended and what a week it was. It was filled with upsets like the Jacksonville Jaguars winning against the Indianapolis Colts. It also included great comebacks by the Washington Football Team and the Chicago Bears. Besides the comebacks and upsets, there were lots of highlight-reel moments with unbelievable individual performances. Now that week one has ended we move on to week two. This time instead of doing score predictions for every game, I will predict the primetime games only. Additionally, besides the regular primetime games, I will include the CBS late game consisting of the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Los Angeles Chargers. Yes, it is not a primetime game, but the late games are sort of meant to be primetime games, especially since this game will be televised to more than 70% of the country.
Week Two Primetime Predictions
Thursday Night Football
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns
Many people are frustrated with the teams that are playing in this matchup and their quality, but it should be an interesting battle of Ohio. Both these teams lost their week one matchup. The Cleveland Browns looked horrendous in the loss against the Baltimore Ravens in which they scored six points and gave up 38. On the other side, the Bengals also lost, but they were not as awful as the Browns. Joe Burrow had a quiet debut which consisted of him throwing an awful pick, but he didn’t collapse and he continued on leading the Bengals down the field on a game-winning drive. Unfortunately, A.J. Green was called for pass-interference and Randy Bullock missed the field goal which gave the Bengals their first loss. Although the Bengals looked like the better team of the two, I expect a bounceback from the Browns. The Browns have more talent offensively and defensively than the Bengals. If the Browns run the football, which was very successful against the Ravens they should win. That said if the game is played in Baker Mayfield‘s hands then the Bengals have a great chance of winning this game. Overall, Kevin Stefanski will limit Baker and he will pound the football with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. With their fantastic run game, they will get the win in a close game.
Prediction: 21-17 Browns Win
CBS Game of the Week
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers
I know this game isn’t a traditional Primetime game, but it will be televised to more than 70% of the country. Going back to the game, the Chiefs had a fairly comfortable and dominating 34-20 win against the Houston Texans. Patrick Mahomes threw for 211 passing yards and three touchdowns, but the most impressive player was the rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire as he had 138 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. While on the Chargers side, they barely beat out the Bengals. Nobody really impressed that game for the Chargers, expect maybe rookie running back Josh Kelly who had 60 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Overall, this is a very easy game to predict. The Chiefs have an enormously better offense and they have a solid defense. Although the Chargers have a great defense, the Chiefs explosive offense will put up points, while their defense should stop a rather quiet Chargers offense led by Tyrod Taylor. Not only will the Chiefs win, but they will blow out the Chargers.
Prediction: 34-17 Chiefs Win
Sunday Night Football
New England Patriots vs.Seattle Seahawks
This will be a very exciting matchup with the likes of Cam Newton and Russell Wilson going head to head. In week one, the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 21-11 courtesy of Cam Newton who only had 155 passing yards, but had 75 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. The Patriots defense though it had lots of personnel turnover, picked off Ryan Fitzpatrick three times. The Patriots had a solid win, but the Seahawks had a better one. Many fans enjoyed the Seahawks versus Falcons game, not because of the high scoring, but Pete Carroll finally let Russell Wilson throw the ball. Russell Wilson had a top two performance in week one. Wilson had a 88% completion percentage accompanied by 322 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. Besides Russell Wilson’s fantastic performance, Chris Carson also caught two receiving touchdowns, while Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf combined for 187 receiving yards. The Seahawks will be able to put up points against the Patriots defense, but Cam Newton will keep them in the game especially since the Seahawks defense isn’t great at moments. Overall this will be a close battle, but the Seahawks will win due to their great and consistent offensive play.
Prediction: 27-21 Seahawks Win
Monday Night Football
New Orleans Saints vs.Las Vegas Raiders
The Saints are clearly the better team, but this game is highly anticipated because it is the Raiders’ first game in their brand new home, Allegiant Stadium. Going back to week one, both of the teams won. The Saints had a surprisingly comfortable victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In this game, the Saints picked off Tom Brady two times including a pick-six, while the Saints offense had a quiet game with Alvin Kamara only rushing for 16 yards, while Michael Thomas only caught three passes for 17 yards. Speaking of Thomas, he will miss the game due to a high-ankle sprain. He is a huge part of the Saints offense, but they have enough offensive weapons to still succeed without him. Moving on to the Raiders who had a huge offensive game in week one as they put up 34 points against a poor Panthers defense. This game included Josh Jacobs rushing for 93 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders can put up points almost every game, but their biggest concern is their poor defense that easily lets up points. This poor Raiders defense combined with the Saint’s great offense and their solid defense, won’t go in favor of the Raiders. The Saints will get their second win of the season.
Prediction: 34-24 Saints Win
Week Two Primetime Predictions Recap
Not all of this week’s Primetime games are interesting because two of these are expected to end in blowouts. Many fans like me are excited though for the Patriots versus the Seahawks game which should have scoring and highlight-reel moments. To predict these games I factored in the teams’ talent and how they played in week one. I know that the predictions I listed above aren’t all going to be correct, there will be some surprises but that is what makes football interesting and great to watch.
Main Image: Embed from Getty Images
