Week 2 of the 2024 NFL Season begins today when the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins square off, so let's make one bold prediction for each Week 2 game. With 16 games still left for each team, there is an insane amount of football left. It's a glorious time for us NFL junkies. Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season brought us some interesting games and storylines.
And those will only increase as we progress into Week 2. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins will kick us off in Week 2 in Thursday Night Football. And since there won't be any bye weeks until a bit later on, all 32 teams are again in action. So let's get into it and make one bold prediction for each NFL team in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL Season.
1 bold prediction for each Week 2 game of the 2024 NFL Season
Buffalo @ Miami - Teams combine for at least 65 points
The Buffalo Bills gave up 28 points to the much less talented Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Well, they travel to Miami to face the high-flying Dolphins in Week 2. Miami possesses the most explosive offense in the NFL and features the best WR duo in the league with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Buffalo won't be quite as good as some think in 2024, and while Week 1 isn't always accurate, I find the Bills Week 1 performance to be indicate of what is to come. The Dolphins can also play some pretty awful football at times. While I have no winner prediction here, we'll instead predict that the Bills and Dolphins combine for at least 65 points in what may end up being an early contender for game of the year.
Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen have both shown the ability to be big-time passers, and with this being a good matchup for both offenses, we could be in store for an offense-heavy game, and if that's what you crave, Thursday Night Football could be right up your alley.
New Orleans @ Dallas - New Orleans gets blown out
I would not let the New Orleans Saints blowing out the Carolina Panthers at home fool you. The Saints are not a good team. The Dallas Cowboys blowout win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 was much more impressive, and New Orleans travels to Dallas for this game. Saints head coach Dennis Allen is going to be marvelously out-coached in this game.
And frankly, the Cowboys came out in Week 1 and looked a lot better than people thought they would. The defense is going to terrorize Derek Carr and the offense is again going to move the ball up and down the field. Expect a double-digit win for the Cowboys in Week 2 versus the New Orleans Saints.
Tampa Bay @ Detroit - Baker Mayfield tosses another 4 touchdowns
How about Baker Mayfield? He's now thrown 32 touchdowns against 10 interceptions during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thus far. It feels like he's finally playing up to his potential as a former no. 1 overall pick. Mayfield and the Bucs travel to Detroit to face the Lions, who needed overtime to beat the Los Angeles Rams.
And at this point, I feel like the Bucs are a better team than the Rams. Mayfield is going to have another wicked day through the air and will manage to throw another four touchdown passes. The Bake Show will continue as the Bucs will also notch a victory here. The two teams met in Detroit during the 2023 NFC Divisional Round.
Indianapolis @ Green Bay - Anthony Richardson has his worst game as a pro
In five NFL games thus far, Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts has thrown for 789 yards on a 57.3% completion percentage for a passer rating of 89.8. He's clearly still developing and is still just 22 years old. Richardson still needs a good bit of polishing as a passer and only completed 47.4% of his throws in the Colts Week 1 loss against the Houston Texans.
That game was at home, and now Richardson and the Colts travel to Green Bay to face off against a Packers defense that is just loaded with talent. Richardson is going to endure the worst game of his NFL career to date, perhaps tossing zero touchdowns and multiple interceptions.
It's not to say that Richardson won't be very good. He's got the dual-threat makeup and has what could be the strongest arm in the NFL, but he's going to have to take his lumps like every QB did when they were young.
New York (A) @ Tennessee - Tennessee figures it out and upsets New York
Both the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets both looked quite awful in Week 1. Aaron Rodgers and the Jets offense did not get anything consistent going, and the Titans offense looked limp with Will Levis under center. This could be a coin flip game, believe it or not, as neither team is particularly good.
The Titans are going to figure it out a bit more than New York in Week 2 and will earn an upset win, improving to 1-1. The Titans do have a very talented defensive front that could end up being a huge problem for the Jets offensive line, which has three new starters and could still take some time before settling in.
San Francisco @ Minnesota - Vikings notch a close win late in the game
The Minnesota Vikings notched a win against the San Francisco 49ers at home in the 2023 NFL Season. They'll do the same this time around and defend their home turf. The 49ers are coming off of a short week of rest and again may not have RB Christian McCaffrey, so this team is quite vulnerable.
Sam Darnold also played quite well in Week 1 against the New York Giants. It would not at all surprise me to see the well-coached Vikings upset the 49ers here in Week 2. San Fran is again plagued by the injury bug, and the Vikings have a some-field advantage here.
Seattle @ New England - Drake Maye somehow, some way, plays in this game
The Seattle Seahawks defense may force the New England Patriots to make some sort of change during the game. Could that change be Drake Maye getting some game action? The Seahawks defense made life hard for Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix, and with the unit being talented at all three levels, I do not envision the Patriots offense having an easy time here.
To some extent, we are going to see Drake Maye get inserted into this game. Seattle will end up with the win here and will improve to 2-0 on the season.
New York (N) @ Washington - Daniel Jones looks worse in Week 2
Is it even possible for Daniel Jones to look worse than he did in Week 1? Yes, it is. The Washington Commanders now employ Dan Quinn as their head coach. Dan Quinn was the best DC for a three-year stretch for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021-2023 seasons. Daniel Jones has thrown one touchdown against three interceptions in his games against Quinn's Cowboys defenses.
Daniel Jones will look rough in Week 2, and it'll somehow be worse than in Week 1.
Los Angeles (A) @ Carolina - Chargers win, but not by as much as we think
The LA Chargers may end up being a solid football team this year, but the roster is far from being competitive enough for the long-term. They won against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, but the Raiders just aren't going to win many games this season. They face off against the Carolina Panthers, who sport one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL in Ejiro Evero.
Evero was the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in the 2022 NFL Season, so Herbert is going to go up against a defensive scheme he went 1-1 against in 2022. In one of those games, Herbert finished with a 66.3 passer rating. It would not surprise me to see Herbert struggle a bit. The Chargers are still going to win, as they are the better team, but it'll be closer than you think.
Cleveland @ Jacksonville - "Big Game Gabe" Davis has 100 rec. yards
Gabe Davis may be the most interesting wide receiver in NFL history. He's a mid-tier no. 2 option who will at times be invisible in certain games and then pop off for 8 catches and over 100 yards. He'll do that in Week 2 at home versus the Cleveland Browns, who let Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys offense brutalize them.
Big Game Gabe will have one of those big games in what is going to be a Jacksonville Jaguars victory. The Jags blew a lead against the Miami Dolphins late in the game, so the Jags are definitely looking for a bounce-back game. They will get it against Deshaun Watson.
Las Vegas @ Baltimore - Gardner Minshew throws 3 interceptions
Gardner Minshew is not a good quarterback and is going to play against one of the best defenses in the NFL on their home turf. The Raiders are also a bad football team, so the Baltimore Ravens are going to feast against Minshew, as the backup-caliber QB is going to throw three interceptions in a blowout loss.
Questions may already begin about Minshew getting sent to the bench for Aidan O'Connell. The Raiders likely hoped that O'Connell would have won the starting job, but he didn't. I would guess that at some point, the Raiders give AOC some starts.
Los Angeles (N) @ Arizona - Cardinals get their first win of the season
The Los Angeles Rams are already banged up severely, which is not great. And the Arizona Cardinals are going to be a lot better than people think in 2024, as evidenced by their close Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals will defend their home turf in this NFC West matchup and squeak out a victory.
This would drop the Rams to an 0-2 mark and plague the team with more questions about their viability this season.
Pittsburgh @ Denver - Bo Nix and the Broncos improve to 1-1
Bo NIx and the Denver Broncos are going to figure something out. They lost by just six points to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. It's not like they got blown out. The Broncos defensive front had Geno Smith struggling in the first half, so that could be a sneaky-good unit in 2024.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are poised to start Justin Fields in Week 2, and Fields isn't close to being as good as Smith. Fields is also a poor passer and just did not target the middle of the field in their Week 1 win, which they won without a single touchdown.
It's not a good matchup for Fields and the Steelers offense, who may have to rely on the run game. Denver wins this one.
Cincinnati @ Kansas City - Bengals lose, more questions pop up about Joe Burrow
Does it feel a bit different for the Cincinnati Bengals this season? They have typically started very close to open up the season year after year, but to me, something deeper feels wrong. Is Joe Burrow's wrist 100%? Who knows, but the Kansas City Chiefs are going to beat the Bengals in Week 2, and we'll begin to hear more questions about the team and about if Burrow is actually healthy enough to be in the lineup.
With two season-ending injuries already, Joe Burrow just cannot stay consistently healthy.
Chicago @ Houston - Caleb Williams again fails to reach 100 passing yards
The Chicago Bears won in Week 1, but Caleb Williams was not able to lead a touchdown drive and was also not able to reach 100 passing yards, either. It may take a lot of time for Williams to ease into the NFL, and the Houston Texans have a fierce defensive front, so I would expect Williams to be running for his life.
For the second week in a row, and to begin his NFL career, the Bears quarterback is going to again fail to reach 100 passing yards. The Texans are going to win the game handily, and perhaps after Week 2, we'll begin to hear some more fair and balanced criticism of Williams for his poor performances to begin his NFL career.
Atlanta @ Philadelphia - Kirk Cousins picks apart the Eagles defense in a Falcons win
Kirk Cousins looked awful in Week 1, and it did not seem like he was able to step into and drive his throws. Perhaps his Achilles is not truly 100%. Cousins is in his age-36 season and is surely in the last few years of his career, but for the last decade he's been one of the most efficient QBs in the NFL.
Kirk Cousins is going to figure it out in Atlanta, and it may come in Week 2 against an Eagles defense that wasn't all that great in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.