How could you not be entertained by week 1 of the NFL? There was great drama in a lot of high scoring games, there was massive controversy surrounding the biggest acquisition of the offseason, and there was a lot of quality football played all around. Week 2 should be even better. Here are our Top 3 2023 NFL Games Week 2.
Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals
Woah…Joe Burrow and the Bengals looked REALLY bad in week 1. I mean REALLY, REALLY bad. They didn’t score a single touchdown and they were absolutely manhandled by Cleveland. I have to wonder if Burrow’s preseason injury is still lingering with him because this was an atrocious game by a team that we assumed would easily win the division. Instead, they look like they have major work to do while the Ravens looked sharp in Week 1. Lamar Jackson has some new weapons on the offense and the defense looks scary as can be. This is a big test for the Bengals who don’t want to put together two bad losses in a row, but I’ll stick with Baltimore in this game. Prediction: Ravens 23 Bengals 20
Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots
Here’s a crazy stat for you: Bill Belichick and the Patriots haven’t begun the year 0-2 since 2001. How long ago was that? Tom Brady wasn’t even the starting quarterback. But he was by the end of the year when he replaced Drew Bledsoe. So, it’s hard to imagine the Patriots losing two straight to begin the year, but this Dolphins team is really good and really fun to watch. They scored 36 points against the Chargers in Week 1 in an absolute shootout of a game that was exciting from start to finish. The Jets won in Week 1 and the Bills lost to them so as far as we can tell, the AFC East is wide open and anyone’s division to win this season. Mac Jones looked really good with offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien returning to New England. Jones threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game. This is a fun divisional matchup and one that could be an offensive shootout. The Dolphins typically play the Pats well, but I trust that 2001 stat. Prediction: Dolphins 24 Patriots 28
San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams
It looks like the league might need to be very afraid of the San Francisco 49ers. They absolutely dismantled the Steelers in Week 1. They scored 30 points behind an explosive offense that features George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and Mr. Irrelevant himself, Brock Purdy. The Niners are legit and even have the defense to back it up after limiting the Steelers to just 7 points in the opener. But the Rams looked good too now that Matt Stafford is back and healthy and he is slinging it around again. This is always a fun divisional matchup and Kyle Shanahan has historically had Sean McVay’s number. The Rams had a lot of questions entering this season but the Week 1 win against Seattle seemed to calm the nerves of a lot of fans and make us ask the question, “will this be a more serious divisional race than we assumed?” Prediction: 49ers 27 Rams 21