The Bills, led by the 80 percent completion percentage of QB Trent Edwards, were able to hold off a feisty Jaguars squad last Sunday. The running back combination of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson outperformed Jacksonville's own two-headed running attack of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor. After a poor showing in week one, the Raiders were able to bounce back with a dominant 23-8 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Rookie Darren McFadden was able to run all over the Chiefs, taking advantage of one of the weakest linebacker corps in the NFL. But don't expect the same results against a strong and ever-improving Bills defense. Look for the Bills to win handily in this matchup.
The Pick: Buffalo
What has happened to the Cincinnati Bengals? Always an offensive powerhouse, especially in the passing game, the Bengals were limited to 215 total yards last week, with Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh having virtually no impact. The Giants are coming off another impressive road win as they trounced the struggling St. Louis Rams 41-13 on Sunday, marking their twelfth consecutive road win. Don't expect much of a contest here as the Bengals are simply outmatched in all facets of the game.
The Pick: New York
The Chargers seek to rebound from a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Broncos, where a gutsy call to go for a two point conversion and the win paid off for Denver coach Mike Shanahan. Nobody could have predicted a 0-2 start for the Chargers, picked by many to be an elite team in the AFC. The Jets sense a resurgence of their franchise with the addition of future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, though they struggled offensively against the Patriots last week. Look for the experience of the Chargers to carry them past the Jets, who seem to still be a bit out of synch and may need a few more weeks to mesh as a team.
The Pick: San Diego
Though they lost last week, the Vikings have many positives to take from the game against Indianapolis. Their swarming defense was able to contain one of the NFL's best offenses, shutting them out in the first half of play. Minnesota's main problem, common among many young NFL teams, was finishing. The Vikings only scored 15 points, despite driving inside of the opponent's 35-yard line on six occasions, and lost the game on a last second field goal from the foot of Adam Vinatieri. This week they face off against the grind it out Panthers, who have won two very close contests so far. I expect the passing game of Carolina to be too strong for this young team to counter. Expect a big game from Jake Delhomme in another hotly contested matchup for the Panthers.
The Pick: Carolina