Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and in some ways it was exactly what we expected and in others we got different outcomes. Overall, the play was crisp and even though one week doesn’t a season make, there are still some interesting things we could gleam from those games. Let’s have a look at what Week 2’s match-ups look like in this week’s Match-Up and see if we can’t use this is a nice one-stop-shop for all of the data for each matchup.
Below is a key that defines each stat category and how they are ranked. The color-coding that shows for each matchup is geared toward looking from an offensive player’s perspective. So the more green you see, the better that matchup is for an opposing offensive player, and vice versa the more red you see, the worse for an offensive player that matchup is that week.
*The Def vs. Pos categories use .5 PPR scoring for the points.
Key
Offensive Rankings
Pace – How many seconds it takes a team to run a play (1-fastest, 32-slowest)
PPG – Points scored per game (1-most, 32-least)
T.O.P. – Time of Possession (1-most, 32 least)
Total Yards – Total Yards Per Game Offensively (1-most, 32 least)
RZ % - Red Zone TD Scoring Percentage (1-best, 32-worst)
Off Plays – Total Number of Offensive Plays Run Per Game (1-most, 32-least)
Rush Att. – Total Number of Rushing Attempts Per Game (1-most, 32-least)
Rush % - Percentage of Offensive Plays That Are Runs (1-highest, 32-lowest)
Rush Yds – Rushing Yards Per Game (1-most, 32-least)
Rush YPA – Rushing Yards Per Attempt (1-most, 32-least)
Pass Att. – Total Number of Pass Attempts Per Game (1-most, 32-least)
Pass % - Percentage of Offensive Plays That Are Pass (1-highest, 32-lowest)
Pass Yds – Passing Yards Per Game (1-most, 32-least)
Pass YPA – Passing Yards Per Attempt (1-most, 32-least)
Defensive Rankings
DVOA – Football Outsiders Defensive Value Over Average (Negative numbers are better) (1-best, 32-worst)
Yds/G Allowed – Yards Per Game Against (1-least, 32-most)
Yds/P Allowed – Yards Per Play Against (1-least, 32-most)
Rush Yds/G – Rushing Yards Per Game Against (1-least, 32-most)
Rush Yds/Att. – Rushing Yards Per Attempt Against (1-least, 32-most)
Pass Yds/G – Passing Yards Per Game Against (1-least, 32-most)
Pass Yds/Att. – Passing Yards Per Attempt Against (1-least, 32-most)
Def vs. QB – Fantasy Points Allowed Vs QB (1-most allowed, 32-least allowed)
Def vs. RB - Fantasy Points Allowed Vs RB (1-most allowed, 32-least allowed)
Def vs. WR - Fantasy Points Allowed Vs WR (1-most allowed, 32-least allowed)
Def vs. TE - Fantasy Points Allowed Vs TE (1-most allowed, 32-least allowed)
Match-Up Breakdowns
Bengals at Browns
The battle of Ohio looms on Thursday night after both teams are coming off loses in Week 1. Both teams are facing far easier defenses this week than they did in Week 1 and so both offenses should look better this week as well. Neither team rushed the ball particularly well in Week 1 but should have an easier time of that this week and tight ends are also ones to watch here as neither team stopped the opposing tight ends well last week and both struggled to do so last year for the most part as well.
Jacksonville at Tennessee
A battle for the early division lead as both the Jaguars and Titans one last week though neither looked all that intimidating on offense. The key matchups here in this one should the Derrick Henry vs. the Jaguars non-existent rush defense and just how tired the Titans defense is after the game finished after 1 am ET Tuesday morning in Denver and now they get an early Sunday game. There were holes in the Titans secondary last week as Jerry Jeudy found himself open on a couple of big plays and just couldn’t reel in the ball. Jacksonville was efficient offensively last week and may have to be this week if they can’t stop the run and lose the time of possession battle.
Carolina at Tampa Bay
It was an interesting debut for Tom Brady in Tampa last week as the Saints managed a couple of interceptions off of him as the whole Tampa offense is still looking to get in sync. However, this week is a far easier test for them as the Panthers’ defense wasn’t all that stout against Vegas last week. Christian McCaffrey may find it tougher sledding this week as the Bucs rush defense bottled up Alvin Kamara for much of the day last week and there are fewer weapons to be concerned with on the outside in Carolina for Tampa’s defense.
Denver at Pittsburgh
Both teams are coming off of Monday Night appearances from Week 1 but the damage was worse for the Broncos as not only did they lose the game but their top corner in A.J. Bouye also landed on IR. That means the Steelers offense should have a field day with the only major concern for them being the health of James Conner’s ankle. The Steelers also have a tougher defense than the Titans did.
Los Angeles at Philadelphia
Oh boy! This isn’t the defensive front you want to see if you’re the Eagles right now after allowing eight sacks of Wentz to Washington last week. The Rams’ offense was also humming against the Cowboys last week on Sunday Night and the Eagles’ defense allowed 27 unanswered points to Washington who didn’t exactly have their top offense going. The Eagles defensive stats seem good, but again it wasn’t against top-flight competition in Week 1.
San Francisco at New York
The Niners are making the first of two straight trips east but this is likely the easier for the two match-ups for San Francisco. The Jets offense struggled against the Bills and as far as defenses go, San Francisco isn’t any easier. The injury to Le’Veon Bell is a blow to the Jets offense as well though San Fran losing Richard Sherman might help Jamison Crowder out while getting out of the smoke should make Tevin Coleman more usable for San Francisco’s backfield as well.
Bills at Dolphins
The Bills had an impressive showing in Week 1 with a career-high in passing yards for Josh Allen and the defense pretty well locked down the Jets’ offense. The Dolphins struggled against the Patriots and the Bills defense isn’t any easier to face. Given how well Cam Newton looked against the Dolphins, Allen could be in for a second-straight good week and keep in mind Miami gave up two rushing TDs to Newton as well.
Minnesota at Indianapolis
At least one of these teams didn’t expect to have the showing they did in Week 1. The Colts have a key injury to Marlon Mack but Nyhiem Hines was a weapon for Phillip Rivers in the comeback attempt. The Vikings couldn’t stop anybody last week even though the Packers receivers had been maligned all offseason. This could be a sneaky high scoring game as the Vikings offense is more of a threat than the Jaguars and the Colts still gave up three passing TDs to Gardner Minshew and company.
Detroit at Green Bay
Can we say fireworks? This game has the making of a high-scoring affair as neither defense really did a good job containing their opposing offenses last week and with the rate at which both of these quarterbacks throw it, this could easily be a track meet.
Atlanta at Dallas
Two teams who desperately don’t want to drop to 0-2 is what we have in this match-up. The Cowboys were stymied in Los Angeles on Sunday Night but now they go from one of the tougher defenses to perhaps the worst pass defense in the league who allowed the most fantasy points to the quarterback last week. Prescott and company should be just fine this week with Cooper and Gallup and Lamb all at full force.
New York at Chicago
The second step of the tough opening weeks for the Giants continues. There were signs of life from Darius Slayton on Monday Night and that might come in handy against the Bears who seemed susceptible to the deeper routes the Lions ran last week. Saquon Barkley should also have a better match-up as the Lions, despite not running much, managed 21.1 points in fantasy from their running backs. As for the Bears, there isn’t much difference from the Lions defense to the Giants so if Trubisky actually starts better, it could be an even better showing.
Washington at Arizona
Both teams are coming off upset wins in the first weekend but both defenses weren’t quite as dominant as the wins would have you believe. Based on DVOA, both teams are in the 20s and despite the eight sack showing in Week 1 the Washington unit comes in at 27th. Kyler Murray and company should be able to still light up the scoreboard at home and after putting up 404 yards against the Niners defense.
Kansas City at Los Angeles
The Chiefs picked up where they left off last year with a dominating offense and a better than expected defense. The offense only got better for the Chiefs with the addition of CEH as he put on a show in his debut. L.A. has a much stiffer defense than the Texans do but if Patrick Mahomes can continue to get the ball out quickly, he can neutralize the pass rush the Chargers front seven is capable of. Tyrod Taylor will need to be a lot better this week if L.A. wants to keep this game close.
Baltimore at Houston
The run of two young, great, quarterbacks matching up continues in this match-up for the Texans faced the Chiefs in the season opener. The Ravens looked phenomenal last week and the Texans didn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders just yet. If we’re looking for a key match-up here it actually isn’t with the QBs as both teams got gashed on the ground in Week 1 and so David Johnson and Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins should have more big weeks.
New England at Seattle
Cam Newton looked very good in Week 1 as the arm looked good but especially the running part of his game. Russell Wilson put up a great day as well with nearly 300 yards passing and four touchdowns. Given both of these coaches in this match-up expect a heavyweight in primetime and the Patriots defense won’t be as good as it was Week 1 and the Seahawks defense won’t be as bad as it was in Week 1 either but there should still be quite a few points scored in this one.
New Orleans at Las Vegas
The Raiders defense still doesn’t look much improved if any over last year and now faces the Saints in their home opener. The Saints might be missing Michael Thomas on the outside, however they still have Emmanuel Sanders, Jared Cook in a revenge game, Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill, and watch for Deonte Harris who is a speedster and can break big plays against this defense. Josh Jacobs is in for a lot tougher test against New Orleans as they haven’t given up a 100-yard rusher in quite some time.
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