Week 2 NFL Monday
- Kyle Kirms
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
BUCS @ TEXANS - 7 PM EST
Bucs have struggled with this Houston team. It's been 22 years since they've beaten em.
I know the Bucs picked up the W and Houston lost... but neither of these teams looked particularly good in their opener.
The Bucs put together a scoring drive to take the lead and win the game... but as a whole, this was a rough offensive performance.
They really coulda used Tristan Wirfs on the field. They were having a hard time protecting Baker Mayfield.
Now in addition to missing Tristan Wirfs, the OT on the other side might not play in this game either. Keep in mind, this is still a Bucs offense that's playing without 2 of its main WRs to start the season.
If they were struggling with the Falcons pass rush, how do they plan to go on the road and deal with the Texans pass rush? This is one of the best defenses in the NFL... in fact, I think there's a chance this might be the best defense in the NFL. This is also a defense that played much better at home last season... they had one bad game against Lamar Jackson but other than that, they shut down some really good offenses in this building.
I will say... definitely a little disappointed with the Texans defense in the opener. I know they held the Rams to 14 points... but Stafford was definitely moving the chains on em. They had a few drives stall off in Houston territory. But that was on the road in SoFi against Matt Stafford... at home against Baker Mayfield with a hobbled offensive line is a bit different. I expect the Bucs to struggle to get the run going again... and Baker should be under a lot of pressure in this one. Baker Mayfield had 4 turnover worthy plays in the opener against the Falcons... on the road in Houston against this defense, I think we can count on a turnover or two out of him.
The question is.. are we gonna see a better performance out of CJ Stroud? He did not play well in the opener. He was under a ton of pressure.
Some good news... this game's at home... and CJ Stroud has been significantly better at home over the course of his career. This goes back to his rookie season. He just always plays much better at home. And also... the Bucs defense is not as good as the Rams defense. I know the statline doesn't exactly jump off the page but Penix was giving the Bucs ome problems. Falcons had a 62.8% success rate/dropback in the game.
I do think we'll see a much better performance outta Stroud, although obviously the concern is gonna be the offensive line. And to make matters worse, Jake Andrews is gonna miss this game... now they have Jarrett Patterson and Juice Scruggs... they have other offensive lineman that can start in his spot. But those are the guys that were starting last year and we know how much this offensive line struggled last year. That's also the spot that's gonna have to block Vita Vea a lot of the game.
Running the ball is gonna be tough in this game. That Bucs run defense is always solid when they're healthy. But I'm not the biggest fan of the Bucs secondary and I think there will be opportunities for Stroud to make some plays.
I really like the matchup for Houston's defense and I trust Stroud a lot more at home. I laid the 2.5... I don't think it'll get up to 3 so hopefully we get some good luck here.
CHARGERS @ RAIDERS - 8:15 PM EST
I know the Raiders only scored 20 points in the opener but they were moving the ball efficiently.
Geno Smith was excellent.. very impressive for his first start with a new team on the road.
He's matched up against a Chargers defense that didn't play nearly as well as the final score indicates. The Chargers offense looked excellent... the defense struggled.
They didn't get a ton of pressure on Mahomes... Mahomes didn't really take advantage of it as much as he could have. He didn't have the receiving weapons and he just struggles from a clean pocket anymore. Geno Smith has always been a QB that cooks from a clean pocket. If they don't get pressure on him, he will make throws.
There are some concerns here on the Raiders offense tho... 1st being the run game wasn't there at all in the opener. The offense was entirely one-dimensional. It worked out in Week 1... but give the Chargers a week to prepare... if they don't think your offensive line can generate push, that definitely gives them some flexibility in terms of play-calling on defense.
The 2nd concern is they're missing a guard... although they have Alex Cappa. He's like a 5 or 6 year starter in the NFL so I think they're fine. Brock Bowers participated in a light practice on Saturday... obviously that's a big one.
But there's a key injury on the other side as well. Perryman has been ruled out which is a huge loss for the Chargers defense. They've got a couple injuries to the depth at LB also so they might be thin at that position.
On the other side of the ball, this is where the Chargers cooked the Chiefs. The Raiders played great defense themselves... but the Chargers offense looked unstoppable in the opener.
They didn't really run the ball much.
But they didn't need to... cuz Justin Herbert was essentially perfect. The Chiefs were even getting some pressure on him... didn't matter.
Now the Raiders defense was great. Truly... to go on the road in the opener... completely shut down the run with a mostly brand new roster and a new coaching staff.
They also put a ton of pressure on Drake Maye without blitzing much. The Raiders defense completely bullied the Patriots in every way.
And it makes sense for the Raiders to hit the ground running... yes it's mostly a new defense and a new coaching staff... but the DC is still there, Patrick Graham. And all the pieces they brought in are experienced veterans.
The problem is... I'm not sure if they can stop this offense. We saw it for a bit last year... when this offense is in its groove, I think they can move the ball on anybody. Now if you're looking for a reason to take the Raiders, you can definitely point at the offensive line. Remember, Rashawn Slater is out for the season... now that they've added weapons, the offensive line is definitely the weakness for this Chargers offense. And the Raiders defense line completely bullied New England... in fact, with Crosby and Koonce healthy, that's probably the strength of the defense.
The Chargers had zero problems moving the ball on the Raiders last season though. One of these games was Week 18... but the Raiders actually played a lot of their defensive starters in it.
Comments