By Jason Bryden
Elm Staff Writer
Top 5 Games of Week 2
Chicago (1-0) at New Orleans (0-1)
Two playoff teams from last season meet down in New Orleans as the Bears look to go to 2-0, while the Saints look to avoid a 0-2 hole.
Chicago dominated in Week 1 as they throttled Atlanta 30-12 at Soldier Field. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns, while the Bears defense did not give up a touchdown, recorded five sacks, and an interception. One of these was returned for a touchdown.
New Orleans put up 34 points at Green Bay in its opener, but fell 42-34. Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns, but it was not enough, as the Saints defense and special teams allowed a total of six touchdowns in the loss.
Chicago has won the past four meetings and leads 15-11 all-time, which includes two Bears playoff wins, including a 39-14 win in the 2006 NFC Championship Game where most people expected a New Orleans win.
Arizona (1-0) at Washington (1-0)
Two old NFC East rivals meet on Sunday as the Cardinals travel east to face the Redskins, with the winner moving to 2-0 and the loser falling to 1-1.
Arizona held off Carolina in a 28-21 win in Week 1, including a 4th down stand inside its own 10 yard line late in the game to preserve the win. Arizona scored the game-winning touchdown when cornerback Patrick Patterson, in his first NFL game, returned a punt 89 yards. Washington ended a six-game skid to the visiting New York Giants with a 28-14 win this past Sunday at FedEx Field. The Redskins broke a 14-14 tie on a pick six by linebacker Ryan Kerrigan in his first NFL game. Quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 305 yards in the win.
Washington leads the all-time series 74-44-2, including winning the past seven meetings.
Green Bay (1-0) at Carolina (0-1)
Last week Cam Newton tied the rookie record for passing yards in a game with 422 at Arizona—will he have the same success on Sunday in his first home game against the reigning World Champions?
Green Bay began its defense of the title with a 42-34 win over New Orleans on Sunday as they stopped New Orleans on the final play of the game to prevent the Saints from being allowed to go for the game-tying two-point conversion. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tossed for 312 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Carolina fell 28-21 at Arizona and got a big game from wide receiver Steve Smith as he caught 178 yards receiving, and two scores. In addition to his 422 yards and two touchdown throws, Newton ran for a score on a one-yard rush.
Green Bay leads the all-time series 7-4 and won the lone playoff meeting in the 1996 NFC Championship Game, 30-13. The Panthers did win the last meeting, though, in 2008, 35-31 in Green Bay.
San Diego (1-0) at New England (1-0)
Two teams with Super Bowl aspirations meet on Sunday in Foxboro with the winner improving to 2-0 as the Chargers go across the country to take on the Patriots.
San Diego won its opener, 24-17, over Minnesota as they scored the last 17 points to pull out the win. Quarterback Philip Rivers hit running back Mike Tolbert for the game-winning touchdown on an 11-yard reception with 5:01 left to give San Diego the win.
The Chargers defense held Minnesota quarterback Donovan McNabb to 39 yards passing in the win.
The Patriots got a 517-yard, four-touchdown performance from quarterback Tom Brady in a 38-24 win over Miami on Monday night. In the win over the Dolphins, Brady hit wide receiver Wes Welker on a 99-yard touchdown pass, the 13th time in NFL history a touchdown either receiving or rushing has been scored from 99 yards out.
The Patriots lead the all-time series 21-15-2, including two of three in the playoffs. San Diego won in 1963, while New England prevailed in 2006 and 2007.
Philadelphia (1-0) at Atlanta (0-1)
Michael Vick faces his old team in his old city as the Eagles travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on Sunday night. Vick was the Falcons signal caller from 2001-06.
The Eagles downed the Rams 31-13 on Sunday in St. Louis as Philadelphia got 137 total yards from running back LeSean McCoy (122 rushing yards) and two touchdowns in the win. Defensive tackle Jaqua Parker put Philadelphia up for good on a 56-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Falcons offense was grinded to a halt in a 30-12 loss to the Bears on Sunday. Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 319 yards, but was sacked five times, threw a pick and lost a fumble. Atlanta turned it over three times and did not score an offensive touchdown. Its lone score was a 50-yard interception return by Kroy Biermann on a deflected pass. A loss by the Falcons will put the Super Bowl contender in a 0-2 hole.
Philadelphia leads the all-time series in the regular season 15-10-1. The Eagles have won two of three playoff meetings, beating Vick both times in 2002 and 2004. The Falcons beat the Eagles in the first-ever NFC Wild Card game in 1978.