The opening week of the NFL season was plenty exciting with thrilling upsets and a whole lot of things that everyone expected. In the former category, you have Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills downing Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, and in the latter category you have Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dominating in the season opener.
2015 NFL schedule, Week 2: Seahawks vs. Packers, Bills vs. Patriots headlines Sunday
There’s a lot to watch for on Sunday, including matchups between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, and the Buffalo Bills against the New England Patriots.
There were some other surprises, like the Denver Broncos and specifically Peyton Manning looking more than beatable against the Baltimore Ravens. Denver escaped that game with a win though, while the same can't be said for the Seattle Seahawks. After the St. Louis Rams brought things back to force an overtime, the Broncos messed up the kickoff and put the Rams in position to win it, which they did.
Week 2 features plenty of exciting matchups. The first saw the aforementioned Broncos take on the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, but it's a full weekend of games. Will Marcus Mariota continue his strong play against the Cleveland Browns? Can Ryan Mallett give the Houston Texans more life than Brian Hoyer did in Week 1? Those questions will be answered on Sunday, while Monday features the aforementioned Colts going up against the New York Jets for Monday Night Football.
Below, we’ve got the full slate of remaining games for Week 2 and where you can watch them.
Sunday, Sept. 20
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers
(CBS -- 1 p.m.)
Despite being told he wasn’t on a short leash this season, the Texans benched Brian Hoyer in Week 1 and now he is no longer the starter going forward. Instead, it’s Ryan Mallett, who will be making the start against the Panthers. Carolina looked good in its first outing, but that was against Jacksonville and this one should be a tougher outing for them.
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
The Steelers should have an easier time with San Francisco's offense than they did against Tom Brady and New England. Then again, with Carlos Hyde putting up 168 yards as the 49ers dominated Minnesota in Week 1, maybe they should expect a tougher time on their hands than they initially did after the wretched offseason San Francisco had.
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
Jameis Winston had about as poor a first start as anyone expected, but he'll be going up against a New Orleans defense that isn't exactly known for harassing the passer on Sunday. Both teams lost in Week 1, and Drew Brees will be trying to get back in his groove. With three touchdowns on Sunday he'll reach 400 for his career.
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
Neither the Vikings nor the Lions had the debuts they expected in Week 1, and both will hit the reset button for Week 2. For Minnesota, it's about playing cleaner football and keeping Teddy Bridgewater safe so he can keep up with Matthew Stafford. For Detroit, it will be about finishing a game with the same level of play as the beginning.
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
The Cardinals are here to stay, provided they can keep Carson Palmer upright and healthy. They did that in Week 1, as Palmer threw for three touchdowns and 307 yards against New Orleans. The Bears have a tougher defense, but they weren't able to slow Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay in Week 1. They'll have as tough a time against Palmer.
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
(CBS -- 1 p.m.)
Brady did his thing in Week 1 and, much to the NFL’s chagrin, Brady will be playing again in Week 2. He’ll go up against a team that hasn’t done much in the division in a very long time, but looked amazing in Week 1 against Indianapolis. Rex Ryan’s Bills might be on to something here with Tyrod Taylor, but the Patriots are easily their biggest test now and going forward.
(CBS -- 1 p.m.)
Philip Rivers and the Chargers managed to out-gun Detroit thanks to a strong second-half effort and Rivers will once again look to out-gun a prolific quarterback in Cincinnati's Andy Dalton. It's a make-or-break year for Dalton and the Bengals and they got off on the right foot by dominating Oakland in Week 1.
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns
(CBS -- 1 p.m.)
Unlike Winston, Marcus Mariota’s debut went about as well as it could have. Four touchdown passes was enough to give the Titans a win in their opener, and on Sunday they’ve got the Browns, who didn’t look at all like they were prepared for the season against New York in Week 1.
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
This whole week has focused on the mistakes New York made against Dallas and the mistakes the referees made in the game but ultimately, Eli Manning is a veteran who knows how to bounce back and he'll come at Atlanta full force on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Julio Jones and Matt Ryan connection looks as good as it ever has, and with Roddy White and rookie Tevin Coleman, the Giants will have a lot to catch up with.
St. Louis Rams at Washington
(FOX -- 1 p.m.)
The Rams are coming off a huge upset over Seattle and have a leg-up in the NFC West. They'll be riding high heading into Washington, where they'll now be favored to take down Kirk Cousins and an offense that was unable to get anything done against Miami. St. Louis' defensive front is definitely a step up from that, so this one could get ugly.
(CBS -- 4:05 p.m.)
Ndamukong Suh had a productive first game for Miami, and he'll be looking to feast against Blake Bortles and the Jaguars on Sunday. Jacksonville had a solid offseason, but that didn't translate to solid play against Carolina on Sunday.
Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders
(CBS -- 4:05 p.m.)
The Raiders continue to string together productive offseasons, but they weren’t competitive against the Bengals on Sunday. Derek Carr sustained a hand injury but all indications are that he’s good to go. They’ll need him at his best to get through the Ravens, who aren’t happy with their close loss to the Broncos in their opener.
(FOX -- 4:25 p.m.)
The Cowboys very narrowly escaped with a win over the Giants in Week 1, and they'll face last year's top running back, DeMarco Murray, when they head to Philadelphia. The Eagles did not look like a good team in the first half against the Falcons in Week 1, but they made it competitive in the end and should be able to hit the ground running this time around.
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
(NBC -- 8:30 p.m.)
This is a matchup of two of the NFC’s best teams, but one of them already has a loss on their record. The Seahawks fell to the Rams after a messed up kick in overtime, and now they’ll be looking for revenge against Rodgers and the Packers. Kam Chancellor was still holding out last time we checked, and that’s going to be an area of the field you can expect Rodgers to target.
Monday, Sept. 21
New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
(ESPN -- 8:30 p.m.)
Ryan Fitzpatrick had a decent outing against the Browns, but the Colts are a whole different story. Then again, Tyrod Taylor made short work of said Colts in Week 1, and the Jets will be analyzing that game film more than any other heading into this prime time matchup.
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