Houston Texans @ New England Patriots
The 1-1 New England Patriots turned to quarterback Brandon Doughty last week after GJ Kinne suffered an AC joint injury in practice (with disastrous results). Now, facing a defensive unit with a healthy Jadaveon Clowney and that man named JJ Watt on Thursday Night Football, life only gets tougher for the Pats.
"Brady, Kinne, Doughty, whoever, we are coming to eat," Watt said. "I want to keep our train rolling through Foxboro."
With a date with 2-0 Buffalo looming in Week 4, Thursday night's affair with the Texans is turning into a huge game for New England's hopes of competing in the AFC East.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Houston's weapons against New England's secondary. DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller have been nearly unstoppable for the first 2-weeks. Can the Patriots secondary stop the dynamic duo?
PREDICTION: Texans win 27-13
Arizona Cardinals @ Buffalo Bills
After an epic late comeback against the reeling New York Jets, the Bills face an NFC Super Bowl hopeful in the Arizona Cardinals.
Bruce Arians knows that his team faces a tall task heading to the northeast.
"Offensively they are one of the toughest teams I've seen in my time in the league," Arians said. "They are strong across the board. Don't sleep on that defense either."
Buffalo's defense doesn't often get the credit it deserves alongside the cavalcade of stars trotting onto the offensive side of the field, but Patrick Chung, Geno Atkins, Luke Kuechly and Clay Matthews like going relatively unnoticed.
"I feel like we can compete with anyone," Kuechly said. "We have All Pros at many different positions - the key is becoming a Super Bowl-type unit; We don't care about individual stuff anymore."
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Todd Gurley the anchor. Once Buffalo was able to focus on the run late in the 2nd half against the Jets, the writing was on the wall. This Bills team (now without offensive coordinator Greg Roman) must provide Gurley with opportunities to wear defenses down so that Aaron Rodgers can put people away.
PREDICTION: Bills win 31-26
Cleveland Browns @ Miami Dolphins
Much has been written about the last time Cam Newton faced the Miami defense: Two fumbles lost, three interceptions, and a benching leading to a trade to Cleveland.
This South Beach sized stain on Newton's early legacy is not lost on the signal-caller.
"They got me last time and it's been on my mind every day since," Newton said. "I don't forget things - they were dirty. I'm coming for them."
The Dolphins have been able to enforce their will against Seattle and New England to start the year. A revenge date with Newton's Browns provides some intrigue to a matchup that looks a bit lopsided on paper.
"We don't take anyone lightly, especially with Cam (Newton) over there," Calvin Pryor said. "He's one of the best in the game and we have to be ready."
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Can Miami keep Cam in the pocket? If Cam is able to slide away from the pressue from the Dolphins, he can be lethal. An angry Cam Newton is someone no one wants to see.
PREDICTION: Browns win 28-24
New York Jets @ Kansas City Chiefs
For three quarters we finally saw what has been expected from the New York Jets: Dominance.
If you polled the other 31 General Managers in the NFL, you'd unanimously get the Jets GM as the top scout and player personnel man around.
The talent accumulated has yet to yield results on the field - leaving some to point fingers at head coach Todd Bowles.
"It's on me," Bowles said. "I need to improve along with the rest of our coaching staff to put players in the positions to win."
In an effort to do just that, Bowles hired newly available Greg Roman as an offensive quality control coach to assist with play-calling.
Roman should help re-focus the team's rushing attack while simplifying reads for their quarterback.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Can Ryan Tannehill avoid the "big one" and copy the Alex Smith playbook of excellence? Although there have been rumblings that Jimmy Garoppolo's time to start is fast approaching, the storyline will remain the same regardless to whomever is under center: Protect the football. If Jimmy G is the man to do this, park Tannehill on the bench and find a trade partner ASAP.
PREDICTION: Jimmy G & the Jets win 23-17
