From the heavily favored Cincinnati Bengals falling to the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins engineering big comebacks, the opening week of the 2024 NFL regular season featured a handful of surprises.
While the Week 2 schedule looks decidedly tamer, the lack of marquee matchups could be setting the table for a few more major twists.
Consensus is back in a big way this week, with USA TODAY Sports’ six experts unanimous in their picks for 11 of the 16 games on tap. But we asked writers to get daring for one major prognostication in this week’s games.
Here are USA TODAY Sports’ bold predictions for Week 2 in the NFL:
Caleb Williams will have to wait until Week 3 to find the end zone
Although he began his NFL career 1-0, Caleb Williams’ debut with the Chicago Bears was not a statistical beauty. He completed less than half of his passes (48.3%), had less than 100 passing yards (93) and averaged 3.2 yards per attempt. The Bears still defeated the Tennessee Titans despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. They won’t be so lucky against the Houston Texans on “Sunday Night Football.”
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Houston did allow 27 points in a Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. But they were effective against the run and held Jonathan Taylor to 3.0 yards per carry and largely held quarterback Anthony Richardson in check on the ground. What felled the Texans was explosives at the expense of Richardson’s arm and a pair of touchdown plays that went more than 50 yards.
Williams and the Bears offense doesn’t pose that type of threat – at least not at this stage. Chicago’s run game won’t bail Williams out. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans will have his defense flying around the field and confuse him. And the rookie will have to wait until Week 3 for his first career touchdown.
— Chris Bumbaca
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Jordan Mason will surpass 100 rushing yards again
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who’s dealing with calf and Achilles injuries, won’t play on Sunday, coach Kyle Shanahan announced. With McCaffrey still recovering, the 49ers will dial up Mason’s number, and the reserve running back will deliver for the second straight week. Mason will eclipse 100 rushing yards again after a breakout performance in which he posted career bests in both carries (28) and rushing yards (147) in Week 1. The 49ers have advantages up front against the Minnesota Vikings, especially on the edges. Expect Shanahan to have plenty of zone runs in his game plan. Mason will seize the opportunity and run with confidence and authority. Mason had five runs of 10 or more yards in Week 1. He could match that amount in Minnesota.
— Tyler Dragon
Bucs will make major statement with win at Lions
The Lions beat Todd Bowles’ team twice last season – in a Week 6 encounter at Tampa and in the divisional playoffs at Detroit. That’s why the Bucs, winners of three straight NFC South titles, should be highly motivated to avoid losing three in a row to the Leos since the start of 2023. Bad for Tampa Bay: All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield is expected to miss the game due to a foot injury, leaving an already thin secondary even harder pressed to match up against receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta. Good for the Bucs: Baker Mayfield has started the season with a bang – he passed for 289 yards and 4 TDs and had the league’s best passer rating (146.4) in Week 1 – and he has one of the NFL’s best 1-2 receiver combos in two with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Dan Campbell’s gritty team won a trip to the NFC title game in January by eliminating the Bucs as they broke open a game that was tied 17-17 early in the fourth quarter. Now the Bucs come back to raucous Ford Field with another chance to prove whether they can measure up.
— Jarrett Bell
Seahawks will notch six sacks in win against Patriots
Malcolm Butler’s return to Foxborough for ‘Keeper of the Light’ duties is an immaculate troll job by New England – and a reminder that both teams are a far cry from their Super Bowl 49 form. But while Mike Macdonald’s defense can’t be mentioned in the same breath as the Legion of Boom, there’s plenty of reason to believe the unit could create some serious problems for the Patriots on Sunday. Jacoby Brissett only took one sack in the Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he faced the highest pressure rate (48.3%) of any quarterback, according to Next Gen Stats. That speaks to Brissett’s pocket presence and poise, but a significantly more difficult challenge could be awaiting with the Seahawks. With major threats both on the interior in Leonard Williams and rookie Byron Murphy as well as the edge in Boye Mafe, Macdonald’s complex scheme has a variety of ways to generate heat without blitzing frequently. Six sacks is a high bar – the Dallas Cowboys were the only team to reach that total in Week 1, and they did so against a Cleveland Browns team missing its top two offensive tackles – but the Seahawks can clear it against a team that looks significantly undermanned up front.
— Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
