Josh Allen's first career start and other interesting storylines in Week 2's slate of NFL games

Jay Asser 18:12 15/09/2018
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  • We take a look at some of the more interesting match-ups in Week 2.

    BUFFALO V LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

    It took a little more than a half for the Bills to abandon their plan to keep Josh Allen out of the crossfire as they’ve replaced Nathan Peterman with the rookie quarterback heading into Week 2.

    The number seven overall pick in this year’s draft will make his first career start against the Chargers on Sunday, and while the Bills can’t do any worse than Peterman with the switch, Allen isn’t being put in a position to succeed.

    Buffalo’s offence is lacking weapons and San Diego’s defence, despite dealing with injuries, is still capable of ruining Allen’s day.

    TENNESSEE V HOUSTON

    While the Texans will expect for a bounce-back performance from Deshaun Watson in Week 2, the Titans will just hope to see their young quarterback on the field.

    Marcus Mariota suffered an elbow injury in the opener that knocked him out of the contest, leaving his status for Sunday up in the air.

    Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel said he expects both Mariota and back-up Blaine Gabbert to play, which is a curious statement.

    If Mariota is healthy enough to play, he should see the field the entire time. If he’s not, he should sit, especially with Houston’s pass rush set to maul the Titans’ wounded offensive line.

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    NEW ORLEANS V CLEVELAND

    The Saints’ defence has a lot to prove after a dismal showing in the opener, when Ryan Fitzpatrick, of all people, tore them to shreds.

    The (somewhat) good news for New Orleans this week is that incremental improvement may be enough to get the job done against Tyrod Taylor and Cleveland’s attack, which struggled to move the ball with any consistency in Week 1.

    Still, the Browns have weapons in Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry and David Njoku to give the Saints fits, so unless New Orleans get their act together, there is potential for it being another long afternoon in the Superdome.

    TAMPA BAY V PHILADELPHIA

    Even though this contest will feature two back-up quarterbacks, the match-up doesn’t lose much lustre considering the quality of Nick Foles and Fitzpatrick.

    The latter was absolutely on fire in Week 1 as he looked like an All-Pro, but the sledding should be tougher against an Eagles defence that shut down Atlanta in the red zone in the opener.

    Foles, meanwhile, has failed to recapture the magic that saw him lead the Eagles in the Super Bowl run, but Philadelphia’s coaching has found creative ways to get the most out of their offence while starter Carson Wentz continues to recover from his ACL tear.

    DALLAS V NEW YORK GIANTS

    Dak Prescott has received some criticism this week after the Cowboys offence fell flat on their face in Week 1, so the third-year quarterback has some work to do to turn around Dallas’ attack.

    Considering the weapons at Eli Manning’s disposal on the other side of the ball, including rookie running back Saquon Barkley who picked up 106 rushing yards against a stingy Jacksonville defence in his debut, Prescott and Co will likely have no choice but to put up points if the Cowboys want to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.

    This match-up also gets the familiar primetime treatment.

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