Bengals (0-0) at Ravens (0-0)
Andy Dalton and AJ Green broke out huge as rookies last year. The trouble for them this year is going to be the lack of depth at the wide receiver position. They did pick up The Law Firm Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis from the free agent pool, and it will take away some of the concern over lack of offense from Cincinnati, but they are going to need someone to really step up if they want to cause some chaos in the AFC North. The Ravens still have Ray Rice and Joe Flacco each who are primed to have dominant seasons at their respective positions. For years the Ravens relied on their strong defense to carry them through games, but with Suggs injured, Ray Lewis getting into his mid to late 30’s and Ed Reed coming towards the end of his career, Baltimore is going to be using their offense as a crutch. And Ray Rice is just the man you want to lean on.
Bengals 17 – Ravens 23
Chargers (0-0) at Raiders (0-0)
I’d still put Philip Rivers as one of the few quarterbacks a step below the current elite despite his lack of continuous success over the past few seasons. Week one he is going to be without Ryan Matthews who broke his collarbone on his first carry of the preseason. Without Matthews to carry the load for San Diego I’m not sure how much I believe in the Bolts. The Raiders have had injuries end their season a few times when Darren McFadden has had a few seasons cut short. Carson Palmer is yet to really impress me this year despite ending his last couple of weeks last year pretty hot. This game is going to come down to intangibles, defense, and key turnovers. I’ve got a feeling that Palmer is going to try and force a few dumb passes, and it’s going to lead to at least two scores off of turnovers which will be just enough to give the Chargers their first win of the season.
Chargers 31 – Raiders 30
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