The first week of the 2017 NFL season, as usual, had some surprises. It's always difficult to predict how teams will look after undergoing various changes to their rosters and coaching staffs over the offseason. Week 1 surprises included Tom Brady struggling in the New England Patriots' stunning home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the quarterback-needy Jacksonville Jaguars dominating the Houston Texans, and the Oakland Raiders' bad-on-paper defense limiting Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans to just 16 points.

Now that we have a better idea (albeit only slightly better) of what the NFL teams are capable of in 2017 let's go ahead and make some predictions for the Week 2 matchups.

Buffalo Bills (1-0) 16, Carolina Panthers (1-0) 24

After just one game against a San Francisco 49ers team that may contend for the worst record in the NFL this season, it's still tough to say whether the Carolina Panthers will bounce back from their disappointing 2016 campaign or not. That being said, the Buffalo Bills seemed to be in tank mode during the preseason, trading away players Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby, and the Panthers have more than enough tools to be playoff contenders.

The Bills defense is good enough to give quarterback Cam Newton some headaches—new cornerbacks E.J. Gaines and Tre'Davious White were impressive in Week 1 against the New York Jets. The Panthers defense, anchored by 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly, is going to make it difficult for quarterback Tyrod Taylor and company to get into the end zone.

Chicago Bears (0-1) 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) 28

The Chicago Bears had Atlanta Falcons fans biting their nails last weekend when they almost pulled off a huge upset victory, but don't expect them to play good teams that well all season. They are weak at quarterback, have virtually nothing to throw to in the passing game, and while their defense could be an underrated asset this season, it's not strong enough to carry a poor offense.

In addition, the team lost top linebacker Jerrell Freeman to a season-ending pectoral injury, top offensive weapon Jordan Howard (shoulder, questionable) is banged up, and opponents will now be prepared for Week 1 secret weapon Tarik Cohen, who surprised with 113 yards from scrimmage last week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be a little rusty after their Week 1 game was postponed due to Hurricane Irma, but they have an offense loaded with talent in third-year quarterback Jameis Winston, wide receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, and rookie tight end O.J.

Howard. The defense ranked 15th in points allowed last season and could be even better this year with ascending players like edge-defender Noah Spence and cornerback Vernon Hargreaves likely to improve. The Bucs have enough of a talent advantage to win this game with relative ease.

Minnesota Vikings (1-0) 21, Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) 27

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a highly impressive Week 1 home win against the New Orleans Saints, but they'll be facing a much different beast in Week 2. New Orleans notoriously struggles on the road, while the Pittsburgh Steelers are a dominant home team. The Steelers were 7-2 at home last season compared to 6-4 on the road (including playoffs), and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's passer rating was 78.4 at home last season but skyrocketed to 116.7 at Heinz Field.

Pittsburgh may have struggled with the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, but sloppy play on the road is nothing new for this team.

That being said, the Vikings still have a solid chance in this affair. It looks like the addition of offensive tackle Riley Reiff could help keep quarterback Sam Bradford upright much more often in 2017, and Bradford can be lethal when given time to throw. In addition, rookie running back Dalvin Cook looked great in his debut, and the defense is always strong under head coach Mike Zimmer. But the Steelers' offensive firepower with Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and Martavis Bryant will be too much to handle in Pittsburgh.

Arizona Cardinals (0-1) 24, Indianapolis Colts (0-1) 10

Most players prove their MVP status on the field, but in Week 1, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's (shoulder) value was proved while Luck was on the sideline—the Colts were utterly dominated by a Los Angeles Rams team that went 4-12 last season. Former general manager Ryan Grigson put together a bad, bad roster in Indy, and Luck often made it look better than it was. With Jacoby Brissett looking like he'll get the start in Week 2 just two weeks after being acquired from the New England Patriots, the offense will once again go nowhere for most of the game.

The Arizona Cardinals didn't look great last week either, giving up 35 points, but that was the $135 million man Matthew Stafford—the Colts lousy offense won't be able to sniff the production that Stafford and company had against Arizona.

The Cardinals also managed a solid 23 points against a Lions defense that ranked 13th in points allowed last season. The offense will miss stud running back David Johnson (wrist), but the Cardinals will be fine in this game against a defense that was torched for 32 points by Jared Goff.

New England Patriots (0-1) 41, New Orleans Saints (0-1) 31

This could very well be the most entertaining game of the week, as the two teams involved boast top-flight quarterbacks and hoards of offensive weapons but struggled mightily on defense in Week 1. Though the New England Patriots are coming off an embarrassing home loss, we've seen them bounce back in the past, so it would be unwise to overreact to their early-season struggles.

Remember 2014, when they got trounced by the Kansas City Chiefs 41-14 on national television? A lot of people wrote off Tom Brady and company after that, but the Pats went on to win the Super Bowl.

Much of the Patriots' struggles in Week 1 stemmed from an inability to get to Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, but they should have an easier time putting pressure on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees this weekend. The Minnesota Vikings bullied the New Orleans offensive line in Week 1, and the Saints will still be missing top offensive tackle Terron Armstead (shoulder). The Saints should be able to score more points than they did against a fierce Vikings defense, but the Patriots offense will torch the Saints and win in a shootout.

Cleveland Browns (0-1) 9, Baltimore Ravens (1-0) 23

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off a dominant performance in which they shut out the Cincinnati Bengals, and they'll now do battle with a rookie quarterback, DeShone Kizer, who now has a game's worth of regular-season tape for opponents to study. The Ravens have a well-rounded, championship-caliber defense featuring studs like Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley, and Jimmy Smith. Kizer will have a miserable time trying to move the ball on this defense in his first NFL road game. He looks like he could be the most talented quarterback the Cleveland Browns have had in a number of years, but he's not ready for this challenge just yet.

Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense may not have much talent this year, but against a Browns defense that ranked 30th in points allowed last season, Baltimore will score more than enough points to win this game easily.

Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) 21, Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) 24

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is well-known for his ability to prepare for games when given extra time—he's won his past three season openers and his past three games coming off bye weeks. Reid may only have three extra days to prepare for the Philadelphia Eagles, the team he coached from 1999 to 2012, but you better bet that he took full advantage of that time to prepare to stick it to his former team. The Eagles defense has plenty of talent, but the Chiefs have some explosive weapons in receiver Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, and rookie running back Kareem Hunt. Quarterback Alex Smith is coming off one of the best performances of his career and will be able to utilize his weapons in his typical low-risk fashion to put a decent amount of points on the board.

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is beginning to look like the real deal, but the Chiefs will throw a lot of tough looks his way with players like ferocious pass-rusher Justin Houston and ball hawk Marcus Peters—this defense has far more talent than the Washington Redskins defense that Wentz torched last week. This game certainly has upset potential, but with the Chiefs playing at home in one of the loudest stadiums in the league, which will be loaded with raucous fans who watched their team beat up on the Patriots in New England last week, the Chiefs will pull out the win.

Tennessee Titans (0-1) 17, Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) 20

The Tennessee Titans struggled to score against an Oakland Raiders defense that ranked 20th in points allowed last season.

This week, they'll take on a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that could rank among the best in the league this year. Yes, Jacksonville ranked just 25th in points allowed last season, but they were sixth in yards allowed, and the ugly point total was largely a result of an offense that couldn't stay on the field and turned over the ball at a high rate. Over the offseason, Jacksonville added studs like defensive lineman Calais Campbell (four sacks in Week 1) and cornerback A.J. Bouye. Meanwhile, youngsters like cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Myles Jack, and edge-defender Dante Fowler, just to name a few, have only gotten better. In addition, rookie running back Leonard Fournette looks like he can play the role of an offensive focal point who moves the chains and keeps the defense off the field.

The Titans are working in some new pass-catchers in rookie Corey Davis and veteran Eric Decker who may need some more time to build chemistry with quarterback Marcus Mariota, and running back DeMarco Murray has racked up 1,702 career touches and is closing in on the dreaded age of 30 (he'll turn 30 in February). In addition, right tackle Jack Conklin was absolutely abused last week by a Raiders defensive front that wasn't expected to be all that great this season. The Titans will end up being fine this year thanks to Mariota and plenty of other talent on the roster, and they could very well beat out the Jaguars for the AFC South crown. But after their performance against the Raiders last week, it's tough to imagine them scoring enough points against this ultra-talented defense to win the game.
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