But they certainly seemed capable of that

But that's why they call it gambling.Panthers 16, Falcons 14MINNESOTA at Detroit (10)Could the Vikings have any more of an easy entry to this year Their second straight wildly winnable road game takes them to Detroit, who get to show that their defense can be beaten in an entirely different way after last week's aerial assault from Brees and Company. Had it not been for the Stokely Miracle, Adrian Peterson would have had the highlight of the day with his violent dismissal straight arm on a long touchdown run against the Browns. It's hard to imagine All-Day doing the same thing to Detroit, if only because it's hard to imagine they'll be that close to him in the first place.With the Williams Wall still intact in the longest running drug investigation since the French Connection, too much will fall again on rookie QB Matt Stafford, who is suffering through the kind of encouraging growing pains that Lions Fan will take cheerfully after years in the wilderness. After this game is over, make your lowball offer for Lions RB Kevin Smith; things will be better for him soon But not now. (Oh, and as part of our nationally mandated requirement for football analysis and search engine relevance, Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre.

I need a shower.)Vikings 24, Lions 13Cincinnati at GREEN BAY(-9.5)If you really want to know why the Bengals lost last week, look no further than Carson Palmer, who failed to get points in the red zone despite an intermittently effective running game, a defense that was pitching a happy shutout on a toothless opponent, and a home crowd that won't get anywhere near taking out the blackout numbers this year, absent a massive infusion of Road Fan. Preseason and fantasy football favorite Chris Henry, in particular, got nothing and didn't like it, and new wideout Laverneous Coles did nothing to take away the idea that TJ Houshmanzadeh was utterly necessary. It's also telling that after years with an elite QB talent, this dreadful organization has never gone out and acquired a tight end that was any kind of offensive threat. In today's league, where there are literally dozens of big men who can hurt a defense by catching the ball, that's fairly inexcusable, but Bengal Fan is pretty damn used to it by now.Green Bay, of course, won the SNF game despite some offensive shakiness of its own, with QB Aaron Rodgers just a hair off with his WRs, and not quite enough commitment to the resurgent Ryan Grant running game.

This week, Cedric Benson will provide no help, the Packers will poach a few picks, and the offense will turn over on eight cylinders. Oh, and the Bengals set a new record in quitting on the year, which is tough in the Marvin Lewis Era, really.Packers 34, Bengals 17Houston at TENNESSEE (-6.5)There are losses, and then there are losses. The Titans were giving the world champions everything they could handle in a road loss that they could have easily won with credible kicking, or better defense against the no huddle. Last year, Steve Slaton earned his rookie chops with big numbers against a Titans team that was having a massive year with Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth is gone, but Slaton really hasn't looked good all year, and even as a guy that owns him in a roto league, I'm not filled with confidence here. Maybe Matt Schaub is more effective this week, but it's hard to see him be good enough to get the win on the road here... or covering that number.Titans 24, Texans 17OAKLAND at Kansas City (-3)An early elimination game for the bottom rung of the AFC West, with the Chiefs having the edge from being at home and getting the extra day of rest, which might not be such a big deal in the early days of the season.

But they certainly seemed capable of that .500 year I was predicting, just because the defense doesn't look awful, and the running backs really are very good, and the offensive line is pretty physical. They'll have to be.Raiders 16, Chiefs 13NEW ENGLAND at NY Jets (4)Every year in baseball, some writer with a hole to fill in June goes down the primrose path of singing the praises of some surprising player who is off to a hot start. Take this to its logical extreme, and you wind up with a game of hot start wonders. Ignore it all, and you miss out on players who are actually emerging.That's where the world is right now with the New York Jets, who really could not be any happier with how Week 1 went. The presumably mighty Patriots, who needed Bills chokery to win their home opener against a double-digit dog.