Two week 1 winners meet in a great AFC/NFC matchup that pits the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at home. The Falcons couldn’t do a thing to stop Drew Brees last week but it didn’t matter in the end–Atlanta can score and they beat the humbled Saints 37-34. The Bengals gave up 329 yards in the air last week against the Ravens and Joe Flacco. That’s Joe Flacco, not Joe Montana, so unless the Bengals bring a little more today at 1pm at Paul Brown Stadium, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan–who’s getting ridiculously early MVP chatter–might have a fun day.
But wait, nobody has a fun day visiting Cincinnati. The Bengals were undefeated at home last season. They outscored opponents by 147 points during a nine-game home streak. Sure it’s all in the past once they kick it off today, but the Bengals will be playing with their confident 12th man, the crowd, on a beautiful Ohio afternoon. In last week’s road win the Bengals elusive AJ Green caught six passes for 131 yards, including an “insane” 77-yard go-ahead touchdown in an opening win over the Ravens. And the Ravens proved to be formidable in their week 2 drubbing of the Steelers, 26-6. The Falcons are a 5-point underdog for good reason. But this year both teams are so far undefeated. Should be a hot game.
