In the Red Zone: Week 2 down, 15 to go Published Sept. 23, 2010 By Bryan Swink Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- If picking games during Week 2 was an exam for me, I would have failed. Two of my six incorrect picks for the week were the disappointing Vikings over Dolphins and Cowboys over Chicago. I don't know which of the two teams are more disappointing so far in the season. The Dolphins marched in and beat up Brett Favre and the Vikings, and the Cowboys can't figure out if they are playing football or "futbol". On a positive note, the Buccaneers, Bears, Chiefs and Dolphins have started the season 2-0. I sure didn't expect that. Peyton Manning and the Colts came out on top, as predicted, over younger brother Eli and the Giants. New York planned to slow down the pass but got the ball ran down their throats. The most impressive thing about the first two weeks of the season is the play of Lions rookie running back Jahvid Best. He has gained 268 total yards and five touchdowns. He may not be Barry Sanders, but he is the best running back they've had since. Now on to Week 3. Tennessee at NY Giants Both of these teams looked horrendous in Week 2. The Giants gave up 160 yards on the ground to the Colts who were last in the league in rushing during 2009. Joseph Addai is good, but Titans running back Chris Johnson is much better. New York better fix their run defense quickly or Sunday's game could be over quickly. Quarterback Vince Young will start even though he was benched last week against the Steelers. I predict an upset at home. Swink's prediction: Titans win on the road Pittsburg at Tampa Bay The Steelers have started the season with a 2-0 record without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Even though they only managed to gain 127 total yards last week against the Titans and surprisingly only 21 yards came in the air. That is a true testament to their defense, which held running back Chris Johnson to only 53 total yards. Even though Tampa Bay is 2-0, they haven't faced a defense this good. It may be a long day for Buccaneer fans. Swink's prediction: Steelers win on the road Cincinnati at Carolina Carolina looked horrendous last week at home while the Bengals did just enough to put away the Ravens. The Panthers are in a bit of a quarterback controversy as season starter Matt Moore has been widely disappointing, throwing two touchdowns and four interceptions. Panther fans are screaming to give the reins to rookie Jimmy Clausen. He hasn't looked great in his appearances but it can't be much worse than Moore's production. Cincinnati looks like they are finally meshing as a team and should win convincingly on the road. Swink's prediction: Bengals win on the road Cleveland at Baltimore This game will be like a scrimmage for the Ravens at home. Cleveland is a bad team that has yet to win this season and Baltimore's defense is too strong for the Browns to squeak out a win on the road. The Ravens will be the toughest opponent the Browns have faced thus far and are sure to challenge their defense both in the air and on the ground. Look for running back Ray Rice and receiver Anquan Boldin to have big games. Swink's prediction: Ravens win at home Dallas at Houston I have picked Dallas to win each of the last two weeks - I've learned my lesson. It will not be an easy matchup for the Texans but seeing what they did to the Cowboys in the preseason and their balanced offense to start the season, they should have a big day. Dallas, even though extremely talented, isn't working together as a team and the coaching staff is having trouble figuring out their opponents. They better get their act together if they want any shot at playing at home in the Super Bowl. Swink's prediction: Texans win at home San Francisco at Kansas City This will be an interesting game to keep an eye on. The Chiefs are a surprising team, starting off the season 2-0 as San Francisco put up quite a fight on Monday Night Football against the Saints. The 49ers need this road victory to help establish themselves as a contender for the NFC West. If quarterback Alex Smith can eliminate turnovers, they have a good chance at winning this game. If the Chiefs have the ability to beat the Chargers on the road, I don't see why they can't beat the 49ers at home. Swink's prediction: Chiefs win at home Detroit at Minnesota This is the battle of the winless teams in the NFC North. Even though Minnesota hasn't won this year, they will this week against a bad Detroit team. The Lions have fought hard in the previous two weeks, almost squeaking out wins against the Eagles and Bears, but they will have a hard time containing Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. If they want any chance at winning, they need to get the ball to Jahvid Best as much as possible. Swink's prediction: Vikings win at home Buffalo at New England This game is a no-brainer when it comes to deciding who will win. Unless the winless Bills play out-of-their-minds football, they have no chance at upsetting the Patriots in Foxboro. New England is coming off a tough loss to the Jets and are looking to rebound with a convincing win. Quarterback Tom Brady will have a field day picking apart the Bills pass defense. Swink's prediction: Patriots win at home Atlanta at New Orleans Even though the Falcons looked dominant last week against the Cardinals, this week will be a much tougher test. They travel to New Orleans, which is no easy task. Even though the Saints will be without running back Reggie Bush, their passing game will be tough to defend. If the Falcons can mix up their run game and passing attack and play on the same level they did last week, they could give the defending Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season. Swink's prediction: Falcons win on the road Washington at St. Louis Quarterback Sam Bradford and the Rams are looking better than I expected them to this early in the season. Even though they are 0-2, Bradford is looking more comfortable under center. This will be an interesting matchup this week as Washington is looking to bounce back from their overtime loss to the Texans. Quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for over 400 yards last week and could duplicate it again against this bad Rams defense. Swink's prediction: Redskins wins on the road Philadelphia at Jacksonville Jacksonville got beat up last week against the Chargers. They are playing the Eagles who have benched starting rookie quarterback Kevin Kolb. Head coach Andy Reid gave Michael Vick the starting job. Philadelphia needs an agile quarterback because their offensive line can't seem to block anybody. Vick gives them the best chance to win and will be a headache for weak defensive teams. Swink's prediction: Eagles win on the road Oakland at Arizona Arizona was embarrassed last week in their game against the Falcons and hopes to rebound against a poor Oakland team that can't figure out which quarterback they want to play. Both of these teams have one win apiece and each came against the Rams (not impressive). Both of their losses came in the form of a blowout. The Cardinals have the edge in this matchup solely because they are playing at home. Swink's prediction: Cardinals win at home San Diego at Seattle We found out Seattle is a pretender based on their performance last week against the Broncos as they were shutout in the first half. The Chargers beat up on Jacksonville at home and look to take that momentum into Seattle. It may not be a complete route in favor of the Chargers, but they will win convincingly. Swink's prediction: Chargers win on the road Indianapolis at Denver The Colts looked dominant last week against the Giants and the Broncos gave the Seahawks a reality check. Both are coming off convincing wins but this is still a league in which the better quarterback usually wins. This will be an exciting game to watch to see if the Broncos defense can force quarterback Peyton Manning to turn the ball over. Last week Denver forced three interceptions. It will be a chess match between the 4-time NFL Most Valuable Player and the Broncos secondary. Swink's prediction: Colts win on the road NY Jets at Miami Miami Dolphins, I am sorry. I picked the Vikings last week and you proved me wrong. You looked impressive against a solid team and did just enough to walk out of there with a win. I would normally pick the Jets to win this week's game, but with the loss of injured Darrelle Revis at cornerback and receiver Braylon Edwards facing a team suspension, the Dolphins have a great chance to win at home. Swink's prediction: Dolphins win at home Green Bay at Chicago Green Bay is too good on both sides of the ball to lose to the Bears. But I said the exact same thing last week when Chicago mopped the floor with the Cowboys on the road. I still think the Packers will win this game, but if Bears quarterback Jay Cutler plays like he did last week, anything can happen. Swink's prediction: Packers win on the road