In the Red Zone: Week 1 down, 16 to go Published Sept. 17, 2010 By Bryan Swink Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- What an interesting Week 1 of the 2010 NFL season. Two powerhouses in the Cowboys and Colts fell to lesser opponents and my pick to win the NFC West, San Francisco 49ers, looked completely stupid in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The most interesting result of this past weekend's games is the quarterback controversy that is building in Philadelphia. The Eagles traded their franchise quarterback to a team within their division and gave the reigns to the young Kevin Kolb just to see him struggle early and get knocked out of the game in the first half. Backup quarterback Michael Vick steps in and looks extremely impressive. It's tough to win championships when upper-management doesn't know what they're doing. Now on to Week 2. I'll briefly discuss the match-ups and give my opinion on who will come out on top. Even though my week 1 picks weren't published, I only missed three games. Let's see if I can improve on my picks this week. Pittsburgh at Tennessee The Steelers squeaked out an overtime win against Atlanta last week in overtime without Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. Don't count on Dennis Dixon to win every game during Roethlisberger's suspension. Their defense is great against the run, but are they good enough to slow down Titans running back Chris Johnson. The Titans blew-out the Raiders last week and looked extremely impressive. It will be a good one. Swink's prediction: Titans win at home Miami at Minnesota After looking his age last week against the Saints, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre will have a big game at home against a poor Miami defense. Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne doesn't yet have the skills to take on a solid defense on the road. This game will be a blowout. Swink's prediction: Vikings win at home Arizona at Atlanta Arizona barely edged out a win against a poor Rams team last week and Atlanta lost in overtime to the Steelers. This will be a big week for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan who started connecting consistently with receiver Roddy White. If Beanie Wells is healthy for Arizona, they could be in for a big running day against the Falcons, who gave up almost 150 yards on the ground last week. Swink's prediction: Falcons win at home Baltimore at Cincinnati The Ravens shut down the Jet's offense last week and Joe Flacco looked poised behind center. If they can perform like they did against a much weaker defense in Cincinnati in Week 2, this could be a long day for the Bengals. Cincinnati was taught a lesson by the Patriots in Week 1 and better get their act together if they want to win this game at home. Swink's prediction: Ravens win on the road Kansas City at Cleveland Initially looking at this game, before the Chiefs upset San Diego on Monday night, I thought this could go either way between two bad teams. But in Week 1 Kansas City looked good against a solid team and the Browns looked bad against a bad one. You do the math. I may have underestimated the Chiefs for this season. They will start 2-0. Swink's prediction: Chiefs win on the road Chicago at Dallas Both of these teams had strange finishes during their Week 1 matchups. Chicago should have lost as Lions receiver Calvin Johnson's catch in the end zone was ruled incomplete (that rule needs to change). Dallas made many stupid mistakes in their game, which ultimately resulted in their loss to the Redskins. If the Cowboys don't shoot themselves in the foot, they should cruise to a victory against a less talented Bears team. Swink's prediction: Cowboys win at home Philadelphia at Detroit If Eagles start Kevin Kolb as quarterback, the Lions have a great chance to win. He looked awful before he suffered his game-ending concussion. If Vick is the quarterback, the Eagles could easily win on the road. The Lions, most likely without quarterback Matthew Stafford, will struggle passing behind Shaun Hill. Running back Jahvid had two touchdowns but the Eagles will be eyeing to contain him. Swink's prediction: Eagles win on the road Buffalo at Green Bay Does anybody really believe that the Bills are going to march into Lambeau Field and steal a win from the Packers? I sure don't. The Bills only had 166 total yards last week against the Dolphins. Even though Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't look great last week against the Eagles, this should be like playing against a Division II college team this weekend. The Packers should roll easily. Swink's prediction: Packers win at home Tampa Bay at Carolina The Panthers struggled last week against the NY Giants on the road. Quarterback Matt Moore threw three interceptions while they only ran the ball 24 times. Moore will not win games for Carolina, their running backs will. Tampa Bay will have a hard time containing DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, which will then make the play action effective. This has the opportunity to become a high-scoring game. Swink's prediction: Panthers win at home Seattle at Denver Seattle's game against San Francisco was an impressive start to the Pete Carroll era in Seattle, but was it a fluke? This week will be a big test for the Seahawks. Denver isn't the greatest team in the league, but they're no slouch. This game will be a good test for Seattle to see if they are a legitimate threat in the NFC West. Swink's prediction: Broncos win at home St. Louis at Oakland The Raiders were embarrassed on the road in Tennessee last week and look to rebound against a bad St. Louis team. Rams rookie quarterback Bradford will feel more and more comfortable each game, but it is still too soon to say he's ready to break out. The Raiders have a decent secondary that will prevent the Rams from doing too much in the air. Swink's prediction: Raiders win at home Houston at Washington Donovan McNabb failed to produce an offensive touchdown in his Redskin debut last week against the Cowboys. Washington somehow squeaked a win away from Dallas as Houston beat up the defending AFC champion Colts. Houston will continue the momentum into Week 2 and dominate the Redskins in Washington. Watch for Texans running back Arian Foster to build off his 231-yard rushing performance from Week 1. Swink's prediction: Texans win on the road New England at NY Jets This is my game of the week to watch. The Jets killed themselves defensively last week with penalties against the Ravens. They can't afford them when playing a high-powered offense led by quarterback Tom Brady, who torched the Bengals last week on the road. The Patriots have enough talent on defense to hold the Jets' offense, but the real matchup will be Tom Brady and company against the Jets' defense. Swink's prediction: Patriots win on the road Jacksonville at San Diego It will be difficult for Jacksonville to walk into San Diego and dominate this game considering the embarrassing loss the Chargers had against the Chiefs in Week 1. The Chargers want to prove they are still a top team in the AFC. Look for them to come out and push the Jaguars around. Just hope they don't give up the big play like they did last week. Swink's prediction: Chargers win at home NY Giants at Indianapolis This is the battle of the Manning brothers. Eli, the younger and less talented, looks to march into Peyton's house and upset the defending AFC champions. This won't happen though. The Colts have too talented of an offense for the Giants to keep up with them. Peyton wants to prove last week's loss to the Texans was a fluke and make a statement to the rest of the league. Look for father Archie Manning to get the majority of television face time as the cameras will be eager to see which son he roots for more. Swink's prediction: Colts win at home New Orleans at San Francisco I would have given the 49ers a better chance in this matchup against the defending Super Bowl champions until I saw their amateur play last week against Seattle. 49ers quarterback Alex Smith still hasn't lived up to his No. 1 overall draft pick expectations. He better figure it out quickly or it will be another long season for San Francisco. If they play like they did last week, the Saints could put up record numbers. Swink's prediction: Saints win on the road