Despite their multiple roster downgrades during the offseason, the Buffalo Bills actually appeared to be competent in Week 1, winning 21-12 over division rivals the New York Jets.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who suffered a late concussion during the preseason, was hardly rattled in his regular-season debut by completing 16 of 28 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor also added eight right rushing attempts for 38 yards, giving the Bills a potent ground attack on Sunday to the tune of 42 carries for 190 rushing yards as a team. Lead back LeSean McCoy led all Buffalo players at that with 22 carries for 110 yards.
What’s more impressive is that the Bills picked the Jets off twice in the win, proving at least for one game that their defensive roster still has some bite in it after shipping off star cornerback Ronald Darby in the offseason. However, this D will face a more formidable offense from the Panthers in Week 2, which should pose as a real test for this unit.
The Bills went just 3-5 on the road last season (3-4-1 ATS), yet Sunday’s clash in Carolina should still be hotly-contested one, especially with the Panthers not looking as impressive in their season debut. Which leads us to…
A 23-3 rout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday gave the Carolina Panthers a much-needed victory right off the bat to shake off their 6-10 performance during the 2016 season.
Former league MVP Cam Newton did just enough to lead his team to victory, throwing for 171 yards on 14-of-25 passing to go with a couple of scores through the air. However, Newton was hardly aided by his team’s running game, with the Panthers averaging just 3.1 rushing yards per attempt on 38 carries Sunday.
Touted rookie running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t have the best of debuts in the pros, managing just 47 rushing yards on 13 carries and five catches for 38 receiving yards. McCaffrey also lost a fumble for one of the Panthers’ two turnovers in Week 1 – the same number of turnovers they forced out of the Niners.
Carolina only mustered up 287 yards of offense against San Francisco, who actually had one of the worst defenses last season. The Panthers have to start clicking on offense in Week 2 to prevent an upset over the visiting Bills, especially considering that they’ve gone just 1-4 over their last five games against AFC opponents (2-3 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
The Bills (+7) improve to 2-0 with a huge victory on the road, 24-20.
