The opening weekend of NFL action was just as good as expected and now it is time for Week 2 to begin. There are several games with 1-0 teams looking to make an early season statement and several games where teams are looking to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start.

Here are the top five games I have identified for opening weekend, with the rest of the games picked after that.  My record for the season is 13-3.

01) Carolina Panthers (0-1) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0) - I'm not going to call anything a must win in Week 1, but if the Panthers get blown out again and QB Jake Delhomme plays terrible, there is going to be a lot of pressure on HC John Fox to make a change at quarterback. The Falcons looked terrific at home last week against Miami and were able to limit the Dolphins running game, something they struggled with last year. These NFC South teams dominated at home last year with the Falcons going 7-1 and the Panthers going 8-0. I look for the Falcons to get RB Michael Turner going and Matt Ryan to find Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez in the passing game. I don't think the Falcons win by a lot and I think Delhomme plays better in this game, but it won't be enough for the Panthers to win in Atlanta. Winner: Atlanta Falcons

02) New England Patriots (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0) - Personally, I am sick of all the yelping coming out of the New York Jets. I am by no means a Patriots fan and I do understand that rookie HC Rex Ryan wants to change the culture and that S Kerry Rhodes is sick of losing to the New England Patriots, but enough with all the talk. The Patriots have won three Super Bowls since 2001 and appeared in a fourth. The New York Jets are 2-4 in the playoffs since 2001. The Patriots have won the last eight games in New York. It's one thing to want to change the culture, but you have to do that on the field, not with talk before the game. I think the Patriots will be very eager to send a message to the New York Jets that the Patriots are still the class of this division and I think the Jets will find that beating the Texans in Houston is not going to prepare them for the game that QB Tom Brady and WR Randy Moss will have this week. Patriots win and win big. Winner: New England

03) New Orleans Saints (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) - This is a good test for both teams. The Eagles need to see how they can do without QB Donovan McNabb and this is a good opponent for them to test that against, as the Saints defense is above average, but not dominant. This is also a good test for the Saints, as their pass offense led by QB Drew Brees is not going to be able to throw six touchdowns every week. They need to show that their offense can be just as explosive on the road against good competition as it is at home against bad competition. That doesn't mean 45 points every week, but it means moving the ball, finishing drives and not turning the ball over, something they struggled with on the road last year against good teams. I look for the Saints to pull out this win, I think the Eagles will have a tough time moving the ball with backup QB Kevin Kolb, who to date has not shown that he has the potential to be a quality starting quarterback in the NFL. Winner: New Orleans

04) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1) - The Bears begin their Brian Urlacher less campaign, going without the services of their star linebacker against one of the toughest teams in the NFL.  The Pittsburgh Steelers will also be without star safety Troy Polamalu. The Bears offense seemed to have all kinds of problems with the Green Bay Packers and their blitzes out of the 3-4. Now they face the premier 3-4 defense in the NFL. I think the Steelers defense is going to create a lot of pressure, which will make it hard for QB Jay Cutler to take care of the ball. Look for the Steelers defense to set the tone in this game. QB Ben Roethlisberger should be able to have a good passing day against the suspect Bear's pass defense. Winner: Pittsburgh

05) Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at San Diego Chargers (1-0) - Very good match-up between two teams with differing styles. The Chargers are a passing team that likes to get up and down the field with star QB Philip Rivers. The Ravens prefer to grind the ball out with their running game and play good defense, although second year QB Joe Flacco is giving the Ravens an improved passing game. I go back and forth on who I should pick in this game, so I'm going with the home team. East Coast teams played terribly in West Coast road trips last year. I think the Chargers will be improve their effort from a last week and will find a way to win at home. Winner: San Diego

The Rest

06) Minnesota Vikings(1-0) at Detroit Lions (0-1) - Detroit will earn a victory this season, I promise Lions fans, but this is not the week. While the Lions shouldn't have to worry about six Brett Favre touchdown passes, they are going to have to worry about Adrian Peterson running through their team. Lions played the Vikings tough last year, so I think it will be a little closer than people expect, but Vikings will still win this won. Winner: Minnesota

07) Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) at Green Bay Packers (1-0) - If the Bengals can't score more than one touchdown at home against Denver's rebuilt 3-4 defense, they aren't going to go into Green Bay and do much better. Look for QB Aaron Rodgers and the offense to play better this week and look for an easy win by the Packers. Winner: Green Bay

08) Houston Texans (0-1) at Tennessee Titans (0-1) - These are my favorite games in September, two win less teams trying to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. The Titans lost a close game in Pittsburgh and the Texans were blown out by the New York Jets in Houston. The Titans have to be more optimistic after their tough loss and I look for the Texans to have similar problems in Tennessee, not being able to run the ball or protect QB Matt Schaub in pass protection. Titans take this one at home. Winner: Tennessee

09) Oakland Raiders (0-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) - Two teams that are expect to lose ten or more games this year that played well in losses in Week One. The Chiefs gave the Ravens a scare in Baltimore and the Chargers were almost upset in Oakland. It's tough to say how this game will go, the road team has won in this divisional rivalry in both 2007 and 2008. I like how Oakland's defense looked and I think JaMarcus Russell will have more time to throw the ball against a Chiefs team that isn't known for generating a big pass rush. I like the Raiders to win on the road with their tough running game, although look for RB Larry Johnson to have some success as well for the Chiefs in a losing effort. Winner: Oakland

10) St. Louis Rams (0-1) at Washington Redskins (0-1) - The Rams played as bad as any team in the NFL in their opener, losing in Seattle 28-0. Things don't get easier for the Rams as they travel to Washington. The Rams played the Skins close in Washington last year and pulled the upset at the end, so I am not expecting a blowout, but the Rams are such a mess right now that it is hard to pick them to win anything. The Redskins don' usually blow anyone out, so I expect a close Washington win.  Look for QB Jason Campbell, RB Clinton Portis, WR Santana Moss, and TE Chris Cooley to all have big games for the Redskins against the very weak Rams defense.  Winner: Washington

11) Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) - Arizona really needs this game, if they lose they are going to be two games behind the winner of the Seattle and San Francisco game with a home game against Indianapolis pending for next week. That would create the real possibility that the Cardinals would start the season 0-3. The Jaguars also need this game, they are in too tough of a division to be digging an early season hole. I like the Jaguars in this game, Maurice Jones-Drew is a little banged up right now, but he can still be very effective on the ground and I don't have confidence in Chris Wells and Tim Hightower to put up big numbers on the ground on the road. Arizona isn't going to be able to go into Jacksonville and throw the ball 50 times for a win. Winner: Jacksonville

12) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-1) - Buffalo has to be in shell shock at the way they lost to the New England Patriots, so if there was ever a time for Tampa Bay to march into Buffalo and steal a road win, this would be the week. I don't see that happening, I think Buffalo is going to rally from their latest Monday Night Football setback and I look for RB Fred Jackson and WR Terrell Owens to help carry the offense to victory. Winner: Buffalo

13) Seattle Seahawks (1-0) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0) - An early season match-up for the NFC West lead, features a 49er team that is relying on Frank Gore to run the ball and the defense to control field position, while the Seahawks are relying on the arm of Matt Hasselbeck, who was injured most of last year. Seattle did suffer injuries to linebackers, Lofa Tatupu is expected to be able to start, but LeRoy Hill is going to be out for a few weeks. I think this will be a close game, but Seattle typically plays well in San Fran, having lost only one time there since 2003. I expect the Hawks to win another close game on the arm of Hasselbeck. Winner: Seattle

14) Cleveland Browns (0-1) at Denver Broncos (1-0) - One of the more boring match-ups of the week, it features two teams that are in rebuilding mode. The Browns opened with a tough game against the Vikings, where the Broncos needed a miracle play to stun the Bengals 12-7. I look for the Browns to go on the road and win this game, Jamal Lewis looked better than expected against the Vikings and if he can have a good game, it will help Brady Quinn make some big throws to WR Braylon Edwards in play action passing. It should be a close game, but I look for the Browns to sneak out a victory. Winner: Cleveland

15) NY Giants (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-0) - Great early season divisional match-up with this being the first game in the new Cowboy's Stadium, the contest is expected to challenge the NFL record for attendance for a regular season game. QB Tony Romo looked very sharp in the opener at Tampa Bay and the Giants were workman like in disposing of the Washington Redskins 23-17. I like the Giants in this game, QB Eli Manning continues to prove he can manage the game and I think RBs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw will be able to run on a defense that gave up 174 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns to a Tampa Bay offense that was expected to struggle. Giants in a close one. Winner: New York

16) Indianapolis Colts (1-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-1) - Miami is going to quickly find out that it is a lot easier being the hunter than the hunted. Last year they were able to sneak up on people against a weak schedule, this year they do not have the element of surprise and face the toughest schedule in the league. I expect this to be similar to the Jaguars game that the Colts played last week, low scoring, but Indy has enough weapons to pull out a win. In a close game, it's hard to go against Peyton Manning, he is so good at protecting leads or coming from behind. Winner: Indianapolis