A look at Week 2’s marquee matchups on TSN
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Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the New Orleans Saints, an NFC North showdown with the Chicago Bears travelling to Lambeau to take on the Green Bay Packers and Josh Allen headlining an intriguing Monday Night Football doubleheader are just some of the matchups you can see this weekend on TSN.
Week 1 in the NFL did not disappoint.
A dominant performance by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in last Thursday’s opener. A back-and-forth affair between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals that saw the reigning AFC champions lose at home in overtime. Or Russell Wilson’s return to Seattle that ended with a controversial decision and an upset win for the Seahawks.
Eight of the 16 games finished within one score and several came down to the final play. It was an opening weekend to remember in the NFL and after Thursday’s back-and-forth win for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Los Angeles Chargers, Week 2 is in full swing.
Below is a look at all of the matchups this weekend on TSN and where you can watch each game.
Buccaneers at Saints
When: Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
How to watch: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN.ca, the TSN App and RDS
Given their tumultuous summer, many expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take a step back in 2022. If that’s going to happen, it wasn’t exactly evident in Week 1.
Tom Brady and Co. opened with a 19-3 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football where the visitors dominated in pretty much every statistical category on each side of the ball.
Tampa Bay is looking to start 2-0 in back-to-back seasons for the second time and first since 1979-1980. But if history is any indication, they’ll have their hands full with the New Orleans Saints.
Since Brady joined the Bucs in 2020, they’re 0-4 against the Saints in the regular season, though they did beat New Orleans in the divisional round of the playoffs two seasons ago. Those four losses mark Brady’s longest regular season losing streak against any one opponent. In those matchups, Brady has six passing touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The Saints have won seven straight regular season meetings against the Buccaneers, tied for their longest winning streak against Tampa Bay after also knocking off seven straight from 2011 to 2014.
Falcons at Rams
When: Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT
How to watch: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App
This features a showdown of two teams looking to bounce back.
Josh Allen picked apart the Rams in Week 1 and Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions as Buffalo went on to ruin the defending champs’ party in Week 1. The Rams were outgained 413 to 243 in total yards and averaged just 3.7 yards per play compared to the Bills’ 7.1.
On the flip side, the Falcons missed a golden opportunity last Sunday. After kicker Younghoe Koo made a short field goal with 12:45 to go in the fourth quarter, the Falcons led the Saints 26-10 and looked like a sure bet to pick up their first opening week win in five seasons. But a quick touchdown from Michael Thomas got the Saints back within a score and another one to Thomas a few minutes later left the Saints down 26-24. With 23 seconds remaining, Will Lutz nailed a 51-yarder to give the Saints the win and leave Atlanta sitting at 0-1 for the fifth straight year.
The Rams and Falcons last met in 2019 with L.A. picking up an easy 37-10 victory.
Bears at Packers
When: Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT
Where to watch: Across the TSN Network, TSN.ca, the TSN App, CTV2, RDS
The Chicago Bears enter Week 2 as the all-time winningest franchise in league history at 784. In fact, according to Elias, the last time the Bears weren’t the outright all-time wins leader was in 1921. Two wins behind in second at 782? Their opponent in Week 2, the Green Bay Packers.
Aaron Rodgers was underwhelming in Week 1, throwing for 195 yards, one interception and zero touchdowns in a 23-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. A date with the Bears could be exactly what he needs to get his season going.
The future Hall-of-Famer has won six straight against Chicago, which is tied for the fifth longest streak by a starting QB since 1950. In those six meetings, Rodgers has thrown 16 touchdowns compared to zero interceptions. It was his second streak of such a ratio, also tossing 16 TDs without a pick from 2013 to 2015.
Rodgers is 41-21 in his career in prime time and has won 12 straight dating back to 2019. That is tied with Peyton Manning from 2004 to 2007 for the longest winning streak in regular season starts made at 7:00 p.m. ET or later.
Meanwhile, the Bears impressed in wet conditions at Soldier Field in Week 1 with a 19-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. All eyes will be on sophomore pivot Justin Fields to see how he handles his second prime time start at Lambeau Field, throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 45-30 loss there last December.
Titans at Bills
When: Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT
Where to watch: TSN1, TSN4, TSN.ca, the TSN App, RDS
The Bills looked unbeatable against the Rams in Week 1 and get their second straight primetime game in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans.
Buffalo has not won a Monday Night Football game at home since 1994 and are just 2-9 on MNF since 2000, the worst record of any team.
The Bills won their final four games to close out last season and are one shy of matching their longest streak of Allen’s tenure at QB as well as under head coach Sean McDermott. They’re also looking to start 2-0 for the third time in four seasons after having only three 2-0 starts in the previous 15 years.
On the flip side, Derrick Henry has played 13 prime time games in his career and averaged 90.2 rush yards a night on 5.4 yards per attempt. Both figures are top-five all-time with a minimum of 10 prime time games.
Against the Bills, the two-time rushing champion has six touchdowns in four games, including three in last season’s 34-31 Monday night win in Week 6. That made him the first player since Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts in 2005 to rush for three TDs and at least 140 yards on MNF.
Vikings at Eagles
When: Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT
Where to watch: TSN3, TSN5, TSN.ca, the TSN App
The rare two-game MNF slate concludes with a showdown between the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, both coming off wins in Week 1.
A big reason for Minnesota’s win was wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The LSU product is looking to become the first Vikings wideout with consecutive games of 150-plus receiving yards since Randy Moss in 1998. The last player with that many in back-to-back games to start the season was Steve Smith Sr. with the Carolina Panthers in 2011. Jefferson’s next 150-plus yard game – and you can bet there will be one – will tie him with Moss (six) for the most in history at the age of 23 or younger. Having just turned 23 over the summer, Jefferson will get plenty of opportunities.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is 2-9 during his career on Monday Night Football. One more loss will tie him with Jim Everett (2-10) for the worst MNF record of all-time with a minimum of 10 starts.
Eagles pivot Jalen Hurts is 1-3 in prime time games with 10 total touchdowns (six rushing, four passing) and five interceptions in those matchups. Philadelphia has lost five of their past six prime time games, including two straight on MNF. They are looking for their first 2-0 start to a season since 2016.
**Stats courtesy TSN Research