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Pittsburgh have never lost against Virginia at home in history. This is the Homecoming game for the Panthers and teams usually designate such game against an opponent they are certain to beat. Pittsburgh QB Tom Savage was named Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 424 yards and tying ACC record with six touchdown passes against Duke. Panthers’ offense is third in ACC with 474 YPG but on defense they are dead last with 445 YPG. This game has all the making of a shootout.

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Oakland have put respectable numbers on offense but their biggest problem is finishing drives. They kick too many field goals to be able to sustain the shootout tempo of Peyton Manning. One way to keep him off the field is the ball control. Raiders are top of the NFL with 198.5 YPG rushing and RB Darren McFadden loves facing Denver as he has a 5.8 avg. per rush against them. Denver lost for the season starting LT Ryan Clady to a foot injury so back up Chris Clark will make his first start in almost two years. Back in 2013 he played TE, now his responsibility is to protect one of the best QBs of all time. Facing at the same time the league leading defense in sacks!

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Arizona offense took two big blows this week. All-Pro WR Larry Fitzgerald had only one training because of a hamstring injury. Same goes to RB Rashard Mendenhall. Both are questionable and in a limited role at best Cardinals' QB Carson Palmer will be left without much help. New Orleans are yet to revert to the high powered offensive minded team of previous years so this game is a good opportunity.

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The wholesale in Cleveland has begun! They traded star RB Trent Richardson to Indianapolis and brought veteran Willis McGahee off the street to replace him. They also chose third string QB Bryan Hoyer to replace the injured starter Brandon Weeden (bad thumb). RG Shaun Lauvauo is doubtful with an injured ankle. After two close losses Minnesota needs desperately to win to stay competitive ahead of next week's London game against Pittsburgh.

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Two winless teams that were ia similar situation last year. Then Eli Manning torched the Panthers for 288 yards on a way to a 36-7 win. Giants have no running game but if Eli can avoid stupid interceptions this game should be very easy to win. Carolina is still fresh from the devastated last second loss in Buffalo which prompted many questions about coach Ron Rivera's future. The line is dropping fast so be quick!!!

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Minnesota is in the middle of a three game home stretch that is vital for their Bowl eligibility. Golden Gophers are 3-0 heading into the last non-conference game. Their running attack led by Philip Nelson, Rodrick Williams and David Cobb is 22nd in the country with 258.7 YPG and with 10 TDs on the ground they are T-6th in all NCAA. In their only game against an FBS opponent this season San Jose State was lit for 197 yards by Stanford. And remember: flying across the country and having a start time of 12:00 EDT is a nightmare for teams from West Coast!

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Chip Kelly’s Eagles operate on frenetic tempo that causes early problems to their opponents. Philadelphia was up by 19 at the half against Washington but seemed out of sync against San Diego on Sunday. KC come to the City of brotherly love after an emotional win against Dallas. They are a road team on a short week and practiced only once since Monday. Facing an unknown style of offense they will need time to adjust. And so far teams play better against Philadelphia in the second half than in the first.

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Last week Pittsburgh lost early starting C Maurkice Pouncey who torn ACL and MCL in left knee and is out for the season. Without him Steelers managed only 193 yards on offence and a touchdown in garbage time against the lowly Tennessee Titans. RB LaRod Stephens-Howling is also out for the season and with rookie Le’Veon Bell still sidelined with a sprained foot Isaac Redman will get the start. Last week he carried the ball seven times for eight yards and fumbled twice!!! QB Ben Roethlisberger will also miss his favorite target TE Heath Miller (knee injury). On the defensive side things are even worse. Starting LB Larry Foote is out for the year with a torn biceps and Steelers have only two healthy CBs.

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Jacksonville will start Chad Henne at QB. He has a grand total of 1379 passing yards in 6 years in NFL. Expectations in Oakland are low yet Terrelle Pryor passed for 219 and rushed for 112 yards against the Colts last week. Jaguars gave up 4.5 YPP on the ground against KC last Sunday. They punted team-record 11 times and crossed midfield for the first time in the middle of the final quarter. TE Mercedes Lewis is doubtful (calf), WR Mike Brown (back) is questionable and the other starting WR Cecil Shorts was limited in practice the whole week because of a groin injury. In other words: who will be Henne throwing the ball to?

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The Giants are desperate. After David Wilson fumbled twice against Dallas they went on the street and signed Brandon Jacobs who spent last season on the bench and in the suspended list of San Francisco. And in the process got 5 carries for 7 yards! Expect the Giants to give Eli Manning the ball and ask him to beat Broncos through the air. However with the form Peyton Manning is now it’s difficult to win a shootout against him. Peyton beat Eli in both previous meetings. No reason to expect a different outcome this time.

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Air Force has the youngest team in conference Big West with only nine starters returning from last year. The star QB Kale Pearson suffered a sprained ACL in Week 1 and is yet to practice. His replacement Jaleel Awini was awful last week in his first career start against Utah State going 4 for 12 for 61 yards. Air force rely heavily on the run which is great considering that Boise State is ranked 98th out of 120 FBS schools. However Falcons are passing defense is just 107th in the country. Since the beginning of the century Boise State is the top scoring team in the country with just over 40 PPG. The shootout is guaranteed!

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A rash of injuries depleted New England corpses. RB Shane Vereen was put on IR, WR Danny Amendola is almost certain to miss the game with a groin injury and TE Rob Gronkowski is still not ready to play after the offseason surgeries. That means former college QB Julian Edelman and a bunch of unproven rookies are all remaining Tom Brady’s targets. Brady was very frustrated of Kenbrell Thompkins running the wrong routes on Sunday at Buffalo so it is unclear what his workload will be tonight. Patriots have won five in a row against the Jets but none of that wins have come in September. In fact since taking over as a head coach Rex Ryan is 2-0 in that month against Patriots. His teams usually fade late in the season but always start respectably.

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Houston is 4-0 in season openers since 2009 when Arian Foster became the starting RB. The three-time Pro Bowler played sparingly during the preseason yet the Texans finished fourth in rushing with 144 YPG. The Texans retooled the WR corps with the addition of rookie DeAndre Hopkins who they hope will complement Andre Johnson (career best 1598 receiving yards in 2012). On the defensive side San Diego were 24th against the run in preseason with 130.8 YPG. Their pass rush is very weak with OLB Jarret Johnson on the left with just 1.5 sacks last season and veteran Dwight Freeney on the right side entering his 13th season. And tonight Freeney will face Duane Brown – arguably the best LT in the game! Houston’s offensive line was ranked 10th last season and returned all the starters this season. San Diego’s finished 26th and lost its top lineman Louis Vasquez to Denver. The rookie DJ Fluker will start at RT and he’ll debut against the reigning Defensive Player of the year JJ Watt. San Diego is thin at WR where Danario Alexander was lost for the year with a torn ACL, Robert Meachem was released after a series of concussions and Malcom Floyd suffered a blow to the knee during the preseason.

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The Jets are a total mess and Rex Ryan is the red hot favorite as the first fired head coach this season. They will start a rookie QB Geno Smith with another rookie Matt Simms as a backup. Smith won the job on default as the veteran Mark Sanchez hurt his throwing shoulder in the third preseason game. Their top RB Chris Ivory has a total of 256 yards on the ground is his three year career and top WR Santonio Holmes has not played since September 30th 2012. On the defensive side Jets traded the star CB Darelle Revis. CB Antonio Cromartie was slowed in the preseason by a hip problem and rookie CB Dee Milliner missed last two weeks with a calf injury.

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Jerry Jones is still searching for his first win against NY Giants in his new home now known as “AT&T Stadium”. Cowboys lost four in a row with the combined difference of 16 points. The time for revenge has come. NY Giants are without two starters on the offensive line. C David Baas has an injured knee and RT David Diehl underwent wrist surgery and will miss at least a month. RB Andre Brown is out with a broken leg and WR Victor Cruz has a bad heel. On the defensive side DE Jason Pierre-Paul will be a game-time decision. Dallas QB Tony Romo signed a $108 mln. contract extension and it’s the perfect time to prove he’s worth it.

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Sean Payton returns on the sideline after a year-long suspension. Without him Saints didn’t miss a beat on offense with 28.8 PPG. Atlanta scored 26.2 PPG and six times went over 30. The game is at the ultra fast Louisiana Superdome field. Saints are so thin at LB after Will Smith’s injury they were forced to trade for the Niners back-up Parys Haralson. Atlanta has some injury woes on defense with LB Stephen Nicholas and CB Asante Samuel questionable. 54 sounds a big number but since Matt Ryan’s debut in NFL only once the game finished on the ”under” side in New Orleans.

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Bill Belichick owns the Bills. He has 22 wins in 26 matches with the last loss two years ago on a last second filed goal. Buffalo will start rookie E.J. Manuel at QB after he sat out the last two weeks of the preseason because of a sprained knee. Center Doug Legursky is out with a bad knee and Buffalo will face a mini crisis in its secondary with CB Stephon Gilmore out and S Jairus Byrd limited in practice all week with sprained foot. That never sounds optimistic when you have to face Tom Brady. Even though he’ll be without his top two targets from last season (WRs Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd), TE Aaron Hernandez (waiting a trial for murder) and TE Rob Gronkowski who started practicing but probably is not fit to play after two surgeries in the offseason. And remember: Belichick likes to run the score against Bills no matter the short week and a game against Jets on Thursday.

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Two teams that played in the AFC Divisional round open the season in NFL. In January Baltimore won in overtime and that prompted a total overhaul in Bronocos defense. Most of the coaches and some of the players in the secondary are now gone yet the preseason gave more questions than answers. Denver wil be without All-Pro linebacker Von Miller who is suspended for the first six games of the regular season. Miller and Elvis Dumerville who signed with Baltimore combined for 29.5 of team's 52 sacks last season. Without them the pass rush is a suspect. In the secondary Champ Bailey was slowed by an injury and did not practice all week. That should spell a big day fro the speedster Torrey Smith who in the absence of Anquan Boldin will be Joe Flacco's favourite target. Baltimore's defense has many changes comparing to the Super Bowl run in January. Future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis has retired and Daryl Smith have very big shoes to fill as a right inside linebacker (ILB). Ed Reed signed with Houston so ex-Oakland Raiders first-round choice Michael Huff will replace him at free safety. Defensive end (DE) Arthur Jones is ill and will not make the trip to Denver. This will be some kind of a shootout. Both offenses are loaded with playmakers and Peyton Manning got a pretty new tor with WR Wes Welker. That should very much offset the lack of a running game.