It's getting tougher and tougher to have a great defense in the NFL. Offenses are evolving at the speed of light and teams are becoming more aggressive on that side of the ball.
With that being said, it's still tough to overcome a defense that is playing with a lot of confidence. The following three confident defenses will play a huge part in their teams' wins in week 2.
St. Louis Rams
Even though they ended up surrendering 31 points last week, the Rams' defense did a pretty decent job of slowing down the explosive Eagles offense. They will have a much easier go of it in week 2 against the Giants.
The Giants don't have a poor offense, but they are not the Eagles. Eli Manning is no better than an above average quarterback. He can make some plays, but he isn't going to be able to put the team on his back and lead them to a win.
It won't help the Giants that top wide receiver Hakeem Nicks will be playing hurt. He was questionable to play earlier this week, but now it looks like he will play. Still, it's hard to imagine him being effective while nursing an injured knee.
Expect big games from defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis, the two young cornerstones of the Rams' defense.
Dallas Cowboys
In week 1, the 49ers managed to put up 33 points, but there is a big difference between the Seahawks' defense and the Cowboys' defense.
Quarterback Alex Smith played surprisingly well against Seattle, but he won't be so lucky this time around. The Cowboys pass rush, led by DeMarcus Ware, will spend a lot of time in the 49ers' backfield and their much-maligned secondary will be able to handle the Niners' receivers.
The Cowboys really need a good game after their crushing loss to the Jets in week 1 and they will get it here in week 2 against the 49ers.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers will easily handle the Panthers in their week 2 game, but it will be their defense that will rule the day.
Coming off a great performance in his regular season debut, rookie quarterback Cam Newton will get a serious reality check against a much better defense than the Cardinals' unit he saw last week.
Look for Green Bay to rattle the young quarterback. They will look to get pass rushers in the backfield and have their defensive backs play more bump coverage, two things the Panthers didn't really experience against the Cardinals.
A tough game in week 2 doesn't change anything about Cam Newton's bright future, but it will certainly show that he still has a lot of work to do.
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