NFL Week 2

The second week of the NFL season has concluded. Some fans are thrilled two weeks in, and depression is setting in for others. It is still too early to make bold predictions (although I have a big one coming), but the true makeup of each team is starting to take shape. The scores this week were: Bengals over Ravens 34-23, Falcons over Panthers 31-24, Colts over Redskins 21-9, Titans over Texans 20-17, Buccaneers over Eagles 27-21, Chiefs over Steelers 42-37, Dolphins over Jets 20-12, Chargers over Bills 31-20, Vikings and Packers tie 29-29, Saints over Browns 21-18, 49ers over Lions 30-27, Rams over Cardinals 34-0, Jaguars over Patriots 31-20, Broncos over Raiders 20-19, Bears over Seahawks 24-17.

The majority of this week’s games were not exactly exciting. It did produce a bunch of big storylines though. It already looks like a Rams-Chiefs Super Bowl is around the corner (my bold prediction), although I constantly talk about not overreacting. Patrick Mahomes had another stellar performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick picked up where he left off, and Blake Bortles shut up his critics for once. The Packers lose controversially, and the Browns curse is downright depressing now.

The Patrick Mahomes legend was born last week, and it only grew more on Sunday. He threw for 326 yards and 6 touchdowns. He set the NFL record for most TD passes in the first two weeks of the season with ten. Although the Chiefs’ defense is not thrilled about allowing 37 points, they were playing one of the leagues’ most potent offenses in Pittsburgh. The fact that Mahomes outplayed Big Ben speaks volumes. Andy Reid has built an unbelievable skill position group in Kansas City, surpassing any of the great groups he had in Philly. Due to Mahomes’ arm strength and decisiveness, they are being utilized to their full potential. Barring injuries, the Chiefs look like the favorites in an improved AFC.

After an unbelievable week one performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick continued his success right off the bat. He threw a TD on a deep post route to DeSean Jackson the first play of the game. He played great throughout Fitzpatrick rarely strings together two good games, and these two were superstar level. Are the Bucs actually a contender now?

The Rams dominated the Cardinals in every way. Enough said. Arizona will likely switch to Josh Rosen at QB soon, but the Rams have no weakness in their roster. Keep an eye on them moving forward.

The Bengals have scored 68 points in their first two games. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to break their playoff curses yet, but Andy Dalton is looking like a top level quarterback. 

The Browns played well for the second straight week against a playoff team, and they blew it with missed field goals and extra points. Can’t make it up. Sports are better than any soap opera.

Possibly the biggest week 2 storyline was whether or not Aaron Rodgers would play against Minnesota on a bum knee. The decision for him to play came at the eleventh hour, and he was wearing a giant brace on his knee. It was obvious that Green Bay had a game plan to allow Aaron to get the ball out his hand quickly. Despite the fact that the Packers o-line played inspired at times, they had a tough task against an elite Vikings defense. The Vikings continued like a top tier team and Kirk Cousins showed his poise and decision making ability again. Their defense might be the best in football, and they continue to exhibit playmakers at all three phases. In the end of the day, Green Bay should have won. The roughing the passer call against Clay Matthews, which extended the Vikings game tying drive at the end of the fourth. Refs have a very difficult job, but the hit looked legal from every angle to me. It’s unfortunate, especially because the game ended in a dreaded tie.

In a rematch of last years’ AFC Championship game, the Jags have an entirely different offensive approach, and may have conquered their demons. After seeming afraid to let him loose in the past, and blowing a 10 point lead in the playoffs against New England last year, Blake Bortles was given the green light Sunday. And it paid off. Bortles finished 29-45 with 377. On the other side, Brady struggled, throwing for 234 yards. The offense was anemic in the first half, atypical of New England. He seemed listless at times against an elite Jags defense. All in all, Doug Marrone basically out-coached Bill Belichick. Jacksonville vowed to take Rob Gronkowski out the game, forcing Brady to utilize other receivers. It worked; Gronk was held to 15 yards on two catches. The Patriots decided to stack the box on defense to shut down the running game, although Leonard Fournette did not play. Their plan was unsuccessful, considering that Bortles played unencumbered, taking advantage of what the defense gave. 

The Falcons-Panthers game was sadly marred by Atlanta safety Damontae Kazee taking a clear cheap shot at Cam Newton’s head while he was sliding. The Falcons were without their two most athletic defenders in Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, who both got hurt last week. Everyone knew job of stopping Cam’s running was almost impossible coming in, so they clearly tried to take matters into their own hands. In general, bottling Cam up is the key to victory against Carolina. In week 1, Cam had more rushing attempts than Christian McCaffrey. I have always been critical of Cam for not having pocket awareness, but this offense has some issues that are out of his control. All their receivers elect for Jarius Wright look lost in Norv Turner’s system. The loss of Greg Olson makes the situation for Cam that much gloomier. For Atlanta, things are looking rosy again. Matt Ryan was 23-28 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. He struggled week one, as well as the entire offense, and fans wondered why OC Steve Sarkisian was employed. Now, they might just be turning the corner. It may just be one good week, or maybe Matt Ryan is finally building a rapport with Sark similar to what he had with Kyle Shanahan. The Devonta Freeman injury is tough, but the passing game is finally looking as expected. I never overreact to the Falcons, because you never know when the will decide to play poorly. But they have plenty of games like Sunday where they remind us of what their upside is.

Sam Darnold will be the story for the Jets all year, regardless of what else happens. He was again this week, but for less optimistic reasons. He threw a first quarter pick to T.J. McDonald, which was unfortunate considering he started last week that way. The return set Miami up for a TD drive starting from the 15-yard line, allowing them to grab early momentum. The Jets’ running attack was a huge factor week 1, but they were stymied by a superior Dolphins defense. Despite a slow start, the Jets offense did show life. Quincy Enunwa looked impressive for the second straight week, making tough catches and breaking tackles. At the end of the first half, the Jets pushed the ball all the way to the one yard line, only to have time expire since they were out of timeouts. They continued that momentum to start the second, scoring on a Bilal Powell touchdown reception to start the half. On the Dolphins next drive, the Jets recovered a Ryan Tannehill fumble. They appeared to grab the momentum, but Darnold threw an interception in the back of the endzone. Terrell Pryor did not make the proper break, but a veteran QB would probably know better. Darnold made a stellar rollout and throw to a wide open Chris Herndon, who dropped the ball on what would have been a big play. Unlike last week, the Jets looked undisciplined overall. The Dolphins did as well, evident by their constant bad snaps. Overall, it was a sloppy game, but Miami ultimately pulled it out. Miami looks like they could be a big surprise this year, but this game was more about Darnold. He plays on the edge, and always wants to make the big play. He needs to play smarter, but it’s a refreshing change from the Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez philosophy this franchise has had. He is bringing a high level of excitement to the Big Apple, so hopefully his lack of experience playing quarterback does not become too evident soon.

After many questions about his merit moving forward, DakPrescott looked to have responded on the first drive of the game against the Giants. He threw a deep bomb to Tavon Austin for a touchdown, which immediately grabbed the momentum for Dallas. This does not mean, however, that Dak silenced his critics Sunday. He finished with only 160 passing yards, with 64 of them coming on that Austin play. The Cowboys won because they went back to their bread and butter; pounding the rock with Ezekiel Elliot. He rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries. They still need more production, but getting him involved early and often is their only way to win. As for the Giants, their quarterback and o-line are problematic like a year ago. Considering they have a first year offensive head coach, it is not surprising things are taking time. But Eli Manning seems lost, the line looks almost as bad as last year. They do not have the luxury of letting this continue, because they spent big money to sign OBJ and they didn’t draft a QB number two. Saquon Barkley will show his big play ability every game, but he is limited as an every down back. Unless Eli returns to Pro Bowl form (which is unlikely), things could possibly unravel fast for Big Blue.

The 49ers-Lions game was kind of a slop-fest, but somebody had to win. The 49ers pulled out a much needed win, but they almost gave away a 17-point fourth quarter lead in the process. Jimmy G looked slightly above average for the second straight week, making Niner fans start to question it he was worth the mega contract. He is not totally to blame, because the holes in the roster are being exploited now that teams have film on them. Outside of Jaquiski Tartt, the secondary seem slow and unimpressive. They have little linebacker depth, and DeForestBuckner is their only consistent pass rusher. They don’t have a single number one receiver, especially now with the Marquise Goodwin injury. They did look impressive running the ball, finishing with 190 rushing yards led by Matt Breida’s 138 (66 came on one run). The 49ers running numbers were skewed, considering Detroit gave up 169 yards on the ground to the Jets last week. As for their offense, Matt Stafford looked listless again until the fourth quarter. This type of inconsistent play is troubling, but it was still an improvement from week 1. KerryonJohnson is an improvement at running back, but he’s not quite good enough for Detroit to become a power running team. They have not had a 100-yard rusher in 70 games (Barry Sanders did it three times in a row in 1997). Ultimately, they have an elite receiver group in Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and Kenny Golliday. A veteran quarterback need to find a way to consistently get the ball in their hands.

So another week is in the books, and things are slowly starting to take shape. I usually do not start declaring things until about week 4, but it is becoming evident who the best team are. So stay tuned, this season is still just getting underway.