NFL Week 2 Recap

Edition #158

Raiders vs Ravens:

In what could be one of the biggest upsets this year, the Raiders march ahead to beat the Ravens 26-23 in Baltimore. The Brock Bowers and Davante Adams duo is absolutely fire, and they’ve shown us already why. Gardner Minshew had a bad first quarter, but after that, he absolutely went on fire. If he can continue performing like how he did tonight, 276 yards, then oh man, watch out for this Raiders team.

One thing no one’s talking about for the Raiders is their defense. Maxx Crosby has not missed a snap on defense so far this season, and it’s really showing off. He now has 3 sacks on the season. 

NOTE: The Ravens, who have never made the playoffs after starting a season 0-2, are now 0-2 for the first time since 2015.

Chargers vs Panthers:

Why talk about this game? Bryce Young didn’t even complete a pass over 10 air yards. In fact, he only attempted two of them in the whole game. 

For the Chargers, they’ve found a stud in J.K. Dobbins. The former Ravens RB is just so good for this Chargers team. He’s the first player since the 49ers Garrison Hearst (1998) to have 130 plus rushing yards and a TD in each of his 2 games. Now, Chargers QB Justin Herbert did injure his leg in the middle of the game, but even if he still finished the game, it’s still a problem.

Saints vs Cowboys:

Oh my god Saints. This has to be the biggest upset of the day, if not in contention for the biggest upset of the year.

After putting up 47 points against the Panthers in week 1, as impressive as it was, it’s the Carolina Panthers. No one expected the Saints to put up a similar number versus the Cowboys. 

Well, it happened.  The Saints jumped on the Cowboys, scoring 44 points and limiting America’s team to just 17 points. Derek Carr is playing like Tom Brady and Alvin Kamara is like Barry Sanders. Plus, Dak cannot score a TD in the red zone. This game should’ve been competitive if the Cowboys could execute. They scored on 4 of their first 5 drives, but all were field goals.

The Saints D has been so good so far this year. Who knows? Will the NFC South be the most competitive division this season? The most underrated division?

Buccaneers vs Lions:

Another huge upset with the Bucs beating the Lions in a very close game: 20-16. Other than the start of the game (which was absolutely crazy), there wasn’t much red-zone action going on. What makes this win even more surprising is that the Bucs roster was basically completely injured, so them pulling out of this is quite the accomplishment.

For the Lions, they’re playing someone they faced in the 2023 playoffs for the second week in a row. We know this is a team that’s playoff-caliber, so a loss like this is worrying, but shouldn’t be too worrying.

Packers vs Colts:

With Jordan Love out, this was supposed to be the Colts game. Perfect scenario for the Colts to take a game against a playoff team. But, Malik Willis did amazing and took them all out with the running game. Jacobs also went absolutely crazy with the running game.

Jonathan Taylor got the ball this week and produced to some extent, but Anthony Richardson is playing like a rookie QB (which is completely fine). They need to figure out this offense fast before the playoff hopes slide away.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson completed 6 of 16 passes over 10 air yards for 100 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Richardson completed 4 of 10 such passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 against the Texans. Richardson’s only completion against man coverage came on his 4-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce in the final minutes of the game. Over the first two games of the 2024 season, Richardson has more interceptions thrown against man coverage (two) than completions (one).

-NFL.com

Browns vs Jaguars:

Well after all that Deshaun Watson stuff we heard over the week, he certainly showed us that he’s worth something. The defense for the Browns finally came to life and got me 9 fantasy points which helped me win. While Cleveland did a lot on their side to take the win, the Jaguars are causing their own demise. Example? Two roughing the passer penalties, two delays of game penalties forcing them to settle for an FG, and an illegal shift on their final drive which resulted in a 10-second runoff and cost them the game.

Myles Garrett has tied JJ Watt as the third fastest player to get to 90 sacks.

Vikings vs 49ers:

Another huge upset. Brock Purdy wasn’t Brock Purdy, but Sam Darnold played like Brock Purdy. He threw a 97-yard TD in this game to Justin Jefferson and threw for and total of 268 yards with 2 TDs and a pick. Sports Illustrated is already all over Sam Darnold saying he might be offering more than Kirk Cousins.

Brian Flores and his defense absolutely shut down the 49ers.

Seahawks vs Patriots:

The combo of Metcalf and Njigba was absolutely amazing and needed for the Seahawks especially with their runningback situation. The defense for the Pats were making things extremely interested and limiting the Seahawks from scoring at all in the second half. Plus, with a clutch play by safety Julian Love, all the Seahawks needed to do was tie it, which is what they did.

Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson continued the strong running game, but that isn’t and can never be enough to win a whole game. That’s for sure.

DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are the first pair of teammates in Seahawks history with 10-plus catches and 100-plus receiving yards in a game each.

Jets vs Titans

Well, they didn't fail this time, but it sure was close and the only reason the Jets won was because of Will Levis.

It was an ugly road win for sure, but the one thing thing that changed the momentum completely was the huge blocked punt by the Jets’ Irvin Charles. Back to Levis, the Titans could’ve take a two possession lead, but he made a lateral when pressured which was pretty much a “bonehead” move. He’s making good plays, but is also making VERY bad plays.

He’s got an amazing receiver in Calvin Ridley. He must make use of these guys. If you really want to know, Rodgers finished with 176 yards and 2 TDs and 0 picks. He had a passer rating of 98.8 with a 60% completion rate.

Commanders vs Giants:

Well, the Giants made history in this game, in a wrong way…

The Commanders didn’t score any TDs, but still won the game by 3. And no, it wasn’t a low-scoring game. The final score: 21-18. The history part? The Giants scored 3 TDs and still lost to the Commanders who didn’t score a TD.

There’s a reason why the Giants only score 18. You see, Graham Gano, the regular Giants kicker got injured in the opening kickoff and after the Giants tried to use their punter to kick a PAT, and he missed, they continued going for 2 point conversions which they missed.

Jayden Daniels and his leg is absolutely a threat to anyone, but he already faced an injury scare this week. He has to slide. This is the future/franchise QB guys.

Cardinals vs Rams:

Well, the Cardinals absolutely feasted on the Rams injuries. That’s it. Nothing to talk about here.

(Marvin Harrison and Kyler Murray had probably the best games of their respective careers. Then again, the Rams are banged up.)

Steelers vs Broncos:

In an incredibly close game, the Steelers edged out the Broncos 13-6. The Steelers D continues to ball with TJ Watt leading the way. Bo Nix is learning as he goes along playing in the NFL.

And by the way, Joey Porter Jr. lined up across from Courtland Sutton on 23 of his 35 routes (65.7%). Eight of the last nine teams to start 2-0 with both wins on the road made the playoffs (PIT has made playoffs each of the last six 2-0 starts; last missed in 1999). 

Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals

This is America’s game of the week by a wide margin and man oh man was this game of people’s dreams.

The Bengals played like the Bengals at last, but the Chiefs won and it was pretty ugly. In the end, Patrick Mahomes came in clutch when the Chiefs needed it the most, winning the game for the Chiefs. The Bengals definitely improved from last week’s loss versus the Patriots, and even with the loss, they’re definitely more competitive.

For the Chiefs, they really need to get Travis Kelce started. He only has 39 receiving yards in 2024 which is the fewest of any 2 game span of his NFL career. Maybe a huge Kelce game next week? You never know. What I do know is that Taylor Swift isn’t happy.

Texans vs Bears:

I love this game. We’re seeing two teams with young QBs with a bright future. One who’s the first pick in the first round in 2024 versus the second pick in the first round in 2023. Great matchup right?

Well, college football continued showing through Caleb Williams who really struggled against the Texans D. Will Anderson posted this crazy stat line of 1.5 sacks, four tackles, two QB hits, two tackles for loss, and nine QB pressures. Terrifying.

Caleb Williams has definitely played many primetime games in the CFB, but the NFL primetime games just hit differently. He’s not ready yet, but he’ll be ready for sure by the time he plays the Jaguars in Great Britain.

Falcons vs Eagles:

This says it all. As an Eagles fan, I can’t stand this game.

https://x.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1835881780240343209