The second Sunday of the NFL season in the rearview mirror. After we saw 10 teams put up at least 30 points on the board last Sunday, just six cracked that plateau this Sunday. That was a marked decline, especially after the shootout we saw on Thursday between the Bills and Lions. Meanwhile, five teams failed to score a touchdown and six teams were held to single-digit point totals. Weather was a factor in some contests, especially in Chicago and East Rutherford. However, in some locations, it was just dismal performances.
Will Week 3 bring offense back to the forefront or is week 2 a harbinger of things to come? Let’s take a look at what went down Sunday.
Carolina at Atlanta: Kevin Stefanski must have pissed off someone in a previous life. He went from the Browns and their muddled QB situation to a Falcons squad that would have been better off with 73-year-old Steve Bartkowski under center. The Falcons were abused in the game by Carolina. Cooper Rush was 10 of 17 for 86 yards and two picks. Fourth-string QB Jack Strand was eight of 15 for 59 yards. His first NFL pass was a pick-six. The hope is that Michael Penix Jr. returns to action Thursday against the Packers but Atlanta has been horrendous. Bryce Young had a big game, going 23 of 36 for 287 yards and three scores. Darren Waller had two scores and Jalen Coker turned in another solid game with eight catches for 66 yards.
New Orleans at Baltimore: New head coach, same bad result for Baltimore. The Ravens led 17-9 after three quarters, allowed the Saints to go 68 yards in nine plays for the tying score. On the ensuing possession, facing 3rd and 1, the Ravens tried to go deep and had the pass fall incomplete. Rather than go for it, the Ravens punted. New Orleans then went 68 yards in 16 plays, scoring on a controversial fourth-down sneak by Tyler Shough. Lamar Jackson was picked in the final seconds on a route Rashod Bateman seemed to be running at half speed on. Chris Olave had eight receptions for 66 yards and a score while Devaughn Vele added five catches for 64 yards. Bateman did have seven grabs for 88 yards and a score for Baltimore.
Minnesota at Chicago: Weather was definitely a factor in the Windy City, which was soggy with constant rain wreaking havoc. Neither team found the end zone in the contest as Minnesota rode three Will Reichard field goals to the win. D’Andre Swift fumbled on a first and goal from the one-yard line to thwart a drive and Isaiah Rodgers blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt by Cairo Santos that could have tied things up. Aaron Jones Sr. had 23 carries for 105 yards with a big role since Jordan Mason is on injured reserve. Cause for concern with Colston Loveland? After putting up squat last week, he had one catch for a whopping three yards this week. The big concern for the Bears is the status of Caleb Williams, who left midway through the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. If he’s out, Tyson Bagent, who took over Sunday, would have to step up and run the show.
Cincinnati at Houston: Chalk up another slow start for DeMeco Ryans and the Texans, who are 0-2 once again. Houston was without Nico Collins, who suffered a hamstring injury during the week, and rather than adjust, the Texans skewed their offense further toward the pass. They threw 55 passes against just 18 rush attempts and failed to find the end zone. Dalton Schultz had a huge game with 12 catches for 146 yards but no one else had more than 37 receiving yards. Joe Burrow had a pedestrian game, going 20 of 31 for 207 yards and two scores. His two star receivers showed up as Tee Higgins had five catches (on 10 targets) for 95 yards while Ja’Marr Chase finished with seven grabs for 75 yards and two scores. Mike Gesicki, who was a factor last week for the Bengals, put up a big fat donut in this contest.
Pittsburgh at New England: One has to wonder if Aaron Rodgers has anything left in the tank at this point. Michael Pittman Jr. was ruled out Saturday for this contest and the passing game sputtered. Germie Bernard got his first career start and caught four passes (on eight targets) for 35 yards. D.K. Metcalf had another lackluster showing with four catches on nine targets for 27 yards in the game. New England won this game more on defense than anything offensively. The Patriots recorded four sacks, two takeaways and scored a touchdown on a fumble return. Drake Maye threw his fourth pick of the year already. He didn’t toss that many picks last year until week nine.
Green Bay at New York Jets: New York had the upper hand in this game but let it slip through their fingers. The Jets were up 17-7 with 11:04 remaining but saw the Packers tie the game with under three minutes remaining in regulation. After both teams botched things late in regulation, the Jets went three and out in overtime. Green Bay then drove for a game-winning 26-yard field goal to earn the victory. The Packers became the first team since 1941 to finish with under 200 yards of offense, more than 100 penalty yards and lose the turnover battle yet win the game. The less we talk about the offensive “performances” in this one, the better. Green Bay/Atlanta Thursday night! Find something else to watch.
Cleveland at Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay was a big pick in survivor pools this week. Cleveland was clobbered last week by Jacksonville in their opener and trailed by 10 early in the third quarter. The Browns were down three with just under 10 minutes remaining but drove for the go-ahead score with 3:51 to go. Tampa Bay mounted one last drive that was marred by a lightning delay. After the delay, Tampa Bay turned it over on downs and the Buccaneers dropped to 0-2. Deshaun Watson (24 of 30, 238 yards, two TD, 22 rush yards) outplayed Baker Mayfield (21 of 34, 182 yards, TD, INT, 29 rush yards) in the contest. Denzel Boston turned in another solid game with five catches for 95 yards and a score. With Boston, KC Concepcion and Harold Fannin, the Browns have good options in the passing game. The problem is, they don’t have a quarterback worth a damn.
Philadelphia at Tennessee: Philadelphia survived Saquon Barkley suffering a stinger on the first play from scrimmage. He returned in the second half but had just four carries for nine yards. Tennessee rallied after a lackluster offensive showing in the first half to take a 20-17 lead with under two minutes to go. Jalen Hurts drove the Eagles 65 yards in nine plays, capped by a three-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with nine seconds remaining for the win. DeVonta Smith (10 grabs, 117 yards, TD) and Dontayvion Wicks (five receptions, 74 yards) are the top two options in the passing game for the Eagles right now. Tennessee has to be better offensively before anyone can worry about Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Jacksonville at Denver: Jacksonville controlled this game for the better part of three quarters as they led 13-3 with nine minutes to go in the third quarter. The Jaguars gave up the final 17 points of the game as their final three drives ended with an interception, a missed field goal and a punt. Denver ran the final 4:41 off the clock to secure the win. The Broncos got a much better showing from Bo Nix (22 of 31, 288 yards, TD, INT) and Jaylen Waddle (eight catches, 138 yards) in the game. Rookie Jonah Coleman and J.K. Dobbins each had 10 carries in the game with RJ Harvey out. Coleman won the yards by a 39-38 margin and scored a touchdown. For Jacksonville, Parker Washington (seven catches, 98 yards on 12 targets) is clearly the number one option. Brian Thomas Jr. (three catches, 40 yards on eight targets) and Jakobi Meyers (catch, 28 yards, one target) are apparently down the food chain.
Raiders at Chargers: The early reports for Mike McDaniel running the offense for the Chargers are less than inspiring. Los Angeles is 0-2 and has to make the cross-country trip to face Buffalo next week. The Chargers fumbled SIX times and were fortunate to only lose one in the contest. Justin Herbert did throw a pair of interceptions with a pedestrian 15 of 27 showing for 192 yards and a score. Quentin Johnston had just one catch (on five targets) for seven yards) while Ladd McConkey, who was questionable heading into the game, had three catches for 35 yards. Tre Tucker was the big receiver for the Raiders, reeling in five of seven targets for 119 yards and a score. Meanwhile, Ashton Jeanty was bottled up, running 21 times for just 48 yards. He’ll look to bounce back next week.
Seattle at Arizona: After a slow start, the defending Super Bowl champs took control in the second half and put the boots to the Cardinals to improve to 2-0. The game was tied at seven at intermission but the Seahawks outscored the Cardinals 24-0 in the second half for the win. Drew Lock, filling in for the injured Sam Darnold, was 19 of 26 for 235 yards and three scores. Jaxon Smith-Njigba rewarded fantasy owners with nine grabs for 155 yards and three scores, including an 82-yard jaunt. Emanuel Wilson (21 carries, 92 yards) got more work than Jadarian Price (13 carries, 52 yards) in the game. Nearly half of Price’s yards came on a 25-yard carry. Jeremiah Love was held in check for Arizona as he finished with nine carries for 29 yards in the contest. Trey McBride had eight receptions and a score, though he totaled just 41 receiving yards as the Cardinals threw for just 95 yards (81 net) in the game.
Washington at Dallas: Washington’s defense proved it again isn’t up to par in the early going. That wasn’t the biggest problem in the game as Jayden Daniels went down with a dislocated elbow sustained on the final play of the first half. He was 11 of 17 for 96 yards and a score while adding 69 rushing yards before the injury. If he’s out, Marcus Mariota (11 of 16, 111 yards, TD) is the next man up again. Stefon Diggs caught five of six targets for 47 yards and two scores but what happened to Terry McLaurin? He had just two catches (on nine targets!) for 50 yards. Dak Prescott diced up the Commanders’ defense to the tune of 26 for 31 for 279 yards and four scores. CeeDee Lamb (eight for 153 and two scores) had a huge game and Jake Ferguson (four for 43) also scored twice.
Miami at San Francisco: If you needed a reminder of how bleak things might be for Miami this season, Sunday was a stark reminder of how weak the defense is. Brock Purdy was 20 of 22 for 287 yards and a pair of scores while not getting sacked. He added 30 yards and a score on the ground. The 49ers run game was subpar as Christian McCaffrey (10 carries, 23 yards, two TD) and Kaelon Black (seven carries, 25 yards) were held in check. De’Von Achane was held in check again as he ran 20 times for 74 yards. Malik Willis’ statline was okay as he was 14 of 23 for 197 yards and a score, but it’s important to note that 77 of those yards came on a TD pass with 2:30 remaining.
Indianapolis at Kansas City: The Sunday night game turned into the highest scoring game of the day as it ended up in overtime. Indianapolis continued to struggle defensively as they allowed Patrick Mahomes to throw for 382 yards and three scores. Meanwhile, Kenneth Walker III had 24 carries for 117 yards. Travis Kelce had nine catches for 101 yards and a score while Walker III caught six for 61. He has nine catches in the first two games, which would have him on pace to shatter his career high of 46. For the Colts, they have some issues. Josh Downs caught seven passes for 72 yards but Keenan Allen had one catch for five yards. Alec Pierce had one for 11 yards and left the game with that heel injury he battled in camp. He’ll undergo further testing Monday. It’s been a rough start for the Colts, who may have to rely heavily on Jonathan Taylor (24 carries, 92 yards, two TD, four catches, 40 yards) if Pierce is out.
For the Monday night game, one has to think the Rams will be better than they were in Melbourne but they have to prove that was an aberration. They're favored by a touchdown but the Giants are a game squad. I'll say the Rams win but it's a 24-20 type of contest.
--Chris Kubala
