Category: NFL

Post-Week 2 Power Rankings

Ravens gameday portal: Ravens beat Texans, 33-16, in Week 2 - Baltimore Sun
Ravens QB and 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson has led his team to 14 straight regular season wins. (h/t AP)

With 2 weeks of NFL play behind us, let’s stack up the teams 1-32 as we head into Week 3.

1 – Ravens (2-0)

There shouldn’t be any question in anyone’s mind about who the league’s best team is. Baltimore has proven that they are far and away better than any other squad in the NFL. They don’t even need their flashy offense to be a highlight machine to dominate teams, as their defense looks even better than it did last year. The addition of RB J.K. Dobbins has made their run game even more dynamic than a year ago. This team will be challenged by Kansas City this week, but it’s hard to see them coming up short. They’re just that dominant.

2 – Seahawks (2-0)

Seattle is easily the NFC’s best team so far this season, and it is largely thanks to their new strategy: “Let Russ Cook”. QB Russell Wilson looks like the best player in football and is easily the early MVP frontrunner. Any and every offensive piece just works with Russ. He has only two (2!) more incompletions than touchdowns this year, with 9 scores and 11 missed throws. The biggest problem with this team is that their pass rush is almost nonexistent, and that allows opposing QBs to tear them apart. They’ve given up nearly 850 passing yards in the first 2 weeks of the year. It’s a talented young secondary, but the Hawks will need their defensive linemen to do more if they want to get to Tampa in February.

3 – Chiefs (2-0)

The defending champs were stumbling in Los Angeles for over half of their game vs. the Chargers on Sunday, but were still able to emerge victorious thanks to some Mahomes magic and a Harrison Butker kicking masterclass. I would pump the brakes on any doubt or questions, as they were facing a QB that they didn’t prepare for at all and who exceeded expectations in his first NFL game. They’re still a great team on both sides of the ball. They’ll face their toughest test of the year this Monday night against Baltimore in what should be one of the best games this season.

4 – Packers (2-0)

The Pack attack is back. Green Bay’s offense has looked superb in the first 2 weeks of the season, scoring 85 total points. QB Aaron Rodgers looks as sharp as ever, even with a WR core made up of people who would be nobodies on any other squad (who would’ve known Marquez Valdes-Scantling would be one of the rising stars of 2020?). RB Aaron Jones has also been putting on a show week in and week out, proving himself to be one of the elite RBs in the league, both running and receiving. The NFC North doesn’t look as formidable as some of us may have thought, which will aid the Packers this year as they face a very difficult schedule. This Sunday’s showdown against New Orleans should be a fun one.

5 – Rams (2-0)

As I said in my Week 2 review, the Rams have figured out how to run their offense to perfection, and it looks amazing. QB Jared Goff has been rolling out left and right, hitting his targets and gashing defenses. Their run game looks very solid as well, led by rookie RB Cam Akers out of Florida State. LA’s defense needs no introduction, as headliners Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey have been making plays as they always do. The Rams needed to come out strong to start 2020 if they wanted to compete in the NFC West, the league’s toughest division, and they’ve done just that. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

6 – Bills (2-0)

The Buffalo Bills might be 2020’s most surprising team so far. Raise your hand if you thought Josh Allen would lead the league in passing through 2 weeks. I obviously can’t see you but I’ll assume your hand stayed down. The addition of WR Stefon Diggs has transformed this once-stagnant passing offense into a machine. When you combine the arm talent of Allen with the deep threat of Diggs, you get a match made in heaven. I’m very interested to see how this offense continues to play once they start playing better defenses. I’m giving Buffalo the benefit of the doubt after playing the Dolphins and Jets. I hope they don’t let me down.

7 – Raiders (2-0)

Speaking of surprising teams, the Las Vegas (still sounds weird, right?) Raiders have looked great to start 2020. Sitting at 2-0 after a Monday night upset victory over the Saints, the Raiders have a lot of people talking about them. Jon Gruden’s team has looked very good offensively, with Derek Carr maturing as a passer and Josh Jacobs carrying the load on the ground. If this team can continue gashing teams on offense and tighten up its defense (which is certainly the weak spot of the team), then the Raiders can definitely keep up in a very good AFC West and fight for a wild card spot.

8 – Saints (1-1)

I think Drew Brees misses Michael Thomas. The Saints offense still put up numbers in Monday night’s loss, but it was largely due to short passes and checkdowns. When Brees threw the ball downfield, the results weren’t very pretty. Their defense also struggled mightily in Vegas after playing very well against Tom Brady and the Bucs a week beforehand. I still think this team is very good (one of the best in the league in fact), but until the offense gets back in sync and the defense starts playing like they should, they’re going to be pegged down a notch.

9 – Buccaneers (1-1)

Tampa Bay got their first victory in the Tom Brady era on Sunday against a very bad Carolina team in convincing fashion. You can tell the chemistry on offense is going way up in Tampa, as Week 1 no-shows like Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette feasted on the Panthers defense. This team’s defense was already great, and the offense is getting sharper by the week. I didn’t want people to overreact to their Week 1 loss, and this is exactly why. This team is going to be playing some great football this season.

10 – Patriots (1-1)

Yes, the Brady-less Patriots are in the top 10. However, I don’t think I’m overrating them at all. If their Week 2 contest in Seattle was any indication of how the Cam Newton-led Patriots are going to play this season, I think they can beat anyone on any given Sunday. I guess we should’ve expected that from a team coached Bill Belichick. I think this team is very solid on both sides of the football, but could really use a deep threat to open up the offense a bit more. Even without one, Cam Newton had one of the best passing games of his career. If you were worried about New England once the GOAT left and Superman arrived, you were wrong.

11 – Cardinals (2-0)

The Cardinals might have been the team I was most excited to see play this season, and they have not disappointed one bit. 2nd year QB Kyler Murray has been playing so well that he’s garnering MVP talks. It helps that he now has arguably the best WR in football in DeAndre Hopkins catching his passes now. Kyler’s talents with his arm and legs is quickly making him one of the league’s most dynamic players. Their defense looks very sharp, with Chandler Jones making life hell for opposing quarterbacks, as he always does, and newly-paid safety Budda Baker flying all over the secondary. This is an exciting team with a young core and a very vibrant energy. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for them.

12 – 49ers (1-1)

The 49ers were hit with more injuries in the first 2 weeks of the season than most teams will have in a whole year. With defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Soloman Thomas out for the year, the rest of the Niners defense is going to need to tighten up. Those players helped that defensive unit be the best in football a year ago. Without them, this team is bound to struggle against opposing offenses (although that certainly won’t be the case this week against the Giants). Offensively, star QB Jimmy Garoppolo, TE George Kittle, and RB Raheem Mostert will all miss extended time with various injuries. Kyle Shanahan will look to Nick Mullens to keep the ship together for the next couple of weeks. I think this team will be fine in time as they start to get healthy again, but for now, they will struggle.

13 – Titans (2-0)

You might think that Tennessee is a bit low for being 2-0, but I have my reasons. For one, this team looked half asleep in their Week 1 victory over the Broncos. They certainly woke up against Jacksonville last week, but I just feel like this team is too talented and too well-coached to have that game come down to a game-winning field goal with 90 seconds left. Ryan Tannehill has played extremely well so far, but this team has had to rely on Stephen Gostowski to kick 2 game-winning field goals in 2 games. Unless the Titans start to beat teams convincingly, as they should have these last 2 weeks, I’m not sure what to make of them.

14 – Steelers (1-1)

I have no idea what to make of the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially offensively. This team’s defense certainly speaks for itself, but the offense looks… weird? I think they’ve certainly played well for a unit that has missed its starting QB for over a year, but I also feel like they should be playing better. Their contest against Denver last week should not have been as close as it was. If they struggle against bad teams, I’m not sure how this team will fare against some of the giants of the AFC. I’ll have to wait and see.

15 – Chargers (1-1)

This rating has one major contingency: the Chargers starting QB. In Week 1 against Cincinnati, with Tyrod Taylor at the helm, the Chargers offense looked lifeless and dreary, despite getting the win. Last week against the Chiefs, with Justin Herbert under center, the Chargers offense looked alive and electric, despite losing the game in OT. Bolts HC Anthony Lynn insists that Taylor will remain the main signal caller, but I don’t think that it’s the right move based on what we’ve seen. This roster is too talented to not be led by someone who provides them the spark that they need. If Tyrod Taylor returns and this team looks pedestrian again, I think the choice becomes obvious.

16 – Cowboys (1-1)

You can get mad at me all you want, but this is the absolute highest I’m willing to put Dallas. This roster looks like one of the league’s best on paper, but they’ve given us a very weird sample to go off of in the first 2 weeks of the year. Against Los Angeles, the defense played alright, but the offense looked lifeless and stuck in the past. Against Atlanta, the defense was getting torn apart, and the offense ended up looking great after getting off to a slow start. However, I’m going to take what I saw from the Cowboys offense last week with a grain of salt, as the Falcons defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed with an entire box of tissues. Their special teams also looked atrocious with not one, but TWO failed fake punts. I need to see more complete performances from this team to show me that they’re better than I think they are.

17 – Bears (2-0)

The Bears are my lowest-ranked undefeated team after 2 weeks, and I don’t think I need to explain why. Yes this team hasn’t lost yet, but they’ve beaten 2 of the worst teams in football, and both games came down to getting a stop in the endzone on the final play. I do see a lot of improvement in QB Mitchell Trubisky’s play, but if the Bears were better, they wouldn’t have struggled with Detroit and New York as much as they did.

18 – Browns (1-1)

The Browns offense decided to wake up last Thursday night, and it looked great. QB Baker Mayfield played with confidence and threw the ball very well against the Bengals defense. WR Odell Beckham Jr. made a very nice touchdown catch that should get Browns fans everywhere excited. But this team’s strength is its run game, led by two studs in the backfield: Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Their defense giving up 30 points to an offense like Cincinnati’s is a bit concerning, but if their run game can play like it did last week on a consistent basis, then Cleveland is going to be in a lot of football games this year.

19 – Falcons (0-2)

Oh, Atlanta. Why must your sports teams be so cursed? The Falcons blew another 20+ point lead on Sunday against the Cowboys to drop to 0-2 on the young season. Despite that, I still think this is a good team, hence them being the highest-ranked winless team of the week. Matt Ryan and his WRs have looked very good in one of the league’s best aerial attacks. This team’s two biggest problems are defense and coaching. Atlanta’s defense has given up 78 points through 2 weeks, with QBs Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott airing it out with ease against their secondary. And HC Dan Quinn couldn’t keep a big lead even if he wanted to. This team will still win games this year, but Sunday’s loss will put a huge dent in their confidence going forward.

20 – Jaguars (1-1)

Who said Jacksonville would throw away the 2020 calendar and tank for Trevor Lawrence? This team has fought for all 60 minutes in back to back weeks, and could even be 2-0 right now. The Jaguars almost completed a double-digit 4th quarter comeback led by QB Gardner Minshew II, who probably has the best mustache in the world (and isn’t bad at singing Celine Dion either). This team is definitely very talented on both sides of the ball, as young studs like WR DJ Chark, LB Myles Jack, CB CJ Henderson, and more have been showing out. Will Jacksonville be picking very high next April? Probably. But this team will not go down easily at all.

21 – Colts (1-1)

The Colts formula for 2020 didn’t work out in Week 1, but it definitely did last Sunday: ask Philip Rivers to do his job, and let the defense do the rest. Rivers is certainly not doing anything flashy on offense, but Indy’s new starting RB Jonathan Taylor has been playing very well and carrying the offensive load on the ground. The stars of this team are certainly on their defense, as newcomer DeForest Buckner and all-pro LB Darius Leonard are shining in the front 7. Unfortunately, star safety Malik Hooker suffered a torn achilles on Sunday and will miss the season. This team is certainly good enough to compete on a weekly basis as a middle-of-the-pack squad in the AFC.

22 – Vikings (0-2)

The final year of QB Kirk Cousins’ contract is not off to the best start. Cousins played perhaps the worst game of his career on Sunday in Indianapolis, and Minnesota was blown out. Putting them this low might be a bit over-reactionary of me, because I still think this roster is very talented and has proven that in the past. But until Kirk Cousins plays like an $86 million quarterback, this team will struggle mightily.

23 – Texans (0-2)

How can you not feel bad for Deshaun Watson? Houston was blown out again on Sunday, albeit against the best team in the league, and there was nothing the star QB could do about it. I’m sure he would love to have the help of a star receiver like DeAndre Hopkins, but HC Bill O’Brien apparently doesn’t think so. This team can still win games against teams that aren’t elite, but I don’t think they can compete against the league’s best this year. We’ll have to see how they play against teams that aren’t the defending champions or the current Super Bowl favorites.

24 – Washington (1-1)

The Washington Football team showed us a very important truth on Sunday: they are who we thought they were. After an inspiring win in Week 1 against Philadelphia, Washington looked awful against the Cardinals. The defense, which was one of the league’s star units of Week 1, was gashed by Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense. The defensive line still looked very solid, but the secondary was all over the place, blowing coverages and missing several tackles. Safety Troy Apke was the weakest link on Sunday, missing assignments all over the secondary and getting embarrassed by Kyler any time he left the pocket. Offensively, Washington couldn’t get anything going until the final 10 minutes of the game, which was over at that point. QB Dwayne Haskins didn’t have time to breathe as Washington’s paper-like offensive line allowed 8 QB hits and 4 sacks while giving Haskins less than 2.5 seconds to throw. The committee of RBs didn’t look too shabby, but it still wasn’t nearly enough. Washington made the score look better than the game actually played out with a couple of late touchdowns, but this squad is simply not good enough to compete with competent teams. Maybe force-feeding Terry McLaurin on slant routes for 60 minutes is the best path to victory.

25 – Eagles (0-2)

Time is running out for HC Doug Pederson and QB Carson Wentz in Philadelphia. The Birds looked like their wings were clipped offensively for the second straight week, as Wentz threw 0 touchdowns and 2 more interceptions against the Rams defense. This is a team that looks uninspired on both sides of the football, and the league is starting to take notice. RB Miles Sanders has looked very sharp, but that cannot be said about anyone else in Philly right now. If #11 doesn’t improve his play and revert back to the Carson Wentz of old, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see rookie QB Jalen Hurts under center soon.

26 – Dolphins (0-2)

The Dolphins have played as expected with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center to start this season. They’re staying in ballgames, but not playing well enough to beat their opponents. Perhaps once rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa takes the reins, we’ll see the Dolphins winning games like these. Despite their 0-2 record, the Dolphins have a lot of bright spots on both sides of the ball that their fans should be very excited about. Their young talent is continuing to develop nicely, and big free agent signings are seeming to payoff. I think that Miami will be a very good team soon. But for now, they’re still trusting the process.

27 – Broncos (0-2)

Denver already didn’t look good to start the year, especially with star LB Von Miller getting hurt and being out for the season. But now, they’re facing a month without starting QB Drew Lock. Is it too early to stick a fork in this team? Jeff Driskel will be under center for the next several weeks, which doesn’t seem very inspiring. This seems to be another year where the Broncos will be struggling mightily and looking towards the offseason before it even begins.

28 – Panthers (0-2)

The Teddy Bridgewater experience in Carolina hasn’t gotten off to the best start. The Panthers are sitting at 0-2, although I think they could have easily won their Week 1 contest against the Raiders. Star RB Christian McCaffrey has predictably carried this team on his back, but an injury sustained against Tampa Bay on Sunday will sideline him for the next 2-4 weeks, so I don’t expect this team to be winning many, if any, games for a while.

29 – Bengals (0-2)

I don’t think Bengals fans are mad at all about being winless right now. Rookie QB and #1 overall pick Joe Burrow has somehow exceeded expectations through two weeks and kept this team in both games this year against solid opponents. Burrow certainly hasn’t looked like a rookie, which is even crazier considering the fact that this is one of the league’s rosters. Bengals fans should be very excited about this team’s future with Burrow under center, but they’ll need to surround him with more talent if they want to consistently win games. He can’t do it alone.

30 – Lions (0-2)

The Lions got off to a hot start on Sunday, but then decided they didn’t want to play anymore as they were crushed by their division rivals in Green Bay. Their defense was being toyed with by Aaron Rodgers and company, and their offense looked nonexistent after the first quarter. This team has talent, but it’s hard to see them winning many games this year. They’ll probably be down here for a long time.

31 – Giants (0-2)

The Giants were already one of the league’s worst teams, but with Sunday’s injury to star RB Saquon Barkley, they have become much worse. Barkley suffered a torn ACL against Chicago and will miss the remainder of the season. New York’s defense was already a bit questionable, but they could always rely on #26 on the other side of the ball. Now, I’m not sure what the Giants are going to do offensively. Signing RB Devonta Freeman certainly helps, but nobody can replace Saquon. It’s going to be a long year in New York, but perhaps it’ll even longer for the other team in the Big Apple.

32 – Jets (0-2)

Just as the Ravens were the no-doubt #1 team in the NFL, the Jets are the no-doubt #32 team. Riddled by offensive injuries, this team is just unwatchable in every aspect. QB Sam Darnold is struggling mightily, mainly because he has nobody to throw the ball to, and their defense looks like they spend all of pregame watching Trevor Lawrence highlights. HC Adam Gase is almost certainly on his way out of New York, and it’s a wonder how it has taken this long. But even a new HC isn’t gonna make this team better any time soon. They need divine intervention. And man, those uniforms are terrible.

Week 2 in Review

Patriots vs. Seahawks: Winners and losers from Week 2
Cam Newton is stopped short of the goal line on the final play of the game. (h/t Elaine Thompson, AP)

Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season is in the books. It was a wild week filled with crazy finishes, questionable decisions, and unfortunately, a multitude of serious injuries to some of the league’s best players. Let’s get into it.

Browns 35-30 Bengals

The Browns offense finally decided to show up and deliver on its promises after over a year of questions and doubts. Baker Mayfield looked fantastic on Thursday night, slinging the ball with confidence all over the field to the tune of 219 yards and 2 TDs, although he did have an interception on a poor read across the middle. Odell Beckham Jr. splashed onto the scene for the first time in 2020 with a diving 43 yard touchdown catch to the avail of Browns fans everywhere who have been waiting for him to truly emerge as the elite receiver he was in New York. But the real story of the Cleveland offense was the run game. The Browns one-two punch of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt looked like the best in football as they combined for 210 yards and 3 TDs on just carries. If Cleveland’s run game can play at that level consistently, then they could truly be one of the league’s best offenses. On the Bengals side of things, rookie QB Joe Burrow continued to look very promising despite being under extreme duress every time he dropped back. Burrow set the NFL record for completions in a game by a rookie with 37, adding 316 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions. He did turn the ball over once on a strip sack from Myles Garrett, but it was no fault of Burrow’s as his offensive line is proving to be one of the worst in football. Even with the horrible circumstances that he is in, the #1 overall pick looks to be the franchise QB that Bengals fans have been hoping for.

Bears 17-13 Giants

Sunday’s contest between New York and Chicago provided one of the saddest moments of the young NFL season. Superstar Giants RB Saquon Barkley tore his ACL while being tackled on the sideline, and will miss the remainder of the 2020 NFL season. Heartbreaking news for the entire league. In his absence, the Giants still managed to put up a good fight at Soldier Field. The Bears lifted off for a 17-0 lead, with QB Mitchell Trubisky continuing his improved play in 2020. The Giants slowly crept back in the second half, scoring 13 unanswered points. The game was almost put away by Chicago’s defense, as star safety Eddie Jackson picked off Giants QB Daniel Jones and returned it for a touchdown, but the play was nullified due to a very questionable defensive pass interference call. The Giants kept pushing to the Bears goal-line, with the clock winding down. On the game’s final play, the Giants needed a touchdown to win, but were kept out by the Bears stellar secondary. The win vaulted Chicago to a somewhat surprising record of 2-0, and bumped the Giants down to 0-2, where things are likely only going to get worse. Bears fans would probably like their team’s games to not come down to the final play anymore, but they certainly must enjoy being undefeated on the young season.

Cowboys 40-39 Falcons

There is so much to say about this game that I don’t even know where to begin. The Falcons jumped out to a red-hot start, going up 20-0 in the first quarter (!!). It easily could’ve been more, but the Falcons offense seems to hate the redzone. Dallas looked shockingly bad with 2 fumbles, and Mike McCarthy made everyone scratch their heads as he attempted (and failed) two fake punts. But for some reason, the game never felt out of reach. Both teams went back and forth scoring on one another, with the Cowboys closing the gap to as little as 5 points in the 3rd quarter. With 8 minutes left in the game, Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo put Atlanta up 39-24. So, game over, right? Wrong. This is the Atlanta Falcons we’re talking about here! But what transpired in the final 5 minutes of the game were special even by Georgia sports standards. Dallas reached the endzone, got a stop, and got back in the endzone to cut the lead to just 2 with 109 seconds remaining. If Dallas wanted to complete the improbable comeback, they’d need to recover an onside kick, perhaps the hardest thing to do successfully on a football field. Onside kicks are virtually impossible to recover these days, especially with the rule of not running up before the kick. To make things even harder, Dallas kicker Greg Zuerlein kicked the ball straight off the turf without a tee. It was a very slow rolling kick that was almost moving in slow motion. It should have been a simple recovery for the Falcons hands team, but instead of falling on the slow motion football, they watched and watched as it rolled further and further until it crossed the 10 yard threshold… and the Cowboys fell on it. I would like to think that nothing with this team should shock me anymore, but that just might be the most inexplicable special teams gaffe I’ve seen in a professional football game. The Cowboys pulled the seemingly inevitable and kicked the game winning field goal to emerge with a most improbable victory. Dallas QB Dak Prescott had an incredible game with 450 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns. The QB on the other side, Matt Ryan, continued his stellar play as well with 273 yards and 4 TDs, but his team lost him the game; a story he is all too familiar with. Georgia sports… you never cease to amaze.

Packers 42-21 Lions

The Lions got off to quite a hot start in Lambeau on Sunday, going up 14-3 in the first quarter. But, that was just about it for their offense. Green Bay’s aerial and ground attack looked unstoppable as they strung together 31 unanswered points. Packers RB Aaron Jones was the star of the show with 168 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, including a 75 yard sprint to the house, and a receiving touchdown to boot. The Packers defense also looked very nice, holding the Lions to only 89 yards rushing and picking off QB Matt Stafford for a touchdown late in the game. Green Bay has looked like one the league’s best teams after dismantling two of their division rivals in the first two weeks of the season, but they’ll still have a lot to prove down the stretch, and that starts next week in New Orleans on Sunday Night Football. Let’s see what this team is really made of.

Titans 33-30 Jaguars

Nothing like a good old fashioned AFC South barnburner, is there? Tennessee and Jacksonville battled it out for 60 minutes on Sunday and it was awesome. It was an offensive explosion as Titans QB Ryan Tannehill thew for 239 yards and 4 TDs and Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew had 339 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. The Jags came back from a 2 score deficit in the 4th quarter, tying the game at 30 with only 7 minutes left in the game. But with 1:36 to play, Titans kicker Stephen Gostowski nailed a game-winning field goal from 49 yards out to give Tennessee the lead. Trying to lead a drive to tie or win the game, Minshew was picked off by LB Harold Landry, and the Titans held on for the win to improve to 2-0. Tennessee looks like a very solid team in the early going of the season, perhaps proving that their 2019 playoff run wasn’t just a fluke. The Jaguars have battled for back to back weeks and look like they have a lot of fight in them, especially in Gardner Minshew. For that very reason, I’m taking Jacksonville out of the Trevor Lawrence conversation. I think they’ve found their guy.

Colts 28-11 Vikings

3 years, $86 million, fully guaranteed. That was the contract that the Vikings gave to QB Kirk Cousins 2 years ago. Now in the 3rd year of that contract, it’s becoming painfully obvious that the Vikings overvalued and overpaid their signal caller. Cousins had one of the worst QB games you’ll ever see on Sunday, completing 11 of 26 passes for 113 yards, no scores, and THREE (3) interceptions. The absence of Stefon Diggs in Minnesota is clearly having very negative effects on this once-potent aerial attack. The Vikings offense looked atrocious on Sunday against an albeit stellar Colts defense, and it needs to improve fast if this 0-2 club wants to compete for a wild card spot this year. Colts rookie RB Jonathan Taylor looked great in his first start with 101 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Unfortunately for Indianapolis, two of their young stars suffered some harsh injuries. 2nd year WR Parris Campbell suffered a PCL/MCL injury and will miss significant time, and star 4th year safety Malik Hooker tore his achilles and will miss the rest of the year. We’re all hoping for speedy recoveries for the two former Buckeyes.

Bills 31-28 Dolphins

The Josh Allen coming out party is officially underway. The Bills QB looked stellar once again on Sunday, setting a new career high in passing for the second consecutive week, this time with a whopping 417 yards. Allen also added 4 TDs with no INTs. The addition of WR Stefon Diggs is already paying massive dividends in Buffalo, as the former Viking caught 8 balls for 153 yards and a touchdown. The Dolphins also aired it out a ton as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 328 yards and two scores. This was a wild, wacky, and wet game that was delayed over an hour due to inclement weather, and it was quite fun to watch. The Bills now stand at 2-0 and look like one of the better teams in the league. Their defense was always great, and now their offense looks stellar. This is certainly not a team to be slept on.

49ers 31-13 Jets

Holy mother of injuries. San Francisco dominated the Jets all game long, but got decimated along the way. 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa is gone for the year with a torn ACL. 2017 3rd overall pick Solomon Thomas is also gone for the season with a torn ACL. QB Jimmy Garoppolo hurt his ankle, didn’t return to the game and will likely miss at least 1 week. RB Raheem Mostert opened the game with an 80 yard touchdown sprint, but ended up hurting his knee and will miss some time. RB Tevin Coleman hurt his knee and will miss “multiple weeks”, per HC Kyle Shanahan. Oh, and TE George Kittle and DE Dee Ford already didn’t play due to injury. San Francisco had one of the best rosters in football, but it is now thinned for the time being in some places and for the rest of the year in other places. Luckily for them, they play another injury-riddled team in the Giants next Sunday, and can hopefully regain their strength. As for the Jets, they continued looking like the worst team in football, despite QB Sam Darnold showing some great flashes. The fact that Adam Gase is still employed is mind-boggling.

Rams 37-19 Eagles

Are the Rams back? It certainly appears so. The Rams are now 2-0 with 2 very good-looking wins. Their offense looks as efficient as it has been in years past, and QB Jared Goff looks as comfortable as ever in his 4th year with Sean McVay. Both sides of the ball look very sound for LA as they look to keep fighting in the toughest division in football. However, it seems like the story of the game was the Philadelphia Eagles. More specifically, QB Carson Wentz. The man who was once one of the league’s best quarterbacks is now facing heavy criticism from analysts and fans alike, as he has had 2 awful games to start the 2020 season. Wentz threw 2 INTs for the 2nd consecutive game and didn’t throw a single touchdown all game. RB Miles Sanders continued to look good, but this team is going nowhere fast if Wentz doesn’t stop regressing. The schedule isn’t getting any easier as well. Perhaps we’ll see Jalen Hurts at QB before long.

Steelers 26-21 Broncos

Another game filled with injuries. The Broncos not only lost the game, but they lost WR Courtland Sutton for the year with a torn ACL and QB Drew Lock for an extended period of time with a shoulder injury. In Lock’s stead, QB Jeff Driskel didn’t play half bad. The Broncos stayed in the game until the end, only losing by 5. This was a game that the Steelers should have dominated, but I have a feeling their offense will patch things up and keep improving. The Pittsburgh defense continues to be stellar, especially against the run. Their front 7 is one of the best in football, and it’s almost impossible to run against them. That defense could prove to be the difference maker in games later in the season.

Buccaneers 31-17 Panthers

Tom Brady officially has his first ever win outside of New England. The Bucs looked very solid on both sides of the football against Carolina. On offense, Brady finally established a connection with WR Mike Evans in Chris Godwin’s absence. The run game looked great as both Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II ran circles around the Carolina defense and each reached the endzone. Tampa’s defense wasn’t in question after a fairly good performance in New Orleans last week, but now that their offense has found its rhythm, the Bucs are looking like a force to be reckoned with in the stacked NFC.

Cardinals 30-15 Washington

After an inspiring comeback win in Week 1, the Washington Football Team looked absolutely lifeless on Sunday in Arizona. Granted, they were playing a much better team, but the boys in burgundy played an awful game for about 50 minutes. The Washington offensive line was seemingly nonexistent as QB Dwayne Haskins had less than 2.5 seconds to throw on average, with one rush leading to a strip sack. I would implore my fellow Washington fans to pump the brakes on the slander and hate towards this team, especially towards Dwayne Haskins. It’s Week 2 of a completely new system, he didn’t have a preseason, and he hasn’t even started a full season’s worth of games yet. Give it time, and I’m sure he’ll figure it out. The only positives for Washington was its running backs, Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic, who looked very good at times, and WR Terry McLaurin, who is continuing to be this offense’s best player by far in his 2nd year. Washington’s defense was also a bit of an issue, as emerging star QB Kyler Murray diced up the secondary on both the ground and through the air. The 2nd year quarterback out of Oklahoma looked stellar despite an early interception, and has now garnered a lot of media attention. I felt that Kyler had a lot of potential to be great and thought that at his best he could enter the MVP conversation. Well, here we are in Week 2, and he has very well entered it. He has to keep it up against a cupcake schedule for the next month or so. Seems easy enough. Watch out for the Cardinals. They are flying high.

Chiefs 23-20 Chargers (OT)

The Chargers had one of the more interesting developments of the week as starting QB Tyrod Taylor was a last-second scratch due to complications from a pre-game painkilling injection. When the Chargers rolled out rookie QB Justin Herbert from Oregon, the #6 overall pick in this year’s draft, we were all shocked and expected him to play poorly due to being thrust into a game against the Super Bowl champs with no preparation whatsoever. Instead, what we got was an incredible game from the rookie. Herbert arguably outplayed the reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes with 311 yards, 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD on 22-33 passing. The Chargers led for most of the game, but some Mahomes magic brought the Chiefs back and sent the game to OT. The Chargers decided to punt the ball to Kansas City instead of going for it on a 4th and 1, and Harrison Butker nailed a game winner to send the Chiefs to 2-0. Chargers HC Anthony Lynn is insisting that Tyrod Taylor will remain the starter if healthy, which is just asinine to me. You drafted Herbert 6th overall. He just gave your team life when they didn’t have any. He has to be your starter. Don’t overthink the room.

Ravens 33-16 Texans

Lamar Jackson vs. Deshaun Watson is always fun on paper. It was certainly fun when they were both in college. But Sunday’s game was pure Baltimore domination. The Ravens continued to look like the best team in the league, and it honestly isn’t very close. They simply don’t have a flaw: quarterback, offensive line, running backs, wide receivers, front 7, secondary, even special teams are all incredible in Baltimore. It’s hard to picture them losing a game this season. They’ll have a tough test next Monday night against Kansas City in what should be a great game. Houston didn’t look great on Sunday, but for the most part, that’s to no fault of their own. However, the absence of DeAndre Hopkins is being felt heavily. Deshaun Watson can’t do it all on his own. It’s a shame to see someone so talented being wasted.

Seahawks 35-30 Patriots

The Cam vs. Russ/Bill Belichick vs Pete Carroll matchup lived up to the hype and then some. Sunday night’s affair was one of the best games I’ve seen in a very long time. Both QBs played exceptional football. Let’s start with Russell Wilson, who is certainly cooking. Russ continues to amaze on a weekly basis, this time throwing a whopping 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers, with seemingly every throw being an absolute beauty. His only “mistake” was a pick 6 which was the result of an inexplicable drop by TE Greg Oslen. Russell Wilson now has 9 touchdowns on the year and ONLY 11 incompletions. There’s a serious case for Russ being not only the best QB in the league, but the best player in the league. He has almost got me on that train, and he doesn’t need to do much more for me to get on it. On the other side, Cam Newton looked spectacular in his second game in New England. After last week, it seemed like the Patriots would ask Cam to run more than throw, but he threw the ball exceptionally well against a very good Seattle secondary. He had 397 yards (179 going to Julian Edelman, a career high for him) and 3 total TDs, with 2 coming on the ground. It could have been 3 TDs on the ground, but Cam was stopped by the Seattle defense on the goal line on the final play of the game in a thrilling finish. Seattle truly looks like one of the league’s best teams, especially with the MVP frontrunner, but their defense needs to improve if they want to stop teams like Baltimore and Kansas City.

Raiders 34-24 Saints

Welcome to the NFL, Las Vegas. The Raiders’ first game in fabulous Las Vegas at their new stadium was as impressive as any win this week. The silver and black got off to a slow start, going down 17-7 early, but it was all Vegas from there on out. Derek Carr looked spectacular airing the ball out all over the field, and RB Josh Jacobs continued to impress with powerful running on the ground. Perhaps the most interesting development on Monday night was the struggles of Drew Brees. The Saints QB truly played like a 40 year old, barely throwing the ball down the field, making terrible reads and throws including an interception directly to a Raiders LB. He filled up the stat sheet by checking down to receivers or to his RBs, namely Alvin Kamara who led the team with 9 catches for 95 yards. Brees’ struggles can likely be tied to the absence of star WR Michael Thomas, but if he still plays subpar football when Thomas returns, then it might be the case that Drew Brees’ incredible career is nearing its end. The Saints face a tough Packers team next Sunday night in what should be a great game and a great indication of where this team currently lies.

All stats and quotes are taken from ESPN.