What we learned from Week Two
After Week1was defined by huge upsets, some order has been restored to the NFL this week with 14 of 15 favorites prevailing leading into Monday night’s game in Las Vegas — with the lone favorite to lose being the Philadelphia Eagles, who were favored by just 1.5 points at home. The road to those victories was rocky, however, as several star players have been lost to injuries — some of which appear to be season-ending
Here’s what we learned:
The Atlanta Falcons have a flair for the dramatic — in a bad
way. A franchise that already was nearly synonymous with a dubious set of numbers — 28-3 — added a new score for their team’s fans to loathe: 29-10. That was where things stood at halftime Sunday before a truly epic secondhalf collapse against the Dallas Cowboys, who won 40-39. Dallas scored on six of its seven secondhalf possessions, but still needed a miracle in the form of an onside kick in the game’s final two minutes that was recovered by the Cowboys despite the ball rolling right past multiple Falcons on its way to Dallas’ C.J. Goodwin.
Cam Newton is not quite automatic at the goal line. The New England Patriots’ new quarterback was lined up on the 1-yard line, trailing by five with just seconds to play, and everyone knew he was going to run. He already had 397 passing yards, 47 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the game, and he had his team on the verge of a shocking comeback in Seattle. But on this night, Superman met his kryptonite in the form of defensive end L.J. Collier, who shot into the backfield, upended Newton and saved the day for the Seahawks, who won 35-30.
It won’t come as much consolation for Newton, but he’s already tied for the sixth-most rushing touchdowns in a season by a Patriots quarterback, with four.
Stephen Gostkowski prefers for the stakes to be high. The former kicker for the New England Patriots has had quite a first season with Tennessee. The 36year-old has already missed three field goals and two extra points through just two games, but when his team has truly needed him, he’s been electric. He closed Week 1 with a 25-yard game-winner against Denver, and Sunday he put the Titans ahead to stay with a 49-yarder in the final minutes against Jacksonville. Tennessee, apparently, just has to keep things close.
Justin Herbert was further along than anyone thought. It seemed like an ideal situation for Los Angeles as the Chargers had a quarterback for the present in Tyrod Taylor, and one for the future in Herbert. But Taylor was a last-minute scratch Sunday after he reported difficulty breathing, and Herbert, in his first NFL action, very nearly beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (pause for emphasis). Herbert was nothing short of fantastic against the defending Super Bowl champions, throwing for 311 yards and a touchdown, while becoming just the third quarterback (Otto Graham and Newton are the others) to have 300 passing yards and a rushing touchdown in his first NFL game.
Preseason games might be important. Theories will abound for this week’s huge rash of injuries to star players, and many will focus on the lack of preseason games. The hardest-hit team has been the 49ers, who added quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert and defensive end Nick Bosa to an injury report that already included George Kittle and Richard Sherman. But San Francisco was hardly alone. The New York Giants lost running back Saquon Barkley to a knee injury, and Denver lost quarterback Drew Lock for several weeks with a shoulder injury.
We should keep our Packers record books handy. Green Bay’s offense has been nothing short of phenomenal through two games, scoring a combined 85 points in wins over NFC North rivals. It’s just the fourth time in franchise history that the Packers have scored 40-plus in consecutive games, according to Pro Football Reference, and they mixed things up by following Davante Adams’ dominant Week1— he tied a 78year-old franchise record with 14 receptions — by relying largely on running back Aaron Jones in Week 2. Jones was Green Bay’s leading rusher and its leading receiver, with 236 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns.
The Ravens never lose (in the regular season). Baltimore won its 14th straight regular-season game, blowing out the Houston Texans 33-16 despite Lamar Jackson throwing for a relatively modest 204 yards and one touchdown, and none of the Ravens’ celebrated runners having more than 73 yards on the ground.
It was a full-team effort, with Gus Edwards, Mark Ingram, Jackson and rookie J.K. Dobbins combining to run for 230 yards on 37 carries, while the defense successfully held Deshaun Watson in check and put some points on the board thanks to L.J. Fort’s fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Sunday’s top performers
Top passer: Josh Allen Last week, Allen became the first Bills quarterback to top 300 passing yards in a game since 2016. This week, he became the first one to top 400 in a game since 2002 and, according to the NFL, became just the fourth quarterback to have 700 or more passing yards, six or more touchdowns and no interceptions in his team’s first two games of the season.
Will he continue this trajectory and throw for 500 next week? You might not want to rule it out entirely, with the third-year quarterback clearly gaining confidence, though the Rams might provide a bit more resistance than either the Jets or the Dolphins could manage
Dak Prescott, though, gets honorable mention here. He wasn’t nearly as efficient as Allen, but he was the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 400 yards while running for at least three touchdowns.
Top runner: Aaron Jones Jones was absolutely everywhere in Green Bay’s dominant win over Detroit. He ran for 168 yards, added another 68 yards with four receptions, and scored three times, giving him four touchdowns for the season after he had 19 last year.
Leonard Fournette, meanwhile, made up for last week’s disappearing act by averaging 8.6 yards a carry while contributing two touchdown runs in Tampa Bay’s easy win over Carolina.
Top receiver: Stefon Diggs
A rising tide lifts all boats, and Diggs seems like that kind of tide for Buffalo. With the former Vikings star giving Buffalo a bona fide No. 1 receiver, the field has opened up dramatically for both John Brown and Cole Beasley, and the Bills are off to a 2-0 start. Diggs led Buffalo in receptions and yards for a second consecutive game, and scored on a 22-yard pass from Allen in the second quarter. But with Buffalo needing insurance points in the fourth quarter, Allen was able to air the ball out to a wide-open Brown. That is going to be a problem for opponents.