Falcons have historic collapse — again
Week 2 of the NFL season is nearly wrapped up and 10 teams left Sunday with a perfect 2-0 record.
Meanwhile, 11 teams are on the opposite end of that and will enter Week 3 looking for their first victory. Even though it's still early in the season, some trends continued to become clear. The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs can still seemingly score on any given drive and no lead is safe, the Atlanta Falcons still need to work on finishing games and Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals may be one of the biggest surprises in the league.
Here are Week 2's winners and losers.
WINNERS
Seahawks-patriots rivalry: For the third time in as many games, this matchup lived up to expectations. And both teams, really, should feel good about where they are. The Seahawks gutted out the 35-30 victory on quarterback Russell Wilson's remarkable efficiency – he threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns, all to different targets – and the defense's goal-line stand.
The Patriots have some obvious holes on their roster at receiver, tight end and in the secondary, but quarterback Cam Newton (30-of-44 passing, 397 yards, one touchdown, one interception and 47 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground) showed he is capable of carrying this team in even the toughest environments. But football fans may be the biggest winners here, with yet another back-and-forth, thrilling chapter to this series.
Los Angeles Chargers: Yes, they lost their game, 23-20 in overtime against the defending champion Chiefs, but the Chargers have a lot of positives to take away even in defeat. Namely, the emergence of rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, whom the team took with the No. 6 overall selection in the draft, should give fans plenty of optimism for the future. Herbert was only playing because of a pregame chest injury to Tyrod Taylor, but he excelled and should take over the job permanently, though coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that the veteran would remain the starter if healthy. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 311 yards with one touchdown and one interception while adding a rushing score.
Ravens rushing: This has been a Baltimore strength since Lamar Jackson took over at quarterback, and the team's 33-16 victory against the Houston Texans showed it will continue to be a focal point in 2020. The Ravens had three different ball carriers get at least nine carries. In all, Baltimore tallied 230 yards on 37 carries for 6.2 yards per rush.
The Ravens led the league in rushing last season and now appears to have four players who can slip past defenders: Jackson and running backs Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and rookie J.K. Dobbins. That allows Baltimore to control game clock. Perhaps more frustrating for opposing defenses, however, is that if teams try to load the box, Jackson can burn them with his arm, too.
Losers
Atlanta Falcons: Move over, 28-3. The Falcons raced off to a 20-point lead in the first quarter, held a 19-point lead at halftime and boasted a 15-point lead inthe fourth quarter. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 40-39, in utterly demoralizing fashion.
That the Falcons seemingly forgot the rules of fielding an onside kick and stood around while Dallas waited for the ball to cross 10 yards was even more headscratching.
The Falcons dropped to 0-2 and their defense, coach Dan Quinn's supposed strength, has been the issue. Atlanta is scoring 32 points a game. The issue: It's allowing 39, ranked dead last in the league.
Kirk Cousins: Perhaps it's time to worry about how Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins will look this season after Kevin Stefanski, last year's offensive coordinator, took the Cleveland Browns' head coaching job. Minnesota's offense sputtered in a 28-11 loss against the Colts, and the Vikings dropped to 0-2. Cousins completed only 11 of his 26 attempts for 113 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions, leading to a QB rating of 15.9.