NFL Week 2 assessments
Winners, losers
The second NFL regularseason Sunday offers a chance to see whether Week 1’s performances were the sign of longterm patterns or whether they were isolated incidents. Here are some winners and losers from Week 2.
Winners
Steve Sarkisian: The Falcons offensive coordinator has struggled with his red-zone play-calling and has drawn criticism for it. In Atlanta’s 31
24 victory against the Panthers, however, Sarkisian reversed the trend and dialed up four touchdowns in each of the team’s four trips inside the 20. Granted, one came on a Matt Ryan scramble out of a broken play and another came from a Ryan sneak from the 1-yard line, but Sarkisian opened up his playbook and drew up a couple of plays that exploited mismatches and got playmakers (receiver Calvin Ridley on a
11-yard slant, and tight end Austin Hooper on an 8-yard out route) open in space. Nathaniel Hackett: The Jaguars learned their lesson from last season’s AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots in January when they let a 10-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter. Instead, in their
31-20 pounding of New England, Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator stayed aggressive throughout the game and didn’t leave a window for the Pats to sneak back in. A perfect example was a 2nd-and-16 from their own 10-yard line — nursing that
11-point lead — with 3:28 to play in the game. Hackett called a pass play and quarterback Blake Bortles found tight end Niles Paul down the right side- line for a 22-yard first down. Despite not having running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring), Hackett entrusted Bortles (377 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception) to distribute the ball to the speedy Jags playmakers.
Losers
Jameis Winston: Not only is it time to write the obituary on Winston’s (suspended) chances of reclaiming his grip on the job as Buccaneers starter, but it might be time to freshly consider the potential of his end in Tampa, too. Ryan Fitzpatrick has seized control of the offense, throwing for 819 yards, 8 touchdowns and only
1 interception in two games. The Buccaneers picked up Winston’s fifth-year option for
2019, good for $20.9 million, but it’s guaranteed only for injury. So Tampa Bay can cut Winston at the end of this season and not owe him a dime. More important, the Bucs have taken down the Saints (11-5 last season) and the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (13-3) in the first two weeks for sole possession of first in the NFC South.
Texans: They lost 20-17 to the Titans. The problem? Houston was facing a Tennessee team that was without quarterback Marcus Mariota and both starting offensive tackles in Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin, leaving Blaine Gabbert to lead the Titans attack. Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s attempt to get Houston in field goal range late in the game was as headscratching a sequence as you’ll see in the NFL. Snapping the ball near midfield with 17 seconds left, Watson had all day to throw because Tennessee rushed only two players. He bounced around the pocket, crossed the line of scrimmage and then completed a pass to the middle of the field letting time drip off the clock. Now Houston is the lone AFC South team winless at 0-2.