NFL Week 2 breakdown: Biggest surprise 2-0 and 0-2 teams
NFL Week 2 is (almost) in the books, and here are some key takeaways from NFL Week 2:
➤ Game of the day: Kansas City Chiefs 26, Cincinnati Bengals 25 — Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow delivered another down-to-the-wire matchup, with this one won on a last-second field goal. While the Chiefs are finding ways to win in their three-peat quest, the Bengals are finding ways to lose.
➤ Play of the day: Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt had a spectacular interception that had CBS color commentator Tony Romo gushing, "Wow! That was Odell Beckham-esque."
➤ Let's mention some surprise 2-0 teams: Los Angeles Chargers. Minnesota Vikings. New Orleans Saints. Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle Seahawks. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers and Steelers are probably the least-surprising surprise teams given those two made the playoffs last season, but Pittsburgh is winning with presumed backup Justin Fields as the starting quarterback and the Bucs went into Detroit and won in what is now a tough place to win. Jim Harbaugh is working his magic again, this time for the generally snake-bitten Chargers. The Vikings are winning with vagabond quarterback Sam Darnold. The Saints have outscored opponents 91-29 through two weeks after consecutive 40-burgers 🍔. The Seahawks are doing it with a rookie head coach (his name is Mike Macdonald).
➤ Let's mention some surprise 0-2 teams: Baltimore Ravens. Cincinnati Bengals. Los Angeles Rams. These teams have an 11.5% shot of qualifying for the playoffs based on what’s occurred since 1990.
➤ Let's give credit where credit is due: Derek Carr is off to an incredible start. The Saints' first 15 offensive drives with Carr behind center resulted in a score of some sort. The Saints have scored 91 points through their first two games this season, which are the most points by a team in its first two games of a season in 15 years and tied with the 1971 Dallas Cowboys (91 points) for the fourth-most points in a team’s first two games of a season in NFL history. Only the 1968 Oakland Raiders (95 points), 2009 New Orleans Saints (93) and 1920 Rock Island Independents (93) had more. The '71 Cowboys and '09 Saints went on to win the Super Bowl. The Decatur Staleys and Dayton Triangles were real thorns in the side of the Independents.
➤ Oops, he did it again: Will Levis is having a real hard time to start this season, and isn't quite making a case to keep the Titans' starting quarterback job. A week after a senseless pick-six sealed his team's fate against the Chicago Bears, Levis carelessly lobbed the ball in the general direction of running back Tyjae Spears. It was a backwards pass that was recovered by the Jets and ended a potential scoring drive in what was a close game. Titans head coach Brian Callahan did not seem pleased.
➤ Survivor pool destroyer of dreams: Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders were heavy underdogs on the road against the Baltimore Ravens, who were smarting from a near-miss in the season's kickoff game. Instead, #MinshewMania struck at M&T Bank Stadium, the Raiders rallied for an improbable victory and likely eliminated a lot of hopeful survivor pool players. If you're already in "pick whoever is playing against the Carolina Panthers" mode and went with the Los Angeles Chargers ... congrats!
NFL Week 2 key storylines
➤ Winners and losers: Caleb Williams' introduction to the NFL was rough, and things didn't get much easier in his follow-up, as the Texans sacked the Bears QB seven times. Meanwhile, the Bears' bitter division rival got some reassurance from backup quarterback Malik Willis.
➤ 32 things we learned: There's no debate that the Chiefs are the No. 1 team in the league at the moment, but which team is No. 2?
➤ Overreactions: Some slow-starting NFL teams like the Ravens and Rams are going to have to grapple with 0-2 records as they look to return to the postseason.
➤ Harbaugh effect boosts another Chargers player: A week after J.K. Dobbins had a huge debut game for Los Angeles (he had another big game Sunday, so he might just be real good), it was Quentin Johnston's turn to look revitalized under Jim Harbaugh.
➤ Some key injuries to keep an eye on: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, Rams WR Cooper Kupp and Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco
📸: PHOTOS: Fans, mascots, cheerleaders and celebrities at NFL games
NFL Week 2 results
- Houston Texans 19, Chicago Bears 13: The Texans' defense sacked Caleb Williams seven times and had the rookie under near-constant duress in the showdown of two of the league's most promising young passers.
- Arizona Cardinals 41, Los Angeles Rams 10: Rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. had a breakout performance as the Cardinals clobbered the visiting Rams.
- Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Denver Broncos 6: Justin Fields won for the second consecutive time starting in place of Russell Wilson.
- Kansas City Chiefs 26, Cincinnati Bengals 25: This was the fifth consecutive Chiefs-Bengals matchup featuring Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow – including two AFC championship games – that was decided by three points or less.
- Las Vegas Raiders 26, Baltimore Ravens 23: Gardner Minshew led three fourth quarter scoring drives as the Raiders rallied for a stunning upset win in Baltimore.
- Los Angeles Chargers 26, Carolina Panthers 3: The Panthers now have lost their first two games by a combined score of 73-13. Ouch! 😱
- New Orleans Saints 44, Dallas Cowboys 19: The Cowboys' 16-game regular-season home winning streak – the longest such streak in the NFL until Sunday – came to a crushing end.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Detroit Lions 16: Tampa Bay got some measure of revenge for last season's divisional playoff elimination in Detroit.
- Green Bay Packers 16, Indianapolis Colts 10: It was a game not seen in the NFL since the days of Tim Tebow, as Green Bay relied heavily on its running game to avoid an 0-2 start.
- Cleveland Browns 18, Jacksonville Jaguars 13: The Browns held on to prevail in Jacksonville, thanks to the team's defense.
- Minnesota Vikings 23, San Francisco 49ers 17: Sam Darnold threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, including a 97-yarder to Justin Jefferson, who left the game with a quad injury.
- Seattle Seahawks 23, New England Patriots 20 (OT): Seahawks QB Geno Smith led an eight-play, 71-yard drive to set up Jason Myers' game-winning field goal in overtime as Seattle improved to 2-0.
- New York Jets 24, Tennessee Titans 17: The Jets earned their first victory with Aaron Rodgers under center (for a whole game).
- Washington Commanders 21, New York Giants 18: Rookie QB Jayden Daniels got his first NFL win, even if the Commanders failed to score a single touchdown. Austin Seibert – the Commanders' fifth kicker since June – made all seven field goal attempts.
- Buffalo Bills 31, Miami Dolphins 10 (Thursday): While the Bills continued their dominance over the Dolphins, concerns over Tua Tagovailoa's long-term health was the major talking point in the aftermath of this game.
Coming this week
➤ Monday: Week 2 wraps up with the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Atlanta Falcons on "Monday Night Football" (8:15 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN; ESPN2 for the ManningCast). Get mentally prepared to see a lot of the Falcons on national TV ... they play on "Sunday Night Football" next week.
➤ Tuesday: Paste BN Sports offers its power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 2.
➤ Thursday: Week 3 kicks off with an AFC East matchup with the New York Jets hosting the New England Patriots on "Thursday Night Football" (8:20 p.m. ET, Prime Video). Before the game, make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 3 game.
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