NFL Game Recaps: Week 2, 2022

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Chiefs 27, Chargers 24

Death, texas, and the Chargers shooting themselves in the foot in big games. These are the certainties in life, and we saw more evidence of the latter in this game. The Chargers had the upper hand on Kansas City for most of the evening, but they found a way to lose yet again.

The Chargers had a lead entering the third quarter, and they had a chance to seal the victory with an interception that was overturned by replay review. They had a shot at another pick in the end zone, but Asante Samuel Jr. dropped the ball. The Chiefs, taking advantage of these blunders, crawled back to a 17-17 tie, but the Chargers were seemingly going to take the lead when Justin Herbert hit Gerald Everett with a deep pass down to the Kansas City 1-yard line. An exhausted Everett asked out of the game, but the Chargers, running an up-tempo offense, didn’t make any substitutions. Herbert threw the ball again to Everett for some reason, and the gassed tight end couldn’t get to the right spot. The result was Chiefs rookie Jaylen Watson snatching the interception and taking the turnover 99 yards the other way. The Chargers, who should have been up 20-17 or 24-17, were suddenly trailing 24-17.

Making matters worse, the Chargers had suffered some major injuries in the second half that made it difficult for them to sustain drives. All-Pro center Corey Linsley hurt his knee, and that was followed by another starting lineman, Trey Pipkins, getting knocked out of the game. The real killer was when Herbert took a shot to his ribs. He was down on the field for minutes. He missed only one snap, but he was in severe pain. On a third-and-1, Herbert had an easy scramble available for the first down, but just tossed the ball away because he couldn’t move. With the Chargers committing mistakes and suffering injuries, the Chiefs were able to walk away with the victory.

Herbert finished 33-of-48 for 334 yards, three touchdowns and the aforementioned interception. Herbert was fantastic in the opening half, but the incompletions in the second half were double than the number he threw in the first. To his credit, Herbert was able to remain on the field while in pain and convert a pair of fourth-down conversions to achieve what seemed to be an unlikely back-door cover.

Herbert’s favorite target was Mike Williams, who snatched eight of the 10 balls thrown his way for 113 yards and a touchdown, which was a one-handed grab. Williams did nothing in the opening week, but was able to bounce back with a terrific effort. Everett (6-71) was next on the receiving list, followed by D’Andre Carter (3-55), who started in favor of the injured Keenan Allen.

Austin Ekeler was also a big factor as a receiver, reeling in nine of his 10 targets for 55 receiving yards. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Ekeler found nothing on the ground; he was limited to 39 yards on 14 carries. Joshua Kelley (4-22) and Sony Michel (4-13) were mixed in a bit too much for my liking.

As for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes dealt with tons of pressure in the pocket from Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, which would explain why he scored just 20 points in this game. Mahomes went 24-of-35 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. As mentioned earlier, Mahomes was very fortunate that he wasn’t intercepted twice.

With Mahomes struggling in the pocket, he couldn’t get the ball very frequently to his favorite targets. Travis Kelce led the team in receiving with five catches for 51 yards. Both Marquez Valdes-Scantling (2-13) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (3-10) were huge disappointments.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a factor as a receiver, catching all four of his targets for 44 receiving yards. He rushed for 74 yards on eight carries as well, though most of that came on a 52-yard bust when the Chiefs were running out the clock.

Dolphins 42, Ravens 38

It didn’t seem like it would matter, but there was what seemed to be a key 14-point swing in the first half that favored the Dolphins. Baltimore appeared to score on a third-and-goal, but replay review overturned the touchdown. The Ravens then fumbled the fourth-down try, allowing Miami to take over deep in Baltimore territory. Despite the poor field position, the Dolphins scored a touchdown on the drive, thanks to a 59-yard pass to Jaylen Waddle. This set up a score to Waddle. It appeared as though the Ravens would go up 14-0, but Miami tied the game at seven instead.

And then, the Ravens scored the next 21 points to go into intermission up 28-7. The Dolphins had absolutely no answer for Lamar Jackson, either as a runner or a passer. Jackson misfired just twice on his 13 first-half throws, and he also scrambled for 39 rushing yards, which was more than 20 yards more than the next-leading rusher in the entire game at the time. Meanwhile, it didn’t get any better for the Dolphins offensively, as Tagovailoa, at the time, struggled to do anything outside of the Waddle-led scoring drive. The Ravens put tons of pressure on him, forcing the third-year quarterback into multiple first-half interceptions.

The Ravens eventually led 35-14 in the fourth quarter, but the previous 14-point swing came back to haunt them. That’s because Tagovailoa went absolutely berserk in the second half. Tagovailoa led a violent charge, erasing a pair of 21-point deficits to eventually tie the game. He did this with some initial methodical drives, but his two scores leading up to the tie featured a pair of deep bombs to Tyreek Hill. The speedy receiver beat Marcus Peters on the first touchdown. Tagovailoa underthrew him, but it didn’t matter because Hill had beaten Peters so badly, and Peters didn’t get any safety help from Kyle Hamilton. Tagovailoa then tied the game on a 60-yard deep shot to Hill, who took advantage of a blown coverage and was wide open as a result.

Jackson engineered a field goal drive, but Tagovailoa continued to torch the Ravens. Tagovailoa went back to Waddle for the decisive score, taking the lead for the first time all afternoon. That was good enough for the win, as a Jackson Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete on the final snap of the game.

Tagovailoa went 36-of-50 for 469 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. This was the breakout performance Miami fans had been waiting for since its front office spent the fifth-overall pick on the Alabama product in the 2020 NFL Draft. Whether or not this is sustainable remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that Tagovailoa is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast that gives his team immense upside.

Speaking of that terrific supporting cast, Hill reeled in 11 of his 13 targets for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Waddle had a similar stat line, though he saw 19 targets. He caught 11 passes as well for 171 yards and a pair of scores. Mike Gesicki (4-41) also found the end zone.

One Miami skill player who disappointed was Chase Edmonds, who caught only one pass and rushed for just five yards on four carries. Raheem Mostert was better on the ground (11-51) and he also caught three passes for 28 receiving yards.

Going back to the Ravens, Jackson finished 21-of-29 for 318 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t commit a turnover, though he had a potential pick-six that was dropped in the third quarter. Jackson also doubled up everyone in rushing, scrambling nine times for 119 yards and a touchdown. However, Jackson really needed to get to 120 yards because he was stuffed on a crucial fourth-and-1 scramble in the final quarter.

Jackson’s three touchdowns went to different players: Rashod Bateman (4-108), Mark Andrews (9-104) and Demarcus Robinson (1-12). Bateman showed incredible speed during his score. Rookie tight end Isaiah Likely was also involved, as he caught four passes for 43 yards. He also drew an interference flag.

As great as Jackson was as a rusher, the Ravens must find a running game to avoid blowing other big leads in the future. Perhaps this will happen when J.K. Dobbins returns from injury. Baltimore got nothing out of Kenyan Drake, who was restricted to just eight yards on six carries.

Giants 19, Panthers 16

The Panthers trailed or were tied after every quarter of this game, but it appeared as though Carolina was going to establish control in the third quarter. This is because the Giants scored their initial six points off sloppy Carolina mistakes. The Panthers fumbled the opening kickoff and then lost another fumble near midfield. New York could only capitalize with a pair of field goals, so it seemed as though the Panthers would eventually take a decent lead in this game, especially when they crawled back to a 6-6 tie at halftime. At that stage of the contest, the Panthers were averaging 1.8 more yards per play, as Saquon Barkley had negative rushing yardage. The Giants converted just one of their initial eight third-down attempts.

The Panthers did, in fact, establish a 13-6 lead. Barkley, however, put the team on his back in the fourth quarter. He helped the Giants engineer two scoring drives in the final frame, with both ending in field goals, including a 56-yarder by Graham Gano. The Panthers failed on the ensuing drive, as they were forced into a punt. Rather than Barkley doing the running, it was Daniel Jones’ scramble that sealed the victory for the 2-0 Giants.

Barkley, as mentioned, was in the negatives at halftime but a solid second half gave him a respectable stat line of 68 yards on 20 carries. He also caught three passes for 16 receiving yards. He appeared to get banged up at one point, but missed only one play. He returned on the next drive and plowed through Carolina’s defense with some fierce runs to set up the game-winning field goal.

Jones had the winning rush for the Giants, but he had an underwhelming performance. He went 22-of-34, but for only 176 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw an interception, but easily could have when he fired a pass right to a Carolina linebacker that was dropped. Jones continued to be horrendous in the red zone, and he missed a wide-open Sterling Shepard for a potential touchdown.

Jones targeted Shepard more than anyone else, as Shepard hauled in five of the nine balls headed his way for only 29 yards. Richie James also caught five passes for 51 yards. Kenny Golladay (0 catches) barely played, while Kadarius Toney reeled in two passes for no yards. Toney had a 47-yard reception negated by a penalty.

As bad as Jones was a passer, Baker Mayfield was arguably worse, especially in the fourth quarter. He had a lower passing total than his counterpart (145) yards, and he didn’t even complete half of his passes (14-of-29). He threw some nice passes to D.J. Moore, including a touchdown, but he was a huge disappointment overall. he was lucky he didn’t throw an interception when a New York defender dropped one of his passes. He also overthrew an open Shi Smith on third down. It’s worth noting that Mayfield didn’t have good pass protection, despite the Giants missing their top two edge rushers.

Christian McCaffrey should have been a much greater factor in the passing game. He rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries, thanks to a 49-yard burst, but he hauled in only four passes for 26 receiving yards. Two of those catches occurred on the final offensive drive. Someone like him should be seeing about eight targets each week.

McCaffrey finished third in receiving on the Panthers, trailing only Moore (3-43-1) and Robbie Anderson (3-32), who was guilty of a lost fumble near midfield while trying to foolishly make something happen on a third-and-22. Moore, conversely, made a spectacular back-shoulder catch prior to reeling in his touchdown.

Patriots 17, Steelers 14

With both teams engaged in a low-scoring grinder, it was apparent that the winner would be decided by a huge defensive or special teams play. This occurred in the third quarter when the Steelers had a chance to secure a Mac Jones interception on a horribly thrown pass, but failed to do so because of a drop. The Patriots lined up to give the ball away, but received an unexpected possession on a short field when Gunner Olsewski muffed the punt. Damien Harris turned the opportunity into a touchdown. This put the Patriots up 17-6, essentially icing the victory because Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to muster anything outside of a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

The Patriots prevailed despite multiple mistakes from Jones. He didn’t pay for the aforementioned near-pick, but he was intercepted on another occasion when he fired the ball into double coverage. That said, Jones, who went 21-of-35 for 252 yards, one touchdown and the pick, made a number of spectacular throws, particularly when targeting Jakobi Meyers, showing off his terrific accuracy. Jones had some bad misfires, but that may have been the result of his back spasms. It was a truly mixed game, as Jones looked great at times and dreadful on some of his passes.

Yet, that was better than Mitchell Trubisky, who also was responsible for a pick when he didn’t see the linebacker. Trubisky failed to reach 200 yards despite being in a negative game script, which is difficult to do. He was 20-of-31 for 165 yards, one touchdown and the interception. The Steelers should consider switching to Kenny Pickett after the mini-bye following the upcoming Thursday night affair.

There weren’t many big offensive plays in this game, though one exception was Nelson Agholor’s amazing touchdown, a 44-yarder that he secured by snatching the ball over Ahkello Witherspoon. Thanks to that play, Agholor led everyone in receiving, as he caught all six of his passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Remarkably, only two Patriots were able to accumulate more than 16 receiving yards. The other wideout was Meyers, who reeled in nine of his 13 targets for 95 yards. Jones and Meyers have a special connection, so it’s no surprise that Jones was at his best when targeting him. Conversely, DeVante Parker, who didn’t catch a single pass, has been a big disappointment.

The dark cloud over this victory for the Patriots is that Harris, who rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, suffered an injury at the end of the game. Rhamondre Stevenson (8-39) may have a big workload next week. Stevenson dropped a pass, but had some powerful runs to help run out the clock at the end of the game, dragging defenders on key rushes of six and eight yards.

Pittsburgh didn’t get much out of its rushing attack. Najee Harris didn’t find any running room, as he was limited to 49 yards on 15 carries. He was able to help his PPR owners with five catches for 40 receiving yards.

There was one Steeler who had more receiving yards than Harris, and that predictably was Diontae Johnson, who snatched six of his 10 targets for 57 yards. Chase Claypool (4-26) saw no carries this week, while George Pickens had only one catch for 23 yards. Pat Freiermuth (4-22) hauled in Trubisky’s lone touchdown, but dropped a pass early in the afternoon.

Jets 31, Browns 30

Nick Chubb once angered fantasy owners when he eschewed a touchdown and ran out of bounds because doing so ended the game with his team being victorious. Chubb did the right thing then, but apparently had second thoughts about his action because he did the opposite in this game. Up seven, Chubb could’ve taken a dive prior to crossing the goal line with 1:55 remaining in regulation. Instead, he went into the end zone to give the Browns a 30-17 lead after a missed extra point.

The Browns didn’t seem to be in any danger, however, at least until they allowed Joe Flacco to heave a deep pass to Corey Davis. The veteran caught the 66-yard pass, and following the two-point conversion, it seemed as though the Jets were able to come away with a back-door cover.

The Jets, however, had greater plans in mind, and those had a chance to come to fruition when New York recovered the ensuing onside kick. A stunned Browns crowd was even more shocked when Flacco fired a slant touchdown to Garrett Wilson. New York suddenly had the lead, 31-30. The Browns had one more chance, but a Jacoby Brissett pass was intercepted, giving the Jets an improbable victory, all because Chubb scored an unnecessary touchdown.

Flacco finished with an amazing stat line despite failing to reach 100 yards by halftime. He ended up 26-of-44 for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Flacco looked dreadful in Week 1 and was error-prone once again in the opening half when he lost a fumble on a Jadeveon Clowney strip-sack. Flacco also missed a potential score on a pass to Wilson, but he was terrific in the second half.

Speaking of Wilson, the dynamic rookie had his breakout performance, hauling in eight of his 14 targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson got hurt in the third quarter, but didn’t miss much action. Davis (2-83) also scored on the aforementioned 66-yard bomb. Elijah Moore was third on the receiving list with three grabs for 41 yards.

The Jets’ other offensive rookie, Breece Hall, caught Flacco’s fourth touchdown. Hall and Michael Carter both had seven carries, but Hall was the better runner, outgaining Carter, 50-23. Hall had a great run when he bounced outside on a third-and-1 play to move the ball to the Cleveland 6-yard line to set up one of Wilson’s touchdowns.

The best runner in this game, despite his huge blunder, was Chubb, who found the end zone on three occasions. Chubb rumbled for 87 yards and the trio of scores on 17 carries. He failed to break the century mark, but would’ve done so had a 33-yard run of his not been negated by a hold. He caught three passes for 26 receiving yards as well. Kareem Hunt (13-58) also outgained everyone on the Jets.

Brissett took advantage of Chubb and Hunt with an efficient passing day, at least until the final drive. He misfired on just five occasions, going 22-of-27 for 229 yards, one touchdown and the game-sealing interception. Brissett led the Browns to 30 points, so he cannot be blamed for this loss.

Brissett had a great rapport with Donovan Peoples-Jones last week, but he had more success throwing to Amari Cooper in this game. Cooper hauled in all nine of his targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. Peoples-Jones, remarkably, didn’t catch a single pass. He appeared to catch a touchdown early in the game, but replay review had him barely out of bounds.

Buccaneers 20, Saints 10

Tom Brady had never beaten the Saints in the regular season as quarterback of the Buccaneers heading into this game, and it appeared as though he would lose once again when he carried a 3-0 deficit into halftime. New Orleans’ relentless defense wouldn’t give Brady anything, while Tampa Bay had some misfortune on multiple occasions. The Buccaneers botched a snap near the red zone on the opening drive, and Leonard Fournette was later stuffed on fourth down in the red zone.

It was a 3-3 battle entering the fourth quarter, but the game completely changed when a huge fight began on the field. It began when Marshon Lattimore taunted Brady, causing Fournette to push him aside. Lattimoe threw a punch at Fournette, prompting Mike Evans to blast Lattimore. Evans and Lattimore were eventually ejected, a trade that favored Tampa Bay because the Saints no longer had a player who erased one side of the field. Brady certainly took advantage of this with a couple of deep passes to open up a 20-3 lead with the help of a defensive pick-six.

The Saints tried to mount a comeback, and they scored once, but Jameis Winston did not look like himself. Hindered by his back injury, Winston looked uncomfortable on many of his throws. He fired some ugly interceptions, including one where it didn’t appear as though he couldn’t get enough on the throw. Winston heaved three picks, with one taken back for a touchdown, and also lost a fumble on a strip-sack where he could have ran for a first down. If Winston, who went 25-of-40 for 236 yards, one touchdown and the four turnovers, continues to have back issues, the Saints must consider switching quarterbacks.

It didn’t help Winston’s cause that he was missing Alvin Kamara in this game. Mark Ingram rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries, but didn’t provide any juice as a receiver. He also lost a fumble.

Winston’s top target was Chris Olave, who saw 13 balls go his way. The rookie caught five of them for 82 yards, though he lost a fumble after catching a deep pass. Michael Thomas was next on the stat sheet with six grabs for 65 yards and a touchdown. Jarvis Landry, the hero from Week 1, hauled in four balls for only 25 yards.

As for the Buccaneers, Brady had a rough afternoon, but came through with the victory. He barely completed half of his passes, going 18-of-34 for 190 yards and a touchdown.

Despite leaving the game early, Evans led the Buccaneers in receiving with three grabs for 61 yards. Breshad Perriman (3-45) saw more action than anticipated because of the injuries Tampa Bay had to its receiving corps. He caught a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Fournette didn’t have any running room to speak of, thanks to all the injuries the Buccaneers had on their offensive line. He mustered only 65 yards on 24 carries.

Jaguars 24, Colts 0

Jacksonville has owned the Colts in recent years, and that continued once again in this game. The Jaguars dominated this contest from start to finish on both sides of the ball.

It was clear that things weren’t going to be in Indianapolis’ favor right away when Matt Ryan threw an interception on the opening drive, floating an ugly pass off his back foot. Ryan was very fortunate not to turn the ball over a second time in the first half, as he lost a fumble on a strip-sack, but was very lucky that Nyheim Hines pounced on the loose football.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, were very efficient offensively. They outgained Indianapolis in the opening half, 197-65, averaging 2.5 more yards per play than their counterpart. Trevor Lawrence misfired just three times on his 20 throws prior to intermission. One of his best plays was when he showed nice mobility in the pocket to find Christian Kirk for a 26-yard gain. This set up a James Robinson touchdown to put the Jaguars up 14-0.

Lawrence ended up finishing 25-of-30 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He was flawless except for one play in this game when he was fortunate to have a potential interception dropped in the third quarter. Still, Lawrence looked like he took a huge step from his underwhelming rookie campaign.

Lawrence continued to show a great rapport with Kirk. He threw to Kirk six times, and all six passes were complete for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Engram also hauled in six balls for 43 yards.

Robinson continued to dominate the workload for Jacksonville. He rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts, though it’s worth noting that he didn’t accomplish anything outside of his 37-yard score. Travis Etienne had issues finding running room as well, mustering only 20 yards on nine carries. He was a bigger factor in the passing game, catching three passes for 33 receiving yards.

Robinson ended up being the leading rusher in this game, as Jonathan Taylor carried the ball only nine times for some reason. He gained 54 yards in the process, so it’s not like he was completely stymied. Frank Reich needs to explain why Taylor didn’t see much of a workload.

Taylor needed to carry the Colts on his back because Ryan was dreadful. Looking every bit his age, Ryan ended up 16-of-29 for 195 yards and two interceptions. As mentioned, Ryan is lucky he didn’t commit a third turnover on a fumble.

To be fair to Ryan, he didn’t have his top two receivers at his disposal in this game. This is why Ashton Dulin led the Colts in receiving with five grabs for 79 yards. He was the only Colt with more than 37 receiving yards. It’s unclear why Parris Campbell saw only two targets, but then again, he was flagged for offensive pass interference and was thrown to when Ryan was picked the third time.

Lions 36, Redskins 27
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve never been happier to lose a game. I switched to the Redskins, but was thrilled to see the Lions prevail because of all my preseason predictions.

The Lions dominated the first half, building an insurmountable lead as they moved the ball at will on the Commanders defense while rookie Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions defense overwhelmed Carson Wentz. In the second half, Washington made a game of it, but Jared Goff was clutch to ice the win for Detroit. Goff looks different this year. He is playing tough and not getting rattled by pressure. To make the Lions’ win even more impressive, they were without their two starting guards, center, and cornerback Amani Oruwariye.

After trading punts, the Lions got moving with a catch-and-run from Amon-Ra St. Brown for 49 yards that turned into an Austin Seibert field goal. The next Detroit possession saw D’Andre Swift take off on a run of 50 yards to inside the Washington 10-yard line, but the Lions went for it on fourth-and-goal and threw incomplete and squandered Swift’s run. Two plays later, however, Charles Harris strip-sacked Wentz in the end zone and the ball rolled out of bounds for a safety. Kaliff Raymond then returned the free kick 59 yards to set up Goff at the 31. A few plays later, Goff made a phenomenal play while getting crunched by two defenders and lofting in a 13-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown. That left the Lions up 12-0.

Early in the second quarter, the Washington offensive line was getting dominated as Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks, and the Detroit offensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage, letting the Lions move the ball at will down the field. Goff hit Josh Reynolds for a short touchdown to go up 22-0 by intermisson. The Commanders didn’t even get a first down until there were about six minutes remaining in the first half.

To open the third quarter, Wentz found Jahan Dotson (4-59-1) for a leaping grab of 40 yards. A few plays later, Wentz lofted in a touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. The Commanders got a three-and-out and started driving, but a Wentz overthrow was deflected and picked off by Will Harris. After a punt, Wentz hit chunk completions to Terry McLaurin (4-75 receiving, 1-7 rushing) and Samuel before a 20-yard touchdown strike to Logan Thomas (3-37-1). Washington got a two-point conversion with a completion to Dotson to make it 22-15 Detroit midway through the second half.

The Lions responded with a fly sweep to St. Brown, who took off on a 58-yard run. Swift then made a superb play, catching a tipped pass, falling down, and then getting up to slash across the field and into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown.

Washington responded with McLaurin moving the chains on a fourth-down run and a third-down conversion of 17 yards. After a few more completions, Antonio Gibson dove into the end zone from a yard out, but Ron Rivera made a strange decision to go for two, and Wentz was picked off by Bobby Price on the attempt. Instead of being down by seven, the Lions held a 29-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Goff responded by throwing some lasers to T.J. Hockenson (3-26) and Brock Wright. To finish the drive, Goff hit St. Brown for a 12-yard scoring strike to make it 36-21. Just after the 2-minute warning, Jahan Dotson made a leaping grab for a touchdown, and Washington missed on the extra point. The Lions recovered the ensuing onside kick to essentially clinch the win.

Goff completed 20-of-34 passes for 256 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Swift was limited by an ankle injury, but he still racked up 56 yards on five carries and took two receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown.

St. Brown was phenomenal for the Lions, catching nine passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns while also running twice for 68 yards.

Wentz completed 30-of-46 passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He was fortunate that a couple of would-be interceptions were dropped.

Gibson ran for 28 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Samuel led Washington with seven receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Rams 31, Falcons 27
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have our first bad beat of the year! The Rams were up 28-3, but blew the cover because of some garbage touchdowns and a blocked punt returned for a score.

The Rams had a long layoff after their embarrassing season opener, and they almost choked away this game for an uglier Week 2. Los Angeles was up 28-3 before almost blowing the lead, but Marcus Mariota threw a terrible interception in the Rams end zone to ensure Los Angeles did not have the dreaded 0-2 start.

On the first drive of the game, Mariota used his legs to go along with passes to Kyle Pitts and Drake London to move the chains. However, a Bobby Wagner sack killed the drive and Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal. The Rams moved the ball with ease down the field on their first possession, hitting a chunk completion to Allen Robinson (4-53-1) and a good gain on a screen to Tyler Higbee (7-71). To cap the drive, Matthew Stafford lofted in a touchdown to Robinson.

Los Angeles stopped a fourth-and-2 run for no gain at midfield to re-gain possession. Stafford kept ripping the ball, utilizing Higbee and Cam Akers. To cap the drive, Darrell Henderson ran the ball in from a few yards out. Mariota got Atlanta moving with a completion to KhaDarel Hodge for 39 yards. However on third-and-goal, Mariota failed to see a wide-open Kyle Pitts (2-19) and Bryan Edwards in the end zone, firing incomplete, so Atlanta settled for a short field goal. Just before halftime, Stafford ripped the ball down the field via Cooper Kupp, but Casey Hayward picked off Stafford in the end zone to save the Falcons from giving up more points before the half.

However, Cordarrelle Patterson juggled a reception, and Nakobe Durant intercepted the deflection for the Rams and raced down the sideline before getting tackled inside the 10. Stafford made Atlanta pay with a fade pass touchdown to Kupp to give Los Angeles a 21-3 lead.

To open the third quarter, Stafford ripped the ball down field and finished the drive with a short touchdown toss to Kupp. Stafford got the ball back, but misread coverage to throw an interception to Michael Walker, which set up the Falcons at the Los Angeles 20. A few plays later, Mariota hit a short slant to Drake London for the latter’s first NFL touchdown. The Rams responded with a field goal drive to go up 31-10 early in the fourth quarter.

While the Rams played prevent, Mariota moved the ball down the field and connected with Olamide Zaccheus for a short touchdown. Atlanta made it a game when Troy Anderson blocked a punt that Lorenzo Carter scooped up and returned 26 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons then hit London for the two-point conversion to make it 31-25.

On the next third down. Kupp got open for a completion to midfield. but Darren Hall forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball for the Falcons to set up their offense at the Rams 37 with just under four minutes left. However at the 20-yard line on third-and-13, Mariota threw a terrible pass into a crowd and Jalen Ramsey came down with it for a game-clinching interception. The Rams had to punt with 11 seconds left, and they took a safety while burning a few ticks off the clock. Los Angeles got a sack on the Hail Mary attempt to close out the win.

Stafford was 27-of-36 for 272 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Henderson (10-47-1) and Cam Akers (15-44 rushing, 2-18 receiving) split the work load in the Los Angeles backfield.

Kupp caught 11 passes for 108 yards, two touchdowns and a fumble.

Mariota completed 17-of-26 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His late fourth-quarter interception was a horrible play, and if he is going to throw a ball up for grabs, it should at least be to Kyle Pitts or Drake London rather than Bryan Edwards.

Patterson ran for 41 yards on 10 carries.

London played really well for Atlanta, catching eight passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

49ers 27, Seahawks 7

San Francisco’s front office has to be thrilled right now that no team offered anything for Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason. Because of the inability to complete a trade, Garoppolo returned to the team for one more year. He wasn’t expected to play because San Francisco had used the third-overall pick on Trey Lance, but everything changed in the first quarter of this game when Lance was carted off the field with a fractured ankle.

Garoppolo stepped in and was able to lead the 49ers to victory with some quality game management. Garoppolo didn’t post great stats, going 13-of-21 for 154 yards and a touchdown. However, he didn’t make any mistakes either. Garoppolo has proven that he can take a team with a great supporting cast deep into the playoffs, so San Francisco will be counting on him moving forward, as Lance has been ruled out for the season.

The 49ers were able to run effectively against the Seahawks, despite the absence of the injured Elijah Mitchell. Jeff Wilson Jr. turned out to be the primary ball-carrier, with his 18 carries going for 84 yards. Rookie Tyrion Davis-Price also saw a healthy workload, though his 14 carries went only for 33 yards.

Of course, Deebo Samuel saw some work as a rusher, gaining 53 yards on four carries. He was also second on the team in receiving with five catches for 44 yards, trailing only Brandon Aiyuk (5-63). George Kittle’s replacement, Ross Dwelley, caught a 38-yard touchdown.

Moving on to the Seahawks, Geno Smith was not nearly as efficient as he was in the season opener versus the Broncos. He misfired on just six occasions, going 24-of-30 for 197 yards. However, he threw an interception when he was under heavy pressure and couldn’t step into his throw. He was seemingly picked a second time, but the turnover was wiped out by a ticky-tack penalty. Hilariously enough, the Seahawks ended up with an interception later on that drive on a DeeJay Dallas pass on a woeful trick play.

Speaking of Seattle plays negated by penalty, a D.K. Metcalf 43-yard reception was wiped out by an ineligible player downfield. This is part of the reason Metcalf was restricted to just four catches for 35 yards. He trailed only Tyler Lockett (8-98) on the stat sheet.

Seattle got nothing out of its running game, with Rashaad Penny being limited to only 15 yards on five carries. Kenneth Walker made his debut, but mustered just 10 yards on four attempts.

With all of this offensive ineptitude, you might be wondering how the Seahawks scored a touchdown. They did so via a blocked 20-yard field goal. Seattle, otherwise, did nothing, accumulating only 216 net yards of offense and 14 first downs.

Cowboys 20, Bengals 17

No one gave the Cowboys a chance. They were touchdown underdogs at home after losing Dak Prescott to a broken hand. Starting Cooper Rush, Dallas appeared sure to lose to the defending AFC champion Bengals.

Dallas’ pass rush had other plans. The Cowboys, who played much harder than the Bengals, swarmed Joe Burrow in the pocket. They sacked Burrow four times in the opening half alone and six times overall. They led 17-3 at halftime, as Burrow looked completely helpless.

Burrow, however, finally got something going in the second half. He engineered three scoring drives, with the third being a possession lasting nearly nine minutes, culminating with a Tee Higgins touchdown. With the ensuing two-point conversion, Cincinnati completed the comeback, tying the game at 17. It seemed as though the Cowboys were going to fold.

Rush, however, prevented that from happening. After Trevon Diggs came up with a big tackle on Tyler Boyd during a third-and-3 play, Rush completed three passes on the final drive to move the team into field goal range, though one of the passes was very fortunate because a tipped Logan Wilson ball drifted into the arms of a Dallas receiver. Brett Maher converted on a 50-yard try, giving Dallas the huge upset victory.

Rush out-dueled Burrow on the scoreboard and the stat sheet. Whereas Burrow went 24-of-36 for 199 yards and a touchdown, Rush was 19-of-31 for 235 yards and a score. Somehow, Rush was given way more protection in the pocket than Burrow despite all of the issues Dallas had on its offensive line entering the game. Burrow, conversely, was given no chance against the Micah Parsons-led pass rush.

It’s no surprise that Rush threw to CeeDee Lamb more than any other player, with Lamb catching seven of his 11 targets for 75 yards. What is shocking is that Noah Brown led Dallas in receiving. Brown snatched all five of his targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. Dalton Schultz (2-18) struggled, especially when he lost a fumble in field goal range in the second half. Making matters worse for him, Schultz left the game with a knee injury.

Tony Pollard had a big game in all facets. He trailed Ezekiel Elliott in rushing, 53-43, but he scored on the ground. He also caught four passes for 55 receiving yards. Elliott dropped a pass.

Joe Mixon was the leading rusher in this game, barely edging out Elliott. He gained 57 yards on 19 carries, and he chipped in with three catches for 26 receiving yards. He appeared to suffer an injury in the second half, but was able to return to action.

Higgins was Cincinnati’s leading receiver, catching six of his 10 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase was limited to five grabs for 54 yards.

Broncos 16, Texans 9

Nathaniel Hackett’s disastrous coaching tenure continued in his second game. Hackett had a horrendous debut, and he continued to struggle in this game with poor play-calling and indecision. There were two occasions in which Hackett waited too long to decide what to do on fourth down. One such instance cost his team three points, as a delay-of-game penalty took Denver out of field goal range.

Making matters worse for the Broncos, they suffered some key losses, as a pair of former first-round picks, Jerry Jeudy and Patrick Surtain Jr., both left the game very early with injuries. Denver ultimately prevailed, but it came down to the very end against the dreadful and exhausted Texans when the disparity of talent between these teams projected a huge Broncos victory.

Russell Wilson was hurt by Hackett’s poor coaching, and it didn’t help that some members of his supporting cast made major blunders. For example, Albert Okwuegbunam dropped an easy catch on an early third down. This was the first of five drops Wilson would endure throughout the afternoon. Wilson missed out on a second touchdown when Courtland Sutton failed to get two feet inbounds, albeit via a nice adjustment on an apparent reception in the end zone. This was the first of three times a Denver receiver couldn’t keep his feet inbounds upon making a Wilson reception. Sutton later gave Wilson his interception when he allowed linebacker Christian Kirksey to rip the ball away from him.

Wilson finished with an ugly stat line as a consequence. He was just 14-of-31 for 219 yards, one touchdown and the interception. Wilson should’ve had a much better game against a weak defense, yet the incompetence around him nearly led to another loss. Eight of his 17 incompletions should’ve been caught. Wilson wasn’t perfect – he missed an open Javonte Williams for a touchdown – but this failed cover was far from his fault.

Despite Sutton’s two mistakes, he ended up with a great stat line, catching seven of his 11 targets for 122 yards. Sutton, who drew a pair of pass interference flags on rookie cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., made a number of back-shoulder receptions with nice adjustments, but he’ll need to limit the errors moving forward, especially if Jeudy is out for some time. Speaking of Jeudy, his absence meant that no one other than Sutton logged more than 28 receiving yards.

Williams had more rushing attempts than Melvin Gordon, reversing what happened in Week 1. Williams’ 15 attempts went for 75 yards, while Gordon gained 47 yards on 10 tries. Gordon hurt his team with a pair of crucial penalties. Williams was much better, as he broke a number of tackles.

As for Houston’s rushing attack, Dameon Pierce had a nice performance with 69 yards on 15 carries. He was stuffed on some early third-and-short tries, but he did well otherwise with some tough runs. More importantly, Rex Burkhead didn’t get a single carry.

Davis Mills had a chance to lead a tying drive at the end, and it seemed like he would with two passes of 20-plus yards. However, Mills was ultimately strip-sacked and put into long-yardage situations. He completed just half of his throws, going 19-of-38 for 177 yards. He fumbled twice, but his teammates recovered on both occasions. Mills had a wide-open Cooks for a touchdown in the second half, but missed him. He was rather dreadful, as he led his team into the red zone only once all afternoon.

Cooks is often Houston’s most productive receiver, but he was second on the team with four catches for 54 yards. He trailed Nico Collins, who also made four grabs for 58 yards, but only because Mills missed him for a touchdown.

Cardinals 29, Raiders 23

The Cardinals looked like the worst team in the NFL for more than half of this game. They couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half, accumulating just 86 net yards. Meanwhile, their helpless defense was torched by Derek Carr; it allowed 253 net yards to the Raiders in the opening half alone. Following a field goal in the third quarter, the Raiders led 23-0. Arizona looked like it was destined to lose in an ugly blowout.

No one, however, should have counted out Kyler Murray, who engineered what would’ve been an unbelievable comeback if we hadn’t just seen Tua Tagovailoa do something similar earlier in the day. What Murray did was impressive, however. He used his legs to run around what seemed like 100 yards on a two-point conversion, then found the end zone for a touchdown scramble at the end of regulation after A.J. Green dropped a score three plays earlier. Following an inexplicable delay-of-game penalty on the two-point conversion attempt, Murray found Green in the end zone to tie the game at 23.

It seemed like Murray would continue to be unstoppable in overtime when he connected with Marquise Brown on an apparent fourth-down throw inside the 20. Brown, however, dropped the ball, allowing the Raiders to take over on their own 36-yard line. They moved into Arizona territory, but Hunter Renfrow fumbled the ball on an Isaiah Simmons hit. Byron Murphy scooped and scored, giving the Cardinals the improbable victory.

Murray finished 31-of-49 for 277 yards, one touchdown and an interception to go along with five scrambles for 28 rushing yards and a second score. The pick occurred in the first half when he underthrew a pass while under pressure. Murray, as mentioned, was a completely different player following intermission. He was 25-of-41 for 224 yards and two total touchdowns in the second half and overtime.

Murray completed the comeback without the services of James Conner (7-25), who exited in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Arizona’s offense looked better with the duo of Darrel Williams and Eno Benjamin. Both had eight carries each, with Williams outgaining Benjamin, 59-31, to go along with a touchdown. Benjamin caught three passes for 20 receiving yards.

Though Green caught the clutch two-point conversion, he hauled in only three passes for 16 yards. Murray’s primary weapons were Zach Ertz (8-75) and Brown (6-68). Greg Dortch (3-45) reeled in his only touchdown.

As for the Raiders, Carr went 25-of-39 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. His performance was the opposite of Murray’s, as all of his production came prior to intermission. Carr was just 7-of-15 for 42 yards in the second half and overtime.

Davante Adams was smothered by a healthier Arizona defense, as he secured only two of his seven targets for 12 yards and a touchdown. Darren Waller (6-50) also scored.

Elsewhere in the Raiders’ receiving corps, Mack Hollins led the group with 66 receiving yards on five grabs. Renfrow (7-59) also had a nice game, at least prior to overtime.

Josh Jacobs had a mediocre performance, mustering 69 yards on 19 carries. He saw an increased workload with Brandon Bolden sidelined.

Packers 27, Bears 10

The Vikings slaughtered the Packers in the season opener, but Green Bay didn’t stand much of a chance because of all of its injuries. There was reason to believe that things would be different this week because the Packers received some reinforcements, welcoming back two offensive linemen and top receiver Allen Lazard. The result was Green Bay redeeming itself with a blowout over another divisional rival.

The Packers utilized their running game extremely heavily, as Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combined for more carries than Aaron Rodgers passes. Outside of a lost fumble on a botched exchange, Dillon had a solid performance with 61 yards on 18 carries, but Jones was the focal point of the offense. Not only did Jones dash for 132 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries; he also caught three passes for 38 receiving yards and a second score. Additionally, Jones drew a defensive pass interference on a third down.

Rodgers, meanwhile, was extremely efficient, misfiring on just six occasions. He missed an easy throw to Dillon in the early stages of the game, but finished strong, going 19-of-25 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Having his offensive line nearly completely intact meant all the difference in the world.

Rodgers also liked having his No. 1 receiver back, as Allen Lazard caught a touchdown. However, Lazard made just two receptions for 13 yards. He saw Sammy Watkins (3-93), Randall Cobb (3-37) and Romeo Doubs (2-27) outgain him.

Much like the Packers, Chicago relied heavily on the run. It had great success handing the ball off to David Montgomery, who rumbled for 122 yards on just 15 attempts. Montgomery was amazing, especially on a 28-yard run on a second-and-20, featuring some amazing jump cuts. Montgomery’s terrific running made it very confusing as to why Chicago lined up in shotgun while down 24-10 on a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the final frame. Justin Fields tried to run into the end zone, but was ruled to be just shy of the goal line, although replay review showed that he probably crossed the plane.

Speaking of Fields, he wasn’t asked to do much behind his dreadful offensive line. He went 7-of-11 for 70 yards and an interception, which was thrown in desperation time. He did some damage on the ground, scrambling eight times for 20 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Thanks to Fields’ low passing volume, only one Bear registered more than 18 receiving yards. That was Equanimeous St. Brown, who caught two passes for 39 yards. Darnell Mooney hauled in one pass for minus-4 yards.

Bills 41, Titans 7

In my write-up of this game, I noted that I didn’t think the Titans should have been as concerned about Von Miller as the Rams were in the season opener because Taylor Lewan would do a much better job of protecting his quarterback’s blind side than Joseph Noteboom did in the blowout loss. Amazingly, Lewan suffered an injury on the very first offensive snap of this contest. Lewan’s absence made it extremely difficult for Tennessee to generate much offense, resulting in only seven points.

The Bills suffered some injuries as well, with center Mitch Morse and cornerback Dane Jackson getting hurt (Jackson’s injury was a shot to the head and very terrifying.) However, Lewan was key to this matchup, as his absence prevented the Titans from accomplishing anything offensively. By the time the score was 41-7, the Titans were being outgained, 356-132, and they were averaging 3.5 yards per play compared to 7.3 for Buffalo.

The Bills, meanwhile, cruised to an easy victory, except for one aspect. That would be their short-yardage struggles. On one sequence, Zack Moss was stuffed on a third-and-1, then Josh Allen was bottled up on fourth-and-1. On the next sequence, Allen skipped a ball to Jake Kumerow on third-and-1, and a false start prevented Buffalo from attempting a fourth-and-1. The third sequence finally was fruitful, as Allen found Stefon Diggs for a touchdown on fourth-and-1. This was the first of three touchdowns Diggs scored.

Allen was nearly flawless yet again, going 26-of-38 for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He missed a couple of throws, and a potential interception of his was dropped in the end zone, but he was unstoppable once he finally overcame his short-yardage demons. His stats would have been much better if he wasn’t pulled at the end of the third quarter.

As mentioned, Diggs caught three touchdowns. He did so via snatching 12 of his 14 targets for 148 yards, drawing an interference flag in the process. Kumerow was next on the receiving chart with two grabs for 50 yards, followed by Dawson Knox (4-41).

If there’s some criticism of Buffalo, aside from its short-yardage woes, it’s that the running game wasn’t very effective. Devin Singletary was restricted to just 19 yards on six carries. Moss (3-17) didn’t do much. James Cook led the team in rushing (11-53), but every single yard came after Allen was pulled.

Like Allen, Ryan Tannehill was pulled at the end of the third quarter. Tannehill had no chance behind his Lewan-less offensive line. He was 11-of-19 for 117 yards and an interception, which was taken back for six.

Lewan’s absence also affected Derrick Henry, who had no running room against a defensive line missing Ed Oliver and Tim Settle. Henry mustered only 25 yards on 13 carries, though he scored a touchdown to help his fantasy owners.

The lone bright spot for Tennessee was the play of Treylon Burks. The once-troubled rookie led his team with four catches for 47 yards, which isn’t a bad stat line considering the ugly nature of this game. Robert Woods (4-39) was the only other Tennessee receiver with more than 19 yards. This includes Kyle Philips, who disappointed after a nice debut. Philips caught one pass for five yards and muffed a punt.

Eagles 24, Vikings 7

The Eagles-Bills were the Super Bowl prediction on this Web site back in July. Buffalo seemed like an obvious choice, but Philadelphia wasn’t as popular. However, it was clear that the Eagles would be dominant in a weak NFC this year because of their stacked roster. They made a huge statement on a national stage against a Minnesota squad coming off a blowout victory over the Packers.

Philadelphia was terrific on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Jalen Hurts showed off his much-improved accuracy, as he misfired just five times the entire evening. He wasn’t just checking down to his running backs and tight ends; he delivered a high number of deep passes to his receivers. Defensively, the Eagles swarmed Kirk Cousins, snatching three interceptions from him, thanks to some great cornerback play and relentless blitzes. The only thing that went wrong for Philadelphia was that an attempted field goal was blocked. However, the Eagles picked off Cousins on the ensuing possession.

Hurts finished 26-of-31 for 333 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The pick wasn’t his fault, as his pass bounced off Kenneth Gainwell’s hands. Hurts was also lethal as a scrambler, running 11 times for 57 rushing yards and two more scores.

A.J. Brown was the top receiver last week, but he was tied for third in yardage Monday night. He caught five passes for 69 yards, trailing Dallas Goedert (5-82) and DeVonta Smith (7-80). Brown made a great play where he caught a pass, stopped dead in his tracks somehow, and then juked some defenders for a 23-yard gain. Elsewhere, Quez Watkins caught a 53-yard bomb to put the Eagles up 14-0.

Miles Sanders had a nice performance, gaining 80 yards on 17 carries. However, his fantasy owners had to be frustrated that Hurts scored the two rushing touchdowns.

Moving on to the Vikings’ dreadful stats, Cousins went 27-of-46 for only 221 yards, one touchdown and the three picks, two of which were made by Darius Slay. Cousins looked bewildered every time the Eagles blitzed, as his Monday Night Football ineptitude continued.

Cousins struggled to get the ball to Justin Jefferson, who was smothered by Slay all evening. Jefferson caught six of his 12 targets for only 48 yards. He fell shy of Adam Thielen (4-52), though Thielen did everything in garbage time. Irv Smith Jr. (5-36) caught Cousins’ lone touchdown, but he dropped a deep pass.

The Vikings couldn’t run because they were constantly in a deficit. In fact, Cousins led the team in rushing with two scrambles and 20 yards. Dalvin Cook was restricted to 17 yards on six attempts.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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