New York Jets 37 at Buffalo Bills 31
Offensively: This game became more of a shootout than I expected it to be. Both QBs played pretty well with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for 374 yards & 1 TD while Tyrod Taylor threw for 297 yards & 3 TDs. The Bills defense continually played man defense & Fitzpatrick was able to easily pick them apart. Matt Forte also looked great in this offense with 100 yards & 3 TDs.
Defensively: Both defenses failed to show up especially when it came to stopping the other’s aerial attack. The Bills had one turnover forced on the Jets in the 3rd quarter when Jalin Marshall fumbled the ball & Nickell Robey-Coleman of the Bills recovered & took it 36 yards for a touchdown. The Jets also had a turnover when Marcus Williams intercepted Tyrod Taylor on the first play of the 4th quarter.
Biggest Takeaway: The Bills fall to 0-2 already & they’re road doesn’t get any easier having to play the Cardinals & Patriots in the next 2 weeks. There’s also the fact that there’s a 12% chance according to ESPN stats & information to make the playoffs for teams that fall to 0-2 which does not bode well for Rex Ryan’s future. http://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/25938/odds-beginning-to-stack-against-stumbling-0-2-bills
Cincinnati Bengals 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Offensively: Both QBs played fairly well in this game with Andy Dalton throwing for 366 & 1 TD while Ben Roethlisberger threw for 259, 3 TDs & 2 INTs. The best receiving option at the end of this game was surprisingly neither A.J Green or Antonio Brown but rather Giovanni Bernard who finished with 9 catches, 100 yards & 1 TD. Green finished with 2 receptions for 38 yards while Brown had 4 catches for 39 yards.
Defensively: The Steelers defense did a great job stopping the Bengals run game limiting them to 46 yards on 18 carries. Both defenses in this game came up with 2 turnovers. The Steelers forced 2 fumbles that were recovered by Cameron Heyward & Robert Golden while the Bengals intercepted Roethlisberger twice. Adam Jones & Dre Kirkpatrick were the recipients of Big Ben’s interceptions.
Biggest Takeaway: The Steelers well balanced offense still looked great even without LeVeon Bell who will be back in week 4 against the Chiefs.
Tennessee Titans 16 at Detroit Lions 15
Offensively: This was another game that had pretty good QB play with Marcus Mariota throwing for 238 yards, 2 TDs & 1 INT while Matthew Stafford threw for 260 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT. Both teams ran for 100+ yards with DeMarco Murray leading all rushers with 89 yards on 12 carries.
Defensively: Both teams in this game had success rushing the passer combining for 7 sacks. The Titans had 4 sacks led by Brian Orakpo who had 2 sacks & the Lions had 3 sacks led by Devin Taylor who had 1.5 sacks. The Titans & Lions both had interceptions with Glover Quin getting one for Detroit & Perrishn Cox got one for Tennessee. Cox’s interception came at a very important time with 28 seconds left to play in the 4th quarter (probably upset about the shoulder he took from Stafford earlier in the game). http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000704334/Matthew-Stafford-plows-over-defender-on-the-run
Biggest Takeaway: The Lions looked like they had the game in the bag when they started the 4th quarter up 15-3 but Titans & Mariota made a great comeback to avoid going 0-2.
Baltimore Ravens 25 at Cleveland Browns 20
Offensively: This game started off fast for the Browns going up 20-2 in the 1st quarter with Josh McCown playing good who finished with 260, 2 TDs & 2 INTs. Joe Flacco also had an impressive performance in their 25 point comeback finishing with 302 yards, 2 TDs & 2 INTs. Isaiah Crowell had a career day with 133 yards & a touchdown. Corey Coleman looked pretty impressive especially early with 2 1st quarter touchdown catches.
Defensively: Both teams came away with 2 interceptions in this game. Both of the Browns INTs were made by Joe Haden while the Ravens’ INTs were made by Eric Weddle & C.J Mosley while Mosley’s interception helped seal the game with 20 seconds left to go in the game. The Ravens did a good job creating a pass rush by sacking Josh McCown 3 times.
Biggest Takeaway: The Cleveland Browns just find ways to lose even when they’re up 20-0. Josh McCown will be out for a certain period of time with a shoulder injury which makes rookie Cody Kessler the starter on Sunday vs. the Dolphins. That makes Kessler the 5th different QB for the Browns in their last 5 games (Johnny Manziel, Austin Davis, Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III, & Cody Kessler).
Dallas Cowboys 27 at Washington Redskins 23
Offensively: Dak Prescott looked poised & very impressive for a rookie yet again. Prescott finished with 292 yards on 22/30 passing while also running a TD in. Kirk Cousins doesn’t look like the same Cousins that was yelling “you like that” last year now he’s missing wide open guys & making mistakes at inopportune times like throwing an interception on 3rd & goal at the Dallas 6 yard line in the 4th quarter. Dez Bryant looked better this week finishing with 102 yards on 7 catches.
Defensively: Both teams finished the game with 1 turnover forced. The Redskins recovered 1 of the 2 fumbles Ezekiel Elliott had in this game while Barry Church intercepted a Cousins’ pass in the end zone to prevent the Redskins from making it a 26-20 game or even a 30-20 game.
Biggest Takeaway: Dak Prescott still hasn’t shown any signs of being a rookie & the offense hasn’t missed a beat without Romo. Redskins start 0-2 with both losses coming at home & Cousins looks awful in their first 2 games.
New Orleans Saints 13 at New York Giants 16
Offensively: This game was a defensive like “everyone” expected. Both QBs played well despite not putting up a lot of points like last year when the Saints won 52-49. Drew Brees had 263 yards & a TD while Eli Manning had 368 yards but no TDs. Sterling Shepard looked impressive again with 117 yards on 8 receptions.
Defensively: Both teams were able to keep each other out of the end zone for the most of the game. The first points came in the 2nd quarter when the Giants blocked a Will Lutz field goal & Janoris Jenkins took it 65 yards to the house. Both defenses shut down the opposite running game with the Saints finishing with 41 yards on 13 carries & the Giants finished with 64 yards on 32 carries.
Biggest Takeaway: The Giants defense looks much improved from last year. They have a legitimate pass rush now & have only allowed 1 passing touchdown in 2 games.
Miami Dolphins 24 at New England Patriots 31
Offensively: The QB play in this game was pretty good even though Patriots started the game up 24-3 at halftime. Ryan Tannehill completed the game with 389 yards, 2 TDs & 2 INTs while Jimmy Garoppolo had 234 yards & 3 TDs before getting hurt in the 2nd quarter. LeGarrette Blount had a great day running the ball finishing with 123 yards & 1 touchdown.
Defensively: The Patriots defense in this game forced 4 turnovers that helped them come out with a victory (2 INTs, 2 forced fumbles). The Patriots also did a good job stopping the run with the Dolphins rushing for only 70 yards with Tannehill leading them in yards with 35.
Biggest Takeaway: Jimmy Garoppolo looked great again but got injured in the 2nd quarter & as of now is doubtful to play on Thursday against the Texans. Rookie Jacoby Brissett is expected to make his first career start.
San Francisco 49ers 27 at Carolina Panthers 46
Offensively: This game was a higher scoring game than I expected more so for the 49ers. Cam Newton looked like his MVP self throwing for 353 yards & 4 TDs. Fozzy Whittaker did a good job replacing Jonathan Stewart after he went down with injury in the 1st quarter by rushing for 100 yards on 16 carries.
Defensively: The Panthers defense did a splendid job stopping the run by only allowing the 49ers to rush for 65 yards on 26 carries. The 49ers were down 31-10 going into the 4th quarter but were able to make it kind of interesting because of 3 forced fumbles that they recovered.
Biggest Takeaway: Although it was a weak 49ers pass rush the Panthers did a great job responding to their week 1 collapse against the Broncos on protecting Cam Newton by allowing no sacks on Newton against the 49ers.
Kansas City Chiefs 12 at Houston Texans 19
Offensively: There wasn’t great QB play in this game with Alex Smith & Brock Osweiler. Smith finished with only 186 yards & Osweiler had 268 yards, 1 touchdown, & 2 INTs. Chiefs did have some success running the ball totaling 119 yards on only 19 carries.
Defensively: The Texans defense looked great yet again totaling 4 sacks in this game & forcing 3 fumbles. The Texans have already gotten 9 sacks as a defense in 2 games. The Chiefs also intercepted Osweiler twice with both interceptions coming from Marcus Peters.
Biggest Takeaway: Brock Osweiler hasn’t looked great for the Texans but their defense looks legit just like last year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 at Arizona Cardinals 40
Offensively: Carson Palmer played a great game finishing with 308 yards & 3 TDs. On the other side Jameis Winston had one of those young QB games throwing for 243 yards, 1 TD & 4 INTs. The Bucs also lost Doug Martin to a hamstring injury & is expected to miss a few weeks.
Defensively: The Cardinals defense came out & showed why they’re considered one of the best. They intercepted Winston 4 times in this game with Marcus Cooper getting 2 of them & taking one for a touchdown.
Biggest Takeaway: Although it may have been against a young Bucs team the Cardinals squashed all the talk that they aren’t a contender with this game (for now).
Seattle Seahawks 3 at Los Angeles Rams 9
Offensively: There isn’t much to talk about offensively in this game besides the fact Russell Wilson was running for his life again behind this awful offensive line. Case Keenum didn’t play great but did play better than week 1 with 239 yards & no turnovers in week 2.
Defensively: Both defenses played amazing in this game. Neither defense allowed a touchdown in this game & slowed down each other’s respective running games. The Seahawks ended the game with only 67 yards on 24 carries while the Rams finished with only 64 yards on 25 carries.
Biggest Takeaway: The Rams just seem to have the Seahawks number winning the last 3 games that they’ve played.
Atlanta Falcons 35 at Oakland Raiders 28
Offensively: It was a complete shootout between the QBs in this game. Matt Ryan had 396 yards, 3 TDs & 1 INT while Derek Carr had 299 yards & 3 TDs. The Falcons also ran the ball well with 139 yards & 1 touchdown.
Defensively: There wasn’t much defense in this game especially in the passing game. There was 1 turnover in this game & it came off a Matt Ryan interception by David Amerson.
Biggest Takeaway: The Raiders secondary looks to be a huge issue for this team already giving up 819 yards & 7 TDs through the air in their first 2 games.
Jacksonville Jaguars 14 at San Diego Chargers 38
Offensively: The Chargers offense looked great in this game on both facets of offense. Philip Rivers had 220 yards & 4 TDs while Melvin Gordon also had 102 rushing yards & 1 TD. Blake Bortles struggled in this game & got most of his 329 yards in garbage time. The Chargers lost another important piece in their offense to injury for the year in Danny Woodhead.
Defensively: The Chargers forced 3 turnovers (2 INTs, 1 forced fumble) on Blake Bortles. The Chargers also did a great job shutting down Allen Robinson who finished with just 3 catches for 54 yards (all coming in the 4th quarter).
Biggest Takeaway: This was a very disappointing game for the Jaguars after putting up a close game with the Packers. Now with Jaguars at 0-2 it’s hard to see them making the leap to the playoffs but it is early in the season so who knows.
Indianapolis Colts 20 at Denver Broncos 34
Offensively: The QB play was not great in this game with Andrew Luck having 197 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT while Trevor Siemian had 266 yards & 1 INT. The Broncos running game looked great again rushing for 134 yards & 1 TD on a 4.3 yards per carry.
Defensively: The Denver defense showed out again & forced 2 turnovers. On those 2 turnovers the Broncos scored a pick six with Aqib Talib & a fumble recovery for a touchdown with Shane Ray.
Biggest Takeaway: This Broncos defense is special & is by far the best in the league. Their pass rush is unstoppable with Von Miller (who had 3 sacks on Sunday), Demarcus Ware, Shane Ray, Derek Wolfe, & Shaq Barrett.
Green Bay Packers 14 at Minnesota Vikings 17
Offensively: Sam Bradford looked impressive in his Vikings debut with 286 yards & 2 TDs in this game. Bradford actually outplayed Aaron Rodgers in this game who had 213 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT. Stefon Diggs appears to have great chemistry with Bradford already after totaling 9 catches, 182 yards & a touchdown. Adrian Peterson tore his meniscus in this game & is having surgery on Thursday & is likely to miss 3-4 months.
Defensively: The Vikings defense looked pretty good in this game forcing 3 turnovers (2 fumbles, 1 interception). They also sacked Rodgers 5 times in this game. The Packers defense couldn’t stop the passing game of the Vikings but did slow down the running game only giving up 30 yards on 22 carries.
Biggest Takeaway: Although it’s only 1 game Bradford looks great in this offense & if he keeps it up maybe the Vikings need to be taken more seriously. The loss of Adrian Peterson could hurt them big time though.
Philadelphia Eagles 29 at Chicago Bears 14
Offensively: Carson Wentz looked poised & looked impressive again. Wentz ended the game with 190 yards & 1 TD but the most important aspect to me for a young QB is protecting the ball which he did again. Jay Cutler looked like he does all the time playing sloppy & making mistakes. Cutler also got injured in this game injuring his right thumb.
Defensively: The Eagles defense looked good against an undermanned Bears offense. The Eagles defense forced 3 turnovers & sacked Cutler 3 times.
Biggest Takeaway: Wentz looks well worth the 2nd overall pick but no offense to him he has yet to play a credible opponent but will do so in week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Things to look forward to in week 3:
- Broncos vs. Bengals should be a great defensive game
- Can Packers bounce back against the Lions
- Odell vs. Norman showdown. Apparently Norman will shadow Odell everywhere except the slot so this should be an interesting round 2.
