NFL Week 2 saw its fair share of good, and bad, football. Some teams solidified themselves as teams to watch like the Texans with Brock Osweiler while others came crashing back down to earth! (Cough Oakland Raiders Cough).
Editor’s Note: Check out our Week NFL 2 Picks by Matt Ross and the Week 2 Betting Preview DS Williamson
NFL Betting – Regular Season Week 2 Recap
New York Jets 37, Buffalo Bills 31
The Bills were so ashamed of their offense in the loss to the Jets last Thursday night that head coach Rex Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Wait…what? Rex fired Roman after the Bills’ offense scored 31 points? Really? Buffalo’s offense wasn’t the problem in this game. Allowing QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to look like Joe Namath with 374 passing yards and a TD was the issue. Hey, Rex, look in the mirror, bro.
Baltimore Ravens 25, Cleveland Browns 20
So, this was the second week in a row where Baltimore’s defense hasn’t looked all that great. Cleveland could only muster 7 points and 168 total passing yards versus the Eagles in Week 1. In Week 2, Cleveland scored 20 points off of 242 passing yards and a big 145 rushing yards. Baltimore is 2-0. But they are 2-0 versus the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns.
San Francisco 49’ers 27, Carolina Panthers 46
Okay, I guess that Chip Kelly is still coaching the same type of defense in San Francisco that he coached in Philadelphia. The bend but don’t break philosophy isn’t working at Oregon where the Ducks just dropped a game to Nebraska. It didn’t work in Philly. It’s not going to work in San Francisco. San Francisco’s D looked great because it played against the worst offense in the NFL for the Rams in Week 1. Against one of the better offenses, Carolina’s, in Week 2, the Niners folded when allowing 176 rushing yards, 353 passing yards and close to 50 points.
Kansas City Chiefs 12, Houston Texans 19
If NFL fans had any doubts about the Houston Texans’ ability to win the AFC this season, they were put to rest in Week 2. Houston has now played two complete games where the offense and defense showed up. Holding the Chiefs and their veteran offense to only 12 points is big. Scoring 19 points on their end versus one of the better defense in the NFL is big. You have to like Houston moving forward.
Tennessee Titans 16, Detroit Lions 15
Tennessee got a stepping stone win on the road in Week 2. Detroit folded after running out to a nice lead over the Titans. But, NFL analysts and fans shouldn’t take anything away from Tennessee who showed up huge, especially on defense, when they had to. The Titans’ bounced back from a character building 16 to 25 loss to Minnesota in Week 1 to upset the Lions on the road in Week 2. The Titans scored 13 points in the 4th Quarter to beat Detroit. Tennessee can really build on the win.
New Orleans Saints 13, New York Giants 16
Last year’s game yielded a total of 101 points. The Giants scored 49. New Orleans scored 52. This year, the Saints and Giants were good for 29 points. Both teams wanted to slow the game down. It was actually an old school, defensive struggle for both teams. I like how new Giants’ head coach Bob McAdoo has changed the offense so that it relies more on the short-passing, ball control, type game than it does on the air it out to Odell on every play game. The G-Men are going to win a lot of battles by controlling the line scrimmage.
Miami Dolphins 24, New England Patriots 31
The Dolphins were down 31 to 3 before storming back and almost tying it versus the Patriots in the second half. This Dolphins’ team is 0 and 2. But in 2 straight games, versus Seattle and New England, the Dolphins have shown fight. That’s a big sign that Adam Gase has his guys ready to start making noise in the AFC. Getting to the playoffs is going to be tough to do after starting out the season 0 and 2. Ruining the playoff hopes of other teams could definitely happen.
One other thing to note is that New England lost back-up QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a shoulder injury. He’s listed day-to-day. Most believe that the Pats will start Jacoby Brissett on Thursday versus Houston.
Dallas Cowboys 27, Washington Redskins 23
Kirk Cousins’ interception in the end zone led to an Alfred Morris score, which led to Dallas beating the rival Washington Redskins 27 to 23. What the heck was Cousins thinking? This came on the heels of some rumored grumblings in the locker room where Washington players are upset at Cousins’ lack of leadership skills in the huddle. According to the rumors, Kirk stumbles with his words. He’s nervous. He doesn’t call out plays with authority.
I’ve written it many times before. I’ve said it in my sleep to people who show up in my dreams. Yes, the QB doesn’t have to be the leader of your football team. But it sure helps if he is.
Cincinnati Bengals 16, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
I expected more, much more, from Cincinnati in their Week 2 games versus the Steelers. This was, perhaps, my biggest NFL disappointment from a team in this Week 2 recap. I don’t understand how Cincinnati couldn’t take advantage of Pittsburgh’s zone pass defense with Andy Dalton throwing the football to A.J. Green. A.J. caught 2 passes for 38 yards even though Dalton threw 54 passes.
The Bengals’ offense wasted a terrific performance from the Bengals’ defense. The D held Pitt RB DeAngelo Williams to 94 yards on 34 carries. Big Ben threw 2 picks. What a waste.
Seattle Seahawks 3, Los Angeles Rams 9
Seattle is proving to be a paper tiger. What I mean is that during the NFL Preseason the Seahawks’ offensive line was as solid as it could be. There was no reason to believe that Seattle’s O-Line wouldn’t dominate during the regular season like it had during the preseason.
That hasn’t happened in Week 1 and Week 2. Seattle’s offensive line has been absolutely dreadful. Week 1 came the near loss to Miami where Seattle’s O-Line produced only 112 rushing yards from 32 carries. Looks okay on paper, but it wasn’t enough for Seattle to score more than 12 points. Then, in Week 2, the rushing attack produced only 67 rushing yards from 24 attempts. That’s bad. The Rams haven’t scored a TD yet they are 1 and 1. That’s also bad, but at least the Rams’ defense stepped it up.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7, Arizona Cardinals 40
I guess one game really doesn’t make a team? Tampa looked fantastic when beating Atlanta on the road 31 to 24 in Week 1. Bucs’ QB Jameis Winston dominated Atlanta’s defense. What happened versus AZ? How do you like 4 interceptions? Arizona looked terrible when losing 21 to 23 to New England without Tom Brady in Week 1. All Arizona did in Week 2 was pummel the Buccaneers on defense and rack up 40 points on offense.
Atlanta Falcons 35, Oakland Raiders 28
Former NFL safety Rodney Harrison said it best in regards to the Raiders’ Week 2 performance on NBC Sunday Night Football. Harrison said, “I think they started to read their press clippings.” According to Harrison, that’s why they played badly versus the Falcons. I agree with Rodney. It was apparent that the better overall team was Oakland in their loss to Atlanta in Week 2. In the weeks ahead, that should be apparent to everybody.
Indianapolis Colts 20, Denver Broncos 34
The Broncos’ dominated QB Andrew Luck and the Colts on Sunday. Don’t let the score fool you. The Colts’ offense was putrid. Luck didn’t even reach 200 passing yards. Indy rushed for 83 yards. Denver CB Aqib Talib recorded a pick 6 against Luck. It was bad. It could have been much worse than 34 to 20, that’s for sure.
Jacksonville Jaguars 14, San Diego Chargers 38
Oh, man, I didn’t know this going into the game, which is why I loved Jacksonville. The Jags looked so good, so, so good when losing by only 4 points to Green Bay in NFL Week 1. I had no doubt that they would upset San Diego in Week 2. What I didn’t know is that Blake Bortles has 1 win on the road, 1 lousy road win during his entire NFL career!
Then again, Blake doesn’t play defense. It has to be Gus Bradley’s defensive system or defensive play-calling. I can’t believe that the D-Line can’t stop the rush. San Diego had 150 rushing yards on Sunday.
Green Bay Packers 14, Minnesota Vikings 17
In my preview last week, I wrote that Minnesota could turn into one of the best teams in the NFC if QB Sam Bradford and WR Stefon Diggs could get it going. It was one of the few things that I got right in Week 2. Diggs caught 9 of 11 targets for 182 yards and a TD. Minnesota’s defense held Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers to 20 of 36 for 213 yards. Rogers fumbled it 3 times. He threw a pick. Minnesota’s defense forced 2 lost fumbles and an interception against Tennessee in Week 1. The Vikings are good.
Philadelphia Eagles 29, Chicago Bears 14
As I expected, Philadelphia is legit. The Eagles were terrific against Chicago on both sides of the football in MNF Week 2. This came on the heels of an excellent performance on both sides of the football against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. QB Carson Wentz is playing within himself. The Eagles are rushing the football well. They’re not making mistakes on defense. The pick 6 that Cutler gave up to the Eagles’ forced Fox to bench him in this game.