The national media is down bad in Week 2 of the NFL season.
Clearly, no one learned from the New England Patriots’ stunning Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, because the heavy favorites were consensus picks at many media outlets across the country this week.
Nearly everyone on the MMQB staff picked the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions to win their respective games Sunday. (Shoutout to Conor Orr for being the only one to pick the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.)
Instead, it was a Sunday filled with fascinating chaos, as the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Ravens, the Saints embarrassed the Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings stifled the 49ers and the Buccaneers held on to beat the Lions. But the upsets didn’t stop there. The Malik Willis–led Green Bay Packers shut down the Colts, and the Cleveland Browns prevailed against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bengals nearly pulled off another major upset in Week 2, but a costly mistake on a critical pass interference penalty on a fourth-down play led to the Kansas City Chiefs surviving at Arrowhead Stadium.
Obviously, not many knew much about the NFL after one week of games. But, hey, at least we gave the social media teams of the underdog winners plenty of content from our terrible picks. Maybe one day I’ll get a social media graphic from an NFL team thanking me for being the only one to pick them. (Ugh, the Tennessee Titans failed me against the New York Jets.)
Let’s share what we learned in Week 2—hopefully more than last week. Maybe next week we’ll be a little more bold with our picks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield lifts Buccaneers to an impressive road win in Detroit
It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed plenty of grit against a Super Bowl contender known for gritty performances.
Tampa Bay managed to get by the Detroit Lions with a 20–16 road victory, despite getting little contributions from Mike Evans (three catches, 42 yards) and a sluggish rushing attack that only managed 70 total rushing yards. It didn’t help, though, that Aidan Hutchinson played with his hair on fire, recording 4.5 sacks Sunday. But Baker Mayfield often found ways to end drives with at least three points, leaning on a defense that forced Jared Goff into many missed throws.
When the Buccaneers truly needed a touchdown, Mayfield delivered back-to-back 11-yard runs late in the third quarter, with the latter the eventual game-winning score. The defense then closed the upset win by holding Detroit’s high-octane offense to a punt, an interception and two turnovers on downs for its final four possessions.
Mayfield (12-of-19 for 185 yards, one touchdown, one interception) has picked up where he left off last season, and might be playing better under the guidance of offensive coordinator Liam Coen. As for Goff, he’s had two rough performances to open the season. On Sunday, he was inefficient, going 34-of-55 for 307 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
One obvious concern for the Lions’ slow start this season is the lack of involvement from tight end Sam LaPorta, who was held to two receptions for 13 yards against the Buccaneers, a testament to Todd Bowles’s defense.
The Lions (1–1) will probably turn it around offensively, but it might be time to view the Buccaneers (2–0) the same way we do Dan Campbell’s crew—as Super Bowl contenders.
Las Vegas Raiders
Raiders’ offense comes alive late to shock Ravens
Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was rewarded for displaying faith in his offense Sunday in Baltimore, one week after his conservative decisions cost him in the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Coincidentally, Gardner Minshew II & Co. woke up after the offensive unit failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 from the Ravens’ 28-yard line with a 10-point deficit in the third quarter. Las Vegas responded by scoring on its final four drives, including Daniel Carlson’s game-winning 38-yard field goal to eventually give the Raiders an upset 26–23 victory over the Ravens.
The Raiders’ ferocious defense kept the Ravens’ offense contained most of the game, giving Minshew an opportunity to brush off another slow start. Las Vegas’s star players were instrumental in the shocking victory, with Maxx Crosby recording two sacks and four tackles for loss. Davante Adams stepped up with nine catches for 110 yards and one touchdown.
Minshew’s ability to get the ball to his best playmakers—including rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who had nine catches for 98 yards—played a role in why the team made him the starter over Aidan O’Connell. What occurred in Baltimore was what the Raiders (1–1) envisioned for winning games this season with a dominant defense and an impressive group of pass catchers doing enough offensively.
As for Lamar Jackson’s squad, the Ravens dropped to 0–2 and have serious issues on the offensive side, including another poor performance from its offensive line. The Ravens have struggled with implementing Derrick Henry into the flow of the offense, which might be because of the lack of weapons in the passing game. Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett batted a handful of passes from Jackson and didn’t allow easy completions to the wide receivers. Zay Flowers finished with a team-high 91 receiving yards for the Ravens. Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Rashod Bateman combined only for 117 receiving yards.
Baltimore now has to travel to Dallas next week before facing Buffalo at home and Cincinnati on the road. A brutal stretch for last year’s No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs survive scare from Bengals after Butker’s game winner
The strange football outcomes nearly continued before the Chiefs were bailed out by a rookie mistake from Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony on fourth-and-16. After the new set of downs, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker did the rest, drilling a 51-yard field goal to lift his team to a 26–25 victory as time expired.
Many will focus on Anthony’s mistake—and whether the official should have called defensive pass interference on the throw intended for Rashee Rice. But Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense had plenty of opportunities to increase their lead. Cincinnati punted on its final possession and Burrow had a costly lost fumble earlier in the fourth quarter.
Neither team played well, but the back-to-back reigning champion Chiefs are undefeated and the Bengals started 0–2 for the third consecutive season. There were many positives for the Bengals, though, with Burrow (23-of-36 for 258 yards and two touchdowns) and Cincy’s defense playing better than last week against the Patriots. But Ja’Marr Chase (four catches for 35 yards) has been quiet in both losses.
There’s not really much to say about the Chiefs because they usually find ways to win ugly games, even though they should have won it without the help from the penalty call. Patrick Mahomes & Co. went backwards on the final drive and had a few overly cautious play calls.
We’ll see if these two teams will meet again in January, but it’s not looking good for the Bengals, who once again have dug themselves a hole in the standings.
New Orleans Saints
Saints’ red-hot offense humiliates Cowboys
There are many jokes to tell about the Cowboys, but that can wait because the New Orleans Saints deserve our attention after improving to 2–0 behind a scorching offense.
After not getting much credit for crushing the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara and the rest of the Saints’ offense made an emphatic statement by embarrassing the Cowboys, 44–19, in front of their home crowd at AT&T Stadium. New Orleans has scored points on its first 15 possessions of the season, including six touchdowns to start the game in Dallas, summarizing how dominant the unit has been under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
This one was over late in the third quarter after Kamara crossed the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the day, putting the Saints over 40 points. Soon after the score, the TV broadcast showed Cowboys owner Jerry Jones slowly drinking his water—plenty must have gone through his mind seeing a spiritless effort from coach Mike McCarthy’s team.
But back to the Saints. Carr once again displayed strong downfield chemistry with wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, who recorded a touchdown reception of 50-plus yards for the second consecutive week. If Carr continues to be this consistent—he’s known for up-and-down performances throughout a season—the Saints might be a problem for the entire NFC, not just inside their own division. New Orleans’s defense also had an impressive performance after making the Cowboys one dimensional, only recording 68 rushing yards.
Now that the Saints have gotten their flowers, feel free to make fun of the Cowboys. This atrocious performance makes you wonder whether Dallas’s defense fooled everyone last week, shutting down a poor Cleveland Browns’ offense that only recorded 18 points in Sunday’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mike Zimmer’s defense will have plenty to prove next week against a desperate 0–2 Ravens squad.
Minnesota Vikings
Surprising Vikings make life difficult for 49ers’ Purdy
The Minnesota Vikings are quickly becoming this year’s surprise team after many football pundits, including this writer, expected a down season with the departure of Kirk Cousins.
Not only are the Vikings making the doubters look foolish, they’re also making life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. Brock Purdy and the 49ers didn’t have many answers against a stifling defense and a dominant outing from Justin Jefferson, as the Vikings prevailed for a 23–17 victory.
Brian Flores’s defense sacked Purdy six times and forced him into an interception, getting the best of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan for a second consecutive season. Sam Darnold was on the 49ers’ sideline when Minnesota shocked San Francisco last year during Monday Night Football. This time, Darnold was dropping bombs to Jefferson, who had a 97-yard touchdown reception. Jefferson, however, sustained a quad injury, which he referred to as not serious.
Jefferson, who had four catches for 133 yards and one touchdown, stepped up on a day the Vikings didn’t have wide receiver Jordan Addison, who was ruled out with an ankle injury. With how well the Vikings have played on both sides through two games, Kevin O’Connell might be the early frontrunner for Coach of the Year.
It was a tough weekend for the 49ers because of the loss and having to place running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve with a calf injury. They’ll likely stay afloat because of all the offensive weapons for Purdy, but Sunday was a reminder of how vital McCaffrey is to the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes. Jordan Mason had another productive performance with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, but he was a nonfactor in the passing game, an area that McCaffrey has excelled in since entering the league in 2017.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five Things We Learned in NFL Week 2.
