*some information courtesy of espn.com

Week 2 of the NFL season was an exciting one! Two fourth quarter comebacks will make any fan excited; week two didn’t disappoint. Let’s jump right in!

Kansas City @ Los Angeles Chargers

Week two begins with a powerhouse matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the up-and-coming Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers came into this game to make a statement that they have arrived and the AFC West runs through them. And for the first half of the game, it looked as that statement was true. The Chargers had an iron grip on the first half limiting the Kansas City Chiefs to only seven points. Things in the second half did not go to the chargers away however. Justin Herbert got injured although he did play through it, it’s severely limited his effectiveness in the game but you have to give credit to the young quarterback for playing through the injury. He threw a pick that was returned for 99 yards that really sealed the deal in Kansas City’s favor. The final score of the game was 27–24 Kansas City.

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New York Jets @ Cleveland Browns

New York Jets made an absolute statement when they defeated the Cleveland Browns Sunday in a point victory of 31-30. The Jets rallied from a 13-point deficit in the final two minutes. The Jets were dead at 30-17, and they rallied with two touchdown passes by Joe Flacco.  Flacco at least let us park under this New York offense, proving that he still can be effective back up quarterback in this league and has enough in the tank to get a win for an organization. On the Browns’ end, a come back cannot be a come back without a collapse on the defensive end. That said, when you have a defense of presence of Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney pressuring an old backup quarterback; you should be successful. Don’t get me wrong the Jets played great in the final two minutes but Cleveland should have easily been able to snuff out any flame that the Jets tried to produce. Sadly they did not and they underperformed and lost the game.

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Detroit @ Washington

Number two overall pick Aiden Hutchinson has arrived! The rookie recorded three sacks in the first half, making his presence known on the defensive end for the Lions. What Hutchinson did is nothing short of historic not to mention extremely impressive. The last time a rookie had 3.0 sacks in one of his first two career games was in 2002, when Julius Peppers, Carlos Hall and Ben Leber all did it. That’s great company to be in for the Lion cub. Before we talk about the commander side, I think we should ask this question. Can the Lions keep up the scoring? The Lions have scored 35 or more points in each of their opening two games for the first time since 1970. Amon Ra St. Brown was the star Sunday, recording nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 68 yards on the ground. For Washington, the commanders played well actually it’s not like they were completely snuffed out by Detroit; they weren’t. Washington had a lot of defensive issues in this game and have had defensive issues to start the season so far. On the offensive end, they lack a run game, which really hurts the effectiveness of Carson Wentz and the unpredictability that all NFL teams should have. Yet, they kept it close and made a competitive game arise from the ashes but fell just short. 

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints

The injury bug has affected another team once again. The Buccaneers just one of the mini teams on very long list that has been affected. Without receivers Chris Godwin and Julio Jones, and also missing left tackle Donovan Smith and his backup, Josh Wells (who left with a calf injury), quarterback Tom Brady and the Bucs once again struggled to put points on the board. So the obvious solution is to rely on the run game? Well, that didn’t work. Leonard Fournette did not have the luxury of seeing green grass against the Saints like he did against the Cowboys. Tempers flared as Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore got into a fistfight and were properly ejected. Obviously, that’s not good because the receiver depth is already paper-thin. It’s not all bad for Tampa Bay though, despite the offensive injuries piling up; the Bucs’ defense has given up only 13 points through two weeks. Coach Todd Bowles’ defense is showing why he was elevated into a head coaching role. For New Orleans the biggest question is about the health of quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston is reportedly dealing with several fractures in his back, which would be concerning for any player, much less the starting quarterback. The Saints’ offense was disappointing for most of the game, and it’s fair to be concerned about Winston — who looked hesitant at times when trying to run the ball, overthrew several deep passes and fell apart in the fourth quarter, throwing three interceptions on three straight possessions, including a pick-six. The Saints are going to have to make a decision about whether to sit Winston and let him heal or continue to play him while he’s injured. Final score 20-10 Tampa Bay. 

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New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers

The Giants have definitely lit a spark to start the season with a 2-0 record.  The star of the first two games for the Giants: their defense. In this case, coordinator Wink Martindale. He has done it without his top two edge rushers, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, and with defensive lineman Leonard Williams (knee) leaving Sunday’s game in the third quarter. The Giants are the only team in the NFC East that sits at 2-0 heading into week three. Let’s talk about the Baker Mayfield experiment for a second. Through two games, the Panthers have had a few big plays but have been anything but explosive.  The offense has been just average — enough to keep games close, but not win. A big part of that has been mediocre performances by Mayfield, who was 14-of-29 for only 145 yards Sunday. I’m definitely starting to get the red flag out of my pocket to wave in Carolina if I am the Panthers organization, because Baker Mayfield is not doing it for this team as the signal caller. Final score 19-16 New York. 

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New England @ Pittsburgh

The patriots did get a win this week, which was sorely needed. This buys them more time to figure things out, that sounds like an easier process than it will more than likely be. The hardest part of the entire process is probably going to be having the defense hold down the fort until the offensive situation can be fixed. For Pittsburgh, a critical muffed punt hurt the Steelers chances of coming out victorious. With a battered and bruised defense, the Steelers really needed to up the aggressiveness on offense. This didn’t happen, and the conservative play-calling really hurt Steel City and just could not get them over the hump to win the game.  Mitch Trubisky completed 21 of 33 attempts for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but the crowd at Acrisure Stadium grew restless with the checkdowns and short passes. At least two times, the crowd chanted “KEN-NY,” calling for first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett to take the reins under center. Final score 17-14 New England. 

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Indianapolis @ Jacksonville

If there’s one thing for certain it’s that this matchup is a lot more than what it looks like every single year. The Jacksonville jaguars once again beat the Indianapolis Colts, something that is becoming all too common for Indy. With a record of 0-1-1, that big red panic button looks mighty enticing to hit. Will the Colts’ hit that button right now? Honestly, I have no idea but for now I’m going to say no. Other than then the Colts being in complete disarray, the big issue stems from the fact that they start very very slow. And when you play from behind the entire game it really hurts your chances of getting any type of momentum going. Jacksonville played well in fact they played so well that they shut out the Colts. Efficient play from the quarterback. Creative playcalling with misdirection to confuse the defenses and set up future calls. Receivers wide open and getting the ball in position to gain yards after the catch. Coach Doug Pederson’s offense was rolling against the Colts. That was the expectation when the Jaguars hired Pederson to pair with quarterback Trevor Lawrence and spent big money on receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, but it didn’t really show up in Week 1. If the Jaguars can consistently execute at the level they did Sunday, they have the potential to be a tough team to defend. Final score 24-0 Jaguars. 

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Miami @ Baltimore

Out of the two fourth-quarter comebacks we had, this one was probably my favorite. Tua Tagovailoa has the ability to be an amazing quarterback. I believe it and so does everyone else, the consistency of how good he plays is the issue. Truthfully, he did play very well Sunday. Miami put the ball in his hands and he delivered to the tune of 469 passing yards and six touchdowns, eventually completing the comeback with a game-winning TD pass to Jaylen Waddle. Under the direction of first-year coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins appear capable of competing in a shootout. Tagovailoa’s two interceptions hurt, but beyond those two plays, he made smart decisions with the ball and navigated the pocket well. This was the biggest statement game of his career, and there are plenty who might need to retract their prior assessments. For the Ravens’ this was a tough pill to swallow. The Baltimore offense had lacked electricity recently, totaling two plays of at least 70 yards in the past two years. Downfield passing was a point of emphasis for the Ravens in training camp, and it has paid off early this season. The good news is that big plays are back for the Ravens. Lamar Jackson became the first player in NFL history to produce a touchdown pass and run of at least 75 yards in the same game. This game is not lost by Lamar Jackson; it was lost by the crumbling Ravens defense. The Ravens matched the largest blown lead in franchise history, failing to hold a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter because of a banged-up defense. The Ravens gave up four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter with a secondary missing its top cornerback (Marlon Humphrey) for the final two series and its No. 3 cornerback (Brandon Stephens), who was inactive. Jaylen Waddle caught the winning 7-yard touchdown pass over rookie Jalyn Armour-Davis, who was pressed into action because of the injuries.

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Los Angeles @ Atlanta

 A week after it seemed like the Rams’ offense was almost exclusively run through wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the offense was more spread out against the Falcons. Although Kupp again led the Rams in receiving yards (11 catches for 108 yards, two touchdowns and a critical fumble), quarterback Matthew Stafford completed passes to six different players. One of those players was wide receiver Allen Robinson II, whom coach Sean McVay said needed to be more involved in the offense going forward. Robinson, who had just one catch on two targets in Week 1, had four catches for 53 yards and the game’s first touchdown Sunday. Stafford won’t be happy that he threw two more interceptions, but the Rams’ offense looked much more consistent than it did in the season opener, even if it couldn’t put the game on ice early in the fourth quarter. Atlanta seems to have something brewing on the horizon. Keeping a game tight until the end with the reigning Super Bowl champions isn’t a small task for a rebuilding team like the Falcons.  in fact, the Falcons actually were in a terrible situation during this game for quite a while. They were down 28 to 3 then the group decided to mount a comeback that would fall short. However this didn’t stop the Falcons from scaring the daylights out of people in Los Angeles. Final score 31-27 Chargers.

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San Francisco @ Seattle

Final score 27-7 San Francisco. The Trey Lance era in San Francisco is under heavy stress.  Trey Lance suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that the second-year quarterback has a broken right ankle and will need season-ending surgery. It happened sooner and under far worse circumstances than anyone could have imagined, but Garoppolo will have to step back into the starting role. It’s a good thing that the Niners did not trade Jimmy G because just as fast as he left the line up he will be right back into it as the starter for the rest of the year.  The Wilson years are history in the rainy city; however the rebuild looks hopeful.  The Seahawks got a good look at the kind of team they want to be — one that plays stout defense and relies on its strong running game more so than its quarterback. But the 49ers showed the Seahawks that will be easier said than done for a Seattle team with a limited QB in Geno Smith and a defense that has plenty of question marks of its own, especially now that safety Jamal Adams is out. All of those flaws were on full display in a disheartening loss to a 49ers team that Seattle has had plenty of success against for much of the past decade. 

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Denver @ Houston

It’s rocky out in the Rockies to say the least. A slow start to the Russell Wilson era has me as well as other critics questioning if it was truly the correct move to make for Denver. Now don’t get me wrong, I do expect to eat my words  in a few weeks when Russell Wilson gets in midseason form, but right now it’s not looking good. Denver only put up a measly 16 points in the win against a bottom-feeding team in the Houston Texans. That’s not a good sign and everyone knows it. There is a fine line between creativity and window dressing, and the Broncos are walking that line too often, stumbling on the side of too many frills and not enough touchdowns. On Sunday, they had four plays from the Texans’ 2-yard line or closer in the first half, and they threw the ball on all four plays without completing any of the passes. Have you ever heard the old saying style over substance? Well,  I think that’s what the Broncos are trying to do for all the wrong reasons. For the Texans they actually played a very good defensive game and flustered Russell Wilson quite a lot. The lackluster part comes on the back of quarterback Davis Mills, who had quite an average outing on the day. Mills produced an underwhelming performance by going 19-for-38 for 176 yards with zero touchdowns and two fumbles. A sloppy game from both teams netted a final score of 16-9, Broncos take the win.

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Cincinnati @ Dallas 

Joe Burrow and the Bengals are getting a harsh wake up call right about  now. The Bengals were stunned by the Cowboys with a game-winning field goal that pushed the blue stars to victory by three. This wouldn’t be as absurd of a headline if it wasn’t for the fact that Dak Prescott is injured and they got beat by a backup quarterback. What Cincinnati needs to realize as they can’t just cakewalk through the AFC With a star-studded dynamic duo and just be okay. Are the Bengals a bad team? No. Have they been somewhat figured out? Possibly. At the end of the day this is the NFL, and all teams make great adjustments because this is the highest level of professional football anyone can play. Dak Prescott’s backup now has a 2-0 career record filling in, with winning drives on his final possession both times. That was enough to let the emotion flow for the normally stoic Rush, at least for a few moments. Rush led the drive to Brett Maher’s 50-yard field goal as time expired, and the Cowboys held on after losing a two-touchdown halftime lead. Final score 20-17, Dallas. 

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Arizona @ Las Vegas

The Cardinals wouldn’t have been in the position they were in Sunday, needing overtime to pull off an unpredictable win over the Raiders, if their offense had been better earlier. It has been in a major rut early in games, and Arizona needs to figure out a way to get out of it or this season could get off the rails quickly. This more than likely wouldn’t be an issue if they had their superstar wide-out Deandre Hopkins; but he is serving a six-game suspension so he’s out of action. I don’t believe it’s time to hit throw reg flags out in Vegas. After all, a town that is known for gambling took a gamble on Davante  Adams this year. Is it paying off? I don’t think so, at least not yet. Adams had only two catches for 12 yards with a 1-yard TD. With as many walk-off wins as the Raiders had last season — six to sneak into the playoffs for just the second time since 2002 — it seems their luck changed Sunday. They also had a terrible second half on offense. Leading 20-0 at the half, the Raiders somehow let the Cardinals force overtime, and in position to kick a winning field goal in overtime, receiver Hunter Renfrow fumbled one play after quarterback Derek Carr nearly threw an interception. Vegas needs to back to the drawing board as soon as possible to salvage this rough start, The Raiders need to figure it out because their division is only going to get harder as the year goes on. final score 27-23, Arizona.  

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Green Bay @ Chicago

For as long as Aaron Rodgers has been in Green Bay this historical rivalry has been one-sided. This game was extremely ground game centric as the running back tandem of AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones feasted against the Bears. If Green Bay has one glaring issue it’s the fumbles. A week after Aaron Rodgers uncharacteristically lost a fumble on a strip sack, the Packers put the ball on the ground three times against the Bears — including two on what could be blamed on offensive miscommunications. Rodgers and Dillon got crossed up on a handoff, and the Bears recovered the fumble that led to a third-quarter field goal. Later, center Josh Myers’ shotgun snap hit receiver Christian Watson as he motioned across the formation in front of Rodgers. Throw in a fumbled punt return by Amari Rodgers that he was fortunate to recover, and the Packers have four fumbles in two games. The Bears struggled to say the least. I’m not expecting a lot from Chicago this year but Justin Fields is making me question his ability to be a starting quarterback. This game was not really Justin Fields’ fault as much as it was their defense. The Bears just could not stop the rushing attack. The only thing that I question with Fields, is that he did not take advantage of the opportunities he was given albeit limited. Final score 27-10, Packers.