NYG 29 WAS 30. Heineke is the real deal.
Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heineke turned heads last postseason after keeping up with legendary quarterback Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers in a tough Wild Card loss. After starting the season backing up Ryan Fitzpatrick, he got the start Thursday night after Fitzpatrick was sidelined with an injury. The result was a thrilling and effective 30-29 victory over the rival New York Giants. Heinecke was 34-46 with 336 yards and two touchdowns. It would be difficult to process Washington not starting him from here on out.
On the other hand, despite the loss, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had an effective game going 22-32 with 249 yards and one passing touchdown. He also added 95 yards on the ground with one rushing touchdown. Most importantly, he did not turn the ball over, which has haunted him his whole career.
CIN 17 CHI 20. Bears win despite Fields’ struggles.
The Chicago Bears were able to hold off the Bengals 20-17, but the big story was Andy Dalton’s injury and Justin Fields’ performance after he left. Dalton was an efficient 9-11 for 56 yards and a touchdown. The Bears defense was dominant, forcing a pick-six against Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, and Chicago had a 20-3 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, Dalton left the game with a knee injury, forcing rookie quarterback Justin Fields into action. Fields struggled going 6-13 for 60 yards and a game-changing interception. The Bengals made a fierce comeback attempt scoring two touchdowns in the span of one minute. Ultimately, the Bears were able to hold.
Burrow also struggled, throwing an interception on three straight passes.
HOU 21 CLE 31 Tyrod Taylor gets injured… again.
Tyrod Taylor is a very capable quarterback. However, he has struggled to stay on the field for his entire career. Before his hamstring injury, he was 10/11 for 125 yards with one touchdown and a QBR of 94.8. He kept the Texans on pace with the Cleveland Browns, who are arguably the most talented team in the NFL. Nevertheless, he got injured and the Browns pulled away in the second half. With a team dealing with a lot, including all the off-the-field issues with their star quarterback Deshaun Watson, losing Taylor would be a very tough blow.
NO 7 CAR 26. Darnold is no longer seeing ghosts.
Sam Darnold was able to get his revenge on his former team last week, and continued that momentum into this week. Darnold was 26-38 for 305 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a dominant win against a team who embarasses Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last week. Superstar running back Christian McCaffrey added 137 all-purpose yards and a touchdown on the day. Darnold is not “seeing ghosts,” he is seeing the endzone. Speaking of which…
NE 25 NYJ 6. It’s not the quarterback. It’s not even the coach. It’s just the Jets.
Sam Darnold was the scapegoat. In fact, Adam Gase was probably the scapegoat. Before he joined the Jets, he was a competent head coach who sent the Miami Dolphins to their first playoff berth in eight years. It was not until he joined the Jets that he turned into that wide-eyed simpleton who did not know how to make play calls. As mentioned above, Darnold was publicly making paranormal acclamations on live TV playing for this team. Unfortunately, the new scapegoat will be Zach Wilson, who went 19-33 with 210 yards with an abysmal four interceptions and no touchdowns. The extremely likable and capable head coach Robert Saleh is getting baptized by fire. Nevertheless, it might not be Wilson nor Saleh’s fault. They are part of a franchise that has been dysfunctional for many years.
BUF 35 MIA 0. Tua leaves the game with a rib injury.
The Super Bowl contending Bills were back on track after a dominant performance against the Miami Dolphins. Josh Allen was not great, but he was good going 17-33 for 179 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He has yet to display last year’s MVP-caliber form this season.
Tua Tagovailoa on the other hand, went down early in the game with a rib injury. He was replaced by Jacoby Brissett, who was ineffective all game. Considering Tua’s past with injuries, this is a cause of concern for a team who is trying to make the postseason.
OAK 26 PIT 17. Early in the season, the Raiders continue to “Just win baby.”
It has not been perfect, it has not been pretty, but so far, the Raiders are keeping up with their infamous motto. After a crazy overtime win against the Ravens last Monday, the Raiders defeated their historic arch-rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. They did this thanks to a budding chemistry between quarterback Derek Carr and fiery head coach Jon Gruden. With Gruden making the calls, Carr went 28-37 for 382 yards and two touchdowns. Carr has thrown for over 300 yards in both games this year against teams notorious for their defenses.
The Steelers suffered an injury scare after superstar outside linebacker TJ Watt suffered a groin injury that took him out of the game. Watt’s availability for next week’s game against the Bengals is uncertain.
DEN 23 JAX 13. So far Lawrence’s baptism into the NFL has been tough.
Trevor Lawrence is one of the greatest college football quarterbacks of all time. He is also one of the winningest. So far, he has been humbled and at times humiliated in his first two games at the pro level. Lawrence was abysmal, completing only 14 of his 33 pass attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions. In time, he might become the generational talent that everyone expects him to be, but for now he is finding his time in the NFL difficult.
Let’s not forget Teddy Bridgewater. A highly underrated quarterback in terms of how efficient he is, he went 26-35 with 328 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos could be a dark horse (no pun intended) to make the playoffs if they continue their steady style-of-play.
SF 19 PHI 11. Garoppolo, 49ers defense back on track.
It seems like everyone has forgotten that the San Francisco 49ers were NFC champions two years ago. Last year, they were decimated with injuries. Now with the team healthy, they have continued their stout defensive-minded game along with efficient quarterback play by Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Eagles fell back to earth this week after romping the Falcons 32-6 last week. Hurts was productive on the ground with 82 yards on 10 carries. However, he was less explosive with the aerial attack with the lone passing offense being a 91 yard catch-and-run by Quez Watkins.
LAR 27 IND 24. Stafford trade is paying off so far for the Rams. Wentz not so much.
The Rams traded Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford in the offseason, expecting the latter to be a more explosive and productive quarterback. So far, he has not disappointed. In McVay’s offensive scheme, Stafford has been effective. With a dominant performance against the Bears last week, he continued to be productive with a two touchdown 278 yard performance against the Colts.
Carson Wentz, on the other hand, has continued to struggle. Since Wentz tore his ACL in his MVP-caliber 2017 season, he simply has just not been the same, nor has he been particularly healthy. With a chance to put his team in front on a third-and-goal in the first half, Wentz threw a bone-headed interception. He will need to improve and stay healthy if the Colts want to reach the postseason again.
MIN 33 ARI 34. Murray becoming superstar. Vikings kicking woes continue at the worst possible time.
The Vikings simply cannot get their kicking game right. All they had to do was kick a 37-yard field goal and they could not do it; Greg Joseph missed wide right.
Thankfully for Joseph, this game will be remembered more for the dominant performance of Kyler Murray. The dual-threat quarterback threw for 400 yards, which included a scrambling 77-yard touchdown pass to Rondale Moore. As the Cardinals improve to 2-0, Murray appears to be joining the NFL elite.
TB 48 ATL 25. Falcons have had enough of Brady.
Tom Brady has never lost to the Atlanta Falcons. The one time they should have beat him was when they were up 28-3 in the Super Bowl. The Falcons have not been the same since and to add insult to injury, they now have to face Brady twice a year probably for the rest of his career. He put on yet another clinic Sunday throwing five touchdown passes, outperforming Matt Ryan yet again. Ryan threw three picks as his woes in big games continue.
TEN 33 SEA 30. King Henry has returned.
After being held in check against the Cardinals last week, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry rebounded with a 182 yard performance in a comeback overtime thriller against the Seattle Seahawks, which included a 60-yard touchdown run. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill also rebounded, throwing for 347 yards on the day.
Although the Seahawks aerial attack led by Russell Wilson was productive, their running game was not, which proved to be their achilles heel in overtime. With the team attempting to drive for the game-winning score, Wilson threw two incomplete passes and was sacked at the one-yard line, giving the Titans good field position to win.
DAL 20 LAC 17. Cowboys rebound from Week 1 heartbreak.
After a gutsy performance against the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers last week, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Los Angeles Chargers after the often-maligned Greg Zuerlein kicked a 56-yard game-winning field goal. Their victory came thanks to a dominant rushing attack led by Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott. Pollard finished with 107 yards on 13 carries while Elliott added 71 yard on 16 carries.
The Chargers woes of finishing close games continued, despite a 338 yard performance by Justin Herbert.
KC 35 BAL 36. Lamar lifts the Chiefs curse.
After going 0-3 against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens flipped the narrative in a Sunday night thriller. Jackson became the first player in NFL history to pass for 200 yards and run for 100 yards five times in a career. His biggest rush was a successful 4th-and-1 conversion attempt on the Ravens own 43 yard-line to seal the game.
Mahomes had a typical dominant performance passing for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including a spectacular 46 yard catch-and-run by tight end Travis Kelce. It appeared that he was going to put the game away with a clinical drive with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, but in a somewhat controversial decision, Mahomes handed the ball to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Ravens rookie linebacker Odafe Oweh forced the game-winning fumble.
DET 17 GB 35. Rodgers rebounds.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were able to rebound from their woeful performance in week 1 by defeating the Detroit Lions on Monday. After trailing at the half, the Packers shut out the Lions for the rest of the game.
Rodgers was an effective 22-27 with 255 yards and four touchdown passes. With his return to form, the Packers and their fans can R-E-L-A-X.
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