he 40 things we learned from Week 2 of the NFL season:
1. Week 2 means it's time to roll out those ubiquitous statistics about the chances of making the playoffs after starting 0-2. Sorry to the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, but your odds are now about 12%. Not good.
2. On the other hand, going 2-0 doesn’t necessarily help that much. Since realignment in 2002, 108 of the 180 playoff teams — a full 60% — were 1-1 or 0-2 after two weeks. Don’t celebrate too hard Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders.
3. Not to allege any sort of conspiracy here, but the officials in New Orleans sure were quick to change their minds after flagging the New England Patriots for an illegal pick play that resulted in a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. After Tom Brady strongly protested the call, arguing the traffic that sprung Chris Hogan wide open occurred at the line of scrimmage rather than beyond it, officials gave New England the benefit of the doubt and picked up the flag. It looked pretty borderline from here.
4. That play, meanwhile, gave Brady his third touchdown pass — something he had never done in the first quarter of any previous NFL game, regular season or postseason. (He’s thrown five TDs in a quarter before, but not the first quarter.) Even at age 40, he is coming up with new superlatives.
5. Joe Thomas’ Iron Man streak continues as the Browns’ left tackle started his 162nd consecutive game — as much as a baseball season — and went over 10,000 consecutive snaps played. He’s never missed one since being drafted in 2007.
6. Panthers tight end Greg Olsen’s own Iron Man streak is about to end. He hasn’t missed a game since 2007, his rookie year, but went limping off the field in the first half with what turned out to be a broken right foot.
7. Due to Hurricane Irma, Sunday was first game action in 31 days for several key Tampa Bay Buccaneers including receivers Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Kwon Alexander among them. Quarterback Jameis Winston last played Aug. 26 in the team’s third preseason game. The rust didn’t seem to matter, as Tampa Bay cruised to a 29-7 win over the Chicago Bears.
8. It’s pretty clear Bears coach John Fox has little interest in playing rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky at this point. Chicago looked hopelessly bad on offense against Tampa Bay, and even though Mike Glennon completed 31 of 45 passes for 301 yards — good numbers on paper — more than half of his yardage (166) came on the final three drives when Chicago trailed 29-0. He also threw two interceptions (one for a pick-six) and coughed up a fumble.
9. In lieu of giving garbage time reps to Trubisky, at least Chicago avoided a shutout, scoring a touchdown with 1:43 left. Congrats to Fox on that forward-thinking decision.
10. Does anyone have a clue what Mike Zimmer was thinking with a horribly executed fake punt from his own 36-yard line on the Minnesota Vikings’ first possession of the second half? He owes a huge thanks to his defense for stepping up and holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to a field goal, which gave them a 17-3 lead. Still, it was a bizarre call in that situation.
11. On Thursday night, the Bengals became first team since 1939 to open with two home games and failed to score TD in either of them. It’s no coincidence offensive coordinator Ken Zampese has already been fired.
12. Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster got his first career TD off a little shovel pass on the goal line, which could be the first of many for the former Southern Cal star. The best part of that play, however, came afterward when he kneeled down along with three of his teammates and celebrated with a mock dice game. Genius.
13. With DeShone Kizer forced out of the Browns’ game against the Ravens in the second quarter due to a migraine, second-year pro Kevin Hogan came in and became the eighth different Cleveland quarterback to throw a touchdown since the start of 2015. Hogan quickly came back to earth, however, throwing an interception and finishing 5-for-11 for 118 yards. Maybe there’s a reason the former Stanford QB got cut by the Chiefs last year after they drafted him in the fifth round.
14. The Falcons offense seems like it's starting to hit its stride behind new OC Steve Sarkisian, but that defense still needs to learn how to close out a game.
15. The Ravens defense has now snagged eight interceptions this season from six different players. Rookie linebacker Tyus Bowser, a second-round draft pick out of Houston, was the newest player to get in on the action, recording both his first career sack and interception on Sunday. Lardarius Webb and Brandon Carr both got their second interceptions of the season.
16. Baltimore will need its defense to continue being dominant because their offense is in pretty rough shape with injuries. The Ravens’ bad luck continued as six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda suffered an ankle injury that will end his season, according to John Harbaugh. Brutal loss.
17. According to Arizona Cardinals sideline reporter Paul Calvisi, Bruce Arians was asked at halftime in Indianapolis why Arizona’s offense wasn’t clicking. His response was short and to the point: “Quarterback.” Following a rough Week 1 performance, it was fair to worry about Carson Palmer. But the Cardinals showed some signs of life in the second half, coming from behind for a 16-13 overtime victory. Palmer finished with 332 passing yards on 19-of-36 attempts with a touchdown and interception.
18. Phil Dawson’s 30-yard field goal for Arizona in overtime was the 14th game-winner of his career, and it came after he missed a 42-yarder at the end of regulation. He and Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri remain the only players in the NFL who were active in the 1990s.
19. Don’t blame Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Zay Jones, a second-round pick out of East Carolina, for being unable to haul in a probable game-winning touchdown at Carolina. Though he dove to get his fingertips on it and could have possibly brought it in, Tyrod Taylor needs to make a better throw there.
20. The good news for Carolina is a 2-0 start. The bad news is Cam Newton missed a lot of practice time this preseason after his shoulder surgery, and it shows. He’s still trying to find a rhythm, as the Panthers could only muster three field goals against the Bills. Newton admitted after the game he missed some “layups.”
21. The Saints are 0-2 for the fourth straight season. With that awful defense, maybe it’s time to bring the paper bags back to the Superdome.
22. The Kareem Hunt hype train isn’t slowing down. Following his 17-carry, 148-yard rushing debut against New England, the Chiefs’ rookie running back came back with another solid game, rushing for 81 yards on 13 carries. He scored two touchdowns, including the knockout blow of the Philadelphia Eagles with 2:14 left, finishing off a drive where he got four straight touches in the red zone.
23. Most of Hunt’s production came on one 53-yard burst, and he became just the third player in NFL history have touchdown runs of more than 50 yards in each of his first two games. The most recent was Alan Ameche in 1955.
24. Leonard Fournette, on the other hand, didn’t have as much luck backing up the 100-yard rushing effort in his rookie debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fournette finished with just 40 yards on 14 carries against the Tennessee Titans, a box score reminiscent of his college games against Alabama.
25. Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 8-for-8 targeting tight end Jack Doyle. He was 12-for-29 targeting everyone else.
1. Week 2 means it's time to roll out those ubiquitous statistics about the chances of making the playoffs after starting 0-2. Sorry to the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, but your odds are now about 12%. Not good.
2. On the other hand, going 2-0 doesn’t necessarily help that much. Since realignment in 2002, 108 of the 180 playoff teams — a full 60% — were 1-1 or 0-2 after two weeks. Don’t celebrate too hard Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders.
3. Not to allege any sort of conspiracy here, but the officials in New Orleans sure were quick to change their minds after flagging the New England Patriots for an illegal pick play that resulted in a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. After Tom Brady strongly protested the call, arguing the traffic that sprung Chris Hogan wide open occurred at the line of scrimmage rather than beyond it, officials gave New England the benefit of the doubt and picked up the flag. It looked pretty borderline from here.
4. That play, meanwhile, gave Brady his third touchdown pass — something he had never done in the first quarter of any previous NFL game, regular season or postseason. (He’s thrown five TDs in a quarter before, but not the first quarter.) Even at age 40, he is coming up with new superlatives.
5. Joe Thomas’ Iron Man streak continues as the Browns’ left tackle started his 162nd consecutive game — as much as a baseball season — and went over 10,000 consecutive snaps played. He’s never missed one since being drafted in 2007.
6. Panthers tight end Greg Olsen’s own Iron Man streak is about to end. He hasn’t missed a game since 2007, his rookie year, but went limping off the field in the first half with what turned out to be a broken right foot.
7. Due to Hurricane Irma, Sunday was first game action in 31 days for several key Tampa Bay Buccaneers including receivers Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Kwon Alexander among them. Quarterback Jameis Winston last played Aug. 26 in the team’s third preseason game. The rust didn’t seem to matter, as Tampa Bay cruised to a 29-7 win over the Chicago Bears.
8. It’s pretty clear Bears coach John Fox has little interest in playing rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky at this point. Chicago looked hopelessly bad on offense against Tampa Bay, and even though Mike Glennon completed 31 of 45 passes for 301 yards — good numbers on paper — more than half of his yardage (166) came on the final three drives when Chicago trailed 29-0. He also threw two interceptions (one for a pick-six) and coughed up a fumble.
9. In lieu of giving garbage time reps to Trubisky, at least Chicago avoided a shutout, scoring a touchdown with 1:43 left. Congrats to Fox on that forward-thinking decision.
10. Does anyone have a clue what Mike Zimmer was thinking with a horribly executed fake punt from his own 36-yard line on the Minnesota Vikings’ first possession of the second half? He owes a huge thanks to his defense for stepping up and holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to a field goal, which gave them a 17-3 lead. Still, it was a bizarre call in that situation.
11. On Thursday night, the Bengals became first team since 1939 to open with two home games and failed to score TD in either of them. It’s no coincidence offensive coordinator Ken Zampese has already been fired.
12. Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster got his first career TD off a little shovel pass on the goal line, which could be the first of many for the former Southern Cal star. The best part of that play, however, came afterward when he kneeled down along with three of his teammates and celebrated with a mock dice game. Genius.
13. With DeShone Kizer forced out of the Browns’ game against the Ravens in the second quarter due to a migraine, second-year pro Kevin Hogan came in and became the eighth different Cleveland quarterback to throw a touchdown since the start of 2015. Hogan quickly came back to earth, however, throwing an interception and finishing 5-for-11 for 118 yards. Maybe there’s a reason the former Stanford QB got cut by the Chiefs last year after they drafted him in the fifth round.
14. The Falcons offense seems like it's starting to hit its stride behind new OC Steve Sarkisian, but that defense still needs to learn how to close out a game.
15. The Ravens defense has now snagged eight interceptions this season from six different players. Rookie linebacker Tyus Bowser, a second-round draft pick out of Houston, was the newest player to get in on the action, recording both his first career sack and interception on Sunday. Lardarius Webb and Brandon Carr both got their second interceptions of the season.
16. Baltimore will need its defense to continue being dominant because their offense is in pretty rough shape with injuries. The Ravens’ bad luck continued as six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda suffered an ankle injury that will end his season, according to John Harbaugh. Brutal loss.
17. According to Arizona Cardinals sideline reporter Paul Calvisi, Bruce Arians was asked at halftime in Indianapolis why Arizona’s offense wasn’t clicking. His response was short and to the point: “Quarterback.” Following a rough Week 1 performance, it was fair to worry about Carson Palmer. But the Cardinals showed some signs of life in the second half, coming from behind for a 16-13 overtime victory. Palmer finished with 332 passing yards on 19-of-36 attempts with a touchdown and interception.
18. Phil Dawson’s 30-yard field goal for Arizona in overtime was the 14th game-winner of his career, and it came after he missed a 42-yarder at the end of regulation. He and Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri remain the only players in the NFL who were active in the 1990s.
19. Don’t blame Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Zay Jones, a second-round pick out of East Carolina, for being unable to haul in a probable game-winning touchdown at Carolina. Though he dove to get his fingertips on it and could have possibly brought it in, Tyrod Taylor needs to make a better throw there.
20. The good news for Carolina is a 2-0 start. The bad news is Cam Newton missed a lot of practice time this preseason after his shoulder surgery, and it shows. He’s still trying to find a rhythm, as the Panthers could only muster three field goals against the Bills. Newton admitted after the game he missed some “layups.”
21. The Saints are 0-2 for the fourth straight season. With that awful defense, maybe it’s time to bring the paper bags back to the Superdome.
22. The Kareem Hunt hype train isn’t slowing down. Following his 17-carry, 148-yard rushing debut against New England, the Chiefs’ rookie running back came back with another solid game, rushing for 81 yards on 13 carries. He scored two touchdowns, including the knockout blow of the Philadelphia Eagles with 2:14 left, finishing off a drive where he got four straight touches in the red zone.
23. Most of Hunt’s production came on one 53-yard burst, and he became just the third player in NFL history have touchdown runs of more than 50 yards in each of his first two games. The most recent was Alan Ameche in 1955.
24. Leonard Fournette, on the other hand, didn’t have as much luck backing up the 100-yard rushing effort in his rookie debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fournette finished with just 40 yards on 14 carries against the Tennessee Titans, a box score reminiscent of his college games against Alabama.
25. Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 8-for-8 targeting tight end Jack Doyle. He was 12-for-29 targeting everyone else.