We recap some of the storylines for each team following NFL Week 2
Miami Dolphins
- Injuries are starting, but hopefully Miami can stay healthy enough. Waddle is in concussion protocol, and Jaelon Phillips was out. They are not the deepest roster out there, so they need to try and avoid injuries moving forward if that is even possible.
Buffalo Bills
- Everyone can relax about Josh Allen. He is always going to be fearless and that will cause turnovers and risky plays, but he can lock it in when needed. He is turning into the modern day Brett Favre, and the Bills need to win while he is in his prime.
New York Jets
- It does not matter who is the quarterback, this offensive line is awful. Zach Wilson needed more time behind Aaron Rodgers and is not ready, but even if Rodgers were the QB, he would be hit as much as Wilson was. Micah Parsons got pressure from all over, and the draft pick of Will Mcdonald over an offensive linemen continues to be puzzling.
New England Patriots
- This team is just not great. They are not bad by any means, but they need to win these games where the Miami Dolphins are not their explosive self. Mac Jones has not played bad, but the running game has had a hard time getting going. This is not an offense built to win shootouts, but they cannot even control the line of scrimmage at the moment.
Baltimore Ravens
- That was a huge win. The Bengals have not been the team everyone expected to be, but the Ravens still had a great game especially on offense. The running game had a good average without JK Dobbins, and the passing game was very successful.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- We could gripe about Matt Canada, but everyone knows this. Instead we are going to express our concern about Kenny Pickett. We did not love him as a draft prospect, but he is not even a great game manager at the moment. Pittsburgh won against a struggling Cleveland team because of their defense only. On offense, Pickett missed easy throws and stared down his reads. His interception was ugly and he has not shown growth from year 1 to 2 so far.
Cleveland Browns
- Deshaun Watson looks bad. He missed a ton of throws, is a turnover machine right now, and even committed multiple facemask penalties. The Steeler defense is legit, but that does not take away from how rough Watson still looks.
Cincinnati Bengals
- Rushing Burrow back seems to have been a mistake. He re aggravated the injury and has not looked like himself, maybe a week or 2 off would do him well.
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Gotta learn how to beat the Chiefs. This is the second game in a row in this matchup where the Jags had multiple chances to win it and could not do it. Lawrence missed a wide open Zay Jones in the end zone on one play, and Zay Jones failed to get his feet down in time on another. If they are to be taken seriously as super bowl contenders, they have to beat the Chiefs.
Indianapolis Colts
- Anthony Richardson is the real deal, but has to learn to protect himself. He can be special, but just 2 weeks into his career has resulted in 2 separate injuries. He needs to work on protecting himself and the concussion should be a wake up call.
Tennessee Titans
- Treylon Burks can be a #1. We liked Burks’ upside coming out of college, and he has struggled to get his career going due to various things. This week we hope is a sign of things to come for the second year receiver.
Houston Texans
- Stroud took a massive step forward in his second start. The defense still has problems, but Stroud had a heck of a second start. He seems to have found his number one option in Nico Collins, but also spread the ball effectively to Dell, Woods, Schultz, and more. There’s a lot of hope at the moment.
Las Vegas Raiders
- This is more of the team we expected. This team is not good and we feel this is more likely than their week 1 win for most of the season. Expect McDaniels to me fired at some point as the Raiders need a full reset.
Kansas City Chiefs
- Even with Kelce, the offense is struggling to find an identity. The Jags may be the second or third best team in the AFC, but Kansas City still looks like it is missing something. We fully expect them to figure it out and it could be as simple as Mahomes solving which receiver he trusts most.
Denver Broncos
- Wilson looks good, so what’s the problem? The defense giving up 35 never helps, but they need to do something soon before they are again in the bottom of the AFC.
Los Angeles Chargers
- Why is Staley still employed? The Titans are not a great team, yet you would not know it from this game. The Chargers are going to ruin another great QB by fiddling their thumbs over Staley.
Dallas Cowboys
- The defense is scary! A great pass rush paired with a good secondary has Dallas looking like one of the best defenses in football.
Philadelphia Eagles
- They are winning despite the offense still not looking quite right. Swift took over the game, but it still felt like the team is struggling to truly find an identity. They continue to win regardless. If they figure it out they will be scary.
Washington Commanders
- Sam Howell looks legit. He was our QB1 last year, and is looking like the best from the class (yes better than Pickett). The Commanders are still thin at almost every position so they are skating on thin ice, but they should compete when healthy.
New York Giants
- Take a deep breath and build off of the win. The Giants were likely sweating heavy, but got it together to overcome a 21-0 deficit. A better team would have continued to push the gas, but luckily it was against the Cardinals. The Giants need to start better than this, but they got lucky this time.
Green Bay Packers
- AJ Dillon is just not great. He is not fast, and does not bully defenders in the same way that someone like Derrick Henry does. Jordan Love looked good, but it is almost all on AJ Dillon and his inability to just get positive yard as to why they lost
Detroit Lions
- Injuries are starting. CJ Gardner Johnson may be out for the season, James Houston had surgery, and Montgomery is injured as well. Detroit did lose, but it is more about their depth now and ability to stay healthy moving forward
Minnesota Vikings
- Kirk Thuggins looks great, but the running game looks rough and the defense needs to get it together.
Chicago Bears
- Justin Fields is not developing. Blame whoever you want (though his comments about coaching and him not wanting to think really says a lot about him). Further distractions abound with the Alan Williams situation, and Chicago could be looking at a disaster of a season.
Atlanta Falcons
- The running game looks really good, but you have to figure out the passing game.
New Orleans Saints
- Derek Carr has not been special, but has been doing enough to win and this should continue.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Baker could actually be the QB for the near future. We said it in the offseason that this offense should allow Baker to thrive and he has. He still is only 28, and could actually flourish finally.
Carolina Panthers
- Bryce Young has looked so so to begin his career, and Carolina could do with finding an alpha for him. It could be Mingo if he develops, but right now they have a few good #2 options.
San Francisco 49ers
- Just keep doing what you are doing
Los Angeles Rams
- They are going to compete forreal. San Fran is one of the top 3 teams in the NFC, and the Rams hung with them. This is without Cooper Kupp as well, they could very much be in wild card contention if all goes well.
Seattle Seahawks
- This is the team we expected. The defense still has some work to do, but the offense was far better this week.
Arizona Cardinals
- Whoops, they almost accidentally won a game there. Never fear, the true Cardinals showed up in the 2nd half. We wonder what Arizona’s plan is. Are they hoping to take a QB? Or just take two premium players and roll with Kyler? Either way they have a lot of holes on the team and we do not expect them to be this competitive moving forward.