Two weeks in and there has been a lot to take away. The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2, the Falcons are 2-0, and Puka Nacua is top five in receiving yards. Just as we all expected right?
Everything you thought you knew, throw it out the window. And we are just getting started, there is plenty of drama still to come.
Have you hit the panic button on Joe Burrow and the Bengals yet? Or are you all in on Sean McVay and the Rams? I wish I could leave you with takeaways from every game, but there is just no time for that. Buckle up, as these are my winners and losers from what was a wild Week 2.
Winner – Sam Howell & His Commanding Comeback
Whether you want to believe it or not, Sam Howell is now 3-0 as a starter. The fifth round quarterback out of North Carolina has been making waves in his young NFL career. And after being down 21-3 in the second quarter, Howell took the reigns and put this team on his back. He finished with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns with an efficient 69% completion percentage.
But this was ultimately a great team victory from a resilient Commanders team that is now 2-0. The offense was clicking, with Brian Robinson taking control of this backfield. He found the end zone twice on Sunday and helped put this one away for Washington.
The shift in momentum began when Howell found McLaurin early in the third quarter, tying the game at 21 apiece. It was a beautiful ball, and is really just the beginning of this duo as they continue to build off of each other.
The Commanders’ defense came up big when needed too and smothered the Broncos’ two-point conversion that would have sent the game to overtime. This is a unit that isn’t getting enough love. Through two games they have 10 sacks (T-1st), 16 TFL’s (2nd), and four takeaways (4th). Chase Young made his return and finished with 1.5 sacks. You can’t help but feel excited for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Loser – Justin Fields
Where we praise one quarterback, we also criticize another. It is not looking promising for Justin Fields who has all the support in the world from fans in Chicago. This offseason the Chicago Bears received a ton of praise for many of the moves they made to surround Fields with better talent, but two weeks into the season and that feels like it may have been premature.
Fields is in the third year of his rookie contract and it is not looking like that fifth-year option will be picked up. If things don’t turn around soon then they may need to look at their options in a loaded 2024 draft class. This is a team that had the first overall pick in 2023 before trading it to the Panthers. So far they look as if they could have that pick again.
Much of the Bears’ woes fall on Fields. The defense allowed just 20 points against a Bucs team that has surpassed expectations early on. Down three with just over two minutes on the clock, Chicago had the chance to tie this thing up. Starting out within your own 20 is not ideal, but neither is throwing a pick-six to put the game away.
Much of Fields struggles are self induced and stem from how long it takes him to read defenses at the NFL level. He has been hesitant to release the ball and this has led to many of his sacks this season. This is also leading to him missing open receivers. Optimism is fading fast in Chicago.
Winner – Sean McVay and his bid For Coach of the Year
The Rams entered 2023 as a team that many thought could be in a position to find their quarterback for the future. Their 1-1 start has got some thinking otherwise, and much of that is thanks to McVay. On Sunday the Rams fell to the San Francisco 49ers, who currently look like the best team in football. But for a good portion of that game it remained competitive.
It wasn’t until a late Matthew Stafford interception that the game really got away from them. They would go on to lose 30-23 after a meaningless last second field goal that left bettors in shambles – sorry to those who had the 49ers to cover at -7.5.
But let’s look at the many things that are going well for Sean McVay and his young Rams team. For starters, that youth has shown up in a big way to start the season. Rookie sensation Puka Nacua has won over the hearts of football fans. On Sunday he set the record for receptions by a rookie in one game with 15. His ability to step up in Cooper Kupp’s absencehas been crucial to this team’s success.
Tutu Atwell and Kyren Williams both deserve a shout for their roles on this Rams offense thus far. Matthew Stafford apparently struggled to connect with these younger guys off the field at first, but on the field they are money. The Rams defense has also been on it, ranking sixth in yards per game with 272.5. Sunday wasn’t the prettiest, but this San Francisco team is not an easy one to game plan for to begin with.
Loser – Death, taxes, and the Patriots coming up short
At this point I am not sure what to think regarding the New England Patriots. This team has come up short time and time again and it is clearly a problem. Shooting themself in the foot on a weekly basis has become the norm in New England. Thus they find themself as one of my losers from this past week’s slate of games.
So let’s talk about what all went wrong on Sunday against their division rival Miami. Starting out on the very first drive of the game, rookie receiver Demario “Pop” Douglas fumbled the ball. Then we heard nothing from the former Liberty receiver, as Bill Belichick decided he was done for the night. Bill chose to punish Douglas, and doing so punished the whole offense.
From then on they were really missing a dynamic playmaker that can really make a defender miss. Juju Smith-Schuster took over in the slot, and despite being two totally different players they attempted to use him the same way. This was an egregious decision from Belichick and Bill O’Brien who should know better.
And when things finally started to look like they were in favor for the Patriots, Mac Jones throws up a freebie for Xavien Howard. The veteran cornerback absolutely bodied Parker on the sideline and didn’t even give him a chance to make a play. That was a costly turnover for a Patriots team that was driving and in need of some points. This feels like a trend at this point for the Patriots, as they came up short against Miami, 27-20.
Winner – Shane Steichen
Two weeks into the season and first-year head coach Shane Steichen has gotten his first win under his belt. And for the first time in a long time this Indianapolis Colts team looked like they were in control and dominated the entire game. Despite only playing for just the first half, Anthony Richardson was able to find the end zone twice, giving them the hot start they needed.
They would go on to beat the Texans 31-20 and there was a lot to take away from this one. Gardner Minshew deserves a ton of praise for stepping in on short notice and playing as efficiently as he did. He finished 19-23 for 171 yards and a touchdown, keeping this offense afloat while Richardson was out. Zack Moss had a productive game too.
But it wasn’t just the offense that did their part in Sunday’s win. The defensive line had their way with Houston. The Texans clearly missed Laremy Tunsil as Stroud was sacked a total of six times. Dameon Pierce was held to just 2.1 yards per carry on 15 attempts. They now are in a three-way tie for first sitting at 1-1.
Loser – Brandon Staley
As the weather gets colder, the seats get hotter. And Brandon Staley, your seat is almost on fire at this point. Firstly, this team’s inability to close out games is a still big problem. In their last three games, the Chargers have had a lead in the fourth quarter and ended up losing. One of those losses was the third largest comeback in playoff history against the Jaguars.
On Sunday they ended up losing in Nashville with a defense that just couldn’t get it done. Through two weeks the Chargers have over 50 points and two turnovers, but they are 0-2. The offense hasn’t been perfect, but the defense has definitely not held up their end of the bargain.
On Sunday they were shredded by the deep ball. You heard that right – the 2023 Tennessee Titans deep ball beat the Chargers. If you don’t see the problem in that sentence then I am not sure what to tell you.