Week 2 of the NFL season brought even more big-time games than Week 1. Some amazing division games, as well as cross-conference teams, went at it while emerging stars in the NFL put on amazing performances. Here is a full recap of the action that took place in Week 2 of the NFL season.
The week began with an NFC rivalry game between the Washington Football Team. Taylor Heinicke made the start at QB with Rayn Fitzpatrick out with a hip injury suffered last week. Both teams with back and forth through the entire game, with Daniel Jones running loose through the WFT’s defense. On the other side, Heinicke lit the Giants up with his arm. As the seconds waned, the WFT missed a field goal, but a penalty was called on New York. On the second attempt, Washington won by a score of 30-29. Taylor Heinicke finished with 336 passing yards and two touchdowns for the WFT. Daniel Jones threw for 249 yards and ran for another 95 in the loss.
The Cincinnati Bengals travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. The Bears’ defense made life hell for the young QB Joe Burrow. The Bears forced three interceptions out of Burrow, including a pick 6 from Roquan Smith. Justin Fields also made his NFL debut as Andy Dalton went out with an injury. Chicago took the game 20-17 to pick up their first win of the season.
In another division battle, the Dolphins faced the Miami Dolphins. Hard to say it was much of a battle though. The Bills dominated the Dolphins from start to finish. Unfortunately for the Dolphins on top of the loss, they lost their starting QB Tua Tagovailoa went out with a rib injury. Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns as the Bills rolled to a 35-0 win.
The Cleveland Browns looked to bounce back from their heartbreaking Week 1 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. They had to first go through the Houston Texans led by former Brown, Tyrod Taylor. Baker Mayfield played a great game, completing 19/21 passes with 213 yards with one passing touchdown and one rushing. Nick Chubb also ran for 95 yards and a touchdown. In the end, the Browns won 31-21.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Indianapolis Colts in their week 2 matchup. Both teams battled to the very end before the Rams got the ball on the final possession. Matthew Stafford got the Rams in field goal range before Matt Gay made a 38-yard field goal that won the game. The final score was 27-24 as the Rams go on to 2-0.
Kyler Murray put on an absolute show in Week 2 vs, the Minnesota Vikings. The speedy Qb threw for 400 yards three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Despite the two interceptions he threw, Kyler proved his self to be one of the best QBs in the NFL. For Minnesota, Kirk Cousins had a game himself. He threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Dalvin Cook also ran for 131 yards in the game. In the end, though, Minnesota failed to convert on their field goal attempt to win the game. Arizona escaped with a 34-33 win to stay undefeated.
The Dallas Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Los Angeles Chargers. The two teams jockeyed for the momentum throughout the game, but no team could take the edge. Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert played outstanding games to lead their teams in crunch time, but Dallas had the ball last. After struggling last week vs. Tampa Bay, Greg Zuerlein nailed a 56-yard kick to win the game as time expired for the Cowboys. The kick helped Dallas win the game 20-17.
The New England Patriots and the New York Jets faced off, as rookie QBs Zach Wilson and Mac Jones faced off for the first time of many. It only went well for one of the rookies though as Zach Wilson threw four interceptions, three in the first half. For Jones, it was was smooth sailing. The Pats dominated New York all night as they came out with a 25-6 win.
The San Francisco 49ers traveled cross country to face the Philadelphia Eagles. This game proved to be a defensive game, as both sides did an excellent job to neutralize the offense. San Francisco eventually got a lead in the second half and held on to win 17-11.
With Josh Jacobs out, the Raiders were forced to rely solely on Derek Carr if they wanted to get a win vs. the Steelers. The first half was slow for both teams, but in the second half that all changed. Derek Carr helped his team gain a lead while playing through a lower leg injury he sustained earlier in the game. A 61-yard bomb to speedster Henry Ruggs was the nail in the coffin for Las Vegas, as they took home a 26-17 win, to move onto 2-0.
After a super-efficient Week 1 performance, Jameis Winston seemed to show signs of his old self in Week 2 vs. Carolina. Winston threw for just 111 yards with two interceptions in the game. For Carolina though, Sam Darnold has strung back-to-back impressive performances, this time with 305 yards and two touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey proves why he’s the most versatile back in the NFL with 72 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards. Carolina went on to win 26-7 to stay perfect on the season.
#1 pick Trevor Lawrence faced some stout competition in his second career game as he faced the Denver Broncos and their elite secondary. The rookie threw for just 118 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown. For Teddy Bridgewater though, it was smooth sailing. Bridgewater threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns while completing 26/34 passes. Courtland Sutton pulled down nine catches for 159 yards as well for Denver. The Broncos move on 2-0 with a 23-13 victory over the Jaguars.
Tom Brady and the Bucs wasted no time with the Atlanta Falcons in week 2. Tom Brady dissected the defense time and time again, as he threw for five touchdowns on the day. Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans accounted for four of Tampa Bays’ scores. Mike Edwards also took both of his interceptions back for touchdowns as well. Tampa Bay looked dominant as ever as they sailed to a 48-25 victory over Atlanta.
After an underwhelming performance in week one, Derrick Henry and the Titans picked up the pace against the Seahawks. Ryan Tannehill threw for 347 yards, with 128 of those going to new acquisition Julio Jones. Derrick Henry showed why he was the 2020 Offensive MVP with his 35 carries for 182 ards and three-touchdown performance. Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett connected for 178 yards and one score on the day as well. IN the second half, Tennessee chopped at the lead scoring 21 unanswered to tie the game to take it to OT. After both teams failed to score on their first drive, Tennessee drove down the field to kick a 38-yard field goal for the win. The final score was 33-30.
The injury struck Baltimore Ravens looked to finally beat the Kansas City Chiefs, after failing to do so the past few seasons. From the start of the game, it didn’t look like it would be much of a contest, as Lamar Jackson threw two first-quarter interceptions to Tyrann Mathieu, and one being returned back for a touchdown. Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs jumped out to a lead and were up 35-21 late in the second half. But Lamar Jackson willed his team back with an amazing performance. Jackson threw for 239 yards and one passing touchdown and rushing for 107 yards and two rushing touchdowns, the first time in NFL history a player has done it more than 3 times, Sunday was his fifth. After a Chiefs fumble on their final possession, the Ravens’ converted on a 4th and 1 in their own territory to seal the game. The final score was 36-35.
In the final game of Week 2, the Green Bay Packers faced their division rival, the Detroit Lions. Aaron Rodgers and they Packers looked to redeem themselves after their dismal week one performance against the Saints, and they did just that. Both teams started the half neck and neck, with the score being 17–14 at half, in Detroits favor. But the Packers offense showed no signs of slowing down while the defense shut the Lions out in the second half. The Packers went on to win 35-17 behind a four touchdown ( One rushing, three receiving) burst from RB Aaron Jones. Aaron Rodgers finished the game with 255 yards and four touchdowns.