GREEN BAY vs WASHINGTON 

Packers win 27-18

• Story of the Game – Packers defense swarms to the ball and kills the Commanders offense 

Following an incredible performance in Week 1 against the Lions this Packers defense stepped up on a short week and dominated once again. Everyone on this Packers defense flew around and played with so much speed and confidence once again and shut down almost everything the Commanders wanted to do. With the Commanders offense being heavily reliant on their short passing game to open up the rest of their offense it was clear they were going to have to lean on Jayden Daniels to be perfect to find success in this game as Green Bay got to the ball in a blink of an eye and rallied to tackle everything caught or ran immediately. I thought Daniels did a great job of doing what he could but it was once again clear that they don’t have a true separator in the passing game if Terry McLaurin isn’t winning deep. This limited their offense to short gains and having to count on 3-5 yard completion and runs to move the ball down the field. On top of Green Bay shutting limiting any run after the catch opportunities or runs from Jayden Daniels they were killing Washington’s OL almost everything play and it was clear that Micah Parsons was taking this game over early, especially when he lined up across from rookie T Josh Conerly. Washington really had nothing to counter Green Bay’s strengths and it became very clear early that everything was going to be dependent on Jayden Daniels playing other worldly to get a win and while he played really well in my opinion it just wasn’t enough to get past what looks to be one of the best defenses in the entire league. 

• Key Notes for the Packers

Despite some injuries to the OL coming into a short week I thought this group pretty good up front. While you saw the effects of not having Zach Tom out there with Kinnard having a few tough reps and rookie Anthony Belton showing his inexperience with a couple costly penalties (including one that took away a TD to Jayden Reed) it wasn’t a glaring problem for them. A few things to clean up certainly but not nearly as bad as you may have thought. And I thought Jordan Morgan looked great at LG stepping in for Aaron Banks.

Still struggling to get real push in the run game and even in the passing game pockets are getting pushed in but Josh Jacobs has been able to break more tackles than every RB in the NFL combined so far and Jordan Love has done a great job picking his spots to run and extend plays so it’s something you hope that can improve throughout the season but you’re happy guys are making plays despite it too.

The entire defense just continues to roll and play with an energy, confidence, and intensity that I haven’t seen from a Packers defense in years. The young guys like Karl Brooks, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard made huge impacts this game and well frankly there are too many names to highlight off of this defense but Keisean Nixon and Micah Parsons were absolutely incredible tonight as well.

Jordan Love continues to be off on his deep ball to Matthew Golden who he’s missed multiple times throughout the first two weeks so far but seems to have his timing and rhythm dialed in with the guys that have been here for a few years now. Which you’d expect but hopefully as these guys get more live reps you’ll start to see Golden and Love find a connection like he had with Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and Tucker Kraft last night. Other than him being off on a few deep balls Love was awesome throughout this game and looks much more comfortable than he did his first two years in the league.

Tucker Kraft was awesome this game and deserves to be highlighted as he really has gotten it done everywhere on the field. He’s continued to be a great blocker for this team and his RAC ability has just continued to shine in this league. They use him in so many creative ways and he’s becoming one of the best young TEs in the entire league  very quickly.

Nick Neimann continues to shine on special teams and the coverage unit for this team has done a much better job so far this season despite having a big return given up to Deebo.

Matt LaFleur was in his bag all game using motion to free up quick passes to the sideline for easy yardage, finding unique ways to get almost every pass catcher and runner involved, and I thought the best part was he targeted their weak link in the secondary (Marshon Lattimore) all game long and never let him get comfortable as anytime they got into man to man they would motion his WR across formation and force him into really tough spots. Overall he had that Washington defense guessing all night and it was clear that he had the upper hand against Dan Quinn once again. It’s nice to see him get some recognition and respect as he’s been talked about in a negative way for really no reason in my opinion for the past year’s results. He’s an incredible coach and deserves to be put in conversations with the rest of the top flight HCs in the league.

• Key Notes for the Commanders

Jayden Daniels was outstanding tonight. While it want the prettiest stat line and they weren’t able to get the win weight of this offense completely rests on Jayden Daniels’ shoulders and I thought he operated very well considering the circumstances. The Commanders had no run game, their pass protection was inconsistent at best, and they weren’t able to create any separation on the back end leaving Jayden with poor protection that took away their ability to push the ball down the field, a non existent run game that he had to supplement with making difficult timing throws in the short and intermediate parts of the field, and little to no open targets throughout the game that than forced him to be perfect with ball placement. While I’m not saying we should put this guy in the same conversation with “The Big Four” he absolutely is top of that next tier and just because this game wasn’t a win or big from a stat line perspective I thought he played really well.

Their OL struggled all night and it was clear just how much they missed having Sam Cosmi in the middle of their line. While Laremy Tunsil was, aside from a penalty, lights out for most of the night their young T Josh Conerly across from Tunsil struggled all game with Micah Parsons lining up against him for a large majority of the game. While I think this group has potential and can be a really solid group moving forward they may need to find new G play while waiting for Cosmi to come back, if he even does this season. I believe Conerly despite a rough start to the season will be fine he just needs some time to adjust to playing on the right side and to the NFL talent.

This secondary got torn apart all game long, especially Marshon Lattimore. It was clear the Packers felt confident with their receiving threats against this Washington secondary in man to man coverage which the Commanders really stuck to more than I expected. They were targeting Lattimore early and often by putting him in motion and forcing him to run across formation and Wicks took advantage. Lattimore also had a PI on Doubs and really was their main target as that went at the secondary. Trey Amos had a decent game and looked fine out there but Mike Sainristil had a rough game and got targeted multiple times throughout the day which he didn’t hold up well against. Overall the secondary got lit up by the Packers offense and it’s very clear they need to play better moving forward but considering how well they played against the Giants I’m not all too worried, aside from Lattimore who looks like he has lost a step after all of the injuries.

The DL got a lot of push tonight and collapsed a few pockets but weren’t able to disconnect from blocks and get to the QB the same way they did in Week 1. They did a good job of controlling the LOS in both the run and pass so while it wasn’t a great day they had some positives to take back to the film room my worry just stands with the fact they still don’t have that game wrecker or even consistent winner up front and against better OLs than the Giants they may struggle and end with this type of a result which they don’t have the secondary to make up for. 

• Standout Performers 

Packers 

Jordan Love – 19/31  292  2/0 – 3/12 rush 

Tucker Kraft – 6/124  1 TD 

Micah Parsons – .5 Sacks  3 QB hits – Wrecked gameplan all day with pressures

Keisean Nixon – 2 Tackles  5 PBU – Aside from some hands plays was locked down all night

Commanders 

Jayden Daniels – 24/42  200  2/0 – 7/17 rush

Laremy Tunsil – 1 False Start but locked up edge even against Micah at times

Zach Ertz – 6/64  1TD 

Trey Amos – 2 Tackles  1 PBU

Daron Payne – Held middle of line in run game and collapsed pocket continuously 

DETROIT vs CHICAGO 

Lions Win 52-21

• Story of the Game – Detroit dominates division rival and Chicago beats themselves… again

While the Lions took a bit to find consistency on offense once again they started to really catch fire in the second half. They handled the Bears defensive front consistently throughout the day and it only got worse once the Bears started to shoot the sleeves in the foot offensively and forced their defense to be out there far too often. Early on the Lions leaned on the play action passing game to move the ball down the field and as the game wore on and the Bears defense slowed down the Detroit running game along with the overall explosiveness of this offense started to take over. The Bears couldn’t catch a break as they moved the ball fairly efficiently early but continued to make mistakes with penalties, turnovers, and miscues on offense that limited their ability to sustain drives. Once they got behind and were forced to throw the ball nearly every play the protection started to break down, Caleb Williams looked frustrated and was leaning on his legs to make plays, and the entire offense and honestly team as a whole started make more and more mistakes. It felt like a lot of the same problems this team ran into last year and that’s certainly not what Bears fans want to hear. While I have far more faith in Ben Johnson than I ever had in Matt Eberflus it’s been a rough start and only a handful of things that have turned around so far so while it’s a long season and only his first as HC it certainly hasn’t been the ideal start for this group who had high or at least hopeful expectations coming in. 

• Key Notes for the Lions 

Jared Goff once again looked very sharp and operated this offense beautifully. He was able to settle into the pocket far often this game compared to Week 1 and I thought consistency made the right read. It wasn’t perfect early as Goff struggled with some timing and errant throws after the first drive but as this entire offense seemed to settle in and find rhythm you could see Goff really start to turn it on. While it’s clear he needs the guys around him to play well and he’s not on that level of carrying a team to a win by himself it’s also very clear that if these playmakers start to do their thing Goff will turn into a jugs machine and deliver the ball on time and on target just as he did all of last season.  

While the offense wasn’t perfect early on you could the rest of this group really start to catch fire around Goff as they started to gain confidence throughout the game. The OL started to get real push up front in the run game, which was refreshing after last week, and their playmakers started to look like they did last year. Amon-Ra St. Brown was so consistent all day and made some really tough catches through solid coverage, Sam LaPorta was a consistent pair of hands like always, Jameson Williams finally got involved and really closed the doors on the Bears with a back breaking explosive catch for a TD, and Jahmyr Gibbs along with a strong compliment of David Montgomery broke off a couple really big runs and Gibbs looked like he was faster than everyone else on the field. This offense showed it’s still got incredible upside so long as the OL plays like they did on Sunday.

• Isaac TeSlaa made another ridiculous one handed catch as well

Brian Branch was flying all over the field this game and made some really impressive plays, including a fumble that was a brutal turnover for the Bears as they were mounting a strong drive. Along with Branch I thought Terrion Arnold played solid today as well but still has a few things he needs to clean up and this secondary which looks much improved on paper is still finding their stride.

This DL/pass rush as a whole really got to pin their ears back finally and as the game wore on they started to really get after Caleb Williams. Marcus Davenport had a really nice game off the edge and Aiden Hutchinson had a few plays that were promising as he is still getting back to 100% from last year’s brutal leg injury. Along with the pass rush I thought this Lions front really won the LOS throughout today. They gave up a few decent runs and couldn’t always get to Caleb when he scrambled but they held up on a couple short yardage sneaks and overall had a much better day than they did in Week 1, as really the whole team did. 

• Key Notes for the Bears

The Bears continue to beat themselves offensively and overall I thought just looked disconnected once again. There’s some really positive signs as Caleb Williams has drives where he looks incredibly comfortable and confident playing within rhythm which frees him up to run around and make plays with his legs as well but it seems every time they have signs of really special football they have a penalty, turnover, or missed throws that just wipes out their momentum every single time. 

• Caleb started to revert back to last year where he was trying to play hero ball and put them even father in a whole by throwing a really bad pick on a play that he tried to throw an out route to while running towards the sideline and air mailed the throw by 10 or so yards.

The OL looked fine today but also had some really bad reps as well and especially as the game went on and they had to pass protect every down it started to get ugly. Just like the rest of the offense they struggle with penalties and miscues that just make their jobs harder. Along with that once the game started to get out of hand and they became strictly a passing offense it was clear they couldn’t hold up in 5 man protections which just added to their struggles across the entire offense.

On a positive note aside from a bad drop that hit him right in the chest Rome Odunze looked really good today and was a problem early on for the Lions secondary. Caleb and him had a really nice connection throughout the day up until the game got of hand and seemingly the whole Bears team started to play down and out football which led to the drop I mentioned earlier. 

The defense as a whole obviously didn’t have a great day considering they gave up 52 points but the ways in which they had trouble felt very disappointing to me. The lack of pass rush isn’t necessarily expected from this group but not all that surprising either what shocked me more was the lack of aggression in coverage. They played a lot of off coverage including in 3 & short looks which is the complete opposite of what you’d expect from a Dennis Allen defense. On top of that they consistently got moved off the ball by a Lions OL that couldn’t do that at all in the previous week and their LBs, which was a position I thought of as a strength coming into the year, got killed in play action and couldn’t hold up in coverage at all throughout the entire day. Just a poor performance all around and while I know they’re banged up right now you’d like to see a better performance than that.

• Standout Performers  

Lions 

Jared Goff – 23/38  334  5/0

Jahmyr Gibbs – 12/94  1TD –  3/10 rec

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 9/115  3TDs – 2/7 rush

Brian Branch – 6 Tackles (All 6 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs  1 PBU  1 Forced Fumble

Bears 

Rome Odunze – 7/128  2TDs 

Jaquan Brisker – 9 Tackles (7 Solo) One of the few Bears to play with an edge all game 

PITTSBURGH vs SEATTLE

Seahawks Win 31-17

• Story of the Game – Seahawks capitalize on Steelers’ mistakes late to win an overall tough game 

Although the Seahawks struggled for the majority of this game with turnovers and inconsistent play overall from the offense they were able to pull away late after a crucial mistake from Steelers rookie RB Kaleb Johnson on kickoff. Johnson let a live ball go past him that ended up staying in the end zone and Seattle was able to recover which began a string of poor play from the Steelers as a whole and ultimately led to a 17-3 4th Quarter in favor of the Hawks. It really speaks to how sloppy and up and down this whole game was for both sides, up until that 4th Quarter for Seattle. The Steelers offense continues to struggle and can’t seem to find a consistent threat in the passing game while Seattle was moving the ball well but consistently got in their own way with poor pass protection which led to bad decisions from Darnold and a number of penalties throughout the day. Seattle was able to pull this one out but they’ll certainly have to find more success on offense to support this great defense if they want to improve off of what they were last season. Pittsburgh on the other hand needs to find some consistency in their run game because this passing game clearly doesn’t have the talent to carry them more than a drive or two throughout the game. There were flashes but you’d certainly like to see more consistency in some aspect to really have hope for this team moving forward. 

• Key Notes for the Seahawks 

Seattle’s offense as a whole was largely up and down throughout the entire game. They had a great first drive and moved the ball right down the field but as the game progressed their OL started to show some real holes against this Steelers front which in turn led to a multitude of issues ranging from panic and inaccurate throws from Darnold, inconsistent results from the run game, and an overall lack of any consistency. If they can get this OL tied together and playing well consistently you could see this offense take a huge jump but the way that they’ve built this roster is heavily reliant on that OL being capable of holding up, especially off of play action which the Steelers were able to blitz right through multiple times in this game. 

This offense has a ton of potential with JSN looking like a real deal #1 in this league along with a few solid young pieces to surround him at WR and TE, Darnold being very efficient when he’s protected, and these two RBs of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet both being talented runner despite Charbonnet struggling in this game. The talent has flashed throughout two weeks but they need to get OL sorted before it can really be anything you trust.

The front of this Seahawks defense was tearing apart the Steelers OL almost every play. Run or pass guys like Byron Murphy II, Leonard Williams, and Jarran Reed took over in the middle and their edge players may have not flashed on the stat sheet but were collapsing pockets and holding their edge in the run game snap after snap. There may not be any superstar here but they have so many guys that makes plays at the first and second level along with Mike McDonald doing a great job as a play caller that it’s hard to put many teams above the as far as defensive fronts go.

And really the same can be said about their secondary where even with missing their best player in Devon Witherspoon guys like Josh Jobe and Derrion Kendrick made huge plays in this game with Kendrick getting a pick in the redzone and Josh Jobe making some great plays as a tackler in this game. If we’re being honest Riq Woolen may be their weak link as he’s so up and down week to week but that’s a nice feeling to have if Woolen is your most worrisome player. 

• Key Notes for the Steelers 

For the second week in a row this Steelers OL looks like it may be a real problem. I saw them get some better push in the run game but for the most part it was frustrating to watch and with Rodgers as your QB at this point in his career he just can’t make up for the lack of consistency there anymore. It’s a clear problem for this team and it’s limiting what they can do in every form of their offense. I still like a number of these guys and their young so you give them some grace but this team can’t afford to continue to play like this up front on offense if they want to have any real success.

Jaylen Warren seems to be the only guy that id giving them any consistency from a playmaker perspective. DK Metcalf so far through two weeks has been hard to find on the field as he’s not providing any real threat deep and without that he’s just a guy you throw a slant or drag too occasionally, Calvin Austin III had a nice week against the Jets but didn’t play much of any impact out there in this game  and had a bad tipped pass that led to a pick in the redzone to Derrion Kendrick, and their TEs have had a decent amount of touches but nothing all that impact so far. Rodgers has done a good job of spreading the ball around but they don’t seem to have any playmakers outside of Warren that are really paying any of these touches off consistently.

This Steelers front was able to turn it on a bit this week and while I thought they could have had an even bigger game they made a number of plays and got pressure that their secondary was able to make the most of and got a couple picks off of Darnold. Despite them having a nice game I thought TJ Watt seemed to be the only guy that regularly made splash plays and the rest held their own but through the first two weeks they’ve really had to lean on blitzes to get home. Granted they always have been a blitz heavy team and it’s not something I’m particularly worried about but in past years it felt like a strength they could stack on others parts of their defense but so far it’s felt like they’ve had to lean on it due to them not having other ways to win at times, especially in the run game and play action pass looks. Overall it was a good game for this Steelers front and I thought they looked much better than Week 1 but I thought they’d wreck the game even more than they did and it seems to me there’s something missing with this defense as a whole. What worries me the most is the fact they couldn’t pull out a win with this side of the ball making the plays that they did. Which just shows me that once again this Steelers offense isn’t where it needs to be for what feels like the past half decade now. 

Special teams, lack of consistency and playmakers in the offense, and an alarming amount of mistakes in all sides of the ball leaves me a bit worried for the outlook of this Steelers team. While it’s only Week 2 and they’re 1-1 the fact they weren’t able to capitalize on all of the Seahawks mistakes and it took every part of this team to scratch out a win vs the Jets worries me. Not to mention they’re a heavy veteran loaded roster and injuries are only more likely as the year goes on, k just don’t feel good about where the Steelers are headed this season.

• Standout Performers

SEA

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 8/103  

Kenneth Walker – 13/105  1TD – 1/13 rec

Byron Murphy II – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1.5 Sacks  1 TFL  3 QB Hits

Josh Jobe – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 PBU 

Derrion Kendrick – 1 Tackle  2 PBUs  1 TD saving INT

PIT 

Jaylen Warren – 14/48 – 4/86 rec – 65 Yarder 

TJ Watt – 4 Tackles (2 Solo) 2 QB Hits

Payton Wilson – 10 Tackles (8 Solo)  1 Sack  1  TFL  1 QB Hit

CAROLINA vs ARIZONA 

Cardinals Win 27-22

• Story of the Game – Arizona escapes a near miracle by Bryce Young and the Panthers

This game got out of hand early for the Panthers but this Cardinals team did everything in their power to give their lead up in the 4th. Between penalties, missed throws/opportunities by Kyler Murray, and overall looking flat with the lead this Cardinals team has to be thankful that they walked out of here with a win. The Panthers have to find a way to establish some part of their offense early on because they can’t count on out scoring teams by two scores in the 4th Quarter regularly. Both teams showed real flaws and need to clean up a lot if they want to win in this league consistently.

• Key Notes for the Panthers

This Panthers offense looked out of sorts and flat early on and it’s very interesting to see how Bryce Young can’t seem to settle in early on. As the Cardinals started to play off coverage and only bring four up front Bryce looked really sharp and routinely moved the ball down the field but when defenses bring pressure and mix up different coverages he seems to panic and hold onto the ball too long. He has a good OL, great play caller, and while inconsistent some solid young weapons but he can’t seem to find rhythm early in games or within the season. Defenses load up the box and make it hard for this run game to get going and Bryce just can’t seem to find any way to expose defenses doing so. He still shows real flashes but he can’t have so many negative or static plays that set them back put them in obvious passing downs. 

This OL doesn’t seem to be controlling the LOS like they did last season and while pass protection has been good for the most part the run game just hasn’t gotten going at all which would set up the rest of the offense to have their best chance with their current personal. I think they’re still a very good group and now that they have Ikem Ekwonu back on the field they should start to see more success as they get their continuity back but this really comes back to Bryce to ease up the loaded boxes with his arm. 

The pass catches here, aside from Xavier Leggette, have looked very promising so far. Tetairoa McMillan has been awesome for them and has built a very nice connection with Bryce early, I thought Jatayvion Sanders had a nice game and looked really hard to bring down after the catch this game, and Hunter Renfrow showed he can still play as he was a main target for Bryce in the redzone. Once they get Jalen Coker back on the field I think they take another step in the passing game and I hope to see more consistency from Leggette as he is still very talented and flashes some really nice routes on film. 

On defense this front of the Panthers was getting moved around in the run game and while the Cardinals have a solid run blocking OL I’d like to see Carolina hold up better than they did. The second level players in this defense were all over the place and really missed filling their gaps which just made the push the Cardinals were getting even more apparent. They were finding success by blitzing and I thought they even had some nice pass rush reps when they just brought 4. Despite some nice push on pass rush reps Patrick Jones II was really the only guy to get into the backfield with any consistently (Princely Umanmielen had some nice reps as well) and even when they did they couldn’t finish the play more times than not and that has to improve as Kyler was able to find space to run every time they didn’t bring a blitz and even times where they did. 

• Key Notes for the Cardinals

This OL looked really rough in pass protection against a league average pass rush at best in my opinion. Really everyone outside of Paris Johnson Jr looked rough when it came to protecting Kyler, who made this line look much better than they played by using his legs. Jonah Williams gave up multiple pressures and both Guards looked rough sorting out blitzes and on top of that this line gave up a number of penalties late. 

Kyler Murray has to be better when they have the lead and just play safe football. While he made some huge plays, especially with his legs, that extended drives for them he also made some terrible mistakes and just looked frantic when he had the ball at times. He has to find ways to keep the ball moving consistently even if it’s not an explosive when they have the lead as it led to too many 3 and outs for this offense. 

• On a crucial 3rd down he threw a go ball about 20-30 yards and Michael Wilson ran a 10 yard out, just can’t have those miscues as it let Carolina back into a game they had no business being in.

This secondary was flying around out there and I thought looked vastly improved from last season. Jalen Thompson looked really good today and made a lot of plays coming downhill and hitting in this game. 

• With Garrett Williams going down I’m worried that the back end of this defense could really struggle as he plays such a big role for them in the Nickel. 

Far too many penalties late that seemed to give the Panthers not just a second chance but a third, fourth, and fifth on top of starting to give up easy drives for a Panthers team that couldn’t do anything in the first half. I would have liked to see them be a bit more aggressive and while I understand you don’t want to give up the big play there was nothing that they did that showed they could do so.

• Standout Performers 

AZ

Paris Johnson Jr – Locked down the left side of that OL all game in pass protection

Trey McBride – 6/78 

Jalen Thompson – 10 Tackles (6 Solo)  

Garrett Williams – 7 Tackles (5 Solo) 1 PBU

Calais Campbell – 5 Tackles (4 Solo)  2 Sacks and TFLs – Game ending sack

CAR

Tetairoa McMillan – 6/100

Hunter Renfrow – 7/48  2TDs 

Patrick Jones II – 4 Tackles (3 Solo) 1 TFL  1 PD

Brycen Tremayne – Consistently made plays on special teams including recovering the onside kick – Also made a huge catch on 4&16 to keep a scoring drive going late in the game – 3/48 rec

Kansas City vs Philadelphia 

Eagles Win 20-17

• Story of the Game – Eagles scrape out an ugly win in enemy territory to win Super Bowl rematch 

The Chiefs had this game play out the exact way they wanted with it being a “grind it out” football game with small efficient gains on offense and physical high leverage plays on defense yet the Eagles, just like the Chargers last week, were able to beat them at their own game and out execute them. At this point while it’s only been two weeks and I’m not all that much concerned about the Chiefs I think it’s becoming clear there’s just more talented teams than them in this league that can now beat them at their own game. The superstars of the Chiefs just can’t outplay the superstars of other teams and when they have the rets of the supporting cast can’t hold up anymore. They need to rework a number of things with this team but I’m afraid the season is already here and it may be a long stressful one for their fans because of the roster and style of play they have right now. And all props to the Eagles who may have had some uncalled false starts on their famous tush push but more than likely would have pulled this game out either way. The Eagles also had some rookies step up and make some huge plays when it mattered most.

• Key Notes for the Chiefs 

This offense clearly leans on Patrick Mahomes but at this point it’s starting to become too much of burden in my opinion. While Mahomes missed a few throws and could have made a few plays down the stretch to give them a better chance to win to sit here and say he didn’t do enough is just poor analysis. He’s everything for this offense, their run and pass game are not just heavily dependent on him but 98% on him to carry and control and if you put any other than the top 4 guys in this situation I’m not sure this team would win 6 games right now. It’s ugly out there and they need to find a way to get him some help and I don’t believe Rashee Rice coming back in 4 weeks is that answer. To be honest I’m not sure there is an answer for their problems right now as their pass protection is inconsistent and flat out poor at times, they have no effectiveness to their run game, and his top weapons are Tyquan Thornton who was cut from one of the worst rosters in the entire league (Patriots), a version of Travis Kelce that should be playing a role similar to Keenan Allen for the Chargers as a 3-4 option and 3rd down go to guy, and Hollywood Brown who is fine but doesn’t give you anything dynamic at this point in his career. 

This defense is right back in the same boat they were in Week 1 where they were forced to blitz to find any consistent pressures and while the Eagles weren’t able to take advantage of the iffy safety play it still want great on the back end for this defense. When they get their chance to blitz on 3rd downs they look great and they hold up against the run incredibly well as they are very disciplined but that’s about where the compliments end. Certainly had a better week than last but I point more to the inconsistency of the Eagles new offense at this point rather than them having some huge bounce back.

It’s just bleak right now for the Chiefs and while I still believe in this team to scrape together 9-11 wins it may be very stressful and look much worse getting there than I originally thought.

• Key Notes for the Eagles 

This offense still looks like they lack identity as they struggle to find the push and dominance they had in the run game last season. They’ve played well enough to win but they need to find a way to get this passing game going as Jalen Hurts is just holding onto the ball until a running lane opens due to the lack of creativity in their offense right now. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith are great but that doesn’t mean you have to leave them on the outside and just hope they can get open. I hope they start to be a little more creative getting the ball in these guys hands because the offense just looks stagnant right now and feels like they’re counting on just “out talenting” teams rather than creating unique and creative looks for these guys. 

Jalen Hurts continues to impress despite not being put in great positions and not having huge stat lines. He’s done a great job of being efficient and taking what the defense gives him and while that wasn’t much in this game it’s great to see him settled and confident despite huge plays being there. He also gave Devonta Smith a couple chances down the field and Smith was able to pull one down for him.

Adoree Jackson played a better game in this one but still was shaky at times and I’m interested to see if they can find a new answer out there as Andrew Makuba looked great today and could allow them to flex him into the slot and try DeJean on the outside if they want. Makuba was awesome today and made a huge play on a mesh route where he sorted through beautifully and made a big play at the catch point which then led to a Nolan Smith stop on 4th down to get the Chiefs off the field. 

The front of this defense looked great in run defense today and swarmed to the ball which was refreshing to see after some up and down plays throughout the Cowboys game in Week 1. Still struggling to pay off the push they get up front consistently as the loss of Josh Sweat and Milton Williams seems to be a bigger deal than people thought to their pass rush. Certainly not a bad group or anything to stress over but you’d like to see one of these guys take a step as the season goes on.

• Standout Performers 

KC

Patrick Mahomes – 16/29  187  1/1 – 7/66 1TD rush 

Josh Simmons – Still no sacks allowed and only a couple pressures today – Also an unreal tackle off of a pick… hit 18mph

Chris Jones – 2 (Tackles – Both Solo) 2 TFLs – Still looking for more consistent pressure 

PHI 

Saquon Barkley – 22/88  1 TD – 2/6 rec 

Jalen Hurts – 15/22  101  0/0 – 9/15 1TD rush

Andrew Makuba – 6 Tackles (5 Solo)  .5 Sack  1 TFL  1 PD  1 INT

Jordan Davis – 5 Tackles (3 Solo)  2 PD – Played with injury and still held middle of the field and some big plays to disrupt passing game by batting balls

MINNESOTA vs ATLANTA

Falcons Win 22-6

• Story of the Game – Vikings offense falls flat after heroic performance in Week 1

JJ McCarthy looked rattled early but this time he didn’t turn it around late and it was a lot of the same from early on in the Bears game. The OL didn’t do him any favors but he also held the ball too long against the blitz and allowed Atlanta to tee off on him all game. Atlanta managed to own the LOS on both sides of the ball and it was clear Minnesota didn’t really have an answer for either side while missing key players in Christian Darrisaw and Blake Cashman. When Minnesota is able to protect on offense and have a lead so they can use their creative blitzes and shell coverages on defense they are near impossible to stop but it’s clear that if you can do what Atlanta did and own the game early they struggle to recover with where McCarthy is at right now.  

• Key Notes for the Falcons 

Atlanta did a great job scheming and executing against a tough Minnesota defense by owning the LOS in the run game and having quick answers for Penix to get the ball to and keep their offense moving and in positive downs and distances to slow Minnesota’s aggression. Bijan Robinson looked like the best player on the field and was absolutely killing this Minnesota front even when they got push by finding the correct hole and hitting it every time. Tyler Allegier also had some really nice runs and fought through the traffic of the Vikings defense that couldn’t seem to get a hand on him or Bijan.

Kyle Pitts and Drake London did a great job flashing their numbers early and being available for Penix to get the ball to so Minnesota couldn’t get to him. The whole passing game was designed around getting the ball out fast and efficiently and I thought Penix did a great job with ball placement and making quick decisions. 

This offense wasn’t anything special tonight on the box score but they managed to have consistent success against one of the toughest defenses to play in the league. Considering how young they are they showed a real connection throughout the game that was impressive to see even if they failed to cap drives off with touchdowns. I’m excited to see if they can sustain and build on this throughout the season.

The Falcons defense was swarming to the QB early and often and whether it was blitzing or just four man pressures it seemed to not matter against this struggling Vikings OL. At one point they had 9/14 drop backs pressured and it was clear that this new look Falcons front has taken their defense to a new level that just couldn’t have reached last season. Along with this new look Falcons front their other young rookies on defense at NB and S, Billy Bowman Jr and Xavier Watts, made two huge plays to get INTs on the back end. This young defensive talent is showing out early and if they continue to play like this the Falcons might have a surprising season on their hands.

• Key Notes for the Vikings 

JJ McCarthy looked really good when he was protected early on but those snaps came few and far between and his poise seemed to fade as he got hit more and more throughout the game. He was far too inconsistent and needs to trust his eyes and throw guys open rather than waiting to see it. JJ doesn’t have it easy by any means with the protection he has in front of him but you’d like to see him find the answers faster than he is right now but it’s early in his first year playing in the NFL. I’m not worried for the long term but it may be a slow process to see the best version of this Vikings offense.

Their run game looked more consistent this week but still struggled overall. I still would have liked to see them lean on it a bit more and do everything they could to help slow the game down for JJ. 

Not having Blake Cashman was brutal for this defense. While Eric Wilson was able to force a fumble and wasn’t a liability by any means this team couldn’t set an edge in the run game and because of that their IDL had to get vertical and force runs inside but without Cashman in the middle they couldn’t seem to fit their run gaps so whether it was inside or out Atlanta’s RBs had open lanes to run through. Along with that they got killed in the quick passing game especially anytime they had Wilson or Pace in space vs an out breaking route. Cashman allows them to do a lot of what they do on defense by being able to do everything from blitz, playing competitive man coverage, dropping into zone, and spying the QB and without him they have a huge hole in the middle of the field teams can exploit all day. 

As the game wore on this Vikings defense started to make some big time plays and get some crucial stops but the offense continued to fall short and put them on the field which no defense can consistently handle. The only thing else they could have done to flip this game is managed to get their hands on a few turnovers but that’s asking a lot of defense that largely stepped up and made important plays time after time even through injuries.

• Standout Performers 

ATL

Bijan Robinson – 22/143 – 3/25 rec

Kyle Pitts –  4/37

Entire OL – Wasn’t a perfect game and certainly had their struggles but did an excellent job in the run game

Zach Harrison – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1.5 Sacks  1 TFL  1 Forced Fumble 

Billy Bowman Jr – 4 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 INT

MIN

Justin Jefferson – 3/81 

Jonathan Greenard – 4 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 Sack + TFL

Jalen Redmond – 6 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs

HOUSTON vs TAMPA BAY

Buccaneers Win 20-19

• Story of the Game – Baker and the Bucs put together a special drive to pull off a back and forth win 

After Houston started to control this game late with crucial defensive stops and big special teams’ plays including a block punt and a punt return that got them well into Buccaneers territory and eventually led to a TD that put Houston up 19-14 the Buccaneers offense got the ball back with 2:00 left and pulled off some highly improbable plays to score the winning TD. Baker Mayfield made big play after big play with his legs and arm that just broke Houston’s back every time they made plays on previous downs. Houston was able to get Tampa in a 4th & 10 after a missed screen play, deep throw to Evans, and a tough PBU on a really nice play to get a 50/50 ball to Egbuka from Baker but ultimately on that 4th down Baker was able to run through an arm tackle and pick up a fresh set of downs. After that Bucky Irving broke multiple tackles to put them in the redzone and Baker completed a another big ball to put them within the 5 yard line where Rachaad White was able to punch in a tough run up the middle leaving only :09. Just a heartbreaking way to go out for the Texans defense who had an amazing night before hand. 

• Key Notes for the Buccaneers 

This OL desperately needs Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke to get healthy. Goedeke played really well last night but was clearly banged up and without him and Wirfs the effectiveness of this offense drastically goes down. As much as I love Graham Barton and he’s done an incredible at LT considering he’s their starting C Baker and the rest of this offense will be very happy when they get Wirfs back out there as they looked pretty rough at times up front vs this high powered Texans DL.

Baker picked his spots to run perfectly and constantly made the Texans pay in big spots when they didn’t spy him. He even ran late while fighting through getting banged up after getting hit quite a bit throughout this game, really impressive to see how he came up with clutch play after clutch play no matter the circumstances. 

This Buccaneers DL had some really nice reps but considering how bad this Texans OL has looked I thought they’d find more success bring just four but they had to lean on blitzes to get consistent pressure. While it may be problem against teams that can sort out blitzes and hold up consistency against them the Texans weren’t able to and the Buccaneers exploited many times throughout this game, especially late. Their run defense was great though and they were able to consistently blow up the LOS and force backs to fight just for a couple of yards fairly regularly. 

• Calijah Kancey looks to be out for the year so expect them to lean into blitzing more and more and/or make a trade for a pass rusher at IDL.

Their LBs were getting exploited by the Texans RBs out of the backfield and while Lavonte David has been able to fend off Father Time for a while now it’s clear he’s not quite the same guy in man that he used to be. Still a great player obviously but limited in his coverage ability at this point and they don’t have anyone to make up for that. 

Special Teams, especially their punt coverage unit, was really rough tonight. The Texans were able to block a punt which almost cost the Buccaneers the game and had two more that were inches away from being clocked as well. They also gave up a huge return to Jaylin Noel that ended up allowing the Texans score a TD that would have iced this game if it weren’t for this offense stepping up late.

• Key Notes for the Texans 

This OL is forcing this offense to be extra reliant on screen plays and Stroud to be perfect in the quick passing game due to their lack of ability to hold up in pass protection. The bad news is they may have been even worse in the running game where they routinely allowed this Buccaneers IDL group to blow open the LOS or at least control it nearly every snap. 

CJ Stroud did a great job early and was able to move this offense up and down the field despite the lack of protection but as the game wore on and the Buccaneers defense got a better feel for the Texans game plan Stroud started to struggle and look rushed which led to errant throws and him having to force throws he didn’t want as well. I thought he could have done a better job down the stretch but he’s tasked with a lot right now and simply put… more often than not he doesn’t have a chance to even make a play with the OL he has in front of him right now. And without a run game to mitigate the poor protection it leaves Stroud trying to make everything happen with perfect timing and special plays all between him and the WR at an accelerated rate.

• Fully expect the Nico Collins and Stroud connection will be more on point moving forward as this game they were a touch off all night.

Defensively this team looked great once again. Obviously that last drive hurts and you would have loved to clean up the penalties on that side of the ball as well but they made plenty of stops for this offense to pay off and it just didn’t happen. The secondary was really tough in coverage all game against an explosive Tampa offense, the DL dominated in second half especially, and the young LBs were flying around making plays. It was really fun to watch and it’s just a shame they ran out of gas towards the end and couldn’t come up with that one play they needed in that moment. Not worried about this group long term one bit though. Demeco Ryans has these guys playing with a physicality and aggression that carries over week to week and if this offense can get some protection and find a rhythm this Texans team will be difficult to stop. 

Their special teams units, especially punt return, were incredible today. Almost having 3 blocked punts but they were able to come away with one of them at least. Along with the blocked punt Jaylin Noel made some big plays as a returner and looked very impressive on both punt and kick return. EJ Speed also made a couple nice plays on special teams kick coverage.

• Standout Performers 

TB 

Baker Mayfield – 25/38  215  2/0 – 3/33 rush – Clutch last drive 

Bucky Irving – 17/71 – 6/50 rec

Tykee Smith – 6 Tackles (4 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs 

Vita Vea – 3 Tackles (2 Solo) – Owned LOS all night

HOU

CJ Stroud – 13/24  207  1/0 – 4/27 rush

Nick Chubb – 12/43  1 TD – 2/29 

Derek Stingley Jr – 3 (Solo Tackles)  2 PBUs

Henry To’oto’o – 11 Tackles (7 Solo)  1 TFL – Flying all over the field this game 

Danielle Hunter – 5 Tackles (3 Solo)  2 Sacks + TFLs  1 FF 

Jalen Pitre – 6 Tackles (5 Solo) – Excellent blitzing all night

Will Anderson Jr – 4 Tackles (3 Solo) 1 Sack + TFL

LOS ANGELES vs LAS VEGAS

Chargers Win 20-9

• Story of the Game – Chargers defense is too much for Geno and the Raiders 

This Chargers defense owned the LOS all game long and the ridiculous part is the coverage on the back end may have been even better. While this front wasn’t able to get to and bring down Geno Smith on a regular basis they consistently pushed the pocket and got pressure on Geno who then turned to forcing throws into contested coverage down the field due to the lack of open targets. Without Brock Bowers being 100% it was clear this Raiders passing game had no go to threat or even separator other than Jakobi Myers occasionally finding soft spots in zone which became a real issue as the running game was absolutely hopeless as rookie RB Ashton Jeanty averaged -.1 yards before contact last night. Every time they handed it off they were met at the LOS and with the way the Chargers swarmed to the ball there was no breaking tackles and making magic happen either.. just a brutal showing by a rebuilt Raiders OL who struggled like this all of last year. With nothing going on offense it let this young defense in a tough position and while they held up well they could do enough to make up for their offense struggling so badly.

• Key Notes for the Chargers 

While they overall struggled on offense it was increasingly positive to see Greg Roman continue building on a great start in Week 1. He orchestrated a great offense this game and I thought did a great job at blending run and pass along with mixing same personnel with different formations to keep the defense guessing as to what was coming. Looked like a modern offense which in the past you could really only say about his running game. 

Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris continue to fight for every yard but there’s just not much space to operate in. While getting a few yards every play is acceptable you’d like this part of your offense to be a bit more explosive and/or more consistent so that you can  take some pressure off of Justin every once and awhile. 

This Chargers defense was just outstanding all night. They controlled the LOS every single snap and while they weren’t able to get Geno down every time they consistently collapsed pockets and got pressure that forced Geno into making throws into contested coverage because of how great they played on the backend as well. Tony Jefferson had a throwback game and the young guys, Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still, made plays consistently in the secondary as well. This group is just so tied together under Jesse Minter and it’s incredible to watch how the entirety of this defense almost moves as one entity and it’s almost never wrong. If they can do this consistently there’s very few teams in the league that would want to run into this group in the playoffs as every single snap would be so difficult no matter what you do. 

• Khalil Mack looks like he suffered a pretty rough injury on his wrist/forearm. Would be a really rough loss if he’s out significant time.

• Key Notes for the Raiders 

This OL has to be more effective getting movement in the running game moving forward. Jeanty got hit on average -.1 yards from the LOS and that just can’t happen. No matter who the running back is you can’t be an effective ground game with that as your OL. Along with the lack of movement in the run game the pass protection was rough as well. Geno felt like he was constantly forcing a throw because of pressure or  checking down immediately and it really took away from them having any chance on offense. They have to be better than this up front if they want to have any success in this league as too many teams have DLs that will tear this group apart if the6 play like that.

Geno Smith had a rough game but at the same time there wasn’t much he could have done. He was under constant duress and his top receiving threat (Brock Bowers) didn’t look the same at all while dealing with the knee injury. Every throw Geno made it felt like there was at least 2 Chargers in the vicinity which led to a number of tipped passes and in turn a couple of INTs off of those as well. He had no run game, no time to throw, and no open receivers to throw too consistently… just brutal and had to be incredibly frustrating for him.

• I thought Chip Kelly called a really nice game but because of the OL issues and overall lack of high end talent this Raiders team just faltered far too often and consistently found themselves in obvious passing downs that just made all of the issues more apparent.

Maxx Crosby was absolutely awesome this game and really continued to keep this game alive for a Raiders teams that really had no business doing so. Overall this defense played really well and made it incredibly tough on a good Chargers offense but ultimately they were on the field too much due to the lack of lengthy drives by the offense which led to them wearing down and losing some firepower as the game progressed. Really promising results from a largely made over defense this year.

• Standout Performers 

LAC 

Justin Herbert – 19/27  242  2/0 – 9/31 rush 

Keenan Allen – 5/61  1 TD 

Joe Alt – Lockdown at LT once again 

Daiyan Henley – 10 Tackles (7 Solo)  1 Sack  1 INT  2 PD – Battling through sickness 

Tony Jefferson – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 INT  2 PDs

Tarheeb Still – 9 Tackles (7 Solo)  2 PDs

Entire DL – Owned LOS all game

LV 

Jakobi Meyers – 6/68

Maxx Crosby – 5 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 Forced Fumble

Germaine Pratt – 7 Tackles (5 Solo)  2 PDs – Should have had a pick but dropped it.. right in his hands

Dylan Laube – Made a couple of really nice plays in kickoff coverage