Things went mostly according to plan but Week 2 in the NFL was filled with high scores, nail-biters, and last-second heroics…depending on who you’re rooting for. I went 12-4 on straight picks again (9-7 vs spread) to improve to 24-8 overall (19-12-11 vs spread), while Christen went 11-5 to move to 21-11. Sadly, there was a wave of season-ending injuries that swept across the league, and altered the landscape of several seasons.
First, I’ll start by apologizing to the Browns and the Bengals. That Thursday night game was actually a lot of fun, thanks to the lack of defense on either side. Cleveland always looks good when they take on weak run defense and Joe Burrow reaffirmed his place as a star in the making. I get the feeling things may go differently when they meet again in late October.
The Falcons are probably taking it much, much worse than I am but that was one of the most brutal bad beats I’ve ever taken. Up two full possessions inside the final 2-minutes, Atlanta was looking like a bullseye underdog bet. Credit to the Cowboys who were down 20 at one point and managed to cut it to a 2-pt lead but they still needed a miracle onside kick, which has been made increasingly more improbable thanks to ruling changes. Apparently ATL didn’t get the memo. They all just stood around and refused to make a play on the ball during the onside kick attempt. Dallas dove on the whirling ball, gained possession and kicked the game-winning field goal to improve to 1-1. Even though the Falcons are used to traumatic moments, it’s the kinda thing that’d make you wanna pull your hair out if you bet on ‘em as I did. But at least they covered.
Of the undefeated teams, Kyler Murray has the Cardinals looking like they may be the best of them. Baltimore staked their claim as well with a dominant win over the Texans. The Packers looked dominant once again after a rocky start against the Lions, but it’s the Lions. Kansas City eeked out an OT win against a Chargers team that showed up ready to go. The Chiefs showed their championship pedigree and found a way to win but they have some issues to address in their pass protection. While losing the home opener is tough, the Bolts look to have found their QB in Justin Herbert. He looked to have good command over the offense and more willingness to utilize his receiving corps.
Seattle, Buffalo, Chicago, the Rams, and Pittsburgh also improved to 2-0 in uncomfortably close games, but the Seahawks goaline stand against the Patriots is the biggest quality moment in the bunch. The Buccaneers and 49ers rebounded to 1-1 with key victories but the Niners were one of those teams decimated by injury, losing defensive lineman Nick Bosa and Soloman Thomas for the season while starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo along with RBs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman will be out for several weeks. On the bright side, San Francisco has a favorable schedule coming up and could conceivably weather the storm for a few weeks.
Houston, Minnesota, and Philadelphia appear to be competing for most regression. All three fell to 0-2, but at least Houston lost to the Chiefs and Ravens. I don’t hate Kurt Cousins and don’t begrudge him maximizing his leverage in free agency, but he was never the answer to the Viking’s problems and they definitely overpaid for him. They looked utterly inept on both sides of the ball against the Colts but I also don’t envy any team that has to play the early game in the awkward shadows of the Indy’s Lucas Oil Stadium. The Eagles have now gotten shellacked twice in a row and Carson Wentz has never looked the same since coming back from knee surgery a few years ago. Doug Pederson is a good coach but Philly is hanging on to a style of football they are no longer equipped to play and the results speak for themselves.
It’s safe to say the Raiders are for real after a convincing win over the Saints to break in their shiny new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. However, New Orleans may want to seriously consider firing their Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen. When his man coverage wasn’t getting beat or missing tackles all night long, they were giving up first downs on penalties (5 total). David Carr looked great leading Vegas up and down his brand new home turf, but the Saints’ were exhausted in the second half. It’s the kind of performance that’s going to require accountability in the locker room or in the coaches’ room.
There are a number of interesting matchups in Week 3, culminating with the Chiefs at the Ravens on Monday night, but things kick off with the Dolphins at the Jaguars on Thursday night in a game that should be pretty high scoring.
Here are the Sheist Power Rankings after week 2:
| 1. Ravens 2-0 (2⬆) |
| 2. Chiefs 2-0 (1⬇) |
| 3. Cardinals 2-0 (6⬆) |
| 4. Seahawks 2-0 (5⬆) |
| 5. Packers 2-0 (4⬇) |
| 6. Raiders 2-0 (10⬆) |
| 7. Rams 2-0 (11⬆) |
| 8. Bills 2-0 (7⬇) |
| 9. Titans 2-0 (15⬆) |
| 10. Steelers 2-0 (9⬇) |
| 11. Bears 2-0 (13⬆) |
| 12. Patriots 1-1 (8⬇) |
| 13. Buccaneers 1-1 (20⬆) |
| 14. Cowboys 1-1 (26⬆) |
| 15. 49ers 1-1 (17⬆) |
| 16. Saints 1-1 (3⬇) |
| 17. Chargers 1-1 (16⬇) |
| 18. Jaguars 1-1 (14⬇) |
| 19. Colts 1-1 (25⬆) |
| 20. Browns 1-1 (32⬆) |
| 21. Washington 1-1 (12⬇) |
| 22. Texans 0-2 (23⬇) |
| 23. Panthers 0-2 (21⬇) |
| 24. Falcons 0-2 (18⬇) |
| 25. Eagles 0-2 (22⬇) |
| 26. Bengals 0-2 (28⬆) |
| 27. Lions 0-2 (24⬇) |
| 28. Vikings 0-2 (19⬇) |
| 29. Broncos 0-2 (27⬇) |
| 30. Dolphins 0-2 (31⬆) |
| 31. Giants 0-2 (29)⬇ |
| 32. Jets 0-2 (30)⬇ |