Two weeks have passed in this 2020 NFL season and what a two weeks it has been!
Week 1 gave us a bunch of juicy games to nibble into, but
week 2 was a whole different animal. We've had several elite QB clashes, we've
had wire games, we've had amazing feedback, and we've had great football
overall.
Hopefully we can all look forward to an even better Week 3
that starts with the Jaguars and Dolphins facing off against each other on
Thursday night at Duval.
But before we get excited about it, we still have to look
back at the clashes we witnessed last week.
A touch of the things we learned from week 2 to come!
Russ rises above the others
Our Sunday night football game featured two outstanding
quarterback performances from Cam Newton and Russell Wilson.
Although Cam, who was picked up by the Patriots in early July, had a stellar performance with 397 yards and three touchdowns, it was actually Russ and the Seahawks who came away victorious.
Wilson was picked up early by Pats star safety Devin
McCourty, but it was done after the fact after the Seattle quarterback threw
five touchdowns against five different receivers in the contest.
Russell Wilson looked electric at CenturyLink Field, scoring
35 points for his team and, by many accounts, placed No. 1 in the MVP rankings.
It might be an overreaction, but Wilson's performances in
his first two outings outshone rivals Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and sophomore
sensation Kyler Murray.
A total of nine touchdown passes for an interception, along
with passing stats of 53/64 for 610 yards, electrified the NFL and not only put
Wilson's name in MVP talks, but pivoted the Seahawks from Seattle in the mix as
a Super Bowl. contenders.
We'll see how the third-round robbery fares in the coming
weeks against the Cowboys and Cardinals, but if Russ continues to cook like him
and the Seahawks continue to win, then expect the MVP award to head for it. to
Seattle this season.
If that's not the price, I'm sure Russ would at least
appreciate the first-time vote.
There’s two beasts in the AFC East
We have already mentioned the brilliance of Cam Newton on Sunday night. The quarterback who was written off by most teams faced a toughened Seattle defense and came within a yard of winning the entire game for the Patriots.
The victory would have put them at 2-0 alongside their
division rival Buffalo Bills who claimed a fierce victory over the Miami
Dolphins on Sunday.
Make no mistake, Cam and the Pats are still in the battle
for the AFC East Division title. At this point in the season he's obviously
still up for grabs and with a chance to face rival Bills twice before the year
is out, Belichick and co. will be focused on winning these very important
clashes.
To counter Newton's brilliance for New England, Josh Allen
put in some insane numbers in the first two games of the season. The
quarterback threw for 729 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in his
games against the Jets and Dolphins.
Plus, the addition of Stefon Diggs to Buffalo's offense had
added some much-needed star power, a big factor in their young quarterback to
succeed. Diggs caught eight balls for 153 yards in Sunday's game against the
Dolphins and was arguably the best player on the field.
With two games against each other on the horizon and
competitive schedules ahead for both teams, look for the Bills and Pats to
fight to the end for their division crown in 2020.
Bad luck for big stars
The injury bug hit the NFL in week 2, and it hit hard!
A lack of preseason due to the league's new covid-19
regulations was expected to impact the fitness of players on the pitch,
resulting in a few bumps here and there. But the past week has been a travesty
as some of the NFL's biggest stars have suffered brutal injuries.
Two of the most surprising were young stallions Saquon
Barkley and Nick Bosa, who both tore their ACLs in their Week 2 games. That
will likely rule them out for the season, the recovery time expected from their
injuries. being between 6 and 9 months.
In addition to Bosa, the San Francisco 49ers lost their QBs
Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Raheem Mostert and DL Soloman Thomas in their game with the
Jets at Metlife Stadium.
The surface the Niners and Jets played on has been called
into question after their game against the San Francisco players, revealing
their concerns about playing on the same field next week against the New York
Giants. However, the NFL says the Metlife playing surface has passed all
necessary inspections and is safe to play.
The injury list didn't end there, so to be brief here is a
list of some of the most important players who were injured in week 2:
Christian McCaffrey (high ankle sprain)-
Drew Lock (AC seal torn)
-
Davante Adams (hamstrings)
-
Anthony Barr (Torn Pec)
-
Bruce Irvin (Ripped ACL)
-
Brandon Scherff (MCL sprain)
-
Courtland Sutton (ACL ripped)
It was just a few.
Many more injuries occurred during the Week 2 clashes. Some
players will only have a few weeks of recovery, while the season is over for
others.
Those who bit the bug will be sorely missed, but their teams
will have to move on. Injury can change a team's season in so many ways, so
hopefully the league can stand up for it in the weeks to come.
Here's a quick recovery for all injured players and a
healthy rest of the season for the rest.
Kirk calls him
Oh, cousins!
The Minnesota Vikings put in another poor performance in
Week 2.
After their first loss to the Green Bay Packers, they
traveled to Indianapolis to face Philip Rivers and the Colts. But to be honest,
they might as well have not shown up at all.
Kirk Cousins had one of his worst performances to date in
a Vikings uniform throwing for an abysmal 11-for-26 for 113 yards and three
interceptions. Cousins was also sacked three times by the Colts defense which
forced the QB to get a pitiful 15.9 passer rating.
The question, however, is whether Kirk's stay in Minnesota
is coming to an end?
Yes, he signed a big contract extension earlier this year,
but if his first two performances of the season are anything to go by, then
who's to say that the "Tank for Trevor" won't start in the coming
weeks.
This might be an overreaction, but it's obvious Kirk
Cousins, while a useful QB, is not going to win your franchise a Super Bowl.
And that was surely the Vikings' goal when they brought him to the franchise
quarterback in 2018.
Trading your number one probably wasn't a good idea either,
and now the team have to watch former star Stefon Diggs play Buffalo. Add to
the fact that the team's record is now 0-2 and it seems unlikely the Vikings
will even sniff the playoff image this year.
The idea before the start of the season was that Minnesota
would fight for the division with Green Bay, but now they're not even as good
as the mediocre Chicago Bears.
It's only been two weeks, but I think Minnesota might need
another miracle.
Rookie QB proves he has it
Now maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but these rookie quarterbacks look like absolute studs.
First off, we had Joe Burrow in the Browns on Thursday
night. He landed his first touchdown in the NFL, had three overall and threw
the ball for 316 yards in a close game against rivals Ohio.
After his final week 1 practice which ended in misery for
the Bengals, Burrow returned, looked confident in what he was doing and showed the
league he has the next one!
We also got a glimpse in Los Angeles of what former Oregon
QB Justin Herbert has to offer. The rookie was told minutes before the game he
was going to start after Tyrod Taylor suffered a chest injury during warm-ups,
and you know what, he delivered!
Facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs is no easy task, but
on his first start in the NFL, Herbert threw 311 yards, threw a touchdown and
ran one into the end zone himself.
If it hadn't been for a late return from the Super Bowl
champions, then the rookie would have had the perfect start to his NFL career.
But things are looking up for Herbert.
We don't know yet if Anthony Lynn names his rookie feel as
the Week 3 starter, but after playing against Kansas City, I imagine it would
be difficult for him not to pick the hot hand.
Perfect by any means, but the rookie QB who started in week
2 certainly looked like he was part of the pack.
In the end, the quarterbacks failed to secure the victory,
but they certainly grabbed people's attention.
Run Raiders Run!
Not only did they run the ball like hell, but the Las Vegas
Raiders dotted the D Saints on Monday Night Football.
What seemed like an easy game for the New Orleans Saints
quickly turned into a flame burner with the Raiders claiming a glorious victory
in their first game at Allegiant Stadium.
Without a doubt, Monday night's game became the most important
victory in Jon Gruden's second term with the Raiders.
Silver and black looked like themselves in the first
quarter, giving up big defensive plays, leaving Alvin Kamara to run over and
fail to score any points. At this point, Derek Carr was roasting on Twitter and
Raiders fans were calling for the head of defensive coordinator Paul Guenther!
But once the attack started, there was no stopping this
underdog team. Carr looked comfortable in the pocket and punched Waller,
Edwards and Renfrow for some big plays on the pitch, leading his team to an
unanswered 24-0 run at one point, which sealed the game.
Josh Jacobs also impressed the spectators. His grueling 27
runs throughout the game managed to earn him not only 88 yards but also the
respect and admiration of those on the watch.
The only thing that could have made this victory for the
team more special would be if his fans could attend. Raiders owner Mark Davis
reportedly missed his first game since 1963 because it didn't feel right to be
there if the fans couldn't either.
For now, Raider Nation will have to watch his team score
some big wins on their screens. Continuing next week when they face the
Patriots in New England.
Don't get me wrong, the Raiders aren't the best team in AFC,
they aren't even the best team in AFC West, but they just might be the most craving
team in the entire NFL.
Whether it's a blowout, a close game, or a downright
dogfight, the Raiders will have one goal in mind the rest of the season.
"Just win, baby!"
0 Comments