I was quite proud of the game picks I made in Week 1, correctly selecting 13 of the 16 winners on opening weekend in a massive stroke of good fortune. But I don’t even want to glance at my selections for Week 2 because I know they have been blown up and destroyed in every possible way.
That’s the beauty of the NFL, though. You never quite know what is going to happen from game to game and the Week 2 Sunday served up 11 one-score games and at least half a dozen major shocks, including the Baltimore Ravens falling to 0-2 for the first time since 2015 with a home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders and the New Orleans Saints inflicting an absolute beatdown on the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
There was also an upset at the game I watched from the sidelines of U.S. Bank Stadium as the Minnesota Vikings recorded a 23-17 win over the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Given this was the game I saw the most of on Sunday, it makes sense to start right here in Minneapolis.
Pound for pound, I think it would be fair to say that the Vikings do not match up to the 49ers in terms of roster quality and depth. So, it was always going to require a special effort and some huge plays for Minnesota to come away with the victory.
They got plenty of those. Sam Darnold connected on a 97-yard touchdown pass to electrifying wide receiver Justin Jefferson that nearly lifted the roof off the stadium, the Vikings blocked a punt and Josh Metellus intercepted a pass from Brock Purdy that bounced around like a hot potato before settling in the hands of Minnesota’s most versatile defender.
Let’s talk about the Vikings defense for a moment. What a great effort and this time the NFL world will pay more attention because it didn’t come against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants. In Week 1, the Vikings recorded five sacks and two interceptions. On Sunday, they backed it up and proved that was no fluke by sacking Purdy six times and picking him off. San Francisco had their moments, for sure, but their young quarterback was under tremendous pressure for a lot of this game. As an aside, credit should go to Purdy for still topping 300 yards passing in this contest. He is a special player, I have no doubt about that.
We spoke to Metellus and fellow Vikings defender Andrew Van Ginkel after the win and both could not have been prouder of that defensive effort and each talked about the impact of defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who has a reputation for being an aggressive play-caller. But both also spoke glowingly about the man leading the other side of the ball.
The 27-year-old Darnold, who is now on his fourth NFL team, threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The Jefferson touchdown throw was special, but I believe his finest moments came on a field goal drive that put this contest just out of San Francisco’s reach late in the fourth quarter. On three occasions, Darnold converted third down passes to Jalen Nailor and Brandon Powell (twice). He was clutch with the game on the line and he did all of that while Jefferson was in the locker room nursing a quad injury and Jordan Addison was not playing in the game at all due to a bad ankle.
Darnold is going to be a fascinating player to track for the remainder of this season and if he can stay healthy, he could put together a very nice campaign and that could work wonders for a career that went off the rails during his time with the New York Jets. He can do for himself what Baker Mayfield did down in Tampa last year. J.J. McCarthy represents the long-term future of the Vikings, but Darnold is the man right now and he can – based on these first two weeks of the season – be the man somewhere else in 2025.
If Sunday’s showing against one of the best teams in the league can be replicated, these Vikings are going to write themselves into the NFL story that will be told in 2024. Injuries can always surface and destroy dreams but, for now, this certainly looks like a team that can make a serious run at an NFC postseason spot.
And one last thing… they enjoy one heck of a homefield advantage. My ears are still ringing this morning as I pen this column. That place was deafening and the Skol chants were a joy to witness in the flesh.
Who’s Hot…
The Saints’ offense… The narrative around the New Orleans Saints for a few years has been that they have a stout defense, but cannot be anything other than a middle-of-the-pack team because the offense so often fails to get out of second gear. Through two weeks of the 2024 season, we can rip that particular label to shreds and launch it out of the window. On opening day, it was fair to wonder if the 47-10 win over the Carolina Panthers was down to the struggles of the opposition. But on Sunday, the Saints went out and did it again, on the road against a Dallas Cowboys defense that had dominated Cleveland in Week 1. During the 44-19 victory, the Saints amassed 432 yards of offense. Derek Carr looked good at quarterback for the second week in a row and Alvin Kamara is telling the NFL: “Don’t you forget about me.” He touched the ball 22 times on Sunday for 180 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns. Another fascinating story could be developing down in the Bayou.
Kyler Murray… The Arizona Cardinals were big winners at home against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2, recording a comfortable 41-10 victory against a very banged-up opponent. In that one-sided contest, Kyler Murray reminded us that when he can hit top form; he is still box office and one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league. Murray went 17 of 21 for 266 yards, three touchdowns and no picks and one of those scores saw the quarterback scramble around for more than eight seconds before connecting with Elijah Higgins at the back of the end zone. Tough to cover anyone for that long. This was also an important day for rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. He arrived on the NFL scene with considerable excitement but caught one pass for four yards in Buffalo on opening day. On Sunday, he more than showed what he can offer with four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The Murray-Harrison connection has my attention moving forward.
Maxx Crosby… I’m sure there are offensive players with gaudier statistics in Week 2, but I want to give a nod to a defender who made play after big play in the Las Vegas Raiders’ surprise win in Baltimore. Maxx Crosby is a one-man wrecking crew and he was influential in making Lamar Jackson feel very uncomfortable indeed. Crosby – who I picked to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year – recorded two sacks and knocked down a pass. Like the best pass rushers in the NFL today, Crosby is a fierce competitor who refuses to be blocked when he is taking over a game. The Raiders are going to need those kinds of displays from Crosby all season long. Fortunately for them, the big number 98 always seems to deliver.
Who’s Not…
The Carolina Panthers… This past offseason saw the Panthers bring on board a new head coach in Dave Canales, a new wide receiver in Diontae Johnson and two new offensive linemen in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis… and they might actually turn out to be worse than the team that won just two games in 2023. In Sunday’s 26-3 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina picked up just seven first downs. They have now been out-scored 73 points to 13 in the first two weeks of the season. Given team owner David Tepper’s penchant to move on quickly from head coaches, Canales is on an early-season hot seat and needs to turn this around in a hurry.
The Colts’ run defense… After giving up 213 yards on the ground to the Houston Texans in Week 1, the Colts allowed the Green Bay Packers to rush for 261 yards in a 16-10 defeat on Sunday. And for the second week in a row, Indianapolis allowed an opposing back to rush for more than 150 yards as Josh Jacobs benefited in exactly the same way as Houston’s Joe Mixon seven days earlier. What completely baffles me is how this could happen? The Packers were playing with a quarterback who didn’t join the team until August and who was making just his fourth NFL start in Malik Willis. He only attempted 14 passes. So, the Colts knew the Packers were going to run the ball and they still couldn’t stop them. Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson is going to blow hot and cold as he gains valuable experience, but he is not the reason this team is 0-2. The fault lies squarely with Gus Bradley’s defense.
Chicago’s offense… After an offseason of positivity and some considerable hype in the Windy City, it was not supposed to be like this! Through two games, the Bears have scored just one offensive touchdown – a Khalil Herbert run that came during Sunday’s 19-13 loss to the Houston Texans. Caleb Williams threw for 174 yards compared to 93 in Week 1 and looked pretty sharp in the first half. But he is still waiting to throw his first NFL touchdown pass after 120 minutes of action and he was picked off twice by Houston. His progress is not going to be helped by an offensive line that allowed seven sacks on Sunday night. The shiny new attack we expected to see unveiled in Chicago this season is taking a little while to get off the production line.
The Fast Five…
- There was another scary moment in the career of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as he suffered a concussion after being tackled by Damar Hamlin in Buffalo’s 31-10 win on Thursday night. Depending on which medical report you read, it is his third or fourth in the past two years. I’m a Dolphins fan and I know all too well how much a hole at quarterback can ruin a season. But I won’t be mad if Tua is shut down for the year and while it would be tremendously sad, I would applaud him and respect the decision if he chose to walk away from the NFL. As head coach Mike McDaniel said after that loss, everything right now should be about a young man’s health – not about wins and losses or where his dollars and cents will go. Best wishes to Tua.
- Good teams find ways to win games and, quite often, they get the good bounces of fortune that losing sides don’t seem to find. It looked over at Arrowhead on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs trailed the Cincinnati Bengals 25-23 deep in the fourth. Patrick Mahomes faced a fourth-and-16 and scrambled like crazy before firing the ball – almost in desperation – to a covered Rashee Rice. The ball fell incomplete but rookie defensive back Daijahn Anthony got there too early. Pass interference penalty, drive stays alive. Moments later, Harrison Butker lands the 51-yard field goal as time expires and the Chiefs are 2-0. Anthony was distraught on the bench of the 0-2 Bengals and Joe Burrow looked ready to cry. Another man who should have been equally upset was kicker Evan McPherson, who missed a routine extra point for Cincinnati late in the third quarter. That was crucial in a 26-25 loss.
- Could the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers be morphing into genuine NFC contenders right before our eyes? Baker Mayfield threw for a touchdown and ran for another in Sunday’s 20-16 victory over the Lions in Detroit. Baker was the NFL’s best quarterback in Week 1, but it was the defense that grabbed the headlines this time around. Two late interceptions of Jared Goff sealed a Tampa Bay victory in one of the most hostile environments in football. To say it was a shock would be insulting to the Bucs, who pushed Detroit hard in last season’s playoffs; but it was a result that raised a few eyebrows across the league.
- The Los Angeles Chargers are also 2-0 and, for the second week in a row, it was not an aerial masterclass. In Sunday’s 26-3 win in Carolina, the Chargers called 21 passing plays and ran the ball 44 times. Now, part of that was chewing clock when ahead, but it’s definitely the way that Jim Harbaugh wants to play ball. That’s good news for J.K. Dobbins, who rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown in his second big game in as many weeks. Few will argue with the approach if Harbaugh – a perennial winner wherever he has coached – turns the Chargers into contenders
- The New York Jets got their first win of the season with contributions from opposite ends of the age scale. Aaron Rodgers (40) threw two touchdown passes, including one to Braelon Allen; who is the youngest player in the NFL at 20 years of age. Allen also rushed for a score in the 24-17 win at Tennessee, highlighting another weapon around Rodgers on an offense that took a few tentative steps in the right direction on Sunday.
Fact of the Week
The New York Giants lost 21-18 to the Washington Commanders in Week 2. All of Washington’s points came on seven Austin Seibert field goals, meaning the Giants became just the second team in NFL history to score three touchdowns, concede zero touchdowns and still lose the game (the other being the Los Angeles Rams in 1989).
Finish That Sentence
Each week in this spot I ask readers – via X – to randomly send me the start of a sentence and, as we so often did on our NFL Live stage show tours, I will finish the sentence with the first thought that comes into my head. Here we go…
From Andrew Davies (@leftfield289) Something big is happening in Minnesota… because so many players are stepping up and making plays for this team. On offense, you can point to contributions from Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor and Brandon Powell outside of the big two of Darnold and Jefferson. And so many defenders have made significant plays over the first two weeks of the season that they are impossible to list here. They have their stars at the very top of the tree, but these Vikings are showing that it takes everyone to win games in the National Football League.
From Drew Ashurst (@DAshurst23) The best team in the NFC is… the San Francisco 49ers. One game does not make a season and one loss – against what looks like a playoff-calibre team in a tough environment is no reason to panic. Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, Minnesota and Philadelphia are all undefeated in the conference, but I still feel the Niners will be top dogs come the end of the year. Now, there are concerns, for sure. Summer holdout receiver Brandon Aiyuk needs to get up to speed after just six catches in two games and the offensive line has to find a way to offer Purdy better protection. But I think this team will be playing deep into January, especially once Christian McCaffrey is back and can be spelled by the aggressive Jordan Mason in the backfield.
From Joe (@HirstTweet) Dak and the Cowboys need to… win the Super Bowl in the next three to four years. Let me put that out there first because that is the backdrop for everything that happens in Dallas for a team that has not reached an NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season. Dak Prescott is now the highest-paid player in NFL history – the league’s first $60 million-per-year quarterback. For that kind of money, a championship must be delivered. Every season that passes without that kind of success just heaps pressure on Prescott, head coach Mike McCarthy and the rest of the team. In the short term, the Cowboys need to find some consistency. They went from winning 33-17 on the road in Week 1 to losing 44-19 seven days later. I know the NFL can turn up some topsy-turvy showings, but that is a ridiculous swing from one week to the next. It won’t get easier – a desperate and angry Baltimore Ravens team is coming to town next Sunday.
Final Thought…
Another week and yet another reminder why the Pittsburgh Steelers have never had a losing record in 17 seasons under the leadership of head coach Mike Tomlin. Sunday saw the Steelers move to 2-0 with a 13-6 victory over the Denver Broncos. Somehow, Pittsburgh are among the league’s undefeated teams despite scoring just 31 points and one touchdown in two games. Of course, it helps when you have an elite defense to back up Justin Fields and the rest of an attack that has yet to truly wake up in 2024. Led by T.J. Watt, who had another sack in Week 2, Pittsburgh have conceded just 16 points and one touchdown in two games. The Steel Curtain is alive and well in Pennsylvania.
