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Injuries was one of themes in Week 2.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Joe Toscano – @joeybagovdonuts
Bills 35, Dolphins 0
Another Buffalo-Miami game, another lopsided Bills victory. And this one might wind up hurting the Dolphins more than most of the others.
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury on the way to a 35-0 win on Sunday.
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills (1-1). Buffalo has won six consecutive games in the series, doing so by an average of 20 points. This marks only the second time the Bills have won six in a row against the Dolphins (1-1).
Bears 20, Bengals 17 Justin Fields got his first extended look as a pro. And it might be a long-term arrangement.
Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited with a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to direct the Bears to a 20-17 victory over Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Burrow and four consecutive takeaways for the Bears during the decisive stretch in their first win of the season.
Broncos 23, Jaguars 13 Courtland Sutton re-established himself as Denver’s go-to guy with a career day.
With Jerry Jeudy sidelined because of a high ankle sprain, Sutton turned in his best performance as a pro as the Broncos beat woeful Jacksonville 23-13 on Sunday and handed the Jaguars a 17th consecutive loss.
Sutton finished with nine catches for 159 yards, including a 55-yarder on the second play of the second half and a shoestring grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons.
Browns 31, Texans 21 Baker Mayfield wasn’t missing a snap. So once his left shoulder got popped back into its socket, there was no stopping him.
Just like another tough-as-nails quarterback.
”He’s like Brett Favre 2.0,” Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett said with smile. ”Less picks, though.”
Mayfield came back after the injury to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland to a 31-21 win Sunday over the Houston Texans, who were in it until starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor hurt his hamstring.
Rams 27, Colts 24 Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford refused to let a sore right thumb derail his Sunday plans.
Carson Wentz’s right ankle wasn’t nearly as forgiving.
Stafford led the Rams on two late scoring drives, Matt Gay made a tiebreaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play and the injured Wentz watched Indianapolis’ final two possessions helplessly from the bench as the Rams held on for a 27-24 victory over the Colts.
Raiders 26, Steelers 17
Jon Gruden’s long, arduous multi-state, multi-year rebuilding project may finally be nearing its end.
The swagger might be back for the Las Vegas Raiders. The deep ball certainly is.
Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, including a pretty 61-yard strike to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter, as the Raiders toppled Pittsburgh 26-17 on Sunday.
Carr shredded the Pittsburgh secondary in Watt’s absence, completing 16 of 21 for 263 yards in the second half, including a 9-yard flip to Foster Moreau in the third quarter and a rainbow to Ruggs with 9:35 remaining that gave the Las Vegas defense all the cushion it would need.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 295 yards, including a 25-yard catch-and-run early in the fourth quarter that rookie running back Najee Harris turned into the first touchdown of his career that drew the Steelers within 16-14.
Patriots 25, Jets 6
Mac Jones kept his mistakes to a minimum, moved the ball down the field and did enough to earn his first NFL victory with the New England Patriots.
Thanks, also, in large part to a nightmarish outing by Zach Wilson for the New York Jets.
Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs and the Patriots intercepted Wilson four times in a 25-6 victory Sunday.
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22 of 30 for 186 yards for the Patriots (1-1) a week after going 29 for 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Miami.
Zach Wilson (19 of 33 for 210 yards and the four INTs) struggled right away.
Saints 7 at Panthers 26
Through two games, quarterback Sam Darnold is thriving in Carolina.
With an effective running game led by Christian McCaffrey, a reliable set of wide receivers that includes D.J. Moore and defense that is playing lights-out, Darnold is off to a 2-0 start as Carolina’s starting quarterback.
Darnold threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday and Carolina’s defense turned in another stellar performance in a dominant 26-7 win over the New Orleans Saints.
49ers 17, Eagles 11
Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t thinking about Trey Lance coming into the game. He was too busy using his own legs to convert first downs.
Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 17-11 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts a week after Philadelphia dominated Atlanta in a 32-6 win.
Hurts completed just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards. He ran for 82 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
Buccaneers 48, Falcons 25
It’s good to be 2-0 with a franchise-best 10-game winning streak and an even more impressive run of nine straight 30-plus point performances in a victory.
The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers insist, however, that they still haven’t played anywhere near up to their potential after pulling away in the fourth quarter to rout the Atlanta Falcons 48-25 on Sunday.
Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, and Mike Edwards returned two of Tampa Bay’s three interceptions for TDs as the Bucs scored 30-plus points in a victory for a NFL-record ninth straight time.
Cardinals 34, Vikings 33
Arizona’s Jordan Hicks didn’t dare turn around as Minnesota’s potential game-winning field goal floated toward the uprights. Instead, he watched the videoboard for a moment and then locked eyes with Ezekial Turner, who had been knocked to the turf, his expression slowly turning to disbelief.
The Cardinals were 2-0. After being really good in a season-opening win last week, they enjoyed a little good fortune in Week 2.
Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cardinals beat the Vikings 34-33 on Sunday after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
Cowboys 20, Chargers 17
Prescott directed the Cowboys on an 11-play, 49-yard march against the Los Angeles Chargers, culminating in Greg Zuerlein’s 56-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-17 victory on Sunday.
Titans 33, Seahawks 30
Henry ran for 182 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime, and the Titans rallied from a 14-point deficit to stun the Seattle Seahawks 33-30 on Sunday.
Down 24-9 at halftime and 30-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans leaned on their All-Pro running back, who carried them on the day Seattle welcomed fans back for a regular-season game for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
They left in silence, thanks to Henry, a terrific fourth-quarter drive from Ryan Tannehill and Seattle’s missed opportunities.
The Titans rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit to beat Kansas City 22-21 in the 2017 playoffs. The last time Tennessee pulled off a bigger comeback in the regular season was 2006 when it erased a 21-0 halftime deficit to beat the Giants 24-21.
Tennessee finished with 532 total yards, including 345 in the second half and overtime.
Ravens 36 Chiefs 35
Predictions
DET-GB
JT: GB
Polls
Who makes the best #PepperoniPizza?
Papa Johns – 40%, Pizzza Hut- 0, Little Caesars- 20%, Dominos – 40%
JT: Little Caesars
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.