Fascinating NFL Week Two Winners And Losers
With Week Two of the NFL season finally over, let's take a deep dive into who did well Sunday and who didn't. With exciting matchups like the Commanders vs. Broncos, redemption from a unit that under performed in Week One, and a certain offense takes a trip back to the past. Stay tuned with yours truly for your weekly NFL Winners and Losers.
Loser: New York Jets NFL Playoff Hopes
Now that Aaron Rodgers is officially out for the year or so we think, it is time for the great Zach Wilson's second act to begin. After being labeled a first-round bust after being selected second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was time for Wilson to show what he's learned from his mistakes during his first two seasons in the NFL. The results were 12 of 27 for 170 passing yards to go with one touchdown and three picks, not ideal numbers for a team that was just one good quarterback away from the playoffs last year.
With that said it's still not too late for Zach Wilson and the Jets to make a deep push in the NFL this year and make the playoffs. It's not all good having him run around the pocket more than he'd liked, taking three sacks could have caused him to feel uneasy in the pocket which could have led to why he was the Jets leading rusher on NFL Sunday. Only connecting on two passes with your best receiver Garret Wilson is also disappointing considering one of those catches was 68 yards for a touchdown a potential big night down the drain.
The worst part about the Jets' loss to the Cowboys Sunday was that for most of the game, the Jets had every opportunity to get back into the game. Having been down only eight going into the second half, but when you fail to score a single point after the first half your tremendously great defense can only do so much when they're on the field for 42 minutes and 15 seconds a nightmare for any defense coordinator.
The only hope the Jets have this year in the NFL is one of two things. A, they go out and get another quarterback that's available, which is good luck with that this time of year, or B, Beef up that offensive line make the run game more effective, and hope the defense can hold the opposing opponent to 14 points or less.
Loser: Mac Jones
I know last week I had him in the winner's section but I try to be fair with my Patriots and that fairness has resulted in Mac Jones coming back to earth after having a big night against the Eagles the week prior. Now before I dive into Mac Jones, I do want to give a shout-out to Vic Fangio for getting the Dolphin's defense ready for Week Two after almost giving the Chargers game away the week before. Along with turning special team expert Andrew Van Ginkel into a potential Pro Bowler on NFL's Sunday night.
Now with that heartbreaking shout-out over with let's dive into the NFL's Sunday Night game between the Dolphins vs. Patriots. The Patriot's offense started slow, even slower than last week having only scored three points in the first three quarters of regulation. Just like last week Patriots fans were teased again of a potential game-winning drive only to be ruined by an under thrown pass to Mike Gesicki on fourth down that got tossed to Cole Strange who initially picked up the first down. A booth review called the play back, but I still think he got it for the record.
With so much riding on this NFL game, today was the day Mac Jones finally put all the doubters to rest, things didn't go as planned now it wasn't a disaster but we didn't capitalize on either the big turnovers late in the game. The pick by Christian Gonzalez and field goal block by Brenden Schooler resulted in zero points, something the Patriots and Mac Jones needed to bank on to get back into the game. The Patriot's defense even held Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to a combined 126 yards down two corners.
I am not blaming this all on Mac Jones who suffered four sacks and was under pressure most of the night. You can't get much done when you're running for your life half the time being down Trent Brown could've played some part in that hopefully he can return soon. Mac Jones finished the night 31 of 42 for 231 passing yards to go along with one touchdown pass to one interception not bad numbers in the NFL but the turnovers in this game decided the outcome.
Winner: Chiefs Receivers
After the Chief's top two receivers only managed zero catches for zero yards combined, they came into Sunday's NFL game against the Jaguars with something to prove, and prove they did, Sky Moore had three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Kadarius Toney also had five catches for 35 yards while these numbers don't scream top five, it's a step in the right direction from the week prior.
Now with Travis Kelce back in the lineup after missing Week 1 of the NFL, Chiefs looked like a more in-control unit despite being 4 of 13 on third down. Scoring a touchdown before the second half and another one to begin the third quarter set the Chiefs up for the rest of the game. The offense should be thanking the defense for holding Trevor Lawrence to just nine points after putting up 31 points the week before.
Despite some concerns this offseason regarding the Chief's offensive line, they only gave up a total of one sack in the first two games of the NFL. That's pretty good for losing their left tackle in free agency this offseason, if the line can bye Patrick Mahomes a few extra seconds in the pocket then expect more productive games like this one from the receivers.
Winner: Commanders
The NFL's Commanders vs. Broncos game started off as a potential blowout that eventually turned into a shootout after the second half. Rough start for the Commanders not being able to get much going till the end of the second quarter, Sam Howell taking multiple sacks early on and running around to make some kind of play. Luckily for the Commanders Sam Howell didn't let that shake his confidence.
Despite the sluggish start, the Commanders had a few guys perform well. First, Sam Howell finished the game 27 of 39 for 299 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and Brian Robinson had 18 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns on the ground along with two catches for 42 yards. Good thing these guys stepped up cause the Commanders needed it if they wanted to get back into this NFL game, even at one point being down by 18 points towards the end of the second half.
With the Commanders spoiling the Bronco's victory I have to admit Sam Howell is slowly growing on me more and more. Having no turnovers today was the big difference on why this wasn't a big blowout game with how it started. Despite finishing three of 10 on third down they managed to hold the ball longer by at least seven minutes and convert their only fourth down play.
Now that the hype around the Commanders in the NFL is slowly becoming true this is a good time for the rest of the NFL to be prepared. Even when they're down they can still find a way to come back it's also helpful when your defense can cause seven sacks and two turnovers.
Now that Week Two is over stay tuned with yours truly for next week's winners and losers.
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