Around the NFL: Week 2 Recap

Concise game recaps from Week 2 below that provide you with the information that matters to attack Week 3. Head over to our game matchup dashboards to see how every team matchups up on either side of the ball this week! 2023 data continues to flow in – you can also quickly toggle to see how every team compares to its 2022 performance across our wide array of basic and custom stats.

Eagles / Vikings

• Philly was banged up heading into this TNF matchup with Minnesota on a short week, missing CB James Bradberry, S Reed Blankenship and LB Nakobe Dean, all Week 1 starters. Kirk Cousins took advantage of a banged up secondary and threw for 364 yards and 4 TD’s on 31-44 passing, while Justin Jefferson finished with 11 catches for 159 yards on 13 targets. Jordan Addison also caught 3 balls for 72 yards and a 62-yard TD on 5 targets. Through 2 weeks, the Eagles rank 31st in the league in passing YPG and 32nd in explosive passing plays (10+ yards).
• Minnesota lost four fumbles, which makes it difficult to win on the road on a short week – they finished 3-3 on RZ trips and amassed 374 yards of total offense but possessed the ball for only 20:32.
• The Eagles opened this game up to 27-7 and mostly controlled it to the finish, so the 6-point win looks deceivingly favorable to the Vikings, who scored a garbage time touchdown to bring it to 34-28 with 1:10 to go.
• The Eagles struggled to move the ball through the air early (Hurts threw a bad pick in the first half) an subsequently turned to the run game to move he ball. They rushed for 259 yards on 48 attempts (5.4 YPC). De’Andre Swift rushed for 175 yards and 1 TD on 28 carries in his first start with Kenneth Gainwell out. Hurts has not looked comfortable in the pocket through 2 games, and the Eagles passing game will be one to monitor moving forward, though DeVonta Smith caught 4 balls for 131 yards and 1 TD.
• The Eagles are 6.5-point favorites on the road vs. Tampa Bay on MNF in Week 3, while the Vikings are a PK at home vs. the Chargers and a secondary that’s been shredded on two separate occasions to start the season.

FALCONS / PACKERS

• The Falcons exploited a weak GB rushing defense in this one, piling up 211 yards on 45 carries (4.7 YPC), led by Bijan Robinson, who carried the ball 19 times for 124 yards. They overcame a 12-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and kicked a field goal late to take a 25-24 lead. Robinson also caught 4 balls for 48 yards on 5 targets.
• Atlanta outgained Green Bay by a margin of 446-224 but converted just 2 of 5 trips to the RZ into TD’s.
• Jordan Love finished 14-25 for 151 yards and 3 TD’s – a solid effort considering he was without both Aaron Jones and Christian Watson at the skill positions and LT David Bakhtiari on the OL. In their final three possessions, GB managed just 11 yards and no first downs, while Love finished 0-6 passing.
• Atlanta heads to Detroit as a 3-point underdog in the 1pm slot on Sunday, while GB heads home as a 2-point favorite against New Orleans.

BILLS / RAIDERS

• The Bills bounced back in their home opener after a less than desirable start to the season on MNF. After spotting the Raiders an early 7-0 lead and going 3-and-out on their first drive on offense, the Bills scored TD’s on 5 of their next 7 possessions on their way to a 38-10 rout. Buffalo outgained Vegas by a margin of 450-240 and finished 5-7 on RZ trips with 0 turnovers on the day and over 40 minutes of possession.
• James Cook flashed as a potential solution to the Bills’ woes in the running game over the past few seasons, carrying the ball 17 times for 123 yards (7.2 YPC). The Bills in total rushed for 183 yards on 25 carries (5.2 YPC).
• The Raiders scored a TD on their opening drive, but managed just 85 yards of offense the rest of the half. They possessed the ball three times in the second half and threw a pick, punted and lost a fumble.
• Buffalo heads down to Washington as a 6.5-point favorite in the 1pm slot on Sunday, while the Raiders will host the Steelers as a 1.5-point favorite on SNF.

RAVENS / BENGALS

• Despite missing two starters on the offensive line and two in the secondary, the Ravens went on the road and won outright in Cincy. Baltimore outgained Cincy by a margin of 415-282, converting three of four trips to the RZ to TD’s and racking up 178 yards on the ground on 37 attempts (4.8 YPC).
• The Bengals didn’t record a first down until the 10-minute mark in the 2nd quarter, which came on a defensive pass interference penalty. Burrow limped off the field late in this game as he looked to tweak his calf that kept him out of training camp. Burrow threw a critical INT in the RZ on the first drive of the 2nd half – Baltimore turned that TO into a TD to take a 20-10 lead.
• Tee Higgins caught 8 balls for 89 yards and 1 TD on 12 targets a week after posting a goose egg in the season opener.
• Lamar was solid through the air in Week 2, finishing 24-33 passing for 237 yards and 2 TD’s – he pushed the ball down the field and found Zay Flowers for a 52-yard completion in the 2nd half. He also rushed 12 times for 54 yards.
• The Bengals will host the Rams as 2-point favorites on MNF – a likely indication that Burrow’s status is in jeopardy, while the Ravens open as 7.5-point favorites at home against Indy, who will likely be without Anthony Richardson.

LIONS / SEAHAWKS

• Not surprisingly, this game turned into an OT shootout in which the offenses posted 811 yards of total offense and flying over the total of 47. Jared Goff finished 28-35 for 323 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 INT, while Geno Smith finished 32-41 for 328 yards and 2 TD’s. Detroit lost the turnover battle 3-0 and lost the game. Seattle turned two Detroit 2H turnovers into 13 points.
• Jahmyr Gibbs outsnapped David Montgomery 32-30 in part because Montgomery was carted off the field with a thigh injury that looks to be just a bruise. Gibbs ran the ball 17 times for just 17 yards but caught 7 balls for 39 yards on 9 targets.
• Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 6 balls for 102 yards on 7 targets, while Josh Reynolds once again was Goff’s #2 option, catching 5 balls for 66 yards and 2 TD’s on 6 targets.
• Detroit is at home again in Week 3, this time hosting the upstart Atlanta Falcons as a 3-point favorite. Seattle returns home to host the Panthers a s a 4.5-point favorite

TITANS / CHARGERS

• Despite being down several starters in the secondary and off a tough Week 1 loss to the Saints on the road, the Titans won outright at home over the once-again seemingly overhyped LA Chargers. Tannehill bounced back after throwing 3 INT’s vs NO in Week 1, passing for 246 yards on 20-24 passing and 1 TD. Tannehill was sacked 5 times by LAC’s pass rush.
• Justin Herbert had a strong day in the box score, throwing for 305 yards and 2 TD’s on 27-41 passing against a bad and banged up Tennessee secondary. His connection with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams remain strong – Allen caught 8 balls for 111 yards and 2 TD’s on 10 targets, while Mike Williams caught 8 balls for 83 yards on 13 targets. LAC got nothing going on the ground, rushing for just 61 yards on 21 carries against TEN’s top 5 run defense from a year ago.
• Herbert led the Chargers on a 7-play, 80-yard scoring drive that gave the Titans a 21-17 lead early in the 4th quarter, but the Chargers punted twice before knocking through the game-tying field to send it to OT – they went 3-and-out on the first possession of OT and allowed TEN to kick the game-winning FG. LAC was just 2-14 on 3rd down and 2-5 on RZ trips.
• The Chargers travel up to MIN as a PK against the 0-2 Vikings in a game that will likely be a shootout – total is at 54. The Titans head up to Cleveland as a 3.5-point underdog against the 1-1 Browns, who just likely lost Nick Chubb to a gruesome season-ending knee injury.

BUCCANEERS / BEARS

• Many including myself thought Baker Mayfield was going to be a disaster in Tampa behind a bad OL masked by Tom Brady’s tendency to get the ball out extremely quickly, but he’s led the Bucs to a 2-0 record with wins over the Vikings and Bears. The Bucs outgained the Bears by a margin of 437-236, forcing 2 turnovers but converting just 1 of 4 trips to the RZ into TD’s.
• Mayfield finished 26-34 for 317 yards (9.3 YPA) and 1 TD. His connection with Mike Evans has been strong – Evans caught 6 balls for 171 yards and 1 TD on 8 targets. Evans has now caught 5 balls for 20+ yards through two games and faces an Eagles secondary that ranks 26th in the same category.
• Justin Fields continues to look lost at the quarterback position in Chicago – he finished just 16-29 passing for 211 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT’s while also taking 6 sacks.
• The Bucs will host the 2-0 Eagles as 5.5-point underdogs on MNF, while the Bears will head on the road to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs as a 13-point underdog – the Bears have just 1 sack through the first two weeks of the season and rank 27th in passing YPG allowed. Chiefs will likely have a field day in this one.

JAGUARS / CHIEFS

• This game turned out to be a low-scoring affair between two of the NFL’s most potent offenses from a year ago. The Jags punted 3 times, lost a fumble and kicked two field goals in the first half, but still found themselves trailing just 7-6. KC scored TD’s on their final possession of the first half and first possession of the 2nd half.
• Trevor Lawrence finished 0-7 passing in the red zone, leading the Jags to 0 TD’s on 3 RZ trips. KC lost the turnover battle 3-1 but still won and covered in the game, but if you look at Lawrence’s throws to the RZ, this game was one toe drag away from being tied or a 1-point game on four separate occasions. KC outgained JAX 399-271 with 12 penalties for a total of 94 yards, finishing just 4-13 on 3rd down and 2-4 on RZ trips.
• Travis Kelce punted the ball into the end zone after his first TD reception of the season, which is unarguably the best way to celebrate a TD.
• Christian Kirk caught 11 balls for 110 yards on 14 targets – Calvin Ridley was somewhat neutralized in Week 2 (2 catches, 32 yards on 8 targets) after a strong Week 1.
• Pat Mahomes finished with 305 yards passing with 2 TD’s and 1 INT on 29-41 passing and rushed 7 times for 30 yards.
• The Chiefs host the Bears at Arrowhead in Week 3 as 13-point favorites against a really bad front 7 and secondary, while the Jags will host the Texans as 9.5-point favorites at home.

TEXANS / COLTS

• The Colts jumped out to an early 28-10 lead, scoring touchdowns on 4 of 6 first half drives, but Anthony Richardson left the game early in the 2nd quarter with a concussion. Reports early in the week are that Richardson will likely be out for Week 3 against the Ravens. Richardson has demonstrated that he has the juice at the NFL level – albeit a raw talent, he passed for 56 yards on 6-10 passing and rushed 3 times for 35 yards and 2 TD’s. He’ll need to protect himself more if he wants to have a long, successful NFL career.
• The Texans OL is extremely banged up and allowed 6 sacks to CJ Stroud without Laremy Tunsil at LT on Sunday. CJ Stroud finished the day with 384 yards through the air on 30-47 passing, as the Texans were unable to get anything going on the ground, rushing 26 times for 52 yards. Nico Collins has been a favorite target of Stroud’s, finishing with 7 receptions for 146 yards and 1 TD on 9 targets after catching 6 balls for 80 yards in Week 1.
• Minshew was efficient in relief of Richardson, passing for 171 yards on 19-23 passing and 1 TD.
• The Colts travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens as 8-point dogs on Sunday, while the Texans are 8.5-point underdogs against the Jags on the road.

RAMS / 49ERS

• San Fran took care of business in the second half despite being tied at 17 at halftime. They held the Rams to just 112 yards of offense in the second half before a garbage time, 11-play 50-yard drive by the Rams that ended with a field goal to back door the spread of -7.
• Stafford has been resilient without Cooper Kupp, throwing for 307 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT’s on 34-55 passing. Puka Nacua once again had a big day, catching 15 balls for 147 yards on 20 targets. LAR’s pass protection held up relatively well against SF’s pass rush, allowing just 1 sack on Stafford.
• Christian McCaffrey rushed 20 times for 116 yards and 1 TD (5.8 YPC). He has a strong matchup against a Giants defense that ranks 26th in rushing yards allowed and 30th in explosive rushing plays (10+ yards) on TNF and ranked 27th in rushing YPG in 2022.
• The 49ers are 10-point favorites on TNF hosting the NY Giants, who stayed on the West Coast after playing the Cardinals on Sunday. The Rams are 1.5-point underdogs on the road against the Bengals, an indication that Joe Burrow’s status is in jeopardy for Sunday.

CARDINALS / GIANTS

• The Giants almost embarrassed themselves again in Week 2 when they trailed 28-7 to the lowly Arizona Cardinals midway through the 3rd quarter. They turned on the offense quickly thereafter though, posting TD’s on three straight drives and kicking a field goal to win the game late in the 4th quarter.
• Daniel Jones passed for just 62 yards and 1 INT in the first half, but finished the day 26-37 for 321 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT with a big second half. The Giants ultimately executed at every point that they needed to in the second half, finishing the game 4-5 in the RZ and amassing 439 yards of total offense.
• The Cardinals drop to 0-2 and are 12-point underdogs at home against the Cowboys, who have a +70 point differential through 2 weeks. The Giants travel to San Fran to face the 49ers as 10-point underdogs on TNF.

COWBOYS / JETS

• Dallas dominated this game on the defensive side of the ball with the exception of a 68-yard TD they allowed to Zach Wilson and Garrett Wilson midway through the 2nd quarter. They outgained the Jets by a margin of 382-215, but finished just 2-6 on RZ trips, otherwise this could have been even uglier than the final score demonstrates.
• If you remove Garrett Wilson’s 67-yard TD, Zach Wilson finished 11-26 for 103 yards and 3 INT’s – he was sacked three times and led the Jets to just 215 yards of total offense, finishing 1-10 on 3rd down and engineering just 1 trip to the RZ.
• CeeDee Lamb caught 11 balls for 143 yards on 13 targets, while Tony Pollard was the Cowboys’ 2nd leading receiver with 37 yards on 7 receptions with Brandin Cooks out. Pollard also finished with 72 yards on the ground on 25 carries (2.9 YPC).
• Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook finished with 8 total carries for 16 yards.
• The Jets are 3-point dogs at home against the 0-2 Patriots, while Dallas is a 12-point road favorite in Arizona this weekend.

BRONCOS / COMMANDERS

• Denver jumped out to an early 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Commanders clawed back to head into half down just 21-14 after scoring a TD off a Russell Wilson fumble and closing the half with a 49-yard field goal. They went on to score 21 unanswered points to open the second half, and nearly went into OT after failing to knock the ball out of the air on a Russell Wilson Hail Mary and committing a pass interference in the end zone that wasn’t called on the 2-point conversion.
• Sam Howell finished 27-39 for 299 yards and 2 TD’s against a Broncos secondary that ranked 11th in passing YPG allowed and 4th in YPA in 2022. He was sacked 4 times behind a very suspect OL that allowed 6 sacks in Week 1 against Arizona.
• Brian Robinson finished the day with 87 yards and 2 TD’s on 18 carries – Antonio Gibson got just 2 touches on the ground and picked up 9 yards.
• The Commanders are 6.5-point underdogs at home against Buffalo, while the Broncos head to Miami to face the Dolphins’ high-powered offense as 6.5-point underdogs in Miami humidity.

PATRIOTS / DOLPHINS

• Miami jumped out to a 17-3 lead at halftime despite New England’s best efforts to contain Tyreek Hill, who finished the night with just 5 catches for 40 yards on 9 targets. Miami outgained the Patriots by a margin of 389-288 (7.9 – 4.3 in the YPP department), in part due to 145 yards rushing on 30 attempts. Raheem Mostert rushed for 121 yards and 2 TD’s on 8 carries.
• Miami’s pass rush put pressure on Mac Jones in this one, finishing with 4 sacks and holding Jones to just 4.3 yards per attempt, while their run defense held New England mostly in check (88 total yards on 25 carries).
• New England made this game a bit frisky after Tua fumbled a snap that forced a 55-yard field goal attempt that went wide left. New England’s OL Matt Strange nearly picked up a first down on a lateral attempt that would have given them a fresh set of downs, down 7 points at Miami’s 33-yard line. The call on the field was overturned, giving Miami the ball and the win with 1 minute to go.
• Miami returns home 2-0 to take on the Broncos’ secondary that’s been suspect through 2 weeks as a 6.5-point favorite, while the Patriots are a 3-point favorite on the road against the Jets.

PANTHERS / SAINTS

• New Orleans’ defense did their part in this game, holding Carolina to just 239 yards of total offense that was padded by an 11-play, 75-yard TD drive in garbage time that gave the Panthers a push as a 3-point underdog at home. Remove that drive and the Saints held Carolina to just 164 yards of offense on 45 snaps (3.64 YPP), logged 4 sacks, held Carolina to 4-14 on 3rd down and allowed just 10 points.
• Jamaal Williams left the game midway through the 2nd quarter and did not return – he is going to miss some time with a hamstring injury, which is going to leave the Saints with a void in the backfield heading to Green Bay as they wait for Alvin Kamara to return from suspension in Week 4.
• Derek Carr was suspect in this game, finishing just 21-36 for 228 yards and 1 INT. He missed a lot of open receivers down the field and threw a ball early into triple coverage. Chris Olave caught 6 balls for 86 yards on 11 targets, while Michael Thomas caught 7 balls for 55 yards on 9 targets. Rashid Shaheed caught another long pass for 45 yards that helped New Orleans to score a TD with 3 minutes to go that effectively sealed the game at 20-9.
• The Saints are 2-point underdogs on the road at Green Bay in Week 3, while the Panthers are 5.5-point underdogs on West Coast against Seattle.

STEELERS / BROWNS

• Deshaun Watson threw a pick-6 on the first play from scrimmage to spot the Steelers a 7-point lead, which was only the first of 4 first quarter turnovers in this game. Nick Chubb looked like he was on his way to a career day with 10 carries for 62 yards at the start of the 2nd quarter before he suffered a gruesome knee injury that only needs to be seen once if at all.
• Pittsburgh led 16-14 coming out of halftime but posted just 105 total yards of offense in the 2nd half. They converted on a field goal on their first drive out of the break to take a 19-14, lead, and Deshaun Watson spotted the Steelers another 7 points in the 2nd half on a fumble / strip sack that TJ Watt returned for a TD to give Pittsburgh a 26-22 lead.
• In total Cleveland outgained the Steelers by a margin of 408-255 with double the amount of first downs and 198 yards rushing on the ground (5.7 YPC). Four turnovers (two of which were defensive TD’s) ultimately sunk the Browns ship.
• Kenny Pickett found George Pickens for a 71-yard TD pass midway through the 2nd quarter. That throw aside, he finished 14-29 for 148 yards, 1 INT and 2 sacks. Pittsburgh posted just 55 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.6 YPC).
• Jerome Ford was solid in relief of Chubb, rushing 16 times for 106 yads, including a 69-yard rush.
• Cleveland’s defense has flashed early under Jim Schwartz – they’ll return home as a 3-point favorite against the Titans. The Steelers travel out to Las Vegas to face the Raiders on Sunday Night Football as a 1.5-point underdog.