Week 2 is in the books and there is a lot to digest. There are many stories to watch closely, team records to monitor and position battles to consider. There are old dawgs making comebacks and young bucks breaking out. Sometimes it can be a lot to take in, but I decided to choose my top 5 stories from this past week of football and give you all a chance to consume it with ease.
Lets dive in on the biggest headlines coming out of week 2 and as always, feel free to let me know your thoughts.
1. Joe Burrow Out for 3 Months
Just a CRUSHING blow to the playoff-hopeful Cincinnati Bengals. Following a turf toe diagnosis, Joe Burrow has been informed that he will in fact need surgery to repair the damage and this will hold him out of game action for 3 months. That is the entire fantasy season, assuming this is the exact timeline, and for the Bengals, it could be the full season. They seriously need to rely on their playmakers and coaching staff to keep them afloat and competitive enough to justify a return for their stud QB late in the season or even the playoffs.
Jake Browning seems to be a respectable backup but is in no way close to being as impactful as Joe Burrow. He will have the luxury of working with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown, so it will be interesting to see how he responds. In 7 games of coverage back in 2023, he tossed 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while racking up 1,868 pass yards (which was actually a solid 266.9 pass yard/game pace). The team went 4-3 in his stint as a starter, and despite a positive record, they fell short of the postseason and even finished in last place due to the rest of the division being super competitive.
Burrow already had 76 yards and a touchdown early on in this game prior to his injury. Should his season be done, he will have finished with 189 pass yards and only 2 touchdowns. He was widely being considered as an MVP candidate this year as he hoped to build on his stellar 2024 in which he passed for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions. When healthy, he is arguably the top passer in the game and the Bengals are an instant contender, despite a historically bad offensive line. This is a huge blow for Bengals fans and all other fans of the game who love watching him play.
Browning could be decent with these weapons at his disposal, but that offensive line is impossibly bad and he should be considered a risk because of that. It will be interesting to see how this season shapes up for them now as they head into a new phase of the season with a 2-0 record against a Minnesota team with no confirmed identity yet.
2. Russell Wilson Went Off
If you told me before the game that the Giants would have 37 points at the end of regulation while Russell Wilson had 450 yards and 3 touchdowns and Malik Nabers had 167 yards, 2 touchdowns and the go ahead score with 25 seconds left in the game, I would have been ecstatic. If you also told me they lose that game, I would laugh out loud, cry briefly, express intense anger for a few seconds and then laugh again because I am almost as numb to losses as a single fan could be.
What a game to lose. Russ balled out and quickly killed any comments regarding his job status and who the leader of that QB room is. He was going to be the first Giants QB in over 40 years to record 400+ yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 picks until his frustrating interception in OT ruined that. This game should have been won in regulation, but the soft Shane Bowen-led defense collapsed and opened the door for the best kicker in football to hurt them twice.
Putting the crushing loss to the side, this is a QB performance that Giants fans have been waiting over 10 years for. 450 yards with 3 touchdowns is a hell of a performance and one that should typically end with a W. He took full advantage of Malik Nabers who continues to prove that he is a top 3 receiver in this league and even gave Wan’dale Robinson an opportunity to break out in a way we should have seen years ago. Robinson proved he can be way more than just a screen pass fiend and can actually run beyond 10 yards efficiently. He caught a 32 yard touchdown to headline a 8 catch performance in which he racked up 142 yards.
Russ showed the Giants fans that he can still ball out and he more importantly showed that this offense CAN click and make some noise. He showed that the young receivers on this team can perform and this team CAN win games. The defense needs to change their strategy entirely and the penalties have to disappear if Russ and the Giants want to be competitive this season.
3. Daniel Jones?!
Daniel Jones is the QB2 overall in fantasy football through two weeks as he has tossed two touchdowns and rushed for 3 while accumulating 588 yards through the air. The Colts are 2-0 and the first team EVER in the Super Bowl Era to not punt away a possession in either of their first two games. Daniel Jones probably had 97% of his possessions in New York end with punts, but that is yet to happen this year. In week 1, Jones became the first QB since 1978 to lead an offense to a touchdown or field goal on every single drive of a game.
He is the most efficient has ever been and is fully taking advantage of his arsenal of receiving and rushing weapons. He also has the best offensive line in football which is something he has never had before. Giants fans always said that if he had an O-line, he would be dangerous. Turns out, the O-line must be completely elite and perfect for him to have two great games and be an efficient player. He is a great fit for what this team needs right now, but I still can not buy in here.
He is such a great person so I truly do wish him luck and will never lean into this whole “Why couldn’t he do this for us” narrative being posed by the New York media, but he just collapses more often than not. It has been a very interesting start to his season and there is a chance he is Sam Darnold 2.0, but there is also a chance the old Danny Dimes is still in there and crumbles. In either case, it has become a situation worth monitoring on a weekly basis.
4. Get To Know The “Ward-Ayomanor” Connection Before It’s Too Late
Cam Ward is through his first two weeks in the NFL and he is already looking like the real deal. Yes, the Titans are 0-2, but they are they Titans. No one expected them to be good, but there are always questions surrounding the #1 overall pick in the draft, especially when they are quarterbacks. Cam Ward is looking very comfortable and while his stats do not necessarily reflect it (287 pass yards and 1 touchdown), it is easy to spot while watching.
This is a team that lacks talent essentially across the board. The ghost of Tyler Lockett is a non-factor and Calvin Ridley is regarded as the #1 here. While his presence is nice for a young QB, he is no longer the best WR in the room in my opinion. That honor goes to Elic Ayomanor, who is a 4th round rookie out of Tennessee. I have been all over this guy for a few weeks now and become increasingly excited about his future with each passing day. After just 13 receiving yards in his debut, he came back with a modest stat line of 4 receptions-56 yards-1 touchdown in week 2’s tilt against the Rams.
Ayomanor’s box score does not pop, but my goodness did he make an impression. He dropped some jaws with a stunning one-handed grab in the red zone at the end of the first half. He quickly followed it up with an impressive touchdown grab that was highlighted by Cam Ward’s impressive escape from pressure, long scramble and accurate cross-body throw across the entire width of the field. It was a highlight play that could only be a glimpse of something more serious at play. These two have come into this league together and can take it over in due time. They clearly have some chemistry and both have incredible amounts of talent to show off to the league. Cam is a walking highlight reel and the Titans get a stronger crew around him, he and Ayomanor could be on the precipice of a massive breakout.
5. The Packers Are Very Much The Real Deal
I predicted they would win their division and they have come out swinging in a big way to back me up. After shutting down their primary division rival at home in Week 1, they came back out on Thursday Night Football against a dangerous Commanders squad and controlled the whole game. Jordan Love looked solid with 292 yards and 2 touchdowns while my sleeper-pick tight end, Tucker Kraft, exploded with one of those scores and 124 yards. Josh Jacobs also ran the ball 23 times and tallied up 84 yards and a touchdown against a solid defensive unit. However, the story of this team will continue to be their defense.
It is clear that defense is this team’s identity and when you have an elite defense this elite with above-average to elite performers on offense, you are a serious threat to win the whole thing. Plus, it should also be noted that Jordan Love is 27 years old and it is a right of passage for Packers quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in their age 27 season. They sacked Jayden Daniels 4 times and had 12 total QB hits, which is insane to do against a player like Daniels. They had 8 passes defended, including 5 from Keisean Nixon, and held a great QB to only 200 yards in the air. This team is a problem and will continue to be that.
I predicted them to win the division and lose to the Lions in the playoffs, but I am genuinely not sure what to think at the moment. The Lions exploded for 52 points this week, assuring all fans of the sport that they are still a force to be reckoned with, but does that make the Packers seem even stronger since they held the Lions to just 13 points last week? I think it actually does. I am not going to shift my predictions at all, but this defense has me seriously considering things. The Lions have that playoff experience up and down that whole roster, but defense wins championships. Green Bay has that defense right now and they also have a 27 year old quarterback with some solid weapons at his disposal on the offensive side of the operation.
Look out for Green Bay and expect nothing but dominance going forward.
Week 2 was great all around as it gave us some instant classics and some seeds for potential stories in the future. Let’s just fast forward through this week and get to Week 3 action already.