Matt’s NFL Week 2 Review

Everybody loves a comeback story, and Week 2 had a chapter book full of them this weekend. So much so that NFL Sunday Ticket could not keep up with the scoring and proceeded to crash for a few hours. Twitter was unforgiving to Direct TV, who appear to have phoned it in for the year like a supplanted QB that’s been benched for the season. Apple TV and Prime are licking their chops for the rights next season. Moving on, this appears to be a golden era for the NFL with a plethora of young, promising quarterbacks taking their teams to new heights. Let’s recap what stood out this weekend:

I don’t know what surprised me more about the Dolphins/Ravens game. The 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter at the hands of Tua or how the Ravens (even with injuries on defense) somehow forgot that Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are the fastest players alive. Not a great day for the Baltimore defense but credit to Miami in an instant classic. That is the best Tua has looked since college and this team sent a statement to the rest of the NFL that they are for real. Mike McDaniel is my way too early pick for coach of the year. This guy out cools Kliff Kingsbury and is a great offensive mind. Get your popcorn ready this weekend with the Bills coming to town. All signs point to a shootout.

The Bills continue to warrant the hype that surrounds this team. After two weeks they have steamrolled two playoff teams from a year ago. Josh Allen has put Buffalo on the map and Stefon Diggs may be the best receiver in the league. This defense is playing at a high level as well. Buffalo will take their hype train to South Beach this weekend to take on another team that is gaining steam in the Dolphins. Seriously though, you are going to want to DVR this game.

Lightning struck twice as the Arizona Cardinals registered a comeback of their own at Las Vegas. Just as I was questioning Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals defied the odds and put all their chips on Arizona red. They still do not look like a complete team so far but this win puts them back in the mix at least early on in the division race.

Not to be outdone by his college teammate, Jalen Hurts played his best game as a professional. He was accurate with his throws (from the pocket I might add) and an absolute force as a runner. You can tell the guy pays rent at the squat rack. So far in two games the Eagles offense has been balanced with their passing and run game. If this is the new and improved Jalen Hurts, then the NFC East title is just the floor with this team.

Meanwhile Kirk Cousins continued his primetime struggles after throwi….. Wait, sorry Darius Slay intercepted this sentence. Cousins struggled to get the ball to Justin Jefferson and threw two critical red zone interceptions. The Vikings have talent on both sides of the ball, but this team will only go as far as their QB. Cousins is not that QB at this point in his career.

What did I tell you last week about the Dallas Cowboys? I told you they would not go quietly. Their defense smothered Joe Burrow on Sunday and Cooper Rush played mistake free football. This team is still in the mix in the NFC East if that defense continues to perform at a high level.

New offensive line, same Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow takes more hits than the “Now That’s What I Call Music” CD collection. It’s not quite time to panic for Cincy. They have lost two very close games, but their blocking schemes are not cutting it so far. Luckily for them every other AFC North team lost Sunday, so they remain a game out of the division lead.

The Nathaniel Hackett era in Denver has gotten off to a rocky start. He continues to make questionable in-game decisions. His indecisiveness in two games has cost this team points and has infuriated the Denver faithful. Russell Wilson also has not completely looked like his typical reliable self. I still give him the benefit of the doubt, but they better get it figured out or this team’s season could be over in November.

The Chiefs and Chargers may be the best developing divisional rivalry in the league. Two franchise quarterbacks and two teams that play opportunistic defense. Kansas City won the latest round thanks to a red zone pick six that turned the tables for the Chiefs. The hype is with the Bills in the AFC, but the Chiefs are not going anywhere either.

You think Tom Brady hates the Saints? New Orleans continued to do their thing on defense early on and Brady was seen visibly upset with his teammates. The Bucs finally broke the stalemate and pulled away from New Orleans late thanks to some questionable calls. Make no mistake about it though. The Bucs are a better team because Brady doesn’t make mistakes like Jameis Winston does. The NFC South and the NFC for that matter still run through Tampa Bay.

How fitting is it for the Atlanta Falcons to nearly come back from a 28-3 deficit only to throw a red zone interception to negate the comeback? If it weren’t for the Atlanta Braves this city might be rioting at this point.

Welcome to Week 3!

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