Photo Credit: NFL.com
Shorter post this week as I missed a lot of the games. As crazy as everything got after Week 1, it seems like now nobody knows what’s going to happen after Week 2. Everybody had given up on the Vikings, yet they came back and beat a division rival. Jameis Winston looked like a bust after Week 1 but righted the ship this week. The Rams who jumped up the Power Rankings but then lost to one of the weakest teams in the league with a backup QB.
Rough Week for QB’s:
Manziel had the best game of his career and was immediately told that McCown would start on Sunday. Jay Cutler also went down for multiple weeks (although I’m not hearing Bears fans complaining). Drew Brees has a bruised rotator cuff, and word is he could either be fine or miss a few weeks. And the worst news is that Tony Romo broke his collar bone AGAIN, and will be out for at least half the season.
Team of Destiny:
As tough as it is to lose Romo, the team is still 2-0 despite missing their QB and top WR. If Weeden can lead them even to a .500 record, I think the Cowboys are sitting pretty and may actually benefit to having Romo completely rested for December and the playoffs. Their division is weak enough to still cruise to the division title, but could have a few tough road playoff games to battle through because of it.
Quick Hits- Two Weird Weeks:
- The Raiders just beat the Ravens, who are now 0-2
- The staunch Bills Defense everybody was raving about just gave up 40 points, and only 5 other teams have allowed more yards
- The Falcons are a bit of a surprise 2-0. They’ve had 2 rough years but still have a lot of talent on that team
- The Jets are 2-0 without Geno Smith. He’s back practicing, but you almost ride the hot hand at this point
- At the moment, the Jaguars in 1st in the AFC South, and the Colts are in last…
- At the moment, the Cardinals are 2-0 and winning the NFC West, while the Seahawks are 0-2 and in last…
2 Point Conversions:
Despite the conservative nature of NFL coaches, some teams are slowly coming around to the extra point disadvantage this year. The Steelers had an interesting game last week, where they went for two 2 point conversions (both successful), then tried an extra point and missed. The Steelers are 3-3 on 2 point conversions this year, and will be interesting to see the trend at the end of the season how many teams start skipping the extra point. As a fan, I have been loving the change (although the first playoff game that involves a missed extra point will create outrage). I admittedly forgot about the rule change until I realized that I wasn’t hopping up after a score to grab another beer, but waiting until the kick was tried. My favorite stat around the rule (taken from TMQ), shows that there have been 9 missed extra points in the first 2 weeks (or a 94% chance success rate). Two point tries have been 53% successful so far. So theoretically, if you kicked 100 extra points you’d get 94 points out of the deal, where 100 two point tries would net you 106. Talk about leaving potential points on the board! 12 points in close games can make or break a season for teams.
Stat of the Week:
DeMarco Murray was the NFL’s leading rusher last year. He is tied for 97th with 11 yards (along with Tony Romo). In fact, 22 QB’s have outrushed Murray
Stat of the Week #2:
Replacing Romo, Brandon Weeden went 7-7, 100 yards and a TD.
Stat of the Week #3:
Marcus Mariotta still leads the league in passer rating, and has also been sacked the most
Stat of the Week #4:
Tom Brady is on pace for a 6000+ yard season
Stat of the Week #5:
Antonio Brown is on pace for 2600+ yards receiving
If the Playoffs were to Start Today:
The Jaguars, Jets and Titans would all be in for the AFC (Colts and Ravens, both playoff teams, are 15th and 16th in the AFC)
The Cardinals, Falcons and Redskins would be in for the NFC
Games of the Week:
Bengals at Ravens: Could be a chance for Cincinnati to truly separate themselves from the pack and go 3 games up on Baltimore early in the season. Always a good matchup though
Chiefs at Packers: The NFL is obsessed with Super Bowl 50 if you haven’t been able to tell yet, and so far we’ve seen rematches of Super Bowl I and Super Bowl III. Otherwise I think this could be an entertaining game in general
Falcons at Cowboys: Only two 2-0 teams facing off this weekend. Whoever wins will likely be a “surprise” 3-0 team.
FMQB 