Tuesday Takeaways: NFL Week 2 Reactions

We have made it through the first two weeks of the NFL season! It is still extremely early days but we had many eye opening events happen in a very exciting weekend of football. Here are some of the things that stood out to me this weekend. Comment below any thoughts and reactions you have regarding the first two weeks of the season!

1. Lions Are Still Legit

There were some quiet questions after the Lions lackluster offensive performance in Week 1 against Green Bay. They quickly shut all those down this week. In Ben Johnson's return to Detroit it was the Lions who proved they do not need the coach who has helped them to so much offensive success over the past few seasons. The Lions ran up the score against their division rivals in a game where Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and 5 touchdowns, all while both Montgomery and Gibbs had success themselves, contributing a score each. I think it is safe to say the Lions have nothing to really worry about.

2. Colts Offense is Clicking!

I think it is safe to say that one of the biggest surprises over the early portion of the NFL season has been the success of the Indianapolis Colts. All the criticism they took for choosing Daniel Jones over Anthony Richardson as the starting QB seems quite foolish at this point in time. The Colts scored on an NFL record(!) 10 straight possessions to start the season before being stopped on a 4th down against the Denver defense. I was curious to see how the Colts would look against one the league's elite defense in the Broncos. Week 1 it would have been easy to just chalk it up to more of the fact that Miami looked so atrocious. That did not matter, as the Colts immediately entered Week 2 against Denver with the same offensive mojo they had against the Dolphins. One of the most vaunted defenses really could not stop the Colts. They dared to attack the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II, more so than any other team in recent memory and had relative success. Daniel Jones looks good. He's reading the field. He is playing the quick game. Throwing the intermediate throws, and is not afraid to take the occasional deep shot. Jonathan Taylor is still one of the most elite weapons out of the backfield. Rookie Tyler Warren looks like he might be ready to enter the conversation of elite TE's. While it is still very early in the season, and I do not want to overreact, but I am ready to declare that the Colts are at the very least a lot better than I gave them credit for during the preseason. If they can keep this up, an AFC South title is not out of the question.

3. Sophomore QB Being Protected?

Early Monday morning the Vikings announced their young QB, JJ McCarthy, will mis 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury. This caught me a bit by surprise. Nothing on SNF indicated that McCarthy had suffered a significant injury. Running back Aaron Jones will also be out with injury and the offensive line is banged up. Maybe it is not a terrible thing for McCarthy to recover. JJ has looked less than impressive in his first two weeks. He had one spectacular quarter against the Bears and then 7 really bad quarters. He is slow to process, does not have great arm strength, and has just struggled to read the game. He looks like a first year QB. Now I am not suggesting this is a soft benching but I am also not saying it is not. And why not? Right? If my team is banged up and my young QB is struggling, let him rest and learn the game for a few weeks from the sideline. Now I am aware this is more of a conspiracy theory than anything concrete but I do find the situation somewhat interesting. As with any young QB there will be ups and downs, and I am excited to monitor how Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings allow McCarthy to grow into the player he is going to be in this league.

4. Cowboys Defensive Problems

The Dallas Cowboys defense simply is not good enough to consistently win games, especially against the elite teams. In Week 1 against Philadelphia they got destroyed on the ground (albeit against maybe the best rush attack in the league) for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns. This past week against the Giants they gave up 506 total yards and got carved up by Russell Wilson and Malik Nabers. Without heroics from kicker Brandon Aubrey the Cowboys would be looking at an 0-2 start with losses to two divisional rivals. The defense is letting them down. They have almost no pass rush. The opposing teams are not scared of their front 7 and it is apparent on the field. There is no push against the run game and absolutely no pass rush, leaving the secondary on an island against receivers. The problem is so apparent that the 'Boys went out and signed veteran Jadeveon Clowney just hours after the final whistle of the game on Sunday. Not like this is nothing we did not already know, but it makes the Parsons saga that much more frustrating for Dallas fans. The Packers immediately look like an all around contender and the Cowboys are desperate for someone who brings the juice Parsons has.

5. Falcons Rookie Investments Paying Dividends

Atlanta focused heavily on the defensive side of the ball during the draft season, drafting two edge rushers in the top 26 of the draft in Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr, and selected decorated college secondary players Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. Week 1 against the Bucs it was Watts and Bowman making plenty of plays. Watts had 6 tackles and 2 important PBU's while Bowman added half a sack to his stat line. Bowman and Watts combined for 3 more deflections in Week 2 while Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr found themselves in the Minnesota backfield consistently with multiple sacks, pressuring McCarthy all night. Atlanta has long needed to improve on the defensive side of the ball and it seems as if Raheem Morris might have found 4 gems in the 2025 draft to help create a culture shifting core.