NFL Week 2: Everybody hurts
Injuries piled up Sunday, never punt against the Chiefs, and stop us if you've heard this before, the Falcons blew a lead.
An NFL season without a proper preseason was always going to pose some risks. The late July-August stretch has, since 2014, been the source of more than half the league’s ACL tears despite lasting less than two full months. In 2020, the limited reps of a shortened training camp and the lack of conditioning that comes with it threatened to take a major toll on Sundays. Canceling the preseason wouldn’t cancel the injuries that typically mar the summer; it would just push those ligament tears and inflamed tendons into games that mattered.
But Week 1 saw few major injuries outside of Marlon Mack’s torn Achilles and serious lower-body sprains for All-Pros Michael Thomas and George Kittle. For one brief optimistic moment, it seemed like something might actually go right in 2020.
That all changed in Week 2. Suddenly, RedZone alternated between touchdowns and players being carried off the field with shocking regularity. In the span of 15 minutes, Saquon Barkley, Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, and Parris Campbell were carted into the X-ray room due to leg injuries. By the end of the 1 p.m. games, Christian McCaffrey, Jimmy Garoppolo, Anthony Barr, Drew Lock, Sterling Shepard, Davante Adams, and Byron Jones joined them on the injury report thanks to medical issues of varying seriousness.
It was an absolute reckoning for rosters real and fantasy. Possible revivals in Denver and New York may be downgraded to rebuilds (again). The Colts, without Campbell or Malik Hooker, could wind up shuffled to the bottom of the AFC South now that the Jaguars look surprisingly frisky. The Jets came into Week 2 looking like the 2016 Browns and came out looking like the 2017 Browns which, believe me, is a downgrade.
Which teams were most affected by Sunday’s ACL harvest? Three stand out in particular.
3. Denver Broncos
Lost: QB Drew Lock, WR Courtland Sutton
The Broncos’ season was supposed to be all about Lock. The second-year quarterback took over an offense loaded with young playmakers after going 4-1 as a starter as a rookie — a group led by Sutton (1,112 receiving yards in 2019) as well as 2020 draftees Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. But now he’ll miss two to six weeks with a sprained AC joint, leaving the team in the hands of Jeff Driskel … who is 1-9 in games in which he’s thrown at least 19 passes.
Sutton missed the end of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, and he too ended up tearing his ACL. He’s only played three(ish) quarters this fall after missing Week 1 with a shoulder sprain. That’s one less weapon to make Driskel look like a proper replacement QB — and keep the Broncos afloat in an extremely deep AFC West until Lock returns. It might not be all bad in Colorado, though. A 1-6 start could be the next leap forward in John Elway’s quest for the tallest franchise quarterback; it’d get him within striking distance of drafting 6’6 Trevor Lawrence in 2021.
2. New York Giants
Lost: RB Saquon Barkley, WR Sterling Shepard
In 2019, Barkley averaged 4.6 yards per carry. The rest of the Giants’ tailbacks averaged 3.3. Daniel Jones’ passer rating with Barkley in the starting lineup as a rookie was 95.5. Without him it was 59.9.
Barkley is likely out for the season with a torn ACL. His absence will place extra focus on an uneven passing game that may be without Shepard for an extended period due to a foot injury. While second-year wideout Darius Slayton may be capable of carrying some of that weight, Golden Tate’s limited health and a shallow depth chart behind them suggest lean times ahead for Jones and the New York offense.
1. San Francisco 49ers
Lost: EDGE Nick Bosa, DE Solomon Thomas, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Raheem Mostert
Holy crap! San Francisco’s star-studded defense is now nearing a blackout, as Bosa and Thomas are likely to join Richard Sherman on injured reserve (Dee Ford also missed Sunday’s game due to a neck injury). Fortunately, the Niners were playing the Jets, so what those losses will mean against an actual NFL-caliber offense has yet to be seen.
There are some very real concerns about this offense, which had already been without Deebo Samuel, Richie James, and the aforementioned Kittle. Nick Mullens exceeded expectations in relief of Garoppolo in 2018, but his low-impact appearance against New York — 11 passes, 71 yards, and an interception — failed to inspire confidence. Can he step up amidst a depleted group of skill players if Garoppolo misses extended time with a high ankle sprain? Will it make a difference for the seemingly cursed 49ers?
The good news for next week is the 49ers play the Giants. The bad news is that game will be at MetLife Stadium and its sticky, possibly dangerous turf. — CD
Week 2 results, in five words or fewer
Bears 17, Giants 13
Packers 42, Lions 21
Rams 37, Eagles 19
NFC West >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NFC East
Titans 33, Jaguars 30
Ryan Tannehill? Still outstanding!
Colts 28, Vikings 11
Colts rookies shine, Cousins falters
49ers 31, Jets 13
Steelers 26, Broncos 21
The Steel Curtain comes through
Cowboys 40, Falcons 39
Not biggest Falcons collapse ever
Bills 31, Dolphins 28
Josh Allen + Stefon Diggs = magic
Buccaneers 31, Panthers 17
Cardinals 30, Washington 15
Ravens 33, Texans 16
Ravens run over, around, through
Chiefs 23, Chargers 20 (OT)
Chiefs’ comeback spoils Herbert’s debut
Seahawks 35, Patriots 30
The Week 2 Pain Index
Last week we introduced you to the pain index. But it was this week when pain was the much bigger theme.
A sense of weariness hovered over the NFL all day. It began with an early onslaught of devastating injuries, followed soon by one quarterback hearing boos at home from fake fans and the worst team letting its opponent convert on third-and-31. Then it continued with a couple of choke jobs we could all see coming but were powerless to stop, like a nightmare when you try to yell out a warning but suddenly discover you have no voice. The Seahawks threatened to close out the night in similar and familiar fashion: losing a close heartbreaker to the Patriots. Instead, they flipped the script by literally flipping Cam Newton before he could reach the goal line as time expired, a small bit of revenge for Super Bowl 49.
The Patriots might have fallen short this time, but they won’t find themselves in this week’s pain index. In fact, they’re feeling as good as a team can after a loss. That’s what happens when you have a resurgent Newton playing like he was born to run your offense — and the rest of the NFL foolishly let you have him for pennies. — SH
3. Lions
Congratulations to the Lions, who are our first two-time pain index honoree and who also made history after squandering another lead:
At least this week’s failure wasn’t as humiliating as last week’s. The Lions led the sleepwalking Packers 14-3 early and were already behind before halftime. And, they were playing against Aaron Rodgers this time, not Mitchell Trubisky.
It also wasn’t as soul-crushing as their two losses to the Packers a year ago, games in which Green Bay never led and still won via last-second field goals.
In one sense, the Lions are improving — the losses don’t hurt as much when they happen like this. In every other way, they’re going backward while Matt Patricia, now 9-24-1 as head coach, finds his seat getting hotter and hotter each week. — SH
2. Chargers
Tyrod Taylor was a late scratch Sunday, thrusting rookie Justin Herbert into the lineup for the first time. Despite the short notice, Herbert played with a coolness and confidence that suggested Taylor would be Wally Pipped for the second time in three years (even if Anthony Lynn says otherwise right now).
Behind Herbert’s strong performance, the Chargers never trailed during regulation. This is where we remind you who they were playing: the defending Super Bowl champs, who can score in the time it takes you to open your eyes after sneezing.
The Chargers got the ball first in overtime and faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line. If they went for it and didn’t get it, the Chiefs would almost assuredly win. If they punted, the Chiefs would almost assuredly win.
They chose the second (cowardly) option. You knew where this was going. I knew where this was going. Tony Romo knew where this was going. Keenan Allen knew more than all of us where this was going:
Last week, I speculated that the Chargers’ penchant for losing close games was really Philip Rivers’ curse all along. Considering how the Chargers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory this week (and Rivers got his first win as a Colt), I’ve amended my theory. Now, I believe the Chargers and Rivers share custody of the curse. It just so happens it was the Chargers’ turn to wear the witch skin hat. — SH
1. Falcons
I think you should recover onside kicks. The Atlanta Falcons would disagree, the pleasant spinning of the ball is, perhaps, just too soothing to take your eyes off of. Surprisingly, future former head coach Dan Quinn agrees with this basic rule of football —they even practice this, somewhere between the motivational speeches by Navy SEALS and Quinn being pissed off enough to fix his team’s repeated failings.
The thing about being pissed off all the time, however, is that it’s not a very productive way to go through life. Eventually, you can’t really do anything but be pissed off. Except for maybe blowing football games you should have wrapped up. At least letting a 20-point lead in Week 2 isn’t quite as bad as frittering away a 28-3 advantage in the most important football game of your career. But this is Dan Quinn’s Falcons; they’re pissed off, and they are, in fact, dammit, they’re not really going to do anything about it anymore! — RVB