NFL 2024 Week 2 Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. The week that was Week 2 brought forth a lot of intriguing storylines. Such as: Bills winning big in Miami, a scorigami in Dallas, an overtime thriller in New England and a whole bunch of upsets. All that and more in this week's recap post! Let's get to work!

NFL Week 2 Freaky Stat

The Chargers 2-0 start is their first since 2012. Minnesota is 2-0 for the first time since 2016. The 97-yard touchdown pass play from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson is just the 2nd longest play in Vikings history. 

NFL Week 2 Recap

Buffalo 31, Miami 10: TW: Bills

The Miami Dolphins on Thursday lost more than just the game. Josh Allen hit 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards with a touchdown pass to James Cook. Along with the receiving touchdown, Cook ran over the Miami defense with 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns from 49 and 1 yard plays. Khalil Shakir was the leading receiver with 54 yards on five catches. Buffalo would muster 247 total yards in the game. It would be not just their offense making plays but the Bills defense showing themselves off. Tua Tagovailoa would start the game for the Dolphins. He hit a touchdown pass to Devon Achane in the 1st quarter. It would be the only touchdown the Dolphins would score all game. The interceptions would come in the 2nd quarter and all the way up to the 4th quarter. The last interception was a pick-six grabbed by Jamarcus Ingrim, his 2nd pick in the game. Devon Achane was the leading rusher and leading receiver for the Dolphins with 96 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards. Miami would outproduce Buffalo with total yards with 351 yards. Despite this, the turnovers were what killed Miami along with the injury to Tua. On a diving play, Tua Tagovailoa would try to dive but would get his head hit by a Bills player. In a story all too familiar to Dolphins fans, Tua would have his hands flailing familiar to an incident in 2022. Skylar Thompson would play in the game for the Dolphins and got 8 of 14 passes for 80 yards. Before he left the game, Tua had 17 of 25 passing for 145 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. For the Bills, they get to 2-0 with quite a bit of rest on their hands as they won't play again until Monday of next week. For the Dolphins, they're faced with a concussion injury to Tua and a 1-1 record. 

Next week:
Buffalo: vs Jacksonville (Monday night)
Miami: @ Seattle

TW: 1-0

Indianapolis 10, Green Bay 16: TW: Colts 

No Jordan Love, no problem for the Pack. Anthony Richardson would have a tough afternoon. He hit 17 of 34 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown pass to Alec Pierce in the 3rd quarter. Richardson would give up the ball quite a bit to Green Bay, throwing three interceptions. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards with 12 carries while going on a 29-yard run being the longest for him. The Colts had a chance to win it on a hail mary but was also intercepted by Packer Evan Williams. Indianapolis had 338 total yards in the game. Malik Willis would get the nod at quarterback for Green Bay. The former Titan and Liberty University player was pretty accurate with 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards with a touchdown. The touchdown pass went to Dontayvion Wicks that gave the Pack their first touchdown of the game. It would be the only touchdown in the game. Josh Jacobs would do most of the heavy lifting as he rushed for 32 times on 151 yards with a 34-yard run being the longest. Romeo Doubs was the leading receiver for the Packers with 62 yards on three catches. Green Bay had 383 total yards in the game. Green Bay's defense did a lot of the work as well with three interceptions from Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams and Eric Wilson. Green Bay's offense would do enough but given the circumstances, it'll have to do. For the Colts, they drop to 0-2 on the season For the Packers, they get a big team win while picking up dub #1 for the 2024 season at a 1-1 record. 

Next week: 
Indianapolis: vs Chicago
Green Bay: @ Tennessee

TW: 1-1

Cleveland 18, Jacksonville 13: TW: Jaguars

The Browns somehow hold off the Jaguars. DeShaun Watson hit 22 of 34 passes for 186 yards in the game. He rushed for the Browns only offensive touchdown on a 1-yard run to the left. Jerome Ford rushed for 64 yards on seven carries. Jerry Jeudy caught five times for 73 yards. Cleveland got a boost from a safety on a Alex Wright tackle on Trevor Lawrence. Dustin Hopkins hit three field goals. Cleveland's offense had 297 total yards in the game with 4.6 yards/play and had 2 of 14 conversions on 3rd down. Trevor Lawrence had 14 of 30 passes for 220 yards. Travis Etienne had the lone touchdown for the Jaguars on a 4-yard score. He had 52 yards rushing on 13 carries. Brian Thomas Jr had two catches for 94 yards, with a 66-yard play being the longest in this game. Jacksonville had 323 total yards in this game. The Jags offense had better luck on 3rd down with 3 of 9 conversions and had 5.9 yards/play. Trevor Lawrence was also sacked four times in the game. For the Browns, they get to the win column with a 1-1 record. For the Jaguars, they drop to 0-2 on the season with the Bills coming up. 

Next week: 
Cleveland: vs NY Giants
Jacksonville: @ Buffalo (Monday night)

TW: 1-2

LA Chargers 26, Carolina 3: TW: Chargers

Business taken care of in Carolina for the Chargers. Justin Herbert hit 14 of 20 passes for 130 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Quentin Johnston caught both passes from Herbert. Another small amount of passing yards for the star Herbert. JK Dobbins rushed 17 times for 131 yards with a touchdown as well. A good day for him continuing his great start to the 2024 season. The touchdown came on a big 43-yard run. Cameron Dicker hit two field goals. Los Angeles had a good day in total yards with 349, 219 of them coming on the ground. Bryce Young would have a trying day. He hit 18 of 26 passes for 84 yards with an interception. Chuba Hubbard rushed 10 times for 63 yards, with a 23 yard run being the longest for him. Tommy Tremble was the leading receiver for the Panthers with 23 yards. Carolina had 159 total yards in the game. Eddie Pineiro scored the only points for the Panthers on a 38-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter. The big thing for the game was the Panthers inability to sustain drives, going 1 for 12 on 3rd down. For the Chargers, they reach the 2-0 mark as they have to travel to Pittsburgh next week. For the Panthers, they drop to 0-2 and have to go to Las Vegas. 

Next week: 
LA Chargers: @ Pittsburgh
Carolina: @ Las Vegas

TW: 2-2

Las Vegas 26, Baltimore 23: TW: Ravens 

Gardner Minshew and company spoil the Ravens. Minshew hit 30 of 38 passes for 276 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. Davante Adams caught the pass from Minshew for a score. Zamir White carried the ball nine times for 24 yards. Alexander Mattison rushed into the endzone for a 1-yard score but had four carries for that net one yard in the game. Adams had nine catches for 110 yards. Las Vegas had 260 total yards in the game. Daniel Carlson had four field goals in the game. The Raiders kept the Ravens off the field as they were nearly even with the Ravens in time of possession. They were 4 of 12 on 3rd down conversions. The Raiders won it on a 20-point onslaught in the 2nd half. Lamar Jackson hit 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards with a touchdown pass but also had an interception. Zay Flowers was the recipient of the touchdown pass while catching seven passes for 91 yards. Derrick Henry had 84 yards rushing with a touchdown in the game. The Ravens had 383 total yards in the game. Penalties were an issue for the Ravens as they had 11 yellow laundry infractions for 109 yards. The game was also a big upset as the Ravens were tabbed as favorites by 8.5 points. For the Raiders, they get to 1-1 on the season. For the Ravens, they drop to a shocking 0-2 record. 

Next week: 
Las Vegas: vs Carolina
Baltimore: @ Dallas

TW: 2-3

New Orleans 44, Dallas 19: TW: Saints

Who saw New Orleans destroying Dallas in Jerry World? Derek Carr hit 11 of 16 passes for 243 yards with two touchdown passes and threw an interception. Rashid Shaheed and Alvin Kamara caught the passes from Carr. The star for the Saints was three touchdown runs from Alvin Kamara who rushed 20 times for 115 yards. The touchdowns were from 5, 12 and 7 yards. For Fantasy owners, he had 43 points. Rashid Shaheed was the leading receiver with four catches for 96 yards. New Orleans torched the vaunted Dallas defense for 432 total yards. Dak Prescott hit 27 of 39 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown pass but also tossed two interceptions. CeeDee Lamb was the player that caught the pass from Prescott. He was also the leading receiver for the Cowboys with four catches for 90 yards. Rico Dowdle carried the ball seven times for 30 yards. Not quite the game for him. The Cowboys had 353 total yards in the game. New Orleans had a bit of a chip on their shoulder as the Cowboys were 6.5 point favorites in the game. For the Saints, they get to 2-0 but have a big test next week. For the Cowboys, they get humbled and drop to 1-1. The 44-19 score is also a Scorigami! Praise the Scorigami!

Next week: 
New Orleans: vs Philadelphia
Dallas: vs Baltimore

TW: 3-3

NY Giants 18, Washington 21: TW: Commanders

Washington kicker Austin Siebert did it all by himself. Daniel Jones threw 16 of 28 passes for 178 yards with two touchdowns. Malik Nabers and Wandale Robinson were the players that caught the passes from Jones. The Robinson touchdown gave the Giants a 18-15 lead with 11:32 left in the game. Devin Singletary had a good day as he had 16 carries for 95 yards with a touchdown. Malik Nabers caught 10 passes for 127 yards. Jayden Daniels threw 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards in the game. Brian Robinson Jr had 17 carries for 133 yards. Zack Ertz was the leading receiver with four catches for 62 yards. Both teams had good yardage numbers with the Giants had 304 total yards and Washington had 425 total yards. Austin Siebert hit field goals from 27, 45, 26, 29, 27, 33 and 30 yards in the game with the latter field goal being the game-winner. Giants head coach Brian Daboll definitely was feeling the anger. For the Giants, they drop to 0-2, something they're well familiar with. For the Commanders, they get to 1-1 on the season. 

Next week: 

NY Giants: @ Cleveland

Washington: @ Cincinnati

TW: 4-3

NY Jets 24, Tennessee 17: TW: Jets 

The Jets survive in Tennessee. Aaron Rodgers hit 18 of 30 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns. Breece Hall and Braelon Allen were the players that caught the passes from Rodgers. Braelon Allen also had 33 yards rushing with a touchdown and had seven carries. Breece Hall was the leading rusher with 62 yards with 14 carries. Garrett Wilson had four catches for 57 yards. The Jets had 265 total yards in the game. Will Levis had 19 of 28 passes completed for 192 yards with a touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley but also had an interception in the game. Tony Pollard was the leading rusher for the Titans with 62 yards on 17 carries. Ridley was also the leading receiver with 77 yards and four catches and a 40-yard play being the longest. The Titans had a solid 300 total yards in the game. Tennessee had a shot to get to to a 24-24 tie close to the end but the Jets defense stepped up when they needed to and prevailed. Both teams finished with 5 of 12 conversions on 4th down. One of the weirder plays you'll see is a Levis fumble where the quarterback looked like he leaped but the pocket closed in and tripped losing the ball that was recovered by Quinnen Williams. For the Jets, they get to 1-1 after losing big lsat week to the 49ers. For the Titans, they drop to 0-2 in the season. 

Next week: 
NY Jets: vs New England (Thursday night)
Tennessee: vs Green Bay

TW: 5-3

Seattle 23, New England 20 (F/OT): TW: Seahawks

Jason Myers wins it for the Seahawks. Geno Smith hit 33 of 44 passes for 327 yards with a touchdown pass to DK Metcalffor a 56-yard big play that tied the game at 7-7. Metcalf had 10 catches for 129 yards. Zach Charbonnet scored the 2nd touchdown on a 1-yard run up the middle. Charbonnet had 38 yards on 14 carries. Seattle had 358 total yards in the game. Jacoby Brissett hit 15 of 27 passes for 149 yards with a touchdown pass to Ja'Lynn Polk for his first touchdown of his career. Antonio Gibson had a big day in his young season at New England with 11 carries for 96 yards with a 45-yard run being the longest in the game. Rhamondre Stevenson had 21 carries for 81 yards with the 2nd touchdown on a direct snap to him that gave the Patriots a 20-17 lead. Hunter Henry was a menace to the Seahawks defense as he caught eight passes for 109 yards. New England had 310 total yards in the game. Jason Myers hit the game-tying field goal from 38 yards and would hit the overtime winner from 31 yards. For the Seahawks, they get to 2-0 as Mike MacDonald has success in his first season. For the Patriots, they drop to 1-1 on the season. 

Next week: 
Seattle: vs Miami 

New England: @ NY Jets (Thursday night)

TW: 6-3

San Francisco 17, Minnesota 23: TW: Vikings

The Vikings won but it might've been at a cost. Brock Purdy hit 28 of 36 passes for 319 yards with a touchdown and an interception. George Kittle had the pass from Purdy that was for six points. Jordan Mason, who had 147 yards last week, had 100 yards for this game with a touchdown. Christian McCaffrey was on the Injury Reserve for this game with a calf injury. Deebo Samuel had eight catches for 110 yards. San Francisco had 399 total yards in the game. San Francisco was fairly quiet in the first half but did heat up in the 4th quarter. Sam Darnold had 17 of 26 passes completed for 268 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Justin Jefferson and Justin Nailor were the players that caught the passes from Darnold. Jefferson was the leading receiver with four catches for 133 yards before leaving the game with a quad injury that is currently day-to-day. Tyson Chandler had 10 carries for 82 yards with a 25-yard run being the longest in the game. The Vikings finished with 403 total yards in the game. For the 49ers, they drop to 1-1 as Brock Purdy is 0-2 against the Vikings. For the Vikings, they improve to 2-0 but have some unknown going into their future with Jefferson feeling hurt. 

Next week: 
San Francisco: @ LA Rams

Minnesota: vs Houston

TW: 7-3

Tampa Bay 20, Detroit 16: TW: Lions

Tampa Bay get revenge over the Lions on the road. Baker Mayfield hit 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chris Godwin caught seven passes for 117 yards including the touchdown from Mayfield. Baker also had five carries for 34 yards with a touchdown that was the game-winning touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game. Chase McLaughlin hit two field goals in the game. Tampa had 216 total yards in the game and had just 26 minutes of ball possession in the game. Jared Goff had a busy and long day in this one. He hit 34 of 55 passes for 307 yards with two interceptions in the game. Jahmyr Gibbs had 84 yards with 13 carries. David Montgomery ran for the only Lions touchdown on a 1-yard run up the middle that gave the Lions a 16-13 lead. Amon-Ra St. Brown had 11 catches for 119 yards. Detroit had 463 total yards in the game. Along with the turnovers, the Lions had four penalties for 71 yards, it was also interesting as the Lions went 7 of 17 on 3rd down and 3 of 5 on 4th down conversions. Maybe a bit too much of a gamble at times for the Lions. In terms of offense, you'd think the Lions won this game handily. Sadly not the case. For the Buccaneers, they improve to 2-0 on the season. For the Lions, they drop to .500 football with a 1-1 record. 

Next week: 
Tampa Bay: vs Denver
Detroit: @ Arizona

TW: 7-4

LA Rams 10, Arizona 41: TW: Rams

Kyler Murray and the Cardinals stomp on the Rams. Matthew Stafford hit 19 of 27 passes for 216 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown but also didn't throw an interception. Blake Corum carried eight times for 28 yards. Kyren Williams had the only touchdown for the Rams on a 4-yard run up the middle. The touchdown would give them a 34-10 deficit in the 3rd quarter. Demarcus Robinson was the leading receiver for the Rams with two catches for 50 yards. Cooper Kupp was limited to four catches for 37 yards. Puka Nacua was inactive for the game which might be the reason why the Rams did not do as well in this game. Suffice to say, the Rams had no excuses. Los Angeles had 245 total yards in the game. Kyler Murray didn't miss a beat in this one. He hit 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards with three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Elijah Higgins had the other touchdown. James Conner carried the ball 21 times for 122 yards with a touchdown run of his own. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a big game in just his 2nd game of his career, catching four passes for 130 yards with the aforementioned two touchdowns. The big takeaway was how efficient the Cardinals offense was. The first four Cardinals drives resulted in either a touchdown or a field goal, it wouldn't be until their 2nd drive in the 2nd quarter that lead to a punt. Maybe its the lack of a defensive presence like an Aaron Donald was key for the Rams. For the Rams, they drop to 0-2 and face with an uphill battle to get to the top of the division. For the Cardinals, they rebound and get to a big win to improve to 1-1. 

Next week: 
LA Rams: vs San Francisco

Arizona: vs Detroit 

TW: 7-5

Cincinnati 25, Kansas City 26: TW: Chiefs

Burrow-Mahomes had its moments of drama. Joe Burrow hit 23 of 36 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns. Andrei Iosivas was the player that caught the two passes from Burrow. Zack Moss had 12 carries for 34 yards in the game. Mike Gesicki was the leading receiver for the Bengals with seven catches for 91 yards. Ja'Marr Chase had four catches for 35 yards. It was certainly a better offensive showcase than last week, only scoring 10 points against New England. Cincinnati had 320 total yards. Patrick Mahomes had 18 of 25 passes completed for 151 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Not quite a great game for him. Rashee Rice and Wanya Morris were the players that caught the passes from Mahomes. Rice was the leading receiver with five catches for 75 yards with a touchdown. Isiah Pacheco was a machine in the ground game with 19 carries for 90 yards. Kansas City had 286 total yards of offense. Towards the end of the game, he looked a bit hurt as he was limping to the sideline. The game was a entertaining one in the 2nd half, resulting in five lead changes. There was some controversy in this one as there was quite a bit of contact in a pass interference infraction. There was indeed contact prior to the ball arriving and the ball was indeed catchable. The Chiefs would pull it off with a Harrison Butker field goal from 51 yards and the Chiefs would prevail. For the Bengals, their stretch of bad starts continues as they are now 1-9 in Week 1 and 2 as their record drops to 0-2 for 2024. For the Chiefs, they improve to 2-0 but in an ugly way. 

Next week: 
Cincinnati: vs Washington
Kansas City: @ Atlanta

TW: 8-5

Pittsburgh 13, Denver 6: TW: Steelers

The Steelers handle the Broncos on the road. Justin Fields hit 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards with a touchdown pass to Darnell Washington. It was the Steelers first touchdown in the game and in the young season. Najee Harris had 17 carries for 69 yards. Pat Friermuth had four catches for 39 yards. Pittsburgh had 251 total yards in the game. Chris Boswell, who had six field goals last week, had just two field goals in this game. Bo Nix had a similar game to last week in this game. Nix hit 20 of 35 passes for 246 yards with two interceptions. He was also the leading rusher in the game with 25 yards on 4 carries. Javonte Williams had 11 carries for 17 yards. Josh Reynolds was the leading receiver with four catches for 93 yards. Denver had more offensive yards with 295 yards in this game. The turnovers killed Denver as well as only converting 2 of 12 on 3rd down. Penalties also hurt as the Broncos had nine infractions for 124 yards. Pittsburgh did also have 10 flags for 78 yards. The game was almost a revenge game for Russell Wilson. Wilson was inactive for the 2nd straight week. He had spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons for Denver and the latter season working with Sean Payton. For the Steelers, they get to 2-0 and have some signs of offensive fortitude. For the Broncos, they once again face with a 0-2 record. At least the Colorado Buffaloes give some Colorado football fans some hope. 

Next week: 
Pittsburgh: vs LA Chargers

Denver: @ Tampa Bay

TW: 9-5

Chicago 13, Houston 19: TW: Texans

The Texans prevail over the Bears. Caleb Williams hit 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with two interceptions. Will have to wait for another week to get that first touchdown pass I guess. Khalil Herbert had the only touchdown for Chicago on a 2-yard run to the left. Caleb Williams had 44 yards rushing on five carries with a 24-yard run being the longest in the game. Dandre Swift had the most carries with 14 and rushed for 18 yards. DJ Moore had 53 receiving yards with six catches. Chicago had 205 total yards in the game, went 6 for 17 on 3rd down. Just a mediocre performance from Chicago. CJ Stroud hit 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown pass to Nico Collins on a 28-yard play that was flagged for illegal use of hands but was declined as it was on Chicago. Cam Akers had seven carries for 32 yards. Nico Collins had eight catches for 135 yards as he was the leading receiver for this game for Houston. Houston had 310 total yards in the game. Pass rush was a factor in this game as the Texans swarmed over the Bears offensive line and sacked Caleb Williams seven times for 40 yards of lost yardage. Both teams dealt with penalties as the two teams combined for 21 penalties (12 on Texans, 9 on Bears) for a combined 175 yards. Just a rough one if you like disciplined football. For the Bears, they drop to 1-1 on the season as they face off against another AFC South opponent. For the Texans, they improve to 2-0 and head north to visit the Vikings. 

Next week: 
Chicago: @ Indianapolis

Houston: @ Minnesota 

TW: 10-5

Atlanta 22, Philadelphia 21: TW: Eagles 

A Kirk Cousins to Drake London connection and Jessie Bates intercepts the Jalen Hurts pass. Cousins hit 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns. Both touchdowns went to Darnell Mooney for 41 and Drake London for the game-winning 7 yard play. Bijan Robinson had 14 carries for 97 yards in the game. Darnell Mooney caught three passes for 88 yards. Atlanta had 385 total yards of offense in the game. Looking at the team stats, the pass protection was good as Kirk Cousins was only sacked once and only had 24:21 of ball possession and still put up more points in that time than the Eagles did. Jalen Hurts hit 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards with a touchdown pass to Devonta Smith and rushed into the endzone for a score as well. Saquon Barkley had a solid day as he rushed 22 times for 95 yards with a 11-yard run being the longest in the game. He did have a dropped pass that might've translated into six points had he held on. It would be the big moment that helped the Falcons find a way to win. Hurts rushed 13 times for 85 yards. Devonta Smith had seven catches for 76 yards. Philadelphia had 365 total yards in the game. They had their chances to pull it off in the end but the Barkley drop and going 2 for 5 in redzone situations were the killer to them. For the Falcons, they pull off the upset and improve to 1-1. For the Eagles, the gut-wrenching loss will hurt as they drop to 1-1. 

Next week: 
Atlanta: vs Kansas City

Philadelphia: @ New Orleans

TW: 10-6

Records

2024:
Week 1: 14-2
Week 2: 10-6

Total: 24-8

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2
2023: 161-111

See you all on Wednesday/Thursday for the Week 3 Picks post! Enjoy your week!

-Tom