Week 2 Risers<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with three game-altering performances from kickers (who might be helped by juiced footballs \u2014 more on that\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n In Dallas,\u00a0Brandon Aubrey cemented his status<\/a>\u00a0as the league\u2019s best kicker in the Cowboys\u2019 40-37 thriller over the Giants. Aubrey forced overtime with the third-longest field goal in NFL history (a 64-yarder), before ending the game with a walk-off hit from 46. Aubrey remains the only kicker this century with a 90 percent hit rate from 50-plus.<\/p>\n Spencer Shrader?\u00a0A former undrafted free agent who won his roster spot in training camp, the 26-year-old Colts kicker went from unknown to hero in Week 2. He hit all five of his attempts, including the game-winning 45-yarder (after his 60-yard miss was negated by a leverage penalty<\/a>). Shrader is 14-of-14 in his six-game career.<\/p>\n Parker Romo?\u00a0After single-handedly outscoring the Vikings, 15-6 in a 22-6 game, the Falcons kicker was introduced to his teammate by NBC\u2019s Melissa Stark. It\u2019s understandable that Romo \u2014 signed off the street to replace Younghoe Koo as Atlanta\u2019s kicker just last week \u2014\u00a0didn\u2019t know Leonard Floyd\u2019s name<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the non-kickers are trending:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a02-0 Colts.\u00a0After an impressive 29-28 comeback win over the favored Broncos, Indianapolis is 2-0 for the first time since 2009 \u2014 the year of their last Super Bowl appearance.\u00a0This start has somehow been better<\/a>, as the Colts became the first team in the Super Bowl era to not punt in either of their first two games in a season.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Cam Ward.\u00a0The 0-2 Titans have plenty of holes, as their\u00a033-19 loss to the Rams proved<\/a>, but Ward and fourth-round pick Elic Ayomanor look promising. Ward made mistakes, but flashed behind an offensive line that struggled to contain the Rams\u2019 pass rushers, while Ayomanor (56 yards and a touchdown) did his best David Tyree impression on this catch:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8 Browns\u2019 defense.\u00a0The scoreboard showed a 41-17 win for Baltimore, but don\u2019t be fooled: Cleveland\u2019s defense was sharp. The Browns held Derrick Henry to 24 yards on the ground, and the Ravens offense had just one drive longer than 24 yards until the fourth quarter. At least 21 of Baltimore\u2019s points were the result of Cleveland\u2019s offensive miscues, which led to short fields and defensive touchdowns.<\/p>\n Speaking of the Browns\u2019 offense, rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel played one series, driving Cleveland 65 yards for a touchdown against Ravens backups. I beg them to\u00a0not blame Joe Flacco<\/a>\u00a0for their 0-2 record.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Lions\u2019 offense.\u00a0Hanging 52 points on the Bears answered any outstanding questions about new offensive coordinator\u00a0John Morton,\u00a0as Jared Goff threw for 334 yards, five touchdowns and a near-perfect 156.0 passer rating. The Lions won by 31,\u00a0embarrassing Ben Johnson\u2019s Bears<\/a>\u00a0in his return to Ford Field.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a01-1 Falcons.\u00a0Strong run game? Check: Bijan Robinson took 22 carries for 143 yards.\u00a0A pass rush? Finally<\/a>. Atlanta seems to have found the pieces to build a playoff contender, adding a kicker, defensive coordinator and young defensive stars. The Falcons,\u00a0a Week 1 missed field goal from a 2-0 bid, need to utilize more play action to help the rocket-armed Michael Penix Jr. against the Panthers next week.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u00a02-0 Cardinals.\u00a0It\u2019s difficult to celebrate their 27-22 win<\/a>\u00a0over those Panthers, since Arizona was ahead 27-3 nearly halfway through the third quarter. \u201cWe got to finish games,\u201d Murray said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t bite us in the ass today. It didn\u2019t bite us in the ass last week. But you keep playing around, you get bit.\u201d That bite could come from the 2-0 49ers, whom Arizona visits next week.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc4d\u00a0Mac Jones.\u00a0The 27-year-old\u00a0overcame early nerves<\/a>\u00a0to win 26-21 over the Saints, for whom Spencer Rattler is now 0-8 as a starter. Jones wasn\u2019t perfect, but finished with an impressive 279 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first start for San Francisco.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Bengals\u2019 first 2-0 start since 2018 was overshadowed by a devastating injury, which Dianna covers to kick off our fallers.<\/p>\n What Dianna\u2019s Hearing: Burrow\u2019s injury timeline<\/p>\n This morning, we learned more about Joe Burrow\u2019s severe turf toe injury, and the news wasn\u2019t good.\u00a0Burrow will undergo surgery on the toe, according to league sources, with the recovery time expected to be a minimum of three months<\/a>.<\/p>\n Backup Jake Browning went 4-3 as the team\u2019s starter in 2023. With the best-case scenario for Burrow being a return in mid-December, the Bengals must now recalibrate their offense around the 29-year-old Browning\u2019s strengths, and hope their injured star could be back for a playoff push.<\/p>\n Behind Browning on the depth chart is \u2026 no one (at least on the active roster). Journeyman Brett Rypien, currently on Cincinnati\u2019s practice squad, would be next up, but the Bengals are expected to bring in someone else and have\u00a0plenty of options<\/a>.<\/p>\n What is turf toe?\u00a0Saad Yousuf wrote\u00a0a helpful explainer on the injury<\/a>. Back to Jacob.<\/p>\n Week 2 Fallers<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc9\u00a0Steelers\u2019 run game, again. Attacking Pittsburgh\u2019s run defense is easier when running away from T.J. Watt. Seattle\u2019s Kenneth Walker took advantage of that during the Seahawks\u2019 31-17 win over the Steelers, averaging 8.1 yards per carry. Their offense also struggles with the run: Pittsburgh ranks 30th in rush yards, which won\u2019t be helped by a matchup against the Patriots\u2019 top-three run defense next week. Those are just two of the many issues<\/a>\u00a0plaguing this team.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc9\u00a0Chiefs\u2019 run game.\u00a0Patrick Mahomes has 123 yards rushing on 13 carries. His running backs? A paltry 94 yards on 28 carries. Oof. Often forced to run due to 0-2 Kansas City\u2019s inability to protect him, Mahomes can only do so much without his top receivers, Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice.\u00a0Travis Kelce\u2019s drop-turned-interception<\/a>\u00a0didn\u2019t help things, either.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc9\u00a01-1 Vikings.\u00a0It\u2019s easy to pin the blame solely on J.J. McCarthy, who followed Week 1\u2019s miraculous fourth-quarter comeback with the worst offensive performance of Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s tenure in Minnesota. McCarthy took six sacks, completed just 52.4 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions.<\/p>\n But as beat reporter Alec Lewis wrote,\u00a0notable absences haven\u2019t helped<\/a>\u00a0the 22-year-old quarterback adjust to life in the NFL. Receiver Jordan Addison is suspended until Week 4, star left tackle Christian Darrisaw has missed the first two weeks and center Ryan Kelly exited in the first half yesterday. \u201cHe\u2019s just learning on the fly right now,\u201d O\u2019Connell said of McCarthy.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc9\u00a00-2 Dolphins.\u00a0Miami\u2019s 33-27 loss to the Patriots saw their defense allow\u00a0Drake Maye\u2019s best game as a pro<\/a>. Despite Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s vast improvement, which came against a New England team missing star cornerback Christian Gonzalez, the Dolphins\u2019 Week 3 matchup in Buffalo makes a turnaround unlikely.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc9\u00a0Fantasy QBs in Bills-Jets. I happened to start both Justin Fields and Josh Allen in my Superflex league, and both let me down. Allen failed to throw a passing touchdown, while Fields went 3-of-11 for 27 yards before leaving the game early to be evaluated for a concussion. The Bills leaned on their run game in a 30-10 win at MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n Extra Points<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf99 Immediate reactions.\u00a0\u201cThe Athletic Football Show\u201d unpacked the thrilling Cowboys-Giants game, breaking down how Russell Wilson was cooking \u2026 until that interception.\u00a0Watch their full Week 2 episode here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc40\u00a0Pick Six.\u00a0Mike Sando explains\u00a0why everything is not OK in Kansas City<\/a>\u00a0amid the Chiefs\u2019 0-2 start. \u201cMore than ever during the Mahomes era, it\u2019s easy to picture another team repping the AFC in the Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcd3 What we learned.\u00a0Zak Keefer shared his\u00a0takeaways after a chaotic Week 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa4\u00a0Postgame,\u00a0Shedeur Sanders\u00a0avoided questions about the report that he informed Baltimore he didn\u2019t want to be drafted to play behind Lamar Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f\u00a0Last week\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0Mike Sando\u2019s look at\u00a0how the Eagles spend money<\/a>\u00a0unlike any other team.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? 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