2024-25 NFL (Week 2)

Games I saw (some of):

Bills 31-10 Dolphins

The story here is that QB Tua sustained another concussion and left the game (with the distressing cloud of retirement hanging over him) but before he left, honestly he was pretty terrible in this game. The first interception wasn't really his fault, but the second was and the third was Levis-level embarrassing and sealed the victory for the Bills. Where do the Dolphins go from here? Well, the talk is trading for Trey Lance (Cowboys) or even Bryce Young (Panthers), but neither of those seem like solutions to their problem, so the longer Tua is out the harder it'll be for the Dolphins to get anything going. As for the Bills, they moved the ball pretty well but frankly this game was over so quick, they didn't really do much. Last year the Bills went all in surrounding QB Allen with playmakers on both sides of the ball, but the offense was still mostly just Allen and the defense suffered injuries that ground them down to nothing by the time the playoffs came around. This year they're capped out of the star market, so its just Josh Allen hero ball and while that is terrifying on the one hand, it is probably theur best chance for success. So, while most think the Bills will take a step back (my pre-season picks had them out of the playoffs in the AFC), it is just as likely that the Bills reach their peak relying on Allen. Then again, Tua's travails show how dangerous it is to put all eggs in one basket. 

Saints 44-19 Cowboys

Holy golly! The Saints just scored and scored and scored and then mailed in most of the 2nd half. After two weeks this Saints offense looks amazing and while I want to be skeptical, I dunno, they look damn good! As for the Cowboys, well they were out of this game so quick, it's almost like they weren't even there. I suspect the Cowboys are still pretty good but they were too good against the Browns and too terrible against the Saints, so not enough yet to get a feel for them. And the Saints, well, so far so good (and they are in a sorry division, so this could keep going). 

Jets 24-17 Titans

Another week of watching the Titans....*sigh*  Well, they are a tougher, more physical team than I expected in the post-Vrabel era but with QB Levis, they have put a cap on how effective that offense can ever be. Levis is not a disaster but he's not good, every good move he makes will invariably be followed by a backward step. It took the Jets a while to get going--again, up against a tougher D than they expected--but once they did, they controlled the game to the close. I still think the Jets can be really good but they aren't there just yet, so the ceiling is hard to figure. The Titans are a tough out but won't win a lot of games. 

Bengals 25-26 Chiefs

Fun game, though I thought the Bengals had their chances to put this game away and they didn't rise to the task. The Chiefs (re: QB Mahomes) made the plays down the stretch to steal the victory but they still don't look like the mighty Chiefs (and I suspect they won't all year long). The Bengals are better than their 0-2 record, but how much better is hard to see. 

Bears 13-19 Texans

I liked QB Caleb, he's unorthodox (he's got weird foot work, which is either his downfall or his super power, I haven't decided yet) but he is a rookie and the team is still glitchy on offense. I like the Bears D but it, too, needs work. The Bears are frisky but not very good. The Texans are good but haven't shown that they can reach their peak. I like QB Stroud, he spreads the ball around nicely, and the D is nice but not great. Felt like they should've stomped the Bears, not sure why they didn't. 

The rest of the slate:

Bucs 20-16 Lions. The Bucs look spunky, the Lions don't look as good as it feels like they should be. 

Colts 10-16 Packers. Man, this was on the table for the Colts and they didn't take it, so are they just not any good? Good W for the Packers, with QB Love out indefinitely, they need to sneak every victory they can (so far so good). 

Niners 17-23 Vikings. Hmmmmm....the Vikings had the highlight of the week, a 97 yard bomb to WR Jefferson. But that aside, I'm surprised the Niners couldn't get their offense going. West teams coming east is always tough but the Niners looked so good to me against the Jets last week, I thought they would just roll through this.

Seahawks 23-20 (OT) Patriots. The Pats are feisty, but the Seahawks are, too. A win on the road is always good. The Pats are one of those teams that won't win games but will cover spreads. 

Giants 18-21 Commanders. NYG becomes the first team to ever score 3 TD's while giving up 0 TD's and still lose. Look at that score line....who scored the TD's? 

Chargers 26-3 Panthers. The Panthers suck, one of the worst teams of all time. The Chargers are still just chugging along. 

Browns 18-13 Jags. Well, QB Watson looked okay but what happened to the Jags? I think they might suck. 

Raiders 26-23 Ravens. Uh-oh. Ravens are 0-2 and if they can't beat the Raiders at home, then things are not looking good for them. As for the Raiders, well, their D plays hard and QB Minshew with some nice weapons isn't a bad offense. The Raiders might actually be kinda good. 

Rams 10-41 Cards. The Cards offense has looked pretty good so far (second only to the Saints?) and they clearly brought it here. The Rams have offensive line problems and their suffering through injuries on the offensive side. Good W for the Cards, tough L for the Rams. 

Steelers 13-6 Broncos. Looks like a slog of a match. The Steelers have a really good D and an offense that should be able to run the ball a little. Not sure what the Broncos have just yet, seems like not much so far. 

Falcons 22-21 Eagles. I saw none of this but I know the Falcons came back late to steal. The Eagles still look like the stagnation machine it was in the 2nd half of last season. The Falcons should/could have a nice offense, we'll see if they can keep QB Cousins upright.