Week Two of the NFL season is in the bag and once again we have had a week where some teams have excelled, others have surprised, and others have plenty of work to do to salvage their season.
After a dramatic Week One of the season which saw some sweeping changes to the Power Rankings, Week Two saw some teams confirm their status as genuine contenders, while for others the jury is still out.
And for some, it is worrying times.
Before we go through the main stories for Week 2 of the season, just a quick reminder that you can enjoy a wide range of NFL betting with bet365 Sport each week of the season, including In Play betting when the games are taking place.
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Let’s now take a look at how Week 2 unfolded in the NFL.
NFL Matchday 2 – Main Stories
I’m already starting to have grave concerns for a couple of my Divisional Winner Predictions that I made before the season started, but by the same token, some of those I have backed are starting to look like shrewd moves.
Chiefs Are Back But Chargers Are Very Close – The Chiefs won the big AFC West Thursday Night Showdown but the Chargers pushed them very hard at Arrowhead and there was certainly enough evidence to suggest that these two teams are going to be battling it out for top spot in this very tough division over the course of the season.
Bills Asserting Their Dominance – Last week the Bills comfortably beat the Super Bowl holders, this week they destroyed the AFC Number 1 seed of last season, the Tennessee Titans by being utterly dominant in all phases of the game. Everybody knew the Bills would be good, but perhaps not this good. This week’s game against the explosive Miami Dolphins should be a cracker.
Jets Make A Stunning Comeback – Two scores down with 90 seconds remaining, the Cleveland Browns looked set to go 2-0 on the season until the Jets mounted a sensational comeback to win the game by a single point and give the beleaguered Jets fanbase something to cheer.
Jaguars Are Colts Nemesis Once Again – Colts fans must hate the sight of the Jags. Not content with ruining the Colts post-season ambitions last season in the final week of games, the Jaguars inflicted another sobering defeat on a hapless Colts who look far from the dominant team many people expected to win the AFC South comfortably.
Trey Lance Out For The Season – The big story in the off-season was how would Trey Lance do leading the 49ers. Well, after two games, his season is done after a broken ankle sustained early in this week’s win over the Seahawks. Jimmy Garoppolo will take over but given how Lance was exposed to so many punishing tackles against the Bears last week, this injury was not a surprise.
The Lions Could Finally Be Set To Roar – After a narrow loss in Week 1, the Lions recorded another offensive showpiece to defeat the Commanders in Week 2 36-27. With D’Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown and. TJ Hockenson, they are going to be a fun team to watch and one I think could be surprise challengers to the Packers in the North this season.
NFL Star Performers of the Week – Offense/ST
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) – 36/50 for 469 yards and 6 touchdowns
RB Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) – 9 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns
K Graham Gano (Giants) – scored 13 of Giants 19 points, incuding game winning FG.
QB Josh Allen (Bills) – 26/38 for 317 yards and 4 touchdowns
WR Stefon Diggs (Bills) – 12 receptions for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns
QB Lamar Jackson (Ravens) – 21/29 for 318 yards and 3 touchdowns plus 9 carries for 119 yards and 1 touchdown
WR Tyreek Hill (Dolphins) – 11 receptions for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns
WR Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) – 11 receptions for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns
QB Joe Flacco (Jets) – 26/44 for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns
Teammates to have 150+ Receiving Yards, 10+ Receptions, & 2+ Receiving TD in the same game in NFL history:
Philadelphia Eagles – Held Vikings to just 7 points, Darius Slay had 2 of the teams 3 interceptions.
Buffalo Bills – Shut down the Titans offense restricting Tennessee to just one score and just 117 yards passing in the entire game.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Produced a superb all-round defensive display to keep the Colts from scoring any points, securing their first win of the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – With the Bucs offense a little below par, it was their defense that led them to victory over the Saints with Shaquil Barrett and Jamel Dean key.
NFL Rookies Of The Week
WR Garrett Wilson (Jets) – 8 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns
WR Drake London (Falcons) – 8 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown
CB Jaylen Watson (Chiefs) – Returned interception for key touchdown against Chargers.
WR Chris Olave (Saints) – 5 catches for 80 yards against tough Bucs defense.
NFL Key Injuries
QB Justin Herbert (Chargers) – Rib injury. Managed to play on with it but is considered questionable and day-to-day for the Chargers this week.
QB Trey Lance (49ers) – Out for the season after sustaining a broken ankle, Jimmy Garoppolo will deputise.
TE Dalton Schultz (Cowboys)– Schultz picked up a knee injury which while not season-ending, could see the tight end miss a couple of weeks.
WR Hunter Renfrow (Raiders) – Renfrow is in concussion protocol this week after a big hit late in the game against the Cardinals.
WR Devin Duvernay (Ravens) – Duvernay is another WR in concussion protocol this week and that will determine whether he plays this weekend.
RB James Conner (Cardinals) – Ankle. Conner picked up the injury against the Raiders and could not return. He is questionable for this weekend’s game.
NFL Bonehead Play of The Week
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver Mike Evans wins the award this week after his role in a brawl in the third quarter during the Bucs 20-10 win over the New Orleans Saints this week.
After an incomplete pass on third down, Evans was returning to the sidelines when he noted Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette arguing with Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye of the Saints.
Fournette and Lattimore then shoved each other and Evans sprinted across, shoving Lattimore to the ground forcefully.
Evans and Lattimore were both ejected from the game and Evans has also received a one-game suspension, which when Chris Godfrey’s injury status is so unclear, is not great news for that Bucs offense.
New Orleans Saints (1-1) @ Carolina Panthers (0-2)
Baltimore Ravens (1-1) @ New England Patriots (1-1)
Detroit Lions (1-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (1-1)
Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) @ Washington Commanders (1-1)
Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1)
Houston Texans (0-1-1) @ Chicago Bears (1-1)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) @ Los Angeles Chargers (1-1)
Los Angeles Rams (1-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-1)
Green Bay Packers (1-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)
Atlanta Falcons (0-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-1)
San Francisco 49ers (1-1) @ Denver Broncos (1-1)
Monday 26th September
Dallas Cowboys (1-1) @ New York Giants (2-0)
NFL Matchday 3 – Top Betting Tips With Bet365
Cleveland Browns to beat Steelers by 1-6 points – 13/5
Detroit Lions to score first (v Vikings) – 11/10
Davante Adams (Raiders) – Over 125 yards receiving v Titans – 19/4
Buccaneers Over 3.5 Team Touchdowns v Packers – 3/1
NFL – Power Rankings (After Week 2)
Buffalo Bills (2-0) (1)
Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) (2)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) (4)
Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) (7)
Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) (3)
Los Angeles Rams (1-1) (5)
Miami Dolphins (2-0) (13)
Baltimore Ravens (1-1) (6)
Green Bay Packers (1-1) (11)
New York Giants (2-0) (22)
San Francisco 49ers (1-1) (16)
Minnesota Vikings (1-1) (9)
Denver Broncos (1-1) (20)
New Orleans Saints (1-1) (12)
Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) (8)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) (10)
Dallas Cowboys (1-1) (19)
Cleveland Browns (1-1) (14)
Arizona Cardinals (1-1) (25)
New England Patriots (1-1) (26)
Detroit Lions (1-1) (28)
Chicago Bears (1-1) (21)
Washington Commanders (1-1) (18)
Las Vegas Raiders (0-2) (17)
Seattle Seahawks (1-1) (23)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) (31)
New York Jets (1-1) (32)
Houston Texans (0-1-1) (27)
Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1) (15)
Atlanta Falcons (0-2) (29)
Tennessee Titans (0-2) (24)
Carolina Panthers (0-2) (30)
Check back next week when we will review how the third week of NFL action panned out and for our latest tips, previews and predictions for all of Week 4’s NFL showdowns!
Ian John is a seasoned Sports Writer and UK gambling expert with over a decade of experience at Bonus Code Poker. For the past 10 years, he has been providing readers with insightful analysis and expert opinions on sports betting and poker.
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