Week 2 results: 9-7
Wrong picks: Cincinnati, Minnesota, New Orleans, Seattle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Kansas City
Overall record: 19-13
Suicide League: Week 2 saw me going with the Browns, so we continue my run into Week 3! (Used: Buccaneers, Browns)
Fantasy Football results below:
1) The Gridiron Throne – A close win over the Gummi Bears brings the Thunder Ducks to 2-0! Up next: McCaffrey Gives Me Woods
2) It’s Just a Fantasy – A solid win over the Jolly Rodgers brings the Fantastic Fournette to 1-1! Up next: Hey dArnold!
3) Motorpool – Another heartbreaking loss, this time to Big Dog, bringing Kamaravirus down to 0-2. Up next: Bubba Gump, Inc.
Note to self: For the love of all that is holy, start Gronk
What I learned in Week 2...
– It’s good to know that after all these years, Jameis Winston still knows how to connect passes to members of the Carolina Panthers when it matters the most. Week 1’s MVP was brought back down to earth immediately with an abysmal performance against Carolina’s defense. It wasn’t just Winston affected by it, however; the entire Saints offense was mostly stuck between a rock and a hard place as the Panthers pulled off the upset.
With the exception of one bad decision, Sam Darnold’s performance proves once again that Adam Gase was the problem in New York. Sam’s already matched his win total from 2020 and we’re only in week 2. With who is on the horizon this Thursday, Carolina has a chance to make a bold statement in their only prime time appearance all season and start 3-0 for the first time since 2015.
– While we’re at it, let’s look at the starting quarterbacks of our remaining undefeated teams in the league…
Tom Brady
Matthew Stafford
Derek Carr
Sam Darnold
Teddy Bridgewater
Kyler Murray
Jimmy Garoppolo
At the top you have arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. Matthew Stafford looks ten years younger playing for the Rams. Derek Carr finally has a legitimate team for the first time in five years. Sam Darnold and Teddy Bridgewater needed a change of environment and the results speak for themselves. Kyler Murray is slowly coming into his own element. Finally, Jimmy G is getting bailed out by his defense. With this week’s schedule, only one quarterback is guaranteed to lose (either Brady or Stafford), but most of the other undefeated quarterbacks have challenging games coming up as well.
Point being, there’s a new generation of quarterbacks running the game, and there’s still Tom Brady because he is the past, present, and future of football.
– While we’re at it again, let’s look at the starting quarterbacks for the winless teams in the league!
Trevor Lawrence
Zach Wilson
Matt Ryan
Daniel Jones
Kirk Cousins
Jared Goff
Carson Wentz
Welcome to the NFL, Trevor and Zach! Meanwhile, Ryan is the veteran near the end of his run and the face of a team that is in a rough rebuilding phase. Daniel Jones has proven to be hot garbage and is still being given multiple chances. Kirk Cousins is right there in terms of getting a win, except for the part where he actually wins. Jared Goff is a good quarterback that was mercilessly thrown into a bad situation, and finally, Carson Wentz looks like the same guy he’s always been for the past three seasons.
It’s a tough road ahead for most of these teams, and if the upcoming week tells us anything, I wouldn’t be surprised to see six of these quarterbacks remain winless.
– The Sunday night game between Baltimore and Kansas City was one for the ages. Deep down, I should have gone with the gut instinct and realize that Lamar Jackson needed this win to spark a rivalry between him and Patrick Mahomes. After all, these two guys are very likely the future of the league and none of the other new quarterbacks are at their level. Since 2018, Jackson and Mahomes both have a regular season MVP to their name, a combined five division titles, and a combined record of 66-13 against the other 30 teams in the league. On top of that, both have had home field advantage at least once in their careers.
You wanna know what this all sounds like? Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning
The early stages of Brady vs Manning were lukewarm in 2001, as Brady was some guy no one knew back then and Peyton was in the midst of what would be his final season with a losing record (6-10). In 2002, the new division layout happened and Peyton Manning went to the AFC South, where he’d avoid a match with New England all season.
2003, however? It was on. Peyton was in the midst of his first MVP season, while Brady had the Patriots looking invincible nearly all year. Their first showdown ended with the Patriots’ defense stopping the Colts at the goal line for a huge victory. After Peyton was announced the MVP (alongside Steve McNair in a rare tie), the rematch in the AFC title game would be anything but interesting as New England won 24-10. A year later, New England and Indy open the 2004 season; the Patriots win said opener when Mike Vanderjagt misses his first field goal since the 2002 season. After netting his second regular season MVP title, Peyton would have another shot at redemption in the playoffs; unfortunately, a 24-3 thrashing sent the Colts home while Brady would win his third Super Bowl in four years. The next two seasons, the Colts would beat the Patriots in regular season games, but nothing prepared anyone for the 2006-07 AFC Championship game between the two. You’ve heard me talk about this one, and to this day it’s still one of my favorite games ever watched. Peyton Manning showed the heart of a champion and erased a 24-6 deficit to win 38-34 and head to his first Super Bowl.
It’s no secret that Peyton Manning may very well be the greatest regular season quarterback of all time. His five regular season MVPs may never be matched (assuming Brady, Rodgers, or even Mahomes doesn’t go off), and he always had killer numbers most of his career. What Tom Brady lacked in regular season stats, he made up for in the post season with an unmatched seven Super Bowls. But from 2003 to 2015, these two were the real deal and they always put everything into what they did.
It’s still too early in Mahomes vs Lamar to determine which one is Peyton and which one is Brady. For all we know, Sunday night’s game might have been a hiccup and Mahomes beats Baltimore for the next five seasons. At this rate, it’s anyone’s guess.
– Someone I work with thinks the Buccaneers will go 17-0. While not necessarily a ridiculous claim, it’s one that I (and many others) still disagree with. I looked at Tampa Bay’s schedule and came up with four possible upsets…
1) Los Angeles – The Rams are playing lights out football the first two weeks, and Matthew Stafford is on a new level of greatness as a result of it. There’s plenty of reasons to believe the Rams could do it, especially since they did it last season with Goff and Stafford is better than him.
2) Buffalo – Josh Allen’s only getting better every year and has a brief history of playing Brady twice a year (even if only for two years). It’s never wise to sleep on the Bills when it comes to high profile games outside the Super Bowl.
3) Washington – A crazy pick, but bear with me here. One, Taylor Heinicke and the WFT defense took the Buccaneers to the limit last postseason. Two, let’s not forget the WFTs snapped an 11-game winning streak against Pittsburgh with the same defense, plus a one-legged quarterback. Is it likely they’ll beat Tampa? Probably not, but it’s feasible.
4) Carolina – The craziest of picks, because we don’t know how long this Panthers team plays this good for. However, their two games don’t happen until Weeks 16 and 18. By Week 18, Tampa might have home field advantage locked up and start resting everyone, while Carolina gets the win to secure a hopefully good season.
– See what happens when Aaron Rodgers is angry? Dude goes off and redeems himself against the Lions because he knew his career in Wisconsin was on the line.
– In a span of two weeks, the Dolphins really went from being one game away from missing the postseason to nearly becoming the punching bag of the AFC East once more.
I say nearly because the Jets still exist
– Week 2 MVP: The week’s highest honor remains in the NFC South as Tom Brady goes off on the Falcons to win this week’s honors. Honorable mention to Derrick Henry
– Week 2 Dud: Welcome to the NFL, Zach Wilson, here’s the first dud of your career, and probably not your last!
Carolina Panthers (2-0) @ Houston Texans (1-1)
Despite the Texans’ surprisingly impressive start, it all came to a halt when Tyrod Taylor got injured against the Browns. In his place is third round draft pick David Mills, a Stanford quarterback who was overlooked by absolutely everyone. Combine that with the Panthers’ great start to the season, and you got a game that will be over by halftime.
Pick: Carolina
Washington Football Team (1-1) @ Buffalo Bills (1-1)
When Buffalo’s offense is on, it’s really on, and pouring five touchdowns on the broken Dolphins is a huge statement. Washington looked fine in Week 2, but if their defense can allow the Giants of all teams to score nearly 30 points, the Bills should easily pour 30+ by halftime.
Pick: Buffalo
Chicago Bears (1-1) @ Cleveland Browns (1-1)
A possible wild card situation in terms of picks, mainly because Justin Fields may have to start for the first time in his career. Cleveland’s still a heavy favorite to represent the AFC in February, and I doubt a sleeper Bears team is going to be what stops the Browns in their tracks.
Pick: Cleveland
Baltimore Ravens (1-1) @ Detroit Lions (0-2)
One of these teams just stopped the Chiefs when no one expected them to. The other is the Detroit Lions.
Pick: Baltimore
Indianapolis Colts (0-2) @ Tennessee Titans (1-1)
The Colts are regressing quickly and desperately need this win. Unfortunately, they’re running into a Titans team that will feel rejuvenated after upsetting Seattle in their own house.
Pick: Tennessee
Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)
A very interesting matchup after recent events, and one I’d consider taking the upset if the game were not being played in Arrowhead. Kansas City has a stronger offense on their side, however, judging by the fact that they’ve put up 30+ every week while LA barely manages 20 (once).
Pick: Kansas City
New Orleans Saints (1-1) @ New England Patriots (1-1)
It might be a long weekend for Jameis Winston; New England’s defense is supposed to be on the same playing level as Carolina’s. At the very least, New Orleans might keep it close for a couple of quarters.
Pick: New England
Atlanta Falcons (0-2) @ New York Giants (0-2)
Well, someone will get the win here! Neither team has looked good going into Week 3, but I’d probably lean towards the Giants in a nail biter. At the very least, the Giants have somewhat of a viable defense, which is more than I can say for the Falcons.
Pick: New York
Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
No longer a one-sided decision, the Bengals are not meant to be slept on here. I think Pittsburgh gets it though; at the very least, they have a tendency to be more consistent than Cincinnati.
Pick: Pittsburgh
Arizona Cardinals (2-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2)
I think they should let Kyler Murray attempt the extra point kicks, just out of curiosity. Jacksonville loses their 18th game in a row; an 0-11 start would tie the all-time biggest losing streak record with Tampa Bay!
Pick: Arizona
New York Jets (0-2) @ Denver Broncos (2-0)
Sam Darnold gets traded to the Panthers in exchange for some picks, and he replaces Teddy Bridgewater who gets traded to Denver for a pick or two, which results in Teddy thrashing the Jets, the team that let go of Sam Darnold under the hope that Zach Wilson would be the answer to all their problems. It’s the CIRRRRRRRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIIIFE!
Pick: Denver
Miami Dolphins (1-1) @ Las Vegas Raiders (2-0)
Last year, the Dolphins got bailed out at the last minute and escaped thanks to a little Fitzmagic in the air. This year, there’s no Fitzmagic, Tua isn’t living up to any of the hype, Jacoby Brissett is a bum dressed as a quarterback, and the Raiders haven’t looked this good in a long time.
Pick: Las Vegas
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) @ Los Angeles Rams (2-0)
Easily the game to watch this week. Both Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford found new life after joining new teams and look better than ever. The only difference is while Los Angeles looks good, Tampa Bay still looks as scary as ever. Punch this one in for Brady and crew.
Pick: Tampa Bay
Seattle Seahawks (1-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (0-2)
A tough break for Seattle, but it’s further proof that when Russell Wilson eventually injures his back from carrying the entire team, they’re doomed to be last in their division. Minnesota’s itching to get a win after two close affairs with Arizona and Cincinnati, and I think they finally get one here.
Pick: Minnesota
Green Bay Packers (1-1) @ San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
San Francisco, this undefeated run was good while it lasted. The Niners have been bailed out twice, whether it was nearly blowing a 24 point lead in two minutes to Detroit, or holding off the Eagles in a low-scoring affair. Aaron Rodgers is awake after that Week 1 fluke and the Niners might pay for it.
Pick: Green Bay
Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (1-1)
A debatable game by all means, but I’m siding with the Cowboys here. Prescott is still playing with something to prove and is looking like a prime candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. However, I think the Eagles lose respectably by one possession because they usually give Dallas a hard time regardless of statistics.
Pick: Dallas
Next week I’ll discuss the names that the Snyders have considered for the Washington Football Team.
And after you see them, you’ll agree with me that they should just keep it the Washington Football Team.
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