7 Simple Things You Should Know From NFL Week 2

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The second week of the NFL season didn’t disappoint with the headlines. Here are seven things to know from NFL Week 2, and here’s our recap from NFL Week 1.

New Orleans Saints Offense is HOT

The New Orleans Saints beat the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 in Week 2 of the NFL, snapping the Cowboys 16-game home win streak in the regular season.

The Saints have outscored their opponents by 62 points this season thus far. That is an insane point differential after TWO weeks.

What changed from last season?

The answer might be new offensive coordinate Klint Kubiak. Kubiak was the former passing game specialist for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, and he has spent 10 years in the NFL.

Kubiak has simplified the Saints’ offense, all while implementing plays that work off of each other.

It’s poetry in motion.

And it has Derek Carr dancing like… Michael Jackson?

The Bryce Young Experiment Might Be Over

The Carolina Panthers have already pulled the plug on second-year and former first overall pick, Bryce Young.

Benching your starting quarterback after the second game is unprecendated, to say the least.

New head coach Dave Canales stated that Bryce Young is still their starter, but that’s hard to believe.

If your starter is truly your starter, then why would you bench your starter?

I don’t remember many scenarios when a benched quarterback came back to find success with the team that benched him. That being said, it seems like this season might be the end of the Bryce Young era in Carolina.

And why was Bryce Young benched after two games?

These findings might shed some light:

Bryce Young has thrown for a total of 245 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions in 67 dropbacks during the first two weeks of the season. He has a passing grade of 31.8, which is the lowest grade out of all qualifying quarterbacks (according to PFF).

PFF also cites that Bryce Young has the second highest Pressure to Sack Percentage (31.6%), which tells the percentage of pressures that turn into sacks, out of all qualifying quarterbacks. And Bryce Young is responsible for 43% of the pressures, which is the highest mark out of all qualifying quarterbacks.

The Young Receivers Have ARRIVED

The next crop of wide receiver stars made their impacts felt on Sunday.

Marvin Harrison Jr and Jaxson Smith-Njigba finally arrived onto the scene; it took the latter a bit longer than the former (not his fault), but it was due time!

Marvin Harrison Jr hauled in four catches on eight targets, 130 yards, and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Rams.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes on 16 targets for 117 yards against the New England Patriots.

Fantasy owners and sports gamblers: keep your eyes on these guys moving forward.

Bears Offensive Line is Not Good

The whole country witnessed the pure horror that is the Chicago Bears offensive line on Sunday night against the Houston Texans.

Former first-overall pick Caleb Williams was sacked seven times on 47 dropbacks. He was under pressure on 43% of his dropbacks, where he went 4-12 for 33 passing yards and threw two interceptions while under pressure. When kept clean, Williams completed 19 of 25 passes and threw for 141 yards.

However, the Chicago Bears offensive line couldn’t keep Caleb Williams clean.

The Chicago Bears offensive line was responsbile for allowing pressure on 84% of Williams’ dropbacks. The blame can somewhat be evenly distributed amogst the starting five, but the rightside of the offensive line struggled more than the left.

Percent of dropbacks with some responsibility:

Braxton Jones: 16%
Teven Jenkins: 16%
Coleman Shelton: 11%
Nate Davis: 21%
Darnell Wright: 26%

The Chicago bears offense had a lot of hype coming into this season. It seems like the offensive line group is going to need to have a “man in the mirror” chat with themselves in order for that offense to reach its full potential.

Justin Jefferson Is Still WR1

It doesn’t matter who’s throwing the football: Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the NFL.

Jefferson had four receptions on seven targets for 133 yards and a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers, including this 97-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold:

Does anything else need to be said? No, let’s move on.

Rams Might Be in Early Trouble

The Los Angeles Rams might find themselves in a steep hole over the next few weeks.

After dropping games to the Lions and Cardinals, the Rams are 0-2 and facing a hefty dosage of the injury bug.

Puka Nacua is on the IR with a knee injury, and fellow start Cooper Kupp is a candidate for landing on the IR with an ankle injury.

Offensive lineman KT Leveston, Steve Avila, and Joe Noteboom are on injured reserve, and guard Jonah Jackson aggravated a shoulder injury on Sunday and is a candidate for injured reserve.

Defensively, tackle Larrell Murchison and cornerbacks Darious Williams, Derion Kendrick and Tre Tomlinson are all already on injured reserve, while safety John Johnson might join them.

CJ Stroud is a Top 8 Quarterback

CJ Stroud is truly unreal. There’s no other way to put it.

The reigning OROY went 23-36, 260 yards, and threw a touchdown against a stout Chicago Bears defense.

I mean, how do you defend this?

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