Sports

Biggest headlines from Week 2 of the NFL season

written BY: JAKE GEIGER, staff writer
Photo courtesy of Getty Images Russell Wilson’s five touchdown passes helped lead the Seahawks to win over the Patriots on Sunday. Wilson is an early MVP favorite with nine touchdown passes through just two games, leading to two wins.

Week two has completed in the NFL season, and there are plenty of headlines that make this season more riveting than ever. Which teams have achieved expectations and which have disappointed in the beginning weeks of this 2020 campaign?

The new look Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers 31-17 to give Tom Brady his first victory in a Bucs uniform. Even without top wideout Chris Godwin, Brady had 217 yards and a touchdown, along with a rushing attack of 103 yards and two touchdowns from Leonard Fournette. 

The Dallas Cowboys had one of the most improbable victories in NFL history this past Sunday, as they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 40-39. The Cowboys had three first quarter fumbles and trailed 29-10 at halftime. With 7:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were down 39-24. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott came alive and threw for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to only trail the Falcons by two points. The Cowboys then recovered an onside kick and went on to kick a game-winning field goal thanks to Greg Zuerlein. 

The other game that caught some attention was the 49ers against the Jets. Even though the 49ers won 31-13, injuries depleted the entire San Francisco team. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo left the game with an ankle injury while Pro Bowl defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas are out for the season with torn ACL’s. 

The 4:00 p.m. games were not quite as interesting, but Super Bowl favorites Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs both came out on top in different ways to improve to 2-0, respectively. 

The Ravens maintained a steady lead the whole game behind the brilliant rushing  attack that had 230 total yards. The Chiefs had some trouble with their division rival, theLos Angeles Chargers. As regulation expired, the Chiefs kicked a field goal to tie the game, and extend the game into overtime. After multiple icing attempts from the Chargers, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker nailed a 58 yard field goal to win the game. Patrick Mahomes led the way with 302 passing yards, 54 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Sunday night game was the most exciting of all the games in Week 2. Cam Newton and the New England Patriots traveled to Seattle to face MVP candidate quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. It was a back and forth game the whole way with unimaginable plays being made by both teams. Russell Wilson had two passing touchdowns over 35 yards, and both throws were in the perfect spot for receivers D.K. Metcalf and David Moore. The Patriots made a late push by scoring a touchdown with about two minutes left to make it a five point game. The game ended with Newton getting stuffed at the goaline on an attempted power run. The Pats fell to 1-1 while the Seahawks improved to 2-0. 

The last shocker in Week 2 was the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints game. The Saints came in as a heavy favorite, but without star wide receiver Mike Thomas, a win would be harder than usual for New Orleans. The Saints would fall 34-24 behind a great performance from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Carr led the way with three touchdowns and tight end Darren Waller had a fantastic showing as he caught 12 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. The Saints fell to 1-1 and the Raiders advanced to 2-0.