Wyatt Cushman, Staff Writer |
Week Two of the NFL season may not seem like an important week to some fans, but every NFL team knows it’s crucial in determining how the season will go. Some teams are looking to get off to a 2-0 start, which would put them ahead of the eight-ball in terms of winning their division and making the playoffs. On the other hand, half of the league is still searching for their first win. History has shown us an 0-2 start is tough to overcome, as only 9.2 percent of teams to start 0-2 since 2007 make the playoffs. Week Two for some teams is almost a must win.
The Thursday night game was painful to watch. There was basically no action until the last two minutes of the first half when Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson ran it in from 49 yards out. The rest of the game was much like the first half where the punters battled to see who could down it inside the other team’s 20-yard line. The Texans ended up winning the game 13-9 over the Bengals and while it wasn’t pretty, in the NFL you’ll take a win any way you can get it.
The early games on Sunday saw both the Buccaneers and Dolphins win their first games of the season after they were forced to sit out Week One due to Hurricane Irma. The Bucs blew out the Bears at home while the Dolphins squeaked one out in L.A. against the Chargers. In Kansas City, we saw Kareem Hunt continue his impressive rookie season with 104 yards and two scores to help his team beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20. Week Two also gave us an overtime game between the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts. While this game may not have been the most entertaining, it was the first to go into overtime this season, and it was the first win for the Cardinals.
The most surprising game of the weekend was played out in Denver between the Broncos and Cowboys. The big storyline after the game was that running back Ezekiel Elliot was held to just eight yards on the ground, which was the first time since early last season the back was held under 80 yards. To top that off, the Cowboys were blown out 42-17 and it was really the first time we have seen the Cowboys get dominated since their now second year studs, Elliot and Dak Prescott, came into the league. This may be concerning to Cowboys fans, but Denver is a good team, and Dallas will have to play poorly in a few more games if people are going to hit the panic button.
In my opinion, the biggest game of the weekend was the Monday night game down in East Rutherford, New Jersey between the Giants and Lions. The Lions were looking to take over first place in their division after they saw the other three teams in the NFC North lose on Sunday. The Giants were looking to avoid the exact opposite, as they would fall to 0-2 and fall to last place in their division with a loss. The Lions looked like the more determined team, and came out victorious. Odell Beckham Jr. returned to the lineup in this game after missing last week with an ankle injury but proved to be a non-factor. The Giants offense looked better, but only managed 10 points all night and sent their fans home disappointed. The Giants were favored by many to win the NFC East this year, but that looks unlikely after starting out the season with two losses.
Week Two is in the books, and things are only going to heat up as we head forward in the season. We’re quickly going to start seeing the dominant teams in the league separate themselves from the rest of the pack. If your team is one of them, then good for you. If not, then keep on cheering; a true fan roots for their team even when times are tough.
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