The second Sunday of the season brought a little more drama than last week, with the Chiefs barely escaping the Bengals, the Raiders coming back to beat the Ravens in Baltimore, the Bucs holding off the Lions in Detroit, the Seahawks going to overtime to knock off the Patriots and go to 2-0, and the Jets getting their first win behind Aaron Rodgers, hanging on in Nashville. One game that wasn’t close? The Saints, one week after blowing out the lowly Carolina Panthers, did the same in Dallas to the high-flying Cowboys.
There goes Alvin Kamara for 57 yards!
📺: #NOvsDAL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/F0NOkTSZ7g— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
It’s still early, but we are learning more and more about how the 2024 season will play out. The Athletic NFL writers Mike Jones, Ted Nguyen and Dan Pompei share their thoughts on all of these storylines and more.
Do you take Sunday’s survival against the Bengals (a scoop-six, a late fourth-and-16 pass interference by a rookie DB) as a positive sign that the Chiefs are resilient, or a sign that the defending champs have a lot more work to do than they’ve had in past seasons?
Jones: You’re not always going to be able to win in blowouts. Sometimes, you have to win gritty, and that’s exactly what the Chiefs did on Sunday. They overcame three turnovers (two Mahomes interceptions) and a 1-for-8 showing on third down, and still managed to win against one of the toughest teams that they’ll face this season (and one they very well could meet again in the playoffs). Three turnovers would have ruined a lot of teams, but not Kansas City. The Chiefs never flinched. They maintained their poise and still managed to put together a balanced attack, which included 149 rushing yards (Isiah Pacheco led with 90 on 19 carries) and 151 passing yards from Mahomes. Do they still have work to do? Sure. Are they indeed resilient? Absolutely. Is there more tough sledding ahead? You bet. But, they’re built for this.
Pompei: The Chiefs beat the team that might be their primary threat in the AFC on a day when a lot of things didn’t go right for them. That’s what great teams do. Great teams also take advantage of other teams’ mistakes. The Chiefs are starting the season like a great team, which is how they ended last season. The challenge for them is going to be addressing their issues while sustaining their grit over the next 15 games and beyond. The combination of Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Harrison Butker means they are going to have an excellent chance of winning every close game.
Nguyen: Looking at this game from the Bengals’ side: As much as 0-2 hurts, I thought this was a positive game for Cincinnati; they were a controversial pass interference call away from beating the defending champions. Steve Spagnuolo is as good as any defensive coordinator at taking away an offense’s main threat. He focused on taking away Ja’Marr Chase, as the Chiefs held him to only 35 yards. He was going to make the Bengals’ other receivers beat them and Cincinnati almost pulled it off. I thought they’d be doomed without Tee Higgins, but Mike Gesicki had a big game, Jermaine Burton had a big catch, and second-year receiver Andrei Iosivas had two touchdown catches in the red zone. This game shows that the Bengals could have the tools to reshape this offense and become a top unit down the stretch.
Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks go to 2-0 on the same day the Baltimore Ravens go to 0-2 after giving up 20 second-half points to Gardner Minshew and the Raiders. Is this a potential brain-drain situation brewing in Baltimore?
Jones: The Ravens are missing more than Macdonald. This offseason, they also saw defensive assistants Anthony Weaver (the Dolphins’ new defensive coordinator) and Dennard Wilson (the Tennessee Titans’ DC) leave for jobs with other teams. They also lost some key defensive playmakers, like Patrick Queen and Jadeveon Clowney. So, this defense is definitely going through some growing pains under first-year coordinator Zach Orr, who was promoted from inside linebackers coach. The secondary is an area of concern, and on Sunday they gave up nine catches and 110 yards and a touchdown to Davante Adams, and nine catches and 98 yards to tight end Brock Bowers. The defense doesn’t deserve all of the blame for this loss, however. The offense struggled on third downs, converting 3 of 11, Baltimore committed 11 penalties for 109 yards, and also saw Justin Tucker miss an early field goal. The Ravens have to do some fine-tuning in a hurry. They really needed to pick up a win today, because next week they face the Cowboys on the road, and then comes a date with the Buffalo Bills. Things could get out of hand quickly if they’re not careful.
Nguyen: The Ravens were bound to take a step back, losing a talent on the offensive line, the defense (Queen, Clooney) and losing MacDonald, who is the best defensive play caller in football in my opinion. Still, this was a bad game for them to drop. Derrick Henry is having a rough time getting going because he’s never been nimble enough to deal with penetration. When he gets downhill he’s dangerous, which we saw a glimpse of but, he might have a lot of inefficient carries behind this line. The Ravens were in control for most of the game and then Davante Adams and Brock Bowers took over. The pass interference call on Brandon Stephens against Adams was definitely questionable but Baltimore shouldn’t have let it get close. The Ravens always seem to figure things out even if they start slow, and they have the talent to get back into the race, but starting 0-2 is extremely difficult to come back from historically.
Pompei: There is a reason Macdonald is a head coach now. He’s good. Sure, the Ravens miss him, especially during this feeling-out stage of the season. As Mike pointed out, they lost more than Macdonald, and it showed in the fourth quarter when they gave up 13 points. The Ravens aren’t built to win when their defense softens — but that isn’t to say they won’t find ways to play the kind of defense the Ravens are known for. That was an out-of-character game for Baltimore. The loss was about more than their defense. Their offense also wasn’t as sharp as expected, especially the offensive line.
GO DEEPER
5 takeaways from Raiders-Ravens: Minshew gets hot, Ravens fall to 0-2
Saints dominate in Dallas, Bucs win in Detroit… may I interest you in the NFC South bandwagon?
Pompei: Yes, you may. It’s a better division than it has been given credit for. The Bucs were a solid team one year ago, and the evidence through two games says they are better this year. Seven years into his career, Baker Mayfield really is hitting his stride. And even though the Bucs don’t have all they had when Tom Brady was there, Tampa still has the character of those teams — as evidenced by their road upset of one of football’s best teams. And all credit to the Saints, who were an easy team to overlook. The skeptics will say they are playing a little over their skis. They will have a chance to prove they are not against another NFC East powerhouse next week, when they host the Eagles.
Jones: The Buccaneers played the Lions tough back in January’s NFC divisional round, so Tampa going to Detroit this weekend and coming away with a victory doesn’t surprise me all that much. But I’m completely stunned by what we saw out of the Saints. Last week’s blowout win was impressive, but we all took that with a grain of salt because it was the atrocious Carolina Panthers. But to go out there and score another 44 points against a Dallas defense that’s regarded as one of the best in the league, and to hold a very good Cowboys offense to only 19 points? I definitely didn’t anticipate this. After last year’s underwhelming showing, I really wondered if Derek Carr would even make it through the season as the Saints’ starting quarterback. But new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has done a masterful job of positioning Carr and all of his weapons for success. Meanwhile, the Saints’ defense denied the Cowboys on all three trips inside the red zone and recorded two takeaways. This was the most complete performance as we’ve seen through two weeks of the season.
Nguyen: The Buccaneers have a physical front that would give any team trouble (even despite Vita Vea’s injury), and Baker Mayfield is continuing his bounce back this year with the plethora of weapons he has (like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin). It was really impressive to go into Detroit and pressure Goff the way that they did. The Lions have struggled to pass block the first two games of the season. The Saints, meanwhile, are one of the biggest surprises of the season. The defense was expected to be stingy but the offensive line looked like it could be one of the worst in the league — instead, they’ve been maulers. New Orleans has rushed for 370 yards in two games. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has this offense rolling. Derek Carr looks a perfect fit in this quick-pass, play-action offense.
GO DEEPER
Key takeaways from Saints-Cowboys: How good is New Orleans’ offense?
Is a dud in Minnesota for a second straight year reason for the 49ers to worry about this offense?
Nguyen: Brian Flores has a very unique defense that clearly gave Brock Purdy trouble last season, and that was the case on Sunday. Luckily for Purdy, they won’t have to play a defense like that every week. With all of their offseason drama and the absence of Christian McCaffrey, they were bound to have a game like this. Brandon Aiyuk needs to be a bigger part of this offense but they’re bringing him along slowly. I don’t think it’s something the 49ers have to worry about long term.
Jones: Offensive struggles from the 49ers are understandable. As good as Jordan Mason is, he doesn’t bring the same versatility that McCaffrey boasts. Meanwhile, they didn’t have a lot of practice time with all of their top offensive players this preseason — it takes time to regain cohesion. Brian Flores is a very good defensive coordinator, and he did a good job of pressuring Brock Purdy and making things difficult for San Francisco. Yes, Mason rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Deebo Samuel had eight catches for 110 yards, and George Kittle had seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. But the 49ers were 2-for-10 on third downs and turned the ball over twice. Kyle Shanahan is always going to have his players well-prepared, but this offense is missing one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league, so the road is going to be more challenging until McCaffrey returns.
Pompei: If the 49ers’ offense was hitting on all cylinders in Week 2, that would have been a surprise. Between the training camp holdouts of Aiyuk and Trent Williams and the absence of McCaffrey, they are allowed a bumpy beginning. But with three of their next four against NFC West rivals, they will need to figure it out soon. That may mean they need more from their quarterback. Purdy wasn’t terrible Sunday, but he turned the ball over twice — once with an interception and once with a fumble — and was sacked six times. He wasn’t the reason the 49ers lost, but he may need to be the reason they win (or at least one reason they win) in the short-term.
GO DEEPER
Vikings stun 49ers, improve to 2-0 under Sam Darnold
Last week we talked about Caleb Williams’ struggles, what do you make of Jayden Daniels so far, especially after Sunday’s field-goal happy day against the Giants?
Jones: I really like what Kliff Kingsbury has done to position Daniels for success through two weeks. He helps him get into a rhythm by getting the ball out of his hands quickly and moving the ball downfield in chunks. And Daniels has a good feel for knowing when to use his legs. He was very accurate on Sunday, completing 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards and ran the ball 10 times for 44 yards. He took care of the ball as well. I know Terry McLaurin fans are a big anxious right now because the talented wide receiver had another quiet day (six catches for just 22 yards). But right now, it’s about helping Daniels find a rhythm and deliver the ball quickly as he plays behind a shaky offensive line. Now, Washington needs to do a better job of capitalizing in the red zone. Daniels directed some really nice drives deep into Giants territory, but five false start penalties in the red zone really hampered the Commanders’ efforts and forced them to settle for seven field goals and score no touchdowns.
Nguyen: Daniels didn’t play as well as his numbers suggested last week — a lot of his stats came in garbage time. This week, early on in the game, he looked very tentative and hesitant in the pocket, like he didn’t know what he was looking at but he would make the occasional play with his legs. Like a typical Kingsbury offense, a lot of Washington’s production came from the option game and screens. What’s encouraging is how resilient Daniels is. He took a lot of hits but never wavered. He made some strong in-structure throws, including a beauty to Noah Brown in the middle of the field late in the game to win the game.
Pompei: Of course the Commanders would rather see Daniels lead touchdown drives than field goal drives, but more touchdowns are likely to come if he builds on his performance Sunday. Three things stood out about Daniels Sunday: 1) He led a game-winning drive, with the Commanders going 65 yards on eight plays before Austin Seibert’s 30-yard field goal put away the Giants; 2) He completed 79 percent of his passes, that’s a reflection of accuracy, and it’s also a reflection of processing and decision making; and 3) He ran for 44 yards, sometimes sensing when to pull the ball down. His running left Giants defenders uneasy. It was a very nice second start.
(Top photo: Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)