Are the New Orleans Saints legit, and do the Carolina Panthers need to make a change at quarterback already?
Those are just two questions being asked right now after Week 2 of NFL action, with the Saints producing a statement victory while former first overall pick Bryce Young continued to struggle.
Read on for a full wrap of all the biggest results and storylines from Monday’s NFL action!
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Miami QB cops another brutal concussion | 00:41
SAINTS SEND OMINOUS WARNING IN STATEMENT WIN
New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns and the Saints ran roughshod over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday as Tampa Bay and Seattle won tight contests to remain unbeaten in the young NFL season.
Kamara’s three rushing touchdowns included a five-yarder on the Saints’ opening drive in Dallas, where New Orleans roared to a 44-19 victory and ended the Cowboy’s 16-game regular-season home winning streak.
After their rout of Carolina in week one the Saints have opened the season with back-to-back 40-point games for just the second time in franchise history. The other was in 2009 when they would go on to win the Super Bowl.
The Saints scored on their first six possessions against the shell-shocked Cowboys. Kamara added TDs on runs of 12 and seven yards and added another on a 57-yard catch and run.
A Cowboys defense that dominated in week one was helpless against the Saints.
Rashid Shaheed had four catches, including a 70-yard TD reception, as Saints quarterback Derek Carr threw for two touchdowns and a grabbed another on a quarterback sneak.
“When you’re able to go out there and execute, limit the self-inflicted wounds, have explosive plays, man, it’s like the sky’s the limit,” Kamara said.
“So it feels good right now. The receivers did their thing. The O-line did what they were supposed to do. It was easy for me,” he added.
“I didn’t even have to run, really.”
The Saints’ offence, which was one of the most predictable in the league last year, looks revitalised under new co-ordinator Klint Kubiak, whose use of motion has maximised the team’s playmakers.
REBORN QBs STAR AS BAKER, DARNOLD SECURE BIG WINS
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 185 yards and a touchdown and ran for another TD and the Bucs defense came up big in a 20-16 victory over the Lions in Detroit.
The Lions were in the red zone seven times but had just one touchdown — on David Montgomery’s one-yard run late in the third quarter.
They were in scoring range on their final three drives but came up empty and the Bucs improved to 2-0.
In other early games, the Minnesota Vikings led wire-to-wire in a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Justin Jefferson starred for Minnesota, reeling in a 97-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter before departing late in the third with a quadriceps contusion.
Sam Darnold finished the game completing 17 of 26 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, with Jalen Nailor reeling in the other score.
The only dampener from a great game for Minnesota was a quadriceps injury suffered by Jefferson, although he is only considered day-to-day so he looks to avoided a serious issue.
PANTHERS’ NO.1 PICK DISASTER CONTINUES
Speaking of Darnold and Mayfield, the Panthers obviously made the right call at the time to move on from both quarterbacks, but it must be painful watching both thrive in new environments while last year’s first overall pick Bryce Young continues to struggle.
Young opened the first game of the season last week with an interception and things quickly went downhill from there in a 47-10 loss to the Saints.
It wasn’t much better this week either as the Panthers went down 26-3 to the Chargers, with Young completing eight of 10 passes for just 22 yards with an interception in the first half.
Young finished the game with 84 yards and while coach Dave Canales stood by the quarterback, pressure is only building for Carolina to show some level of improvement after rebuilding the offensive line and wide receiver room in the offseason.
It is understandable that the Panthers will try their best to be patient with Young given how much capital they gave up to draft him, but veteran Andy Dalton is waiting in the wings should change be needed.
COACH RAGES AS QB MAKES ANOTHER MIND-BOGGLING MISTAKE
Speaking of quarterback controversy, tension is already brewing on the Titans sidelines.
Tennessee head coach Brian Callahan’s heated reaction to quarterback Will Levis’ latest gaffe was caught on camera in the second quarter of a 24-17 loss against the Jets.
“Hey, what the f*** are you doing?” Callahan appeared to say.
Facing third-and-goal at the Jets’ 6-yard line, Levis dropped back under pressure and seemingly tripped trying to escape the pocket.
He attempted to roll the ball to running back Tyjae Spears as he was falling, but the Titans running back wasn’t able to grab possession before Jets linebacker Quincy Williams recovered the ball.
“I was upset. It was dumb,” Callahan later said in his postgame news conference.
“It was the same exact thing he did last week, and it cost us points in the red zone.
“He’s a grown up, and he knows better, so I was really irritated that it cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it.”
It was Levis’ most recent blunder in just the second game of the Titans’ season. Levis carelessly flung the ball for a pick-six in Tennessee’s season-opening loss to the Bears, as well.
“If we’d just punted it on first-and-10 every time, we might’ve won the game the way that we gave it away,” Callahan said in the aftermath, which many took as shots as Levis.
The Titans lost to the Jets, 24-17, on Sunday after Aaron Rodgers led a game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and Tennessee’s final possession — when Levis helped them reach Gang Green’s 8-yard line with 35 seconds remaining — fell short.
TRASH-TALKING STAR’S STANDOUT PLAY AS BENGALS LOSE HEARTBREAKER
Cam Taylor-Britt talked the talk and on Monday he walked the walk with the play of the season.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, it didn’t end up being enough as a Harrison Butker field goal at the death got the Kansas City Chiefs home 26-25 in a thriller.
Taylor-Britt had plenty to say about Xavier Worthy ahead of the AFC rivalry game, telling reporters the Chiefs rookie brings “speed” and not a whole lot else to the Kansas City offence.
“He can run straight. Run jet sweeps and just run straight. He can’t do too much else, so that’s about it,” Taylor-Britt said.
“Feel like you put your hands on him, he’s only 100 something pounds, so if you put your hands on him you gonna stop the speed, so basically get your hands on him.”
It was all set up for Mahomes and the Chiefs to make Taylor-Britt regret his trash-talking but instead the Cincinnati cornerback came up with a stunning one-handed interception on a pass intended for Worthy.
That big defensive play positioned the Bengals, who already led 22-17 at that point, to go more than a score ahead.
Instead, a Joe Burrow fumble was returned for a touchdown by the Chiefs, who went 23-22 ahead before an Evan McPherson field goal put the Bengals back ahead 25-23.
A defensive pass interference call on the final drive of the game then marched Kansas City into field goal range and Butker nailed it from 51 yards to give the Chiefs the win.
It improved Kansas City’s record to 2-0 while Cincinnati is yet to win a game after last week’s stunning upset loss to New England.
GIANTS BURNED BY BIG KICKER CALL
Once again, the Giants were bitten by not being prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Kicker Graham Gano, who entered Monday’s game with a groin injury, injured his hamstring trying to make a touchdown-saving tackle on the first play of the game and the decision to not have an insurance policy available cost the Giants at least three — and maybe six — points in a 21-18 walk-off loss to the Commanders.
“We thought Graham would be OK,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “He didn’t hurt his groin. He hurt his hamstring.”
Sure, but is there not a situation where favoring a groin can lead to a hamstring injury?
“I’m not a doctor,” Daboll said.
“A groin and hamstring are distinctly different,” said Dr. David Chao, a former Chargers head physician who now runs Sports Injury Center.
“It’s very difficult for a kicker to play with a groin injury — nearly impossible if it’s on his kicking leg. But there’s no question that injuries beget other injuries and you are more likely to be injured. Based on my 17 years of experience as a head NFL physician it’s risky to play kickers that aren’t 100 percent, especially kickers with a lower-body muscle injury because there is only one active.”
It was an easily preventable mess that felt a lot like déjà vu for the Giants.
Gano was added to the injury report after Sunday’s walk-through, but the Giants chose not to elevate rookie Jude McAtamney from the practice squad in case Gano was hurt or to handle kickoffs and lessen Gano’s workload.
It appeared that Gano was laboring through his pregame warm-up and cut short his routine.
“I don’t think I missed many field goals at all in warm-ups. Just tough luck,” said Gano, who said it is his first-ever hamstring injury
“My groin was what it was. Everybody fights with something in warm-ups. Everything was fine with my hamstring.”
SEAHAWKS WIN OVERTIME THRILLER
The Seattle Seahawks denied the New England Patriots a second straight upset victory, Jason Myers booting his third field goal of the day in overtime to seal a 23-20 victory.
DK Metcalf caught 10 passes, including a 56-yard touchdown for the Seahawks. Seattle quarterback Geno Smith connected on 33 of 44 passes for 327 yards, piloting a game-tying drive at the end of regulation.
NFL SCORES — WEEK 2
Dolphins 10 Bills 31
Vikings 23 49ers 17
Patriots 20 Seahawks 23 (OT)
Commanders 21 Giants 18
Panthers 3 Chargers 26
Cowboys 19 Saints 44
Packers 16 Colts 10
Jaguars 13 Browns 18
Titans 17 Jets 24
Lions 16 Buccaneers 20
Ravens 23 Raiders 26
Cardinals 41 Rams 10
Broncos 6 Steelers 13
Chiefs 26 Bengals 25
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