By: ZACHARY JONES / STAFF REPORTER
New York Football
J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. For the second week of the 2022 NFL season we were blessed to see some fantastic football be played by an LIU favorite, the New York Jets.
Although they didn’t start the game off perfectly, ending up down 30 to 17 with only 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter with zero timeouts, the Jets came back and won the game.
A nerve-racking finish fueled by elite play from veteran quarterback Joe Flacco as well as stellar performances from a fantastic rookie class. Garrett Wilson went for 102 yards on eight receptions, two of them ending up in the end zone, and Breece Hall racked up 50 rushing and 10 receiving yards, the latter of which resulted in a touchdown.
The New York football Giants also squeaked out a win in week two to get off to their best start since 2016.
Daniel Jones had a shaky performance, but it was strong enough to win the game. Jones is continuing his start of limiting turnovers and winning games in the turnover margin. Saquan Barkley looked lively but struggled for a decent bit of the game, finishing with only 72 yards on 21 carries.
Even with a great 2-0 start that you need in a competitive NFC East, the Giants are not out of the dark yet.
The receiving room continues to become more questionable each week with Kadarius Toney not seeing the field often, rookie Wan'Dale Robinson not being available after the knee injury in week one, and Kenny Golladay making fans question the contract the front office gave him.
Thursday Night Football on Amazon
Thursday night's game was broadcast on Amazon and that was enough to garner attention from fans as it was the debut NFL broadcast for Amazon’s Prime Video platform. For many though, it was just another thrilling Thursday night matchup.
The Chiefs and Chargers faced off and gave the fans exactly what was proposed, high powered offense and electric quarterback play.
Patrick Mahomes came in looking to disprove any people who thought his first week performance was a hoax and repeated the process. Mahomes targeted a double-digit number of players hitting multiple passes of over 20 yards, including a 41-yard strike to Justin Watson for a touchdown.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire proved his worth averaging 9.3 yards per carry and coming down with four receptions.
The Chargers were not as fortunate in this matchup as their opponent as they lost in the competitive match.
Justin Herbert kept the Chargers in the game, but injuries seem to have taken them out.
On one game changing drive, the Chargers found themselves in the red-zone after a long haul from Gerald Everett.
After the grab, Everett seemed to be shaken up, but didn’t get to come out of the game – the team decided to run a quick tempo, and on the next play he was targeted and Chiefs rookie Jaylen Watson jumped on the pass, taking it 99-yards for a touchdown. That play didn’t seem to put the game out of reach, but Herbert couldn’t bring it back while battling a rib injury of his own on the final drive.
Sunday’s Slate
Masterclass upon masterclass was available for viewing in Baltimore as the Miami Dolphins came back from a 14 to 35 deficit to beat the Ravens.
Tua Tagovailoa put on a show after a disastrous first half with two interceptions and only one touchdown. Tagovailoa ended the game with six total touchdowns and a win to top it off.
Quarterback play on the other side was no laughing matter either, especially if you were the GM of the Ravens, as Lamar Jackson recorded 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards with 4 total touchdowns.
The Ravens are bound to feel that game in their pockets if they are to try and extend the dual threat quarterback this offseason.
One name surrounded by love that we’d love to see in February is not Cupid — it is Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell's squad looked amazing on Sunday, with fantastic performances from some of the younger players, such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, who ended the day with nearly 200 yards from scrimmage along with 2 touchdowns.
Commanders fans should not fear though, as they did not play a bad game at all, and even made it competitive toward the end.
Rookie Jahan Dotson continued his hot start with another solid game, but the run game ultimately struggled and the Lions defensive line got to Wentz for five sacks. A solid start to the season for both teams as they each level out at the .500 mark.
Things got chippy in the Saints-Buccaneers game as multiple players got ejected.
Tom Brady and Marshon Lattimore appeared to be exchanging words with one-other before pushing got involved and Mike Evans shoved Lattimore to the ground. Both Evans and Lattimore were ejected before the Buccaneers finished en route to defeating an injury-riddled division rival.
The Jaguars stomped a division rival in the Colts – a team that many thought would win the division this year. The Jacksonville defense posted a shutout win, with the score of 24-0. It was a continuation of a rough start to the season for Indianapolis who can’t seem to get things going and fall to 0-1-1.
The New England Patriots held out the Pittsburgh Steelers in a defensive showdown. The Patriots eked out the 17-14 win in a game that hosted 14 scoreless drives from both teams combined.
Meanwhile, the Falcons almost found themselves on the right side of a 28-3 comeback, but things didn’t go right for Marcus Mariota and the team as they fell four points short with a 31-27 victory to the reigning champion the Los Angeles Rams.
The bright spots for both teams were in the receiving core. Falcons rookie Drake London snagged 8 catches and a touchdown and the 2021-2022 Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp ended the game with 11 receptions, two of them for touchdowns.
Jimmy Garoppolo came in from Trey Lance in the showdown between the Seahawks and the 49ers.
After Lance went down with a season ending ankle injury, Garoppolo was able to secure the win. Garoppolo ended the game with two touchdowns, 1 in the air and one on the ground.
The 49ers defense played well and made the Seattle offense one-dimensional, limiting all Seahawks runners to 2.6 yards per carry on the day. The division is wide open with all teams holding a .500 record. It could become interesting how games like this played out come playoff time.
Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush out-dueled the former first overall pick, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow struggled to get things going in a game where he was sacked six times, and Rush played well even with a limited receiving core. The Cowboys ended up winning the game on a go-ahead 50-yard field goal from Brett Maher. The Bengals fall to a concerning 0-2 while the Cowboys climb to 1-1.
All the while, the home debut in Denver was not what many would have expected for the Broncos.
Rookie Coach Nathaniel Hackett and newly trade quarterback Russell Wilson still do not seem to have it all figured out as they struggled to get a victory over a weaker Houston roster.
The run game for the Broncos seemed to be as advertised, as both Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams had solid games. Denver gets a win in the column even with injuries to much of the receiving core.
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals rallied for their first victory of the season in overtime.
After a first half of what seemed to be all Raiders, Arizona stepped up and brought the game to an even score to end regulation after a Murray scramble. Overtime was settled by a Byron Murphy Jr. scoop and score on the second Hunter Renfrow fumble of the drive.
Oakland falls to a concerning 0-2 in a stacked AFC West, making their road to the playoffs more difficult than the year prior.
During the Packers' matchup with the Bears, Aaron Rodgers remained dominant.
It was a rough day for second year man Justin Fields who only ended up throwing the ball 11 times in a 17-point loss.
The running backs for each team shined in the late-night matchup as David Montgomery and Aaron Jones each ran for over 100 yards. Each team finds themselves at the .500 mark and with their futures ahead of them still.
Monday Night Doubleheader
Fans saw generational talent on display from Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who could not seem to make mistakes.
This game was simply all Bills as they left the game with their backup quarterback kneeling the clock out with a score of 41-7.
The Titans couldn’t get anything to go their way with another poor performance from Derrick Henry, paired with a lackluster outing from the Tennessee secondary. Eventually Titans' third-round pick quarterback Malik Willis was given the ball, but that didn’t look much better either.
Stefon Diggs had a monster day against a young secondary getting nearly 200 yards along with 3 touchdowns.
But, fly Eagles Fly! Thee Philadelphia Eagles are showing a chance to soar in what could be a great year for Jalen Hurts, who is available for extension this offseason.
The additions this team made this past offseason are proving worth it as AJ Brown has a solid game with just under the 70-yard mark for the day, and the secondary performed well with the addition of C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The secondary held Minnesota to 221 yards in the air and cashed in on three Kirk Cousins interceptions.
For the Vikings, nothing could get going from any of their stars as Dalvin Cook was held to 17 yards on the ground and star-receiver Justin Jefferson could not continue his hot start as he was held to five catches for 43 yards.
Philadelphia finds themselves tied at 2-0 with the Giants to lead the division, and the Vikings are tied with the rest of their division at .500 but lead the tie breaker with a division victory.
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