NFL Week 2 Recap: 4th and 1

The 2nd week of the 2021 NFL season was every bit as thrilling and nail-biting as the first, and the centerpiece of Week 2 was the main event Sunday Night Football clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite playing their home opener, the Ravens were not favored in a game they needed in order to bounce back from their disappointing overtime loss in Vegas. It looked even worse for Ravens late in the game, as they were down 11, but they bounced back with a pair of touchdowns. Even so, the Chiefs had a chance to get into field goal range, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire's fumble changed things.

Then it was 4th and 1. Then John Harbaugh shouted these words to his QB:

"Lamar! Lamar! You wanna go for this?!"

Lamar did. Lamar ran it in himself, and got it. That was all she wrote. With no KC timeouts, all the Ravens had to do was take the knee and that was that. A 36-35 win for the Ravens, all thanks to John Harbaugh actually conversing with Lamar Jackson and making the decision to go for it. If only a certain other coach actually spoke to his legendary GOAT of a QB on a certain Sunday in late January. Things might have been different, you know.

Week 2 started with an NFC East battle between the Washington Football Team and the New York Giants, a thrilling high scoring affair that the Giants thought they had won. Dustin Hopkins' game-winning kick went wide right, but the Giants jumping offsides changed that. Five yards closer made the difference, Hopkins nailed the kick, and Washington won 30-29. The rest of the NFC East action saw the Philadelphia Eagles fall, 14-11, to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Dallas Cowboys won, 20-17, over the Los Angeles Chargers thanks to Greg Zuerlein's game-winning 56-yard FG--very ironic considering the fact that he missed an extra point and a chip shot FG on Opening Day.

Other action in Sunday's early window saw the Las Vegas Raiders defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 26-17 to improve to 2-0. I myself have the Raiders as one of the three Wild Cards in the AFC, and they appear to be on an excellent start to the season. Plus, they always seem to beat the Steelers, no matter how good or bad the Raiders are. The win came despite playing without running back Josh Jacobs, and QB Derek Carr is listed as questionable after an apparent problem with his ankle.

Carr isn't the only QB whose status is up in the air. Baker Mayfield's left shoulder isn't 100% following the Cleveland Browns' 31-21 win over the Houston Texans. In fact, the team is loaded with crucial injuries; they played without Odell Beckham, Jr once again, and now Jarvis Landry's MCL sprain has him listed day-to-day. The Browns cannot afford to be without both of their top receivers in a loaded AFC North. Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills cruised to a 35-0 win over the Miami, the Bears edged the Bengals by a score of 20-17, and the Rams improved to 2-0 with their 27-24 win over the Colts.

Derrick Henry's groove is back! Last season's rushing king certainly pleased fantasy owners (myself included) with his spectacular performance. Here are the numbers: 182 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and 55 yards on six receptions. In a normal fantasy league that doesn't have Points Per Reception (PPR), that adds up to 41.7 fantasy points. I have Henry in a league that awards a half point per reception, so Henry got me 44.7 points on fantasy! The Tennessee Titans picked up a surprising road win over the Seattle Seahawks, 33-30 in overtime. Other games in the late window saw the Buccaneers rout the Falcons, 48-25, behind five touchdown passes from Tom Brady (who has nine already in two games), and the Arizona Cardinals edged the Minnesota Vikings, 34-33, after Minnesota's attempt at a game-winning went wide right.

The Green Bay Packers had eight days to work on rebounding from their horrific opening week loss to the New Orleans Saints. As many of us saw, the Packers did that and then some. The Lambeau Field home opener saw the Aaron Rodgers that Packers fans know and love, but in actuality, the star of the game was a different Aaron--the one wearing #33. Packers running back Aaron Jones caught Rodgers' first touchdown pass of the 2021 season, and he later scored three more--two more receiving and one on the ground. Jones had six receptions for 48 yards, along with 67 on the totalling 115 yards of overall offense, and a fantasy score of 35.5 (in a non-PPR league). Rodgers threw for 255 and four scores (his only other TD pass went to Robert Tonyan), and the Packers ended up defeating the Lions, 35-17. A good response to a disastrous opening week loss.

So here were the unbeatens entering Week 2:

AFC: Miami, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Houston, and the entire West

NFC: Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, and the entire West

On the AFC side, only the Raiders and Broncos made it to 2-0 (the latter being a big surprise), while the NFC side has the Buccaneers, Panthers (who won 26-7 over New Orleans), Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers among its unbeatens. On the flipside, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minnesota, Atlanta, and both New York clubs are all winless, while the remaining 18 teams (including the entire AFC North) are 1-1.

Week 3 kicks off with the Houston Texans hosting the Carolina Panthers, the Sunday Night game features the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Green Bay Packers, and it's an NFC East battle on Monday Night Football; the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.

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