Bengals, Chargers both off to 0-2 starts with much to stress over. Tennessee strikes rocky bottom in The Swamp

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🏈 Football Five

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The Patriots are 0-2 for the very first time because 2001 after the Dolphins won 24-17 in Foxborough. Raheem Mostert had 121 lawns hurrying and 2 goals with Xavien Howard (interception) and DeShon Elliott (fumble healing) contributing takeaways. Tua Tagovailoa is 5-0 versus Bill Belichick and Miami is 2-0 on the season in spite of playing both video games on the roadway.
What a week for the NFC East! The Cowboys controlled the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets, 30-10, obstructing Zach Wilson 3 times. Jeff Kerr states the Jets require to discover another choice at quarterback. The Giants (down 21 points) and Commanders (18) managed substantial resurgences with Washington making it through a Hail Mary thanks to a questionable two-point conversion stand. The Giants lost Saquon Barkley to an ankle injury, however it may not be as severe as it looked.
The Chiefs returned 2 stars and returned in the win column. Making their season debuts, Travis Kelce captured a goal and Chris Jones contributed 1.5 sacks plus 5 pressures as the Chiefs punched out a 17-9 win over the Jaguars. Another Super Bowl competitor getting better, the Bills throttled the Raiders, 38-10.
A novice quarterback has profession win No. 1, however he wasn’t there to complete it. Anthony Richardson hurried for 2 goals however suffered a concussion, and Gardner Minshew ended up things off in the Colts‘ 31-20 win over the Texans. Richardson has actually left both of his NFL video games early due to injury. Here’s our Week 2 injury roundup.
Rams pass receiver Puka Nacua had a rookie-record 15 catches in a 30-23 loss to the 49ers. Nacua’s beast start to his profession puts him in elite business.

💪 Good early morning to everybody however particularly …

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THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

Two leading offending linemen missing out on? Sure. Two finest protective backs gone? No concerns. Starting running back provided for the year? Next male up. Star pass receiver leaves early? Find a method. The Ravens kept downing with a remarkable 27-24 win over the Bengals to get to 2-0 on the young season.

Lamar Jackson tossed for 237 lawns and 2 goals (consisting of an outright cent to Nelson Agholor in the 4th quarter), ran for 54 lawns and wasn’t sacked. Agholor remained in after Odell Beckham Jr. hurt his ankle, though it’s ruled out severe.
Gus Edwards (substituting J.K. Dobbins) ran for 62 lawns and a rating, and Baltimore acquired 178 lawns on the ground while enabling simply 66.
Geno Stone (substituting Marcus Williams) had an essential interception off Joe Burrow.

The Ravens produce lineups with fantastic skill and depth every year, and it displays in video games like these. They made an “A” from Bryan DeArdo in our weekly grades.

DeArdo: “The Ravens set the tone on the game’s opening drive when they took nearly eight minutes off the clock. From there, John Harbaugh‘s team played complementary football while taking advantage of the Bengals’ miscues. On offense, the Ravens employed a well-balanced attack that put Lamar Jackson in mostly manageable third-down situations. On defense, Baltimore largely kept Cincinnati’s offense off schedule while often putting Joe Burrow in less than desirable situations.”

👍 Honorable points out

😓 And not such a great early morning for …

USATSI

THE CINCINNATI BENGALS AND THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Maybe it’s simply a function of these Bengals. Maybe it’s simply another 0-2 start, like in 2015. Maybe they’ll turn it on once again, and this discussion will show ridiculous.

But possibly there’s something incorrect that the Bengals require to reverse — quickly.

Burrow exacerbated the calf injury that triggered him to miss out on practically all of training school. Maybe it was never ever completely recovered in the very first location: He’s 0 of 12 on tosses 15+ lawns downfield this season.
The Bengals had 54 pass plays of 20+ lawns in 2015, more than 3 per video game. They have 2 in 2 video games this year, connected for least of any group that’s played several video games.
No group that has actually begun successive seasons 0-2 and made the playoffs both times. So Cincinnati has actually dug itself in a hole in the rankings and traditionally.

Cincinnati was among Cody Benjamin’s huge losers today, however a minimum of we understand they can react from a sluggish start. We’re not so sure about the Chargers after they fell in overtime, 27-24, to the Titans. Los Angeles led 11-0 early and seemed completely control versus an offensively challenged Tennessee team.

But keep in mind when I stated the Bengals can’t produce huge plays? Well, the Chargers can’t stop them. They’ve permitted 12 plays of 20+ lawns this season, connected for the majority of in the NFL. Brandon Staley’s seat ought to be scorching hot, composes Will Brinson.

Brinson: “Brandon Staley is a defensive coach and the Chargers consistently fail to play good defense. … Since the Super Bowl era began, 34 teams have scored 50+ points with zero turnovers through their first two weeks. The Chargers are the only one of those teams to start the season 0-2. Staley is the leader in the clubhouse for first coach fired right now. That Week 5 bye is looming large.”

👎 Not so respectable points out

🏈 College football wrap-up: Colorado fights back, Tennessee gets Swamp’d once again

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It appeared like this would be a reasonably calm weekend of college football without any leading 25 matches and lots of anticipated blowouts.

Looks can be tricking.

A wild Saturday ended on a particularly wild — and spirited — note with Colorado rallying for a 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State.

Down 8 and beginning at their own 2-yard line with simply over 2 minutes left, the Buffaloes went off. Shedeur Sanders led a game-tying drive with a 45-yard goal to Jimmy Horn Jr. and a 2-point conversion to Michael Harrison.
After the Buffaloes and Rams exchanged goals and additional points in the very first overtime, Sanders discovered Harrison for a goal and Xavier Weaver for a 2-point conversion in the 2nd duration.
On the Rams’ drive, Trevor Woods selected off Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to seal the win.

Oh, and since it’s Colorado, you understand there were lots of extracurriculars: Lil’ Wayne led the group onto the field and was among a number of celebs in presence, Colorado State buffooned Deion Sanders’ event, and Coach Prime spoke with “60 Minutes.”

The Buffs didn’t leave without a couple of bumps and swellings: Two-method star Travis Hunter will miss out on “a few weeks” after a vicious late hit, and they really fell one area to No. 19 in the most current AP Top 25. They’ll gladly take a 3-0 record into an enormous face-off with No. 10 Oregon on Saturday.

As for a group not relocating to 3-0, Tennessee got thumped by Florida in The Swamp, 29-16, however that’s absolutely nothing brand-new: The Volunteers have actually lost 10 directly in Gainesville. They and quarterback Joe Milton were amongst the week’s huge losers, composes Shehan Jeyarajah.

Jeyarajah: “Any hope that Tennessee could replicate its magical 2022 season appears fully off the table after getting blasted by a lackluster Florida squad. … Milton’s stat line — 20 of 34 for 287 yards and two touchdowns — isn’t brutal but hides the inaccuracy and lack of cohesion that persisted throughout the night. … Playing FCS Austin Peay to a 30-13 score was an indication that there are massive structural issues for the Volunteers in 2023.”

That wasn’t the only leading 25 upset: Missouri kicker Harrison Mevis nailed an SEC-record 61-yard basket to beat Kansas State. Missouri was then fined $100,000 for fans hurrying the field since the SEC dislikes enjoyable.

There were almost some even larger surprises, too: Alabama‘s offense looked dreadful in a 17-3 win over USF, and Georgia needed to rally from a double-digit deficit to beat South Carolina. Will Backus has a strong take on the Bulldogs.

As for whatever else …

Now we eagerly anticipate a crammed Week 4. Here are schedules, chances and more.

⚾ MLB Power Rankings and weekend wrap-up

I constantly state the MLB season is method too long. Well, technically, not any more. There are 2 weeks left and playoff areas are vanishing rapidly. Just this weekend, the Dodgers clinched the NL West, while the Orioles and Rays both clinched playoff berths.

We now have 2 groups that have actually clinched their department, and, unsurprisingly, they’re No. 1 and 2 in Matt Snyder’s most current MLB Power Rankings.