If you thought the Miami Dolphins had it rough in Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season, guess again! Dolphins fans have every right to be frustrated after watching the Buffalo Bills scorch their defense for two late scores to help push the Dolphins to 0-2 on the season. But Miami had a silver lining with the performance from TE Mike Gesicki and a built-in excuse with the injury to standout cornerback Byron Jones, not that the Dolphins would use excuses anyway.
Remember, these Dolphins still have a long way to go. And that is worth remembering to help keep perspective on Miami’s losses to start the season. If you thought the Dolphins’ loss was bad, here are 5 other NFL losses that should have fans much angrier than Miami’s.
The Philadelphia Eagles
Whoops. This is the second consecutive week the Philadelphia Eagles have made the cut. The Eagles entered 2020 as a presumed postseason contender. They are, through two weeks, winless — much like the Miami Dolphins. But at least for the Dolphins, they stayed competitive with the Buffalo Bills and didn’t enter this season with the weight of such expectations. The Eagles are floundering and struggling to stay afloat while offering little protection for their prized quarterback, Carson Wentz.
The Houston Texans
Having an elite quarterback is good. But not having the ability to play competitive games with one is very, very bad. That is where the Texans find themselves through two weeks, having endured big losses to both the Kansas City Chiefs and now the Baltimore Ravens. The Texans shouldn’t even be regarded as “pretenders” anymore — they’re a fringe team that was simply overwhelmed by everything that the Ravens threw at them on both sides of the football.
Making matters worse? The Texans don’t have the assets to rebuild quickly via the NFL Draft thanks to their deal with Miami — the worse the Texans are, the better things get for the Dolphins.
The New York Giants
The Giants losing to the Chicago Bears wasn’t necessarily a surprise. The Giants are not likely to beat very many teams at all this season. So why was their Week 2 loss worse than Miami’s? Because one of the Giants’ best players, RB Saquon Barkley, is also lost — presumably for the season with a knee injury.
If the Giants are forced to play the rest of this season without their star player, it is going to get real ugly for Big Blue.
The Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons led at the end of the first quarter 20-0. By the half it was 29-10 in favor of the Falcons. And yet Atlanta lost in Week 2 by a final score of 40-39, an outcome highlighted by an absolutely abysmal handling of an onside kick in the final minute of the game that allowed the Cowboys to post 16 unanswered points in the final 5 minutes of the game.
How bad was this loss? Atlanta held a 99.9% odds to win the game with 3:09 left when they forced a Cowboys punt while leading 39-30. And, again, the Falcons lost.
The Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers got an unexpected start from rookie quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 2 — and he obliged by throwing for 311 yards and a score in his first career appearance. Facing the Kansas City Chiefs, Herbert was able to produce results and helped the Chargers string together a 10-minute drive in the 4th quarter to position the team to take a 20-17 lead over the Chiefs in the final moments. Patrick Mahomes would end up doing Patrick Mahomes things and the Chiefs forced overtime — where Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn elected to punt of 4th and 1 from his own 34-yard line to give the ball back to the Chiefs.
Kansas City would take care of the rest, wasting a strong first start for Justin Herbert.
