Here are nine things that stood out from Sunday’s slate of games in Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season.
If you give Patrick Mahomes the slightest window, he’ll destroy your defense.
Twenty-four years ago today, Pat Mahomes took the mound at the Oakland Coliseum as a member of the Minnesota Twins. He lost the game after allowing a walk-off home run to Brent Gates.
Two days later, Mahomes’ son was born. Twenty-three years and 363 days after that, Patrick Mahomes took the field at the Coliseum with a better result. The Chiefs were shut out in the first quarter against the Raiders, but as the second quarter began, Mahomes started doing Mahomes things. He threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the second quarter alone, and posted his sixth game with at least 300 yards and four passing touchdowns, passing Dan Marino and Kurt Warner for the most such games in the first 40 games of a quaterback’s career. Mahomes also joined Otto Graham, Joe Namath and Ryan Fitzpatrick as the only quarterbacks to throw four touchdown passes of at least 40 yards in the first two games of any season. In the end, he completed 30 of 44 passes for 443 yards and those four scores in a 28-10 win.
Not that it’s news at this point, but Mahomes is pretty good. And in the last game at the Coliseum with a dirt infield, he managed to redeem his family name.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
The Saints should file an complaint with somebody about the officiating in their games.
As I wrote earlier here, the Saints are 0-3 in their last three games against what have become their most dominant opponent: NFL officials. Who do they complain to? Who knows at this point.
It all started, of course, with the non-call for pass interference in the 2018 NFC championship game that gave Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman a free pass on a clear interference penalty that cost the Saints a trip to Super Bowl LIII and was the precursor to the new rule allowing coaches to challenge pass interference calls. Referee Bill Vinovich’s crew blew one of the most obvious and important examples of interference in recent memory, and there were no known repercussions for those officials.
Then, in the 2019 season opener against the Texans, there was a replay review following a Drew Brees completion to Michael Thomas. Somehow, in the resulting administrative folderol, the officiating crew, led by referee John Hussey, robbed head coach Sean Payton of 15 seconds he should have had near the end of the first half. The crew called a 10-second runoff and called the time left correct at 16 seconds left in the first half, but there should have been the option to give Payton the ability to call a time out to eliminate the 10-second runoff. The Saints kicked a field goal to end the first half and eventually won the game, 33-30, but one wonders what Payton would have been able to do with those extra 15 seconds.
And then, in the first half of their rematch with the Rams on Sunday, the Saints found themselves on the wrong end of the officiating yet again. With 6:08 left in the second quarter, Rams quarterback Jared Goff clearly fumbled the ball on a sack. Defensive end Cameron Jordan picked up the ball and rumbled for what he thought would be an 87-yard touchdown.
At least, that’s what it should have been.
As NFL VP of officiating Al Riveron explained, referee Walt Anderson’s crew declared the ball dead as an incomplete pass, and the whistle blown negated Jordan’s gain the other way. But upon review, the fumble was ruled a fumble, and because the play had been whistled dead incorrectly, the Saints had no recourse. They had the ball, but they didn’t have the touchdown they were supposed to have.
Instead, with Teddy Bridgewater in for the injured Drew Brees, the Saints were unable to convert a fourth-and-1 at their own 48-yard yard line at the end of that drive. They lost, 27-9, so Jordan’s score wouldn’t have mattered in the end, but it’s still disconcerting.
We are not in the practice of forwarding conspiracy theories, but it’s rather interesting that when officiating games involving the Saints, these refs aren’t more careful with the rules. As for Payton and his team, they have no real recourse, and will likely receive yet another heartfelt apology from the league.
Jordan’s response after the game was letter-perfect.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
The Saints aren’t the only team with a legitimate officiating complaint.
This ticky-tack roughing the passer call with 31 seconds left in Chicago’s 16-14 win over the Broncos was a real humdinger for a league that has been mis-calling roughing the passer since it became an increased point of emphasis before the 2018 season. This penalty took the ball from the Chicago 25-yard line to the 45, and set up what became a game-winning 53-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro.
There was an equally egregious call on Bears pass rusher Leonard Floyd earlier in the game; perhaps the NFL thinks it all evens out in the end.
And don’t even get us started on pass interference, which has not become any more clear and consistently called with coach’s challenges as an option. More on that in future weeks.
Also, the Saints weren’t the only team victimized by a quick whistle on Sunday. Early in the fourth quarter on Sunday night against the Falcons, it was decided from on high that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was in the grasp when he wasn’t yet. As a result, the third-and-5 “sack” ended the Eagles’ drive.
Here’s why you want to give Wentz the benefit of the doubt when it comes to being in the grasp of the pass rusher. Whoops.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
Cooper Kupp is officially back.
It could be argued that if Kupp hadn’t suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 of the 2018 season, the Rams might have taken the Lombardi Trophy home to Los Angeles. Quarterback Jared Goff’s productivity and efficiency went from the penthouse to the basement when Kupp was hurt, and upon his return, Kupp showed exactly why he’s so valuable in the Rams’ 27-9 win over the Saints. He caught five passes for 120 yards and what should have been a touchdown if the football gods were on his side — because my goodness, what a play.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
Lamar Jackson is no fluke.
Last week, the Ravens second-year quarteback completed 17 of 20 passes for 324 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Dolphins. Those who still doubt Jackson’s acumen pointed to the fact that he did it against a defense that was in obvious tank mode. So, Jackson came back against the Cardinals in Week 2 and proved that he was no fluke by passing for 272 yards and two more touchdowns in a 23-17 win.
Moreover, Jackson made history with his career-high 120 rushing yards, becoming the second player in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards and 120 rushing yards in a single game, following Colin Kaepernick’s 263 passing yards and 181 rushing yards against the Packers in the 2012 divisional playoffs against the Packers. Jackson is also the fifth quarterback in NFL history to rush for more than 115 yards in two games, joining Kaepernick, Michael Vick, Randall Cunningham and Bobby Douglass.
No matter how you defend him, Jackson has a way to beat you, and it’s time for any remaining doubters to realize that. The Chiefs, who have to deal with him next Sunday, will certainly be aware.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
The Bills are treating Josh Allen like a power running back.
In the Bills’ 28-14 win over the Giants, the second-year quarterback got the 10th rushing touchdown of his career, making him the second-quickest quarterback ever to 10 rushing touchdowns. Allen did it in 14 games; Cam Newton (the career leader in rushing touchdowns for a quarterback with 58) got there in 11 games.
One way the Bills set their 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback up for success in the run game is something you don’t often see at the NFL level: The designed quarterback sweep, in which the quarterback is the intended rusher, and you have more than one offensive lineman pulling in a power situation to aid his efforts. I first noticed this when the Bills played the Jets last week, and it looked like this.
This time around, the Bills used it to get Allen his six-yard touchdown run.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
Kyler Murray’s second NFL start was a lot better than his first — except in the red zone.
The Cardinals started their 2019 season with an 0-1-1 record after their 23-17 loss to the Ravens on Sunday, but they seem to have found their franchise quarterback. Murray completed 25 of 40 passes for 349 yards in the game, and when you add that to the 308 passing yards he amassed in Week 1 against the Lions, he became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in each of his first two NFL starts. Cam Newton is the other.
And Murray had some big-time throws.
Where things did not go so well was in the red zone. Here, the Cardinals were historically inept.
“We did a good job of covering them, which we didn’t do when they went down there and scored,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. “They had us on the ropes a little bit there. We covered really well, and we presented in fronts that they really couldn’t run it in with.”
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said that he’d have to watch the tape to figure out what went wrong, and he’d better figure it out quickly.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
The Giants’ defense has the potential to be historically awful.
In 2015, the Saints set two ignominious defensive records: They allowed the most touchdown passes in a regular season with 45, and they allowed the highest opponent passer rating ever at 116.2. To put into perspective how bad that second statistic is, consider that there are only five single seasons in NFL history in which a quarterback put up a passer rating higher than 116.2. Basically, whoever played the Saints in 2015 had the opportunity to put up an MVP performance.
Through their first two games of the 2019 season, the Giants’ defense seems determined to keep up a similar pace. They gave up four passing touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating to Dak Prescott of the Cowboys in a 35-17 Week 1 loss, and in their 28-14 loss to the Bills on Sunday, Big Blue allowed second-year Bills quarterback Josh Allen to compile a passer rating of 101.1 and another passing touchdown. And if the Bills hadn’t been able to run all over that same defense, you can bet Allen would have gone for more in the air.
After the game, cornerback Janoris Jenkins put the blame squarely where he feels it belongs: on the Giants’ pass rushers.
“When you’ve got time [to throw] and you ain’t getting no pressure, I can’t cover nobody for 10 seconds,” Jenkins said. “Who can cover somebody for 10 seconds? Go look at the first five seconds of the route. He’s not open. If you’re scrambling and there ain’t no pressure getting there, what do you want me to do? I can’t cover this side and that side. Come on, bro. We’ve got to play football around here.”
The Giants do have to play football around wherever they are, and where they’re heading is to games against the Buccaneers, Redskins and Vikings. None of those teams feature consistently successful passing offenses, but with coverages breaking down all over the place, and players throwing each under under the proverbial bus, it doesn’t look like things are going to get any better.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
Russell Wilson deserves better than he gets.
Throughout his NFL career, Wilson has benefited from a dominant run game and a historically great defense. He’s also been waylaid by horrible patchwork offensive lines, receiver groups without a dominant target (now-retired Doug Baldwin as the lone exception), and offensive coordinators who seem to prefer that he doesn’t get the ball as much as he should.
After Wilson completed 14 passes on just 20 attempts for 196 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a Week 1 win over the Bengals, the Seahawks traveled to Heinz Field to play the Steelers. This time around, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer went against type by calling more than a handful of pass plays, and Wilson responded by completing 29 of 35 passes for 300 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. In doing so, he was the main man in Seattle’s 28-26 win, and he also became the fifth-fastest quarterback to throw for 200 touchdown passes in his career, behind only Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. Wilson got to 200 in 114 games; it took Tom Brady 116 games.
Imagine Wilson with Jared Goff’s offensive line, or Patrick Mahomes’ play-callers, or Matt Ryan’s receivers, and you’re talking about a very interesting alternate history.
But hey, as long as Wilson is in a run-heavy offense, he’s also happy to throw a few lead blocks.
Mahomes :: Saints wuz robbed :: Broncos too :: Kupp :: L-Jax reax :: Allen the RB :: Redless Murray :: Giants D an F :: Give Wilson some help :: Top
