2019 NFL Quick Hits: Week 2

It's Tuesday, so I am back with my NFL quick takes.

The Thursday night game was pretty awful. I figured that the Panthers would roll, but something is clearly wrong with Cam Newton. He is clearly much more hurt than he is leading on, and I think he needs to take some time away to get fully right before he end up like Andrew Luck. That being said, the Buccaneers somehow found a way to win that game, which included a pretty solid stop on the goal line at the end of the game. But don't get it twisted, that game, much like most Thursday night games, was pretty god damn awful. And the Panthers may be in more trouble than we think.

Moving to the early games on Sunday, we had some nice games, and some pretty big time injuries. Lamar Jackson looked pretty awesome once again, and I think this may be the norm for him. He was super efficient as a passer again, and he ran for over 100 yards. He looks, right now, like the guy that won the Heisman. Kyler Murray also played pretty well in that game, and maybe I was a bit too tough on him and the Cardinals. Yes, they are bad, but they may not be that awful after all. I still don't trust Kliff Kingsbury though.

The Chief had an explosive second quarter, Mahomes threw 4 TD's, and they rode that to an easy win over the Raiders. I remember turning the game on early in the first, seeing the Raiders had a 3 point lead, and thinking, maybe the Raiders aren't awful, then they turned awful. Also, the Chiefs are a very, very fun NFL team to watch.

The Lions caught the Chargers napping, as they are want to do, and somehow pulled out a win. Kerryon Johnson was awesome, and Phillip Rivers had one of his classic bad games early in the season. Props to the Lions for getting their first win so early in the year.

The Packers, my team, are turning me into a believer in their defense. They need to fix their offense, but right now, they are playing lights out, when it matters, on defense. They made Kirk Cousins look like, well, Kirk Cousins. Sure, Dalvin Cook had a big game, but the Packers D stepped up when they had to. I could get used to this.

The Colts and Titans played, and had it not been for PTI or ESPN, I would not have been able to tell you a thing about this game. I know that Adam Vinateari missed some kicks, and a Titans o lineman that had cancer, and it is now in remission, scored a TD, and that is cool as hell. But other than that, good for the Colts for getting a W.

The 49ers, after 2 games, look legit. Sure, it was against poor comp, but still, they are blowing these teams out, and they are doing it with solid defense and chunk offense plays. Also, sorry RD, the Bengals are awful. They looked so bad yesterday, especially Andy Dalton.

The Jags and Texans played a surprisingly fun 13-12 game. Gardner Minshew looked solid at the end, but Deshaun Watson did what he had to do to get the win. Bill O'Brien doesn't deserve a talent like Watson, or Deandre Hopkins, because he is such a lousy coach. But he got his first W of the year.

I hate that I have to say this again, but the Cowboys look legit too. Yes, it was against Washington, and they struggled at first, but they pulled away late, and did what they had to do against an inferior opponent. Also, Dak Prescott is going to get paid. And this may very well be Jay Gruden's last year as a head coach, at least in Washington.

The Bills, again dare I say, may be a playoff team. They at least have the look, and the defense. Yes, the Giants are bad, and they have finally moved on from Eli, more on that tomorrow, but still, the Bills won by 2 scores. Their offense leaves a ton to be desired, but that defense, man is it good. And I will say this every week, Saquon Barkley deserves better.

The Patriots did exactly what they were supposed to do, but they should not have played Antonio Brown. That side, again I will speak to that later this week, the Patriots crushed the Dolphins. And the Dolphins, I mean Jesus Christ are they awful. Sure, they are trying to get the number one pick, but good god. They have been outscored 102-10 after 2 games. That is gross. This is worse than what the 76ers did, and that is saying something coming from me. I feel so bad for Dolphins fans.

As for the Bears and Broncos game, the Broncos got screwed. Worst roughing the passer call I have ever seen, and to get the one second put back on the clock, that was absurd. Also, why were they celebrating a game winning field goal, in week 2, over one of the worst teams in the league. The Broncos are bad, but the Bears might not be that good either. The fact that they are wasting such a talented, once in a generation defense, because they want Mitch Trubisky to be their starter, is a slap in the face to every other player on that team. That game was so bad, and the refs screwed Denver.

The Sunday night game was fun, and I was stoked to see Julio Jones get 2 scores. The Eagles might not be as stout up front as I thought as well. Carson Wentz was getting crushed all game. But, the Eagles had no Alshon Jeffrey or Desean Jackson, and that game was still close. Also, Matt Ryan may be on his last leg. He has not looked that good.

I did not watch the Monday night game because I don't like either team, and the Jets had to play their third string QB. But kudos to the Browns for getting a win.

Now to the 2 big time injuries. And again, I have a whole piece about how the older QB's are on their way out coming later this week. First off, I cannot help but laugh that Ben Roesthilberger is out for the year, and is getting elbow surgery. This is karma. He walks around and acts like he has never done anything wrong ever, mind you he has been accused of rape multiple times, he blames everyone but himself, he gets coaches fired and he trashes current and former teammates all the time. So, to see him go down, and this looks like it might be the end, I just can't help but laugh. The Steelers season is shot now. The only downside, Devin Bush is now on a pretty bad Steelers team. And for the Seahawks to still almost blow this game, I do not trust this team at all. Seattle struggled last week with the Bengals, and now they barely beat a Steelers team that was being QB'ed Mason Rudolph.

Finally. we have the NFC title rematch, New Orleans and the Rams. The Saints got screwed, again, by a blown whistle on a fumble recovery for a TD. Not that it would have mattered in the long run, but still, the Saints just keep getting boned. The Rams ended up winning, and pretty comfortably, but they have not looked like the threat they did last year. Jared Goff has not looked the part, the defense, outside of Aaron Donald, hasn't been great yet, and while I like that they are putting Todd Gurley essentially on a pitch count, they will need him later this season. But, the Saints lost Drew Brees. This is kind of unbelievable. He has started 15 games every year for 15 straight years. He is now out for 6-8 weeks. I am still stunned that he got hurt. Luckily for the Saints, they have a great backup in Teddy Bridgewater. But, losing Drew Brees makes me totally rethink my Super Bowl pick. This is a rough one.

Well, those are my takes. the NFL is just heating up.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is like all other football pundits and likes to declare 2-0 teams as “real” and “legit”. Don’t forget the 0-2 teams. The Bengals are just primed for a classic 7-9 run this year.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.