Best:
Arizona Cardinals
It's a tad strange to write this, but the Arizona Cardinals are unbeaten at 2-0. Most knew they had a solid team, but this is a welcomed sight out in the desert. Beating the 49ers in the opener was impressive enough. But following that up with a easy 30-15 win over the Washington Football Team, was another step in making a statement. Kyler Murray was on point for the day, throwing for a touchdown and 287 yards, along with two rushing scores and 67 yards on the ground. This marks only the 6th time since 1991 that the team has started the year 2-0, something they haven't done since 2015. Oh yeah, and they're doing it in a pretty tough NFC West. Having the new star weapon in DeAndre Hopkins has been a huge plus. Who knows, with the schedule that the Cards have, maybe 2-0 is just the beginning.
Worst:
Atlanta Falcons
This one is a head scratcher. You score 39 points in a game, don't turn the ball over at all and still lose? That's what happened to the Falcons in their 40-39 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. They jumped out to a big 20-0 lead on the Boys early on, were up by 19 at the half and 15 with about 5 or so minutes left in regulation. It stings bad enough the fact that Dallas won it on a last second field goal coming all the way back. You can't put any of the blame on the Atlanta offense that put up 39 poitns. It looks even worse when the special teams allowed the Cowboys to convert on an onside kick, that was spinning the whole way no less, and not even attempt to jump on the ball, instead allowing Dallas to recover it to set up the game winning drive. With the performances Matt Ryan has put out the first two weeks of the season, he deserves so much better.
Best:
Justin Herbert, Quarterback Los Angeles Chargers
Its strange, I know, to see a guy who lost an NFL game be considered for having a best performance, considering the Chiefs beat the Chargers 23-20 in OT on Sunday. In this case though, Justin Herbert is the exception. He wasn't supposed to start, as LA was projected to go with Tyrod Taylor. But when Taylor wasn't ready to make the start cause of a chest injury, Herbert was thrust into the starting, and starring, role. He didn't disappoint. He was sacked twice and picked off once, but finished the game 22 of 33 for 211 yards and a touchdown pass. He was also able to stand toe to toe with one of the very best QB's in the game. And help his team get to overtime no less. Good on ya kid.
Worst:
Adam Gase, Head Coach New York Jets
This has been just plain embarrassing to watch this team the first two games. Sure at the end of the game, in garbage time, New York will finally show signs of life, but by then its too little too late. New York has been down by at least 21 points at the half in both the week one loss to Buffalo, and here in the 31-13 loss to San Francisco. Yes, I do realize the Jets are lacking in weapons at the skill positions on offense, but a lot of this failure at the beginning of the year falls on head coach Adam Gase. Oh and this was a loss where the Niners had some of their best players go down with injuries and the Jets still couldn't take advantage of it. This team should be ashamed of themselves. Morstat ran for an 80 yard score, untouched, on the first play of the game. The Niners ran a 55 yard run play to convert a 3rd and 31. Gase opted to kick a field goal on 4th and goal from the 7. This team can't do anything right and a lot of it falls on bad coaching. You wonder why a lot of Jets fans weren't happy with this hire.
Best:
Leonard Fournette, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I guess a change of scenery in the state of Florida has done wonders for Leonard Fournette. Tampa beat Carolina 31-17 to pick up their first victory of the season. Fournette was a huge reason for that, finishing with 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 12 carries. This could very well be the kick in the pants that he needed. He didn't really look comfortable with the Jaguars last season. Jacksonville couldn't find a trade partner for him, so when they let him go, the Bucs swooped in and signed him to a deal. He looks like he's showing signs of his old self. This could be just what Tampa needs to balance out the run game with that lethal pass attack.
Worst:
Carson Wentz, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
You know your having a bad day when there's no fans in the building and YOU STILL GET BOOED OFF THE FIELD. That's exactly what happened to Carson Wentz in the Eagles 37-19 loss to the Rams. Lets face facts he hasn't really been the same QB he was when he was gaining MVP mentions in 2018 before he blew out his ACL. He went 26 of 42 for 242 yards and a pair of picks. You know its bad when he was getting booed off the field at home with nobody in the building after the last interception.
Best:
Josh Allen Quarterback Buffalo Bills
He's been killing it for Buffalo this year, as the Bills sit at the top of the AFC East with a perfect 2-0 record. He had a little turnover trouble at the start of the opener against the Jets, but was able to find his groove and lead his team to a win. He did the same thing again in the Bills 31-28 over Miami, and was nearly perfect on the day while doing it. He finished 24 of 35 for 417 yards and four touchdowns. His 417 passing yards were the 2nd most by a QB in week two, behind only Dak Prescott's 450. Allen's had no trouble spreading the ball around and being able to make play's with both his arm and his legs. If this is what the Bills are doing after just two games, this could be really, really good for Western New York.
Worst:
Minnesota Vikings
This is a team that's made the playoffs each of the last two seasons, yet they look absolutely nothing like that right now. First, they get run over by the Packers first game of the season, the drop another rough one, this time 28-11 to the Colts on Sunday. They had lost a lot of weapons in the offseason and its starting to show. They were stuck on three points until garbage time late in the game. Kirk Cousins was flat out awful on Sunday, going 11 of 26, 113 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and a 15.9 rating. Minnesota gave him a ton of money last year, and he had a good year a season ago. This year its been a big fail. Maybe this performance for him, and the whole team, is rock bottom.
Best:
Aaron Jones, Running Back Green Bay Packers
Safe to say that Jones was in the zone on Sunday. Green Bay rolled over the Lions to the tune of a 42-21 win, and Jones was a huge part of that. Jones scored two touchdowns and ran for 168 yards on 18 carries. Yes, Green Bay still has a lethal passing attack, no doubt about that. But on this Sunday afternoon, Jones was playing at a high level that can compare to the Packer pass attack. If Green Bay can keep this kind of running attack going most of the season, its going to be a long year for opposing teams.
Worst:
Injuries
We've had some big name players this week dropping like flies. Just from Jets and Niners alone, Joey Bosa (knee), Jimmy Garoppolo (high-ankle sprain), Raheem Mostert (knee) and running back Tevin Coleman (knee). Bosa's injury is a season ending one, the team announced Monday.Carolina's Christian McCafrey left the game against the Buccaneers and is expected to be out 40-6 weeks with an ankle injury. The Giants Saquon Barkley will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL suffered in New York's loss to the Bears, and receiver Sterling Shepard left the game with a toe injury. Big name stars were going down due to injuries. Maybe it starting to show that lack of training camp and pre season games could be starting to show.
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