NFL - Week 2 Reflections & Takeaways
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I need to revive the community and rebuild from the bottom up. The old Heating Up server had nearly 800 users and only 40-50 were ever active. I want to rebuild that with those that truly just want to have a place to go to talk sports and win some money through having each other’s backs and helping everyone out. This is more than just me… it is about US so come join us today!
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Week 1 is in the books and the offseason speculation and concerns have finally come to light. Every week, I want to highlight a key takeaway from each team to hopefully find some patterns to help us start creating new trends for each team. While each team might have plenty of things to take away from that week’s games, I want to detail one that the media not be as focused on. The hope is that we can recognize these patterns before the rest of the field does, giving us leverage in the coming weeks. No need to ramble… let’s dive right in!
Cardinals:
This team is probably going to try to lose every single game this season. They completely fell apart in Week 2 against the Giants. They got complacent and let the Giants slowly get back into it. Even with them likely finishing with less than 4 wins this year, I think there is a bright spot on this offense. James Conner is probably going to get close to 20 touches even in bad game scripts. Week 1 in a closer game he got the catches to try to keep them in the game. Week 2 he churned out a ton of rushes for 100+ yards and a TD. He will be a great piece most of the year in any game script. He just has to stay healthy.
Falcons:
I think we can go ahead and say that Kyle Pitts in this offense will never reach his full potential. Once again he was an after thought in this run first offense and was actually out targeted by both Mack Hollins and Jonnu Smith this past week. You are in for a long season if you drafted Pitts in fantasy and I would be looking to trade him to someone that will take him for name value and not his production.
Ravens:
Getting Mark Andrews back was the best thing for this offense as Lamar looked more comfortable and the other pieces of the offense were able to be more productive as well. I was really hoping that Justice Hill and Gus Edwards would have more of a 70/30 split leaning towards Gus but they essentially got half the carries each. I would try to sell high on Gus Edwards who scored the TD. I don’t know if it will be sustainable all year when in reality Lamar is the RB1 on this team anyways.
Bills:
The Bills are going to go from one of the lowest 12 personnel teams in the league to the highest with both Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox being on this roster. I would be comfortable starting both in fantasy and I think they will both also be cheaper in DFS most of the season which is nice too. They will both get plenty of opportunities which was showcased once again with Kincaid and Knox both getting 5+ targets in a game they dominated most of the time.
Panthers:
There was a lot disappointment Week 1 and honestly I didn’t have much reassurance about Week 2 either. I think the only bright spot was it was nice to see Adam Thielen get featured in the offense more than he did the previous week. With only 2 targets in Week 1, he followed that up with 9 against the Saints even with DJ Chark back. Hopefully they continue to feed him the ball because in my opinion he is the best WR on this team. He might be old be he is incredibly reliable when he is out on the field. He will still be hard to trust on a week to week basis, but the volume should be there.
Bears:
Justin Fields is not it. For this being his 3rd NFL season you would expect the decision making to be a lot better. He is slow in his progressions and scrambles way too much for him to be a true good NFL QB. In fantasy he will still have his games where he goes bonkers with the rushing upside. However, in real life that doesn’t matter unless you can do it consistently like Cam Newton back in the day. Fields just takes too many sacks. I think this could be the last season in Chicago as the starter and I bet the Bears are wishing they didn’t trade the 1st overall pick now.
Bengals:
What the hell is wrong with this team? Joe Burrow got his bag and now looks no better than Andy Dalton of old. Zac Taylor has a lot of explaining to do because the play calling is horrendous and they do nothing but chuck it up to Higgins or run short routes to the boundary for Chase or Boyd. I have never seen a team waste a talent like JaMarr Chase with almost nothing drawn up for him over the middle or even bring him in motion. Now we hear that Burrow tweaked his calf again which scream code red for this season. They should have let him sit the first few games to get back to 100% because I just don’t think he ever was. I would be very concerned about Chase going forward with how little he is involved down the field. Hopefully I am wrong.
Browns:
Let’s all have a moment of silence for Nick Chubb… honestly he was one of my favorite RBs in the NFL and his career sadly could be over with the devastating injury he suffered in Week 2. I don’t want to touch on it much but a lot of fantasy owners will have a huge decision to make. Do you throw the farm at Jerome Ford on waivers? My answer is a resounding NO! There is a guy in FA that knows the offense, spent years on this team and can slot right in to help ease the loss of Chubb. Yep its Kareem Hunt. I think they get something done to bring him back and it probably won’t be until the end of the week at the earliest. Right now the assumption is Ford will get the vast majority of the touches and you would probably need to spend 60-80% of your remaining FAAB to get him. Now if they just give him the backfield and
Cowboys:
This team is so well rounded I am really intrigued to see how they mess it up like they always do. CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard are going to be fantasy monsters this year with almost 70% of the entire usage going to just those two. Their defense is just next level and will keep them in just about every game they play. The next two weeks they get the Cardinals and Patriots who will two of the worst teams in the league. It is looking like they will start out 4-0 and the next hurdle will be the 49ers Week 5. Look for Lamb and Pollard to continue their dominance.
Broncos:
The Sean Payton era is not starting out well and they just blew a big lead at home. I will say Russell Wilson looked really solid so I think they turn it around here soon. He was able to find his receivers down field well and managed the game just about as solid as you can. The defense really let them down in the last game. The secondary is pretty solid but they need to fix the rush defense if they want to turn it around. I do see some promise for Wilson with Jeudy coming back and Mims really being a threat down field. It was nice to see even in a loss.
Lions:
The tides turned for Jahmyr Gibbs this past week gaining the majority of the RB snaps. If Montgomery is going to miss time there is a serious path to him being a top 10 RB in the short term. He has an elite skill set and will be featured massively in the passing game. He got 9 targets last game and I fully expect that to be the norm in close game and trailing scripts. Their defense is just not the best so I expect them to have a similar scripts often which favors Gibbs a ton. I do think the offense is better in a 1A/1B approach with Monty and Gibbs. The upside comes in the pass game which is what Gibbs has and should be able to showcase here soon.
Packers:
The Packers might have thrown the game away but they still showed a lot of promise. Jayden Reed looked great as the featured WR and Jordan Love looked the part once again even if he wasn’t the most efficient. I think my biggest concern is AJ Dillon is not this elite backup RB that everyone thinks he is. They are blinded by his massive thighs when in reality he is an inefficient runner who doesn’t have the best vision to be good better yet elite. He does ramp up come the winter when its more efficient to just grind the run game and bulldoze people over. However in the short term even with Jones out I wouldn’t expect elite production.
Texans:
I think there is a lot of garbage time promise from this team this year and the biggest benefactors will be in the pass game. The defense is just too young and inexperienced to keep them in games so Stroud and Co. will be in throwing scripts almost every game. Nico Collins is going to be a stud this year from a production standpoint. He is the main target in the offense and seems to be Stroud’s safety blanket, but he still stretches the field especially in the red zone. There is a serious avenue for him to be a top 15 WR this season if the production continues and the defense continues to be, well, bad.
Colts:
Anthony Richardson needs to find a way to stop getting hurt because he has shown the ability to be an elite dual threat QB in this league. The rushing upside is comparable to Fields and Lamar but the decision making seems to be a bit better. He seems more like a game general than Fields. Regardless of that, my biggest takeaway is Zack Moss is for sure the new RB1 of this team with no other RB getting a single snap. I do think the Colts opt to trade JT and if that happens and they don’t bring an RB back in return I think Moss has RB2 upside. He seems to have grown as an RB since his early days in Buffalo. He looks efficient, hits the holes hard and is being used in the pass game. What more could you ask for? If you think its fools gold and JT comes back and takes over then maybe try to trade him on him, but I have no problem holding him with his FLEX/RB2 upside for the next couple of weeks.
Jaguars:
If you extend the sidelines by 6 inches on each side I think the Jags beat the Chiefs comfortably. They had 4 plays that I could count (3 for would be TDs) where the WR got one foot down but just couldn’t get the second down. Trevor did look off though and wasn’t as accurate as he usually is, but I wouldn’t panic. The Chiefs defense did look pretty solid and made it tough for the Jags to move the ball. My biggest takeaway is I wouldn’t be worried about Calvin Ridley going forward. He had two of the close TD catches that were just out of bounds and still got 8 targets. Zay Jones got hurt and was out a majority of the game. All in all I wouldn’t be too concerned. It was just an off game for the Jags.
Chiefs:
Honestly Eric Bieniemy might have been the thing that kept this offense clicking. Ever since he has left for Washington, the offense just doesn’t look to be clicking. My biggest takeaway is I don’t think you can trust anyone in this offense other than Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. I don’t think I have ever seen a team in the NFL give 12 players a target with none of them getting over 5 (other than Kelce). Toney, Watson and Skyy all looked better but it will be a hot mess figuring out which will be the producer every week. It was Skyy this week and it could be Toney next or none of them produce and Kelce has 100+ and 2+ TDs. Can’t forget to mention Pacheco will get his as well.
Raiders:
Oh man where do I even start. How can you lead the league in rushing then follow it up Week 2 by getting negative rush yards against what should have been an easy rush defense to attack. The week prior the Bills got gashed on the ground. Josh Jacobs is showing some serious rust from not being available all offseason so in the short term I think he is likely to not be that efficient. Not to mention they will likely be trailing quite often which leads to more passing work for Adams and Co. I think that would be Jacob’s saving grace. It is really just him and Adams in this offense. I think the floor is there but be weary of Jacobs hitting his ceiling in the mean time.
Chargers:
Once again… FIRE BRANDON STALEY. How can the offense be this good and not equate to wins. Anyway, there is a lot of concern for Josh Kelley until Ekeler returns after a sluggish performance. I think a lot of people expected him to play a similar role and he was inefficient to say the least. I think that was more due to the Titans rush defense being very solid and the Chargers just not turning up the jets and pulling away. I would be more comfortable playing him the next two weeks against the Raiders and Vikings which will be much easier for him. What I am trying to say is in DFS play him after much of the field comes off of him (unless they jack his price up).
Rams:
Puka Nacua is the truth. He will get the Cooper Kupp treatment until he returns and even then he will get easily 8-10 targets per game. Also the same can be said for Kyren Williams in the rush game. I am very impressed with what I saw from both against a very tough 49ers defense. Puka breaking records and Kyren netting 4 TDs through Week 2 was not something I had on my NFL BINGO card :)
Dolphins:
Even in what was supposed to be a tough matchup, Tyreek Hill still produced. I think he is going to be matchup proof this season for sure. That isn’t even my biggest takeaway. That would be Raheem Mostert is looking like a top 10 RB this season. There was a lot of uncertainty heading into the season as for who would get the touches. Mostert has shown that efficiency and as long as he stays healthy I think he remains the guy to have. Even when Wilson returns I think that just moves Ahmed to the bench and he will take those snaps. I am very impressed by this offense and I expect them to keep being elite.
Vikings:
I think I am flip flopping my narrative from Week 1. I said pump the breaks on Jordan Addison in the short term. KJ Osborn was getting (and still got) the majority of the WR2 snaps (91% W1/97% W2). Addison still remained the WR2 in terms of snaps but jumped up to close to 70% of the snaps and is looking to be the better player as well (not surprised). I think that Addison will soon take over given Osborn just has not looked good so far. Addison has elite big play ability and that can’t be contained (unless you are the Lions with Gibbs) for much longer. This offense can sustain two top WRs and I think Addison is primed to take a big jump here soon.
Patriots:
Everyone is trying to say the Patriots are trash and won’t amount to anything and… I kind of want to agree. I think they looked a bit better than the media is leading on. Starting out with the Eagles and Dolphins was always a recipe to start 0-2. However, Mac Jones looks a lot better than he did last year and is atleast keeping them in the game. The biggest takeaway is Hunter Henry is looking to be the dead zone TE1 that everyone was looking for when most of the offseason everyone was saying it was going to be Gesicki. Henry is getting so many targets and it looks like they will stick. They are getting back to the old Belichick ways of using the TEs at a crazy high volume, so if Hunter is still available in your fantasy leagues I would look to pick him up.
Saints:
If Michael Thomas can just stay healthy he could be a massive asset this season. He continues to get peppered with targets and looks like the MT of old. With the offense getting Kamara back I think that will open up a whole new part of the offense that we haven’t seen so far. Jamaal Williams is great but the play calls with him are a bit limited. Hopefully that will open up more in the middle of the field with Kamara out of the backfield having to be more of a focus. Just really hope he can stay healthy.
Giants:
A tale of two halves is the way to explain the Giants this past week. They looked awful until the weren’t and sadly it ended with Saquon getting hurt. I think he will miss a week or two with this being a short week (they play Thursday). I think this past week solidified for me that Darren Waller is the only guy in this offense that should be consistent. He led the team in targets (as he should every week) and was consistent at getting open. Daniel Jones finally turned it around which is a big help for Waller and will be huge for him moving forward as well. This offense is built around him and with Saquon getting hurt he might be featured even more.
Jets:
Zach Wilson is not a good QB. Garrett Wilson is honestly saving Zach from looking even worse. However, the biggest takeaway is that Breece Hall should get way more than 4 touches regardless of the score and his injury concern. They got down early and just never went back to the run game which should be their identity. If they can’t find a way to establish the run they are going to get smoked every game. Their elite defense can only do so much (they didn’t look that elite this week but the point still stands). Get him the ball and good things will happen. He is a massive play waiting to happen atleast once a game.
Eagles:
People are making this AJ Brown drama way bigger than it should be. These are some incredibly athletes that all have egos of their own right. He was frustrated with not getting enough love and it got out of control on the sidelines. After that he got his due and I think this week he will have a massive game. Yes, Devonta Smith makes big plays but they are less sustainable that the consistent targets that Brown gets. They controlled the game on Thursday early and didn’t really need to throw the ball much. Swift did fantastic and probably got his lead spot back. I think if you can buy low on Brown I would and in DFS I would certainly be playing him in a great rebound spot against the Bucs who secondary is decimated with injuries.
Steelers:
Even without Diontae the Steelers were able to get a big win on Monday night. My only concern is that the Browns, Deshaun specifically, kind of handed it to them. There were two defensive turnovers and only had one massive play on a busted coverage with George Pickens. I think everyone will chase after Pickens when in reality Pickett still sucked (50% completion last night) and is letting his players make all the plays. He isn’t doing anything impressive at all. I would be hesitant to expect Pickens to perform at this level every week so pump the brakes. Someone you can slam the breaks on is Najee Harris because I am fully convinced he sucks at this point.
49ers:
This offense is the best in the league but from a fantasy standpoint it is going to be tough to trust them all every week. Week 1 Aiyuk and CMC popped. Week 2 Deebo and CMC popped. Week 3 it could be anyone but I would bank on it being Christian McCaffrey and someone. They have to be licking their chops that they get the Giants at home this week on a short week so expect a similar game plan. Regardless, I think the only takeaway is McCaffrey is going to be the most consistent and the others will produce interchangeably.
Seahawks:
The Seahawks got a big win on the road against the Lions in a shootout and there were a lot of positives to take away from it. I think one person that is being seriously overlooked and was a hyped up big during the preseason is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He saw an uptick in targets this past week which could be due to the pace and nature of that game. He just feels like a ticking time bomb and will have a massive game here soon. They have a great schedule coming up and this week against the Panthers who get burned by slot WRs every week, I think JSN could have his breakout game. I just wish his snap share would come up a little bit, but the Seahawks seem stuck in their ways running a lot of 12 personnel. Let him loose and see what happens. I would rather be early on JSN than late.
Buccaneers:
Once again, Baker was not afraid to air the ball out and that will always benefit Mike Evans. That isn’t even my biggest takeaway. Mine is that Rachaad White was electric and really bounced back after and inefficient Week 1. If he can continue to get north of 20 touches a game he has a shot at being a top 15 RB this season. He is being used in the passing game almost every week regardless of the game script and is the lead back by a pretty wide margin. He has the volume to support a very nice floor while also having a high ceiling.
Titans:
I am starting to get a bit concerned about Derrick Henry. The efficiency is really starting to come down, averaging just 3.7 YPC and the offensive packages just make it so obvious when he is going to get the ball. I am shocked they came out with a win against the Chargers, but it feels a lot more like fools gold to me thinking the Titans are a good football team. They might be the most average team in the league. I still think with all of the injuries at the RB position, Henry is a stone cold lock to be a top 5-10 fantasy RB, but it won’t be on efficiency it will be on volume.
Commanders:
Brian Robinson might be having the quietest elite start to a season ever. With 3 TDs in the two games and pretty much leading the Commanders to a 2-0 start, Robinson has solidified himself as the workhorse back in this offense. He has completely taken over all of the rushes, but oddly enough the snap count split is kind of remaining the same. It will be interesting to see if they bring that to a 70/30 split and if that will elevate Robinson’s play to the next level. Regardless, he is currently around the RB3 in fantasy depending on you league scoring settings which can’t be ignored. The next two weeks against the Eagles and Bills will be the true sign of how good Robinson can be this year. Those are two tough matchups.
