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While week 2 of the NFL season saw three of the NFL’s powerhouses — the Bills, Bucs, and Chiefs — taking care of business, there were also stunning comeback wins from the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Jets.
But that was not all we witnessed; in fact, some of the most interesting storylines came from some of the league’s less heralded games.
Here are five things we learned in Week 2.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Looks Like The Competition’s Next Star Receiver
While Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs played massive games in Week 2, a lesser-known receiver in Detroit continued to make a name for itself.
Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Lions had nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s victory over the Commanders, putting him on three touchdowns (and 180 yards) a year.
And while the sophomore receiver has looked great so far in 2022, his game follows the trend from his strong end to 2021.
Amon Ra-St. Brown was extremely impressive starting the 2022 season for the Lions
St. Brown had at least eight catches, 90 yards and a touchdown in four straight games to finish last season, as the rookie showed a glimpse of his talent ahead of another long Lions offseason.
If anyone thought stretch was a fluke, now St. Brown makes them look silly.
He picks up where he left off, and could drop huge numbers as Detroit figures to often catch up behind a suspicious defense.
The Eagles are one of the best teams in NFC
Before we even get into our praise for the Eagles, let’s take a look at the rest of the conference.
The Buccaneers and Giants are the only other 2-0 teams in the NFC. Tampa Bay has not looked good on offense so far, while the Giants have done just that and managed to go on a softer schedule.
Elsewhere, the Packers have no elite receiving options, the Cowboys could be without Dak Prescott for half the season, and the Rams looked extremely mortal against the Bills in Week 1.
All that is to say that the bar of “one of the best teams in NFC” may not even be that high.
Eagles cornerback Josiah Scott (33), safety K’Von Wallace (42) and linebacker Kyron Johnson (58) face the Vikings
And perhaps the only team that has passed the eye test so far — and has the record to show it — is the Eagles.
Philadelphia continued their impressive season start on Monday night, beating the Vikings 24-7, and there were huge positives on both sides of the ball.
Jalen Hurts passed for 333 yards and scored a total of three touchdowns (two rushes), while four different players eclipsed at least 69 receiving yards.
On the other side of the ball, Darius Slay had two interceptions and, just as importantly, helped knock out Vikings star Justin Jefferson, who finished that night with just 48 receiving yards.
We’re not used to seeing the Eagles among the league’s elite since their Super Bowl win in 2018.
With Hurts’ game evolving, the addition of AJ Brown, and some positive signs on the defense, maybe it’s time we got used to it again.
The Colts may be much worse than previously advertised
On the other side of the coin, the Colts have also made headlines two weeks into the season, and not for the reasons they’d hoped.
With Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman and an alleged quarterback upgrade in Matt Ryan, a team that finished 9-8 last season would certainly be competitive and possibly even outperform their 2021 record.
That goal was made more difficult after falling 24-0 to the Jaguars in Week 2, leaving the team at 0-1-1 and raising questions about Ryan’s current ability.
The 37-year-old looked just as old as him, throwing three interceptions and completing just 16 of 30 passes for 195 yards.
Matt Ryan was bad against the Jaguars on Sunday as he threw three interceptions
Things weren’t helped by Indy’s offensive line on the day either, as the unit allowed 14 pressure from their quarterback and five sacks.
The optimistic view of this game tells you not to overreact to a loss with Pittman, the best wide-out on the team, injured.
The pessimistic view is that it’s the second game in a row that the Colts have not won against a weak AFC South opponent – and they needed a furious fourth-quarter comeback against the Texans to even finish an eventual extra time. force.
We’ll see how the season goes, but early returns aren’t promising for Frank Reich’s team.
Rams’ declining situation is as murky as ever
Week 1 revealed LA’s predicted backfield starter Cam Akers to be in the doghouse.
After leading the Rams in Super Bowl carries, Akers only got three touches against the Bills and played only 18 percent of the snaps while Darrell Henderson served as a workhorse.
Coach Sean McVay said after that game that he wanted to see more “urgency and accountability” from Akers, and it appears the running back heard the message loud and clear in training the following week.
Akers defeated Henderson in the game 15-10, although Henderson was better than Akers and more efficient than him on the ground.
Cam Akers may have another role in the backfield of the Rams after a bizarre week 1
Still, it seems that Akers has recouped some of the backfield, although it’s hard to predict what will happen in the future.
McVay has spoken of both Henderson and Akers playing a part in naming the LA backfield, although Henderson was used in a traditional workhorse role for most of last regular season.
McVay has also spoken glowingly about Akers.
What we ultimately know is that we just don’t know much when it comes to this backfield.
The Giants look legit in defence
While the Giants’ offense still looks like a work in progress under Brian Daboll — and may need a new quarterback to really improve — their defense looked solid again in Week 2.
Big Blue allowed just one touchdown to the Panthers in a 19-16 win, keeping Carolina just 275 yards from total offense on the day.
The Giants were especially good against the pass, as Baker Mayfield was held to just 14-29 passes for 145 yards.
Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield tries to escape from the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence
The strong performance came after the team allowed just 20 points on the road to the Titans in a Week 1 win.
Even more impressive, the Giants defense has reached their current level without outside linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux (a first-round pick in 2022) and Azeez Ojulari (a second-round pick in 2021), as the pair have been injured.
The Giants defense will be really tested against the Packers and Ravens in Weeks 5 and 6, but with Thibodeaux and Ojulari back, we can see there’s nothing strange about this unit.