One play. 75 yards. FitzMagic to DJax.#GoBucs | #PHIvsTB pic.twitter.com/cNLx0Xx0AH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 16, 2018
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is capturing the magic again, leading his team to a 2-0 start while 2015 first overall pick QB Jameis Winston serves out his 3-game suspension. Fitzpatrick is finding WR DeSean Jackson for TD passes, and finding that wearing Jackson’s clothes will elevate your swag levels significantly.
On the flipside, Week 2 was a disastrous week for kickers. The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings decided to replace their kickers, which isn’t a minor hit considering the fact that the Browns used a 2017 7th round pick on Zane Gonzalez while the Vikings used a 2018 5th round pick on Daniel Carlson. Both kickers missed critical kicks that resulted in early-season ties, while Gonzalez followed up his missed opportunity in Week 1 by missing four kicks in a game decided by three points. Carlson missed all three field goal attempts in Green Bay, including two in overtime. None of Carlson’s attempts were from 50 yards or longer. Overall, 13 teams missed at least one field goal or extra point in Week 2.
Finally, Buffalo Bills CB Vontae Davis decided he was done with the entire league at halftime! Retirement announcements continue to innovate.
Teams of the Week:
MIA, CIN, JAX, DEN
DAL, CHI, TB, LA
Winning units:
CIN offensive line (QB Andy Dalton)
ATL run offense (RB Tevin Coleman)
LAC pass offense (RB Melvin Gordon)
MIN pass offense (WR Stefon Diggs) x GB special teams (CB Josh Jackson)
NO special teams (K Wil Lutz)
MIA pass rush (DT Jordan Phillips)
KC offensive line (QB Patrick Mahomes)
TB pass offense (WR DeSean Jackson)
TEN special teams (K Ryan Succop)
IND pass rush (DE Jihad Ward)
LA run offense (RB Todd Gurley)
SF offensive line (QB Jimmy Garoppolo)
DEN run defense (OLB Von Miller)
JAX pass offense (WR Keelan Cole)
DAL run defense (DE Taco Charlton)
CHI pass rush (ILB Danny Trevathan)
Looking ahead to Week 3
Jets at Cleveland: Thursday Night Beatdowns! The Jets and Browns took different approaches to their 2018 1st round QBs, as the Jets are starting Sam Darnold ahead of former Cleveland QB Josh McCown, while Cleveland is letting top overall pick Baker Mayfield wait behind Tyrod Taylor. Taylor played well against the Jets last season, throwing four of his 14 TD passes while compiling a 101.9 passer rating. The Jets escaped Cleveland last season due to an avalanche of red zone turnovers and missed field goals by the Browns – what could possibly go wrong this time around?
Titans at Jacksonville: Tennessee found a way to beat the Texans due to a game-winning field goal and Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard’s ability to throw more TD passes than backup QB Blaine Gabbert. Jacksonville WR Keelan Cole had his way with New England’s defense in Week 2, but the key to this game may be Tennessee’s ability to get RB Derrick Henry going.
Chargers at Los Angeles Rams: Last time these teams faced off, it was San Diego vs. Saint Louis. Oh well. The Rams haven’t won a playoff game since 2003, but their bandwagon is relatively healthy. The Chargers, meanwhile, are probably the most ignored team in all of Southern California. This game will come down to running backs Melvin Gordon III and Todd Gurley II, the top two backs drafted in 2015. Gordon accounts for 26.1 percent of Los Angeles Chargers’ offense, while Gurley is at 27.6 percent.
Patriots at Detroit: The Patriots lost! And so they took the opportunity to add WR Josh Gordon from Cleveland. We’re still chasing Gordon’s 2013 All-Pro season – he’s played only 11 games since, including one game this season. This matchup is another one of New England head coach Bill Belichick’s meetings with a former coordinator, in this case Detroit head coach and former New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The Lions have struggled mightily defending running backs, both via ground and air, but it remains to be seen whether or not a player like New England RB James White can take advantage of Detroit’s difficulties.
Steelers at Tampa Bay: All eight of my longtime followers are familiar with my joy whenever Pittsburgh goes through some dysfunction. They lost one game and they’re acting like they are on the Titanic. That said, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes did drop six TD passes on them, and the Steelers have to deal with a confident Tampa Bay pass offense on Monday night. You’ve never seen Ryan Fitzpatrick defeat a Pittsburgh team, often struggling to move the ball against head coach Mike Tomlin’s team, but Fitzpatrick probably locks in the starting job for the rest of the season if that trend reverses and the Buccaneers are 3-0.