As of this post, coach Dan Quinn was still employed by owner Arthur Blank, seen above imagined to be screaming expletives at his coach. When they write the book on "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" there will be an extended chapter on the Atlanta Falcons and their two 20-plus point blown leads.
The Recaps
CIN 30 - CLE 35 … Joe Burrow looked good in the loss, and already has people asking if he'll be better than Clevland's Baker Mayfield by the end of the season.
ATL 39 - DAL 40 … Lost in the laughter and misery of the end of the game was the 570 yards of offense by the Cowboys. Dak Prescott threw for 450 of those yards with one TD, and rushed for 3 TDs. Three Dallas receivers - Schultz, Cooper and Lamb - had nine or more catches for 88, 100 and 106 yards, respectively.
DET 21 - GB 42 … Packers offense scores 40+ points for the second consecutive week. I think that's a first. Can they keep this type of production up?
MIN 11 - IND 28 … Kirk Cousins looked really bad, lost. In two week without former wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Vikings passing game has looked bad while his new team's (Buffalo Bills) passing game has looked pretty good.
BUF 31 - MIA 28 … Speaking of the Bills passing game, Josh Allen threw for 417 yards and four TDs with Diggs catching eight passes for 153 yards and a score. Apparently CBS lost power during this game with 1-minute to play in first quarter to about the 6-minute mark in the 2nd quarter. I'm not sure anyone outside of Miami-Dade county and Buffalo, NY noticed.
SF 31 - NYJ 13 … The Niners lost their quarterback, starting running back, and two of the best defensive linemen while beating up on the pathetic Jets in MetLife Stadium. Reports following the game came out that Niners were unhappy with the turf conditions of the field. San Francisco has to play the Giants in that stadium in Week 3. Put the Niners on Upset Alert now.
LAR 37 - PHI 19 … Rams looked impressive/dominant on both sides of the ball for second consecutive week, reminding some of their Super Bowl season of a couple of years ago.
DEN 21 - PIT 26 … Pittsburgh defense knocked out Denver's starting quarterback (D. Lock) and then almost lost to the backup (J. Driskel). They recorded seven sacks and two turnovers. When the Steelers defense is healthy and this good, they're a contender.
CAR 17 - TB 31 … Tom Brady gets his first win in Tampa as the Bucs jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the Panthers made it a one score game. Then, Leonard Fournette sealed the win with a 46-yard touchdown, his second of the game, with 1:48 to play.
JAX 30 - TEN 33 … More extra point kicking shenanigans almost cost both teams in the second half of this game. Ryan Tannehill threw for four touchdowns in the win. Gardner Minshew threw for 339 yards, three TDs with two INTs. Jaguars outscored the Titans 14-3 in the 4th quarter. Don't tell me those guys are "Losing for Lawrence."
NYG 13 - CHI 17 … Bears won the first half 17-0. Giants won the second half 13-0. That's all.
WAS 15 - ARZ 30 … Cardinals went up 20-0 at half and 27-3 early in the 4th quarter. We have to take the Cardinals seriously because the defense is playing pretty good. The offense is good so long as Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins stay healthy.
BAL 33 - HOU 16 … Another impressive performance by Baltimore who never trailed in the game. They outrushed the Texans 230 yards to 51.
KC 23 - LAC 20 (OT) … Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert was named the starter during pregame warmups and nearly led the Chargers to an upset over the defending champions. However, a rookie mistake in the 4th quarter by Herbert, a questionable coaching move in overtime and three 50+ fields goals by KC's Harrison Butker (note: two of them didn't count due to penalty and timeout) added up to a Chiefs win. KC has beaten the Chargers 13 of the last 14 contests.
NE 30 - SEA 35 … "Super" Cam vs Danger-Russ Wilson lived up to the pregame hype. Wilson threw for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers, Cam threw for 397 yards with one TD and 2 rushing touchdowns. But, it came down to a 2-yard goal line defensive stand by the Seahawks that prevented the Patriots and Cam from winning the ballgame on a QB-Keeper on the very last play of the game.
NO 24 - LV 34 … The Raiders trailed the Saints 10-0 in the first quarter before they hit their stride ad took advantage of Drew Brees and a Saints offense that was missing their top wide receiver. The vultures are circling around Brees who has only throw a pass longer than 10 yards seven times out of 68 pass attempts,
according to former NFL executive Michael Lombardi.
Top 5 (2-0 teams)
11 teams are 2-0 at this point of the season. This is fluid from week to week so I didn't bother looking at my Top 5 from last week now that we have 2 weeks of work to evaluate. Agree or disagree with me on this. I'd love from you if you've made it this far into the blog post.
- Ravens
- Packers
- Rams
- Seahawks
- Chiefs
Last week, I stated that the best division right now is the NFC West. I could there's no change to that belief right now. And, I could buy into anyone's rankings that has the Cardinals in the Top 5. I'm giving the Chiefs credit for being champions and finding a way to win a game versus the Chargers that they should have, could have, easily lost.
Bottom 5+1 (0-2 teams)
11 teams are 0-2 and statistically have about a 10-12% chance of making of the playoffs based on history. 4 divisions, 3 of them in the NFC, have 2 teams that are winless. There's no ranking the bottom 5 in terms of worst and worse. These are teams I'm saying have very little shot at being .500 or better.
- Jets
- Giants
- Panthers
- Eagles
- Vikings
- Dolphins
I think the Bengals, Broncos, Lions and Falcons could be 1-1 had it not been for one play this past week or last. The Texans have had two tough opponents and just didn't have enough firepower to beat their opponent.
MVP leaderboard
My way too early MVP leaderboard with the Vegas odds via VegasInsider.com. A running back hasn't won the NFL MVP since 2012 and I can't recall as I type without Googling when a receiver won the award. That said, there's two quarterbacks in my Top 5 that are worth investing some pizza money on if you can.
- Russell Wilson (SEA) - leading the league in completion percentage, TDs and passer rating (52-63, 82.5%, 610 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT, passer rating 140*). Odds: +600
- Josh Allen (BUF) - leading the league in passing yards (729), completions over 20+ yards (12) and tied for first in completions over 40+ yards (3). Has a 70% completion pct, thrown 6 TDs and 0 INTs. Odds: +5000
- Aaron Rodgers (GB) - 50-74 (67.6%), 604 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs. Odds: +2500
- DeAndre Hopkins (ARZ) - league leading 22 receptions on league leading 25 targets, 219 yard and 1 TD. Odds +1500
- Lamar Jackson (BAL) - 38 of 49 (77.6%), league leading 9.8 yds/att, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 134.6 rating, Odds: +600
For historical records
Week 1 Recap - Straight Up and ATS
Overall I was 8-7 last week. For some reason I skipped the Seahawks-Falcons game. I'd like to say I would've picked the Eagles, but given my .500 average, I can see myself picking the Falcons who were at home. Since it wasn't in writing, I didn't pick it. :)
Pregame NFL SuperContest
Went 2-3 ATS, but could have easily gone 1-4 or 3-2 had the results flipped at the end of the game in the Bears-Lions and Chargers-Bengals game.
Wins
- Cardinals (+7) and Chargers (-2.5) Loss
- Eagles (-5.5), Bucs (+3.5), Lions (-1.5)
MyBookie.com SuperContest
Really bad start to the year in this contest as I went 0-4-1. At best, I could have gotten one win with, but I'm choosing to tell myself I have nowhere to go but up from here.
Tie -
Chargers (=3) Loss -
Browns (+7.5), Bucs (+3.5), Panthers (+3), Eagles (-6)
My co-host A.D. Drew and I started a NFL-HBCU picks contest on our show, BCSN SportsWrap (here's a link to our podcast
if you've never heard our show). with the emphasis on picking NFL game that involved teams with HBCU players on their roster. (Note: there are only 16) So, some of these picks are on wax as the kids say.
My Official Week 2 Picks
Thursday Night: Bengals
> Browns (LOSS)
Eagles
> Rams
Bucs
> Panthers
Bills
> Dolphins
Colts
> Vikings
Packers
> Lions
Bears
> Giants
Jaguars
> Titans
Cardinals
> WFT
Ravens
> Texans
Chiefs
> Chargers
Monday Night:
Raiders
> Saints
The rest of my picks from Week 2:
Steelers
> Broncos
Cowboys
> Falcons
49ers
> Jets
Sunday Night:
Seahawks
> Patriots
OVERALL Week 2 record: 13-3
Season record: 21-10 (.677)
My ATS Picks for Week 2
Jaguars +7.5
Cowboys -4
Bills -5.5/-6
Panthers +8.5/+9.5
Lions +6
Raiders +6
OVERALL Week 2 ATS record: 2-4
Season ATS record: 2-9-1
Final thought
On the 21st day of September, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders (who wore famously wore #21), was named the 21st head football coach at Jackson State University. I am an unapologetic Deion Sanders fan. He might be my favorite person that I have never met, or been close to meeting.
I've followed his career since his debut to the Falcons and Braves. From his rise to stardom, playing with passion and swagger that shook up and pissed off the establishment, who thought he was too cocky, selfish and self-centered to play in team sports like football and baseball. Funny thing is, you don't hear too many, IF ANY, of his teammates talk negatively about him as a person or his work ethic.
The criticism we read about from his playing days comes from the people who covered the games and teams that grew up with their own view of how an athlete, or a black athlete, should walk, talk, act and move through the world. Deion Sanders, know as PRIMETIME in college, was the model that led to the individualism and market that opened the door many of todays stars. In fact, it is basketball players who have probably benefitted more from the things Deion was able to do in terms of marketing your brand than football and baseball players to day.
As it was said by my friend Dr. Kenyatta Cavil on his show, "
Dr. Cavil's Inside the HBCU SportsLab
," it was Deion and not Michael Jordan that was selling the most shoes for Nike in the mid-90s. Think about that.
I've followed his career at the end when a turf toe injury forced him into retirement. I followed and watched him move into the next phase of his life with reality television shows, television studio commentator, giving his life over to God, building a youth football program, the good-bad-ugly of building a school in his name, and coaching high school football Texas. All of which led him to his most recent calling, college football coach.
There will be plenty of people asking "Why Deion? Why a HBCU?" There will be plenty of people unable to look past his wealth and global fame. There will be plenty of people critical of what they view as his personal and professional missteps since he retired from football. There will be plenty of non-believers.
Coach Prime, as he wants to be called now, asked the welcoming crowd in Jackson, MS on the day immortalized by "the Elements", Do you believe?
. Do. You. Believe! That's the community and fan base that matter most.
Call it faith, which is simply belief in the unseen. Call it confidence that Sanders played with ever since he first stepped on the Florida State campus in the mid-80. Call it inspiring that someone of his status would choose to be a part of a football tradition that has given opportunities to men when others would not.
