There was no shortage of headlines in week 2, as important victories were earned across the league, some of which were historic. However, much of these headlines also had to do with major injuries to key pieces of teams that have coaches and fantasy owners losing sleep at night. Here’s my rundown of some of those major headlines.

Cowboys Execute Historic 40-39 Comeback Victory

Teams that had scored at least 39 points with no turnovers in a game were 440-0 all-time when we all woke up on Sunday. That record was 440-1 when we all went to sleep Sunday night.

The Dallas Cowboys seemed unprepared and unfocused early in Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, as they lost three fumbles in the first quarter alone. Zeke Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Dalton Schultz each lost a fumble. In addition to the fumbling problem, the Cowboys handed the Falcons good field position after failing on a fake punt call, as C.J. Goodwin, who was the receiver on the play, stumbled and failed to make the crucial catch. This sloppy style of play in the first quarter resulted in the Falcons getting out to a seemingly insurmountable 20-0 lead, especially considering how awful they had played to that point. However, the Cowboys kicked things into gear in the final three quarters, as they only went one drive without a score the remainder of the game.

Despite being without his top 3 offensive tackles(Tyron Smith, La’el Collins, and Cam Erving), Dak Prescott had what was arguably his best game ever, as he passed for 450 yards and a touchdown en route to this comeback. He also ran for 3 touchdowns, two of which were QB sneaks. The biggest plays of the game offensively, however, were special plays made by the top two receivers for the Cowboys. Midway through the third quarter, with the Cowboys trailing 29-17, Prescott seemed to have overthrown Amari Cooper, who was streaking straight down the middle of the field. However, Cooper was able to get one hand on the ball and bobbled it before making the catch, resulting in a huge 58 yard gain downfield that set up one of Prescott’s rushing touchdowns. With 2:06 left in the game, it was Michael Gallup’s turn to make a game changing play, as he elevated over Isaiah Oliver(Falcon DB) to make a spectacular catch, as his butt and his elbow landed at nearly the same time, with his elbow hitting out of bounds and his butt in bounds. It was called a catch on the field, but the officials decided they wanted to confirm that it was indeed a catch, so they reviewed it. There was no evidence to rationalize overturning the call, so the 38 yard gain stood. Prescott scored another one of his rushing touchdowns on this drive. However, the biggest plays of the game were made by the special teams after the latest rushing touchdown by Prescott.

With 1:49 left in the game, the Cowboys lined up for an onside kick. They hadn’t successfully recovered their own onside kick since a 2014 clash with the Washington Redskins. However, Greg Zuerlein, the kicker for the Cowboys, took a different approach on the kick, as he set the ball on the field without a kicking tee. Zuerlein kicked the ball and it spun it’s way down the field until making it the required ten yards before C.J. Goodwin, who made that crucial mistake earlier in the game, jumped on top of the ball and recovered it for the Cowboys with 1:43 left. The Cowboys drove down the field and set up a walk-off 46-yard field goal for Zuerlein. He split the uprights on his kick and capped off the incredible comeback the Cowboys had made, as it gave them a 40-39 victory.

“I don’t know if I’ve been in many games like this thing,” Prescott said. “But to be able to get the win, and in front of those fans that were there, stayed the whole game, they didn’t give up on us. That was a huge difference.” (Associated Press, 2020)

Raiders Earn Shocking 34-24 Win Over Saints in Las Vegas Debut

Of the 11 teams that are 2-0, the Las Vegas Raiders are arguably the biggest surprise, as expectations were quite low for them in their first season in Las Vegas. While the win over the Panthers in week one wasn’t much of an upset, their win over the Saints in week two shocked the football world. The Monday night matchup was the debut of Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders’ new $2 billion stadium. While the stadium is spectacular, the performance by the Raiders was equally spectacular.

The Raiders got down 10-0 early in the game. However, Derek Carr and the Raiders offense were able to flip the necessary switch in the second and third quarters to get a 24-17 lead over the Michael Thomas-less Saints. Thomas, who is arguably the top receiver in the NFL, missed the game due to a high ankle sprain, leaving the Saints’ offense looking unorganized and generally incomplete despite having receiving weapons Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook as well as running back Alvin Kamara, who’s one of the most versatile players in the NFL. Quarterback Drew Brees struggled to generate much of anything in the passing game, which was an issue in week 1. His worst moment, however, was when he threw an interception at the end of the first half that allowed the Raiders to get a field goal. These kinds of mistakes are uncharacteristic for Brees, but it makes people wonder if his age is finally catching up with him. “If there’s one thing I wish I could take back from the game it would be that,” Brees said. “Otherwise, we had a lot of metal errors. I felt like we were not playing as fast and just as sure and confident.” (Associated Press, 2020) These struggles offensively are concerning for many fans and the players alike, as Thomas could potentially miss several more weeks due to this injury.

Derek Carr played one of his best games in recent memory, as he passed for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns against a solid Saints defense, giving him a passer rating of 120.9. Carr hasn’t played at that kind of level since his MVP-worthy 2016 season, which was the last time that the Raiders made the playoffs. “Derek Carr was awesome tonight,” head coach Jon Gruden said. “He made some some plays today that very few guys that I’ve coached could make. I tip my hat to him.”(Associated Press, 2020) Much of his success throughout the game can be attributed to passes to tight end Darren Waller, who caught 12 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Carr had 28 completions, so nearly half of them were to Waller. Without top receiver Tyrell Williams, it appears that Carr may have found his #1 target. It wasn’t only a breath of fresh air for coaches and fans to see Carr return to star form, but for Carr himself too. “This organization means everything to me,” Carr said. “They’ve stuck behind me through some hard times. Through some times our team, we struggled, there’s no doubt about it. But when you can get on the other side of things, be 2-0, as the Las Vegas Raiders, that’s a pretty cool thing.” (Associated Press, 2020)

Despite the prolific passing game exhibited by Carr, running back Josh Jacobs was busy as he usually is. Jacobs had 27 carries for 88 yards and 3 receptions for 17 yards, totaling 105 yards from scrimmage. Jacobs, who is a second year running back in the NFL, is already getting as much opportunities as any running back in the NFL, as very few get more than 20 carries in a game. Jacobs has been able to make the most of those opportunities early in his NFL career, as he already has over 1500 yards from scrimmage in his career. “The first thing I would say is the stage isn’t too big for him,” former Cowboys and current Raiders tight end Jason Witten said of Jacobs. “I mean, he wants to carry that workload. When I think of some of my experiences over my career with some great backs or just around the league and watching it, you know, all the great ones, they want the ball. They want to carry that workload of no preseason going on the road … and you can’t give it to him enough. Great vision … his body’s compact, he’s physical. He’s a better athlete than probably what I thought.” (Boyd, 2020) If Jacobs continues to improve upon what he’s already accomplished early in his NFL career, he will be a superstar in the NFL.

Multiple Star Players Suffer Major Injuries in Week 2

My twitter was blowing up during the early slate of games on Sunday, as there were constant alerts of superstar players getting injured. Among those players were Giants running back Saquon Barkley and 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who are both widely considered to be the best players on their respective teams. Both players suffered torn ACLs, sidelining both of them for the rest of the season. Here’s a list of the major injuries suffered in week 2:

Broncos QB Drew Lock-Rotator cuff strain-Out 2-4 weeks

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton-Torn ACL-Out for season

Chargers QB Tyrod Taylor-Punctured lung-Doubtful for week 3

Colts S Malik Hooker-Torn achilles-Out for season

Colts WR Parris Campbell-MCL/PCL

49ers DE Nick Bosa-Torn ACL-Out for season

49ers DE Solomon Thomas-Torn ACL-Out for season

49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo-High-ankle sprain-Doubtful for week 3

49ers RB Raheem Mostert-MCL sprain-Doubtful for week 3

49ers RB Tevin Coleman-Sprained knee-Out multiple weeks

Giants RB Saquon Barkley-Torn ACL-Out for season

Packers WR Davante Adams-Hamstring-Questionable for week 3

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey-High-ankle sprain-On IR, can return in week 6

Rams RB Cam Akers-Rib injury-Status TBD

Vikings LB Anthony Barr-Pectoral tear-Out for season

Multiple free agent acquisitions have been made by teams as a result. Here’s some notable signings:

Broncos signed QB Blake Bortles to 1-year deal

49ers signed DE Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah to 1-year deal

Giants signed RB Devonta Freeman to 1-year deal

Vikings signed LB Todd Davis to 1-year deal

iUP Fantasy Football League Update

Injuries and a lack of production from players has forced some fantasy owners to execute aggressive trades and pursue players on the waivers. Among the most wanted free agents this week were Carolina running back Mike Davis (picked up by Cardscity DKLCPBC) as well as Giants running backs Devonta Freeman (picked up by miami sharks) and Dion Lewis (picked up by Team Ranvir, but will be dropped when trade with Aj’s all stars processes). All three running backs are expected to see an uptick in fantasy production due to injuries to the starting running back of their respective teams. Fish Fanatics is running quite thin at running back after losing Saquon Barkley for the season and potentially losing Zack Moss for a game or two. While his starting receiver trio of DJ Moore, Odell Beckham, and AJ Green is reliable, his depth took a major hit, as Parris Campbell was his top bench option. However, A Baker boy may have suffered from injuries more than any other team, as he has Christian McCaffrey, Cam Akers, Courtland Sutton, and Mostert. Fortunately, this squad has tremendous depth on the bench, but it’s hard to replicate the production that McCaffrey gives his fantasy owners.

Here are some trades that have happened recently in the league:

September 23rd-Team Ranvir drops Dion Lewis and trades Clyde Edwards-Helaire to Aj’s all stars and receives Adam Thielen and JD McKissic

September 24th-Team Ranvir trades DJ Chark Jr., George Kittle, Giants D/ST, and Miles Boykin to Aj’s all stars and receives Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Higbee. Aj’s all stars also drops Braxton Berrios and Carlos Hyde.

Here are the scores from the week 2 fantasy matchups:

Coup’s Coup defeats iUP’s Fire Bolts 157.12 to 131.56

Aj’s all stars defeats miami sharks 214.36 to 121.28

Team Ranvir defeats FW Panthers 156.32 to 52.4

Murray Up Offense defeates Coach da Golden 207.24 to 161.28

Mahomes Alone defeats Texas A-Pea 151.96 to 143.72

AP AZ Beasts defeats Rolex Flex 211.0 to 164.64

Boston Minutemen defeats A Baker boy 148.6 to 120.6

Cardscity DKLCPBC defeats dfw cowboys 190.88 to 150.48

Taco Town defeats Fish Fanatics 226.76 to 148.76

Here are the NFL scores from week 2:

CIN    30-35    CLE

NYG    13-17    CHI

LAR    37-19    PHI

ATL    39-40    DAL

CAR    17-31     TB

SF       31-13     NYJ

DEN   21-26     PIT

JAX    30-33    TEN

DET    21-42     GB

BUF    31-28     MIA

MIN     11-28     IND

WAS     15-30     ARI

BAL      33-16     HOU

KC        23-20     LAC

NE        30-35     SEA

NO        24-34     LV

Written on September 24th, 2020

Sources:

Larking et al. “NFL Week 3 Injury News and Notes – Jaguars WR D.J. Chark Ruled OUT for Thursday.” Sports Illustrated, 24 Sept. 2020, www.si.com/fantasy/2020/09/24/week-3-injury-report.

Boyd, Austin. “Raiders TE Jason Witten Details Josh Jacobs’ ‘Rare’ Ability.” Heavy.com, 21 Sept. 2020, heavy.com/sports/las-vegas-raiders/2020/09/josh-jacobs-jason-witten/.