By: Kylan Watson
Week 2 of the NFL season got off to a hot start on Thursday, September 15th, 2016, with the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets facing off. The Jets were able to come out with a victory, but that just comprised a slate of games that saw rookies showing off and leading their teams to victory, saw some big injuries to key players, and saw some amazing comebacks.
Week 2 was the week of the comeback as a couple of teams got their acts together after falling behind by a significant margin during the games. Teams like the Baltimore Ravens snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat, by coming back and beating the Cleveland Browns. It was looking bad for the Ravens at one point during the game as the Brown scored 22 unanswered points to end the first half, but the Ravens came storming back and needed a game winning field goal to beat the Browns. Another team that came back in a game that they needed to have were the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys needed a beautiful offensive drive and showing from rookie Dak Prescott in order to beat the Redskins. Prescott needed to drive the length of the field to score a touchdown. Prescott put together a game winning drive that was capped off by a touchdown run from running back Alfred Morris to put the Cowboys on top.
The injury bug was also biting a lot of teams this weekend. Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a torn meniscus during Sunday night’s game against the Packers. Chargers running back Danny Woodhead tore his ACL on Sunday afternoon; Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday as well. Some players were still dealing with injuries from the preseason and didn’t play at all, players like Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski, and Chiefs start running back Jamaal Charles. Charles is expected to make his 2016 season debut in week 3.
Week 2 also saw the rookies showing off in prime time matchups over the weekend. Rookies like Dak Prescott who led his team to a comeback win against the Redskins. Prescott had a good game he completed 22 out of 30 passes for 262 yards. Dak showed a veteran level understanding of the Cowboys’ offense. Prescott was using audibled out of trouble when he saw blitzes, and he did not turn the ball over during the whole game. He used his legs when he had to, and he was hitting open receivers with perfectly thrown balls. Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also had a great showing against the Dolphins. Before he got hurt Garoppolo completed 18 out of 27 passes for 234 yards, and he also completed three touchdown passes. Garoppolo got hurt late in the second quarter and without him the offense stalled, but the offense had done enough damage early on to squeak out a victory over the Dolphins.
Week 2 was a big week for the NFL, some teams manage to win games that they needed to avoid a 0-2 start, some teams now are looking for players to fill holes in teams created by injuries, and some teams are very happy with their scouting and coaching staffs for coaching up their rookies. With a big week 3 approaching a lot of teams are in good spots to make some noise late in the season, while others are hoping they can survive until their players can get it together.
