Key takeaways and analysis from Week 2 in the NFL

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Dolphins' offense is electric

As desperate as draft evaluators have been to find the next Tyreek Hill, the only player even remotely worthy of that comparison in the last decade has been Jaylen Waddle.

The combination of elite speed, short-area quicks, and run-after-catch ability makes both players absolute nightmares for opposing defenses to cover. The two of them now playing in the same offense is just unfair.

Miami's star wideouts were the difference in an incredible 21-point comeback win over the Ravens. Hill finished the day with 11 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns, with his scores coming from 48 and 60 yards out in the 4th quarter - the first of which cut Baltimore's lead to seven and the second tying things up with just over five minutes to play.

Waddle also had 11 catches, turning his opportunities into 171 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the dying seconds of regulation - all against a Baltimore defense not exactly known for getting shredded by its opponents.

Tua Tagovailoa will get his share of praise for a career-best game (36-of-50 for 469 yards and six touchdowns), and deservedly so, but this offense is all about the two game-breaking receivers and Mike McDaniel's spin on the Kyle Shanahan offense to maximize their talents.

Tagovailoa still has clear shortcomings as a passer - most notably, his lacking arm strength prevents him from challenging some tight windows and stretching the field as effectively as the Dolphins might like with the world-class speed they have at receiver. But if McDaniel can continue to scheme things up in areas of the field where his quarterback is more effective, will it even matter?

This offense has juggernaut potential as is. If Tagovailoa's development can keep trending in the right direction, the AFC East may not be the runaway we all expected heading into the season. Get your popcorn ready for when Miami hosts Buffalo next Sunday afternoon.

Lamar back in MVP form

The Ravens' blown lead and eventual loss to the Dolphins may cause Lamar Jackson's performance to fly under the radar, but that would be a mistake.

Jackson, as has so often been the case throughout his NFL career, was the best player on the field for much of the day. He was nearly flawless through the air, completing 21-of-29 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He was also the game's leading rusher with 119 yards on nine carries, including an impressive 79-yard score.

There's no denying that Jackson struggled as a passer at times throughout the 2021 season, and perhaps that was part of the Ravens' logic in being unwilling to meet his demands in contract talks this summer. But it sure seems like the front office is going to regret that strategy.

Comparing Lamar's play against the Dolphins' blitz-heavy scheme last year - arguably the worst game of his career - and what he did Sunday demonstrates just how differently an offense can operate when a quarterback has help at wideout. The emergence of 2021 first-rounder Rashod Bateman and 2020 third-rounder Devin Duvernay finally gives Jackson a pair of playmaking receivers to complement star tight end Mark Andrews, and we're witnessing the results.

It's tough to figure out what the Ravens were trying to accomplish with a seemingly hard-line stance in negotiations with their franchise signal-caller. Just two games into his contract year, the price tag is already going up. Winning the second MVP of his career or merely being in the conversation at season's end would drive his value through the roof.

Paying a never-before-seen talent like this really shouldn't be a difficult decision.

Broncos uninspiring

After an offseason of endless hype, Denver kicked off the Russell Wilson era last Monday night with an embarrassing loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Nathaniel Hackett's head coaching debut couldn't have gone more poorly, as it was his decision - taking the ball out of his star quarterback's hand and settling for a 64-yard field try - that led to the loss and gave talking heads a full week's worth of content.

Pathetic as it was, overreacting to that one game would have been foolish. The Broncos were bound to play more like the talented team we've known them to be, Russ was a good bet to settle into a new offensive system, and surely Hackett would learn from his rookie mistakes. Throttle the lowly Texans in Week 2, and all would be forgotten.

Denver did come away with the win in the end, but it's tough to feel like this performance wasn't still a net negative in many ways. Entering the 4th quarter trailing the Texans 9-6, regardless of the final result, doesn't exactly scream contender.

Wilson barely outplayed Davis Mills on the afternoon, completing just 14-of-31 passes for 219 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Boos rained down from Mile High on multiple occasions where the offense sputtered, but that wasn't even the most damning review from the fans.

With clock management once again a painfully glaring issue for the Broncos' operation, including two delay-of-game penalties on field goal tries, spectators took it upon themselves to lend a hand and scream out the countdown of the play clock. Yikes.

So yes, a win is a win is a win. They all count the same in the standings, and at least the Broncos avoided the dreaded 0-2 start. But as it stands, this team is nowhere near as advertised.

0-2 club check-in

We know the drill by now: History says teams that start a season 0-2 will have a hell of a time making the playoffs. In fact, of all clubs to open a year with consecutive losses since the merger, less than 10% went on to qualify for the postseason.

This year's group features a few not-so-surprising members in the Falcons and Panthers, as well as a pair of supposed AFC playoff contenders in the Bengals and Raiders. And the Titans could very well join them on Monday, barring an upset win over the Bills.

Cincinnati starting the year with losses to the Mitch Trubisky-led Steelers and the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys makes for one brutal Super Bowl hangover. The hope for the Bengals was that spending big on the offensive line in the offseason would take care of one of the roster's few weaknesses. The results? Burrow's been sacked 13 times through two weeks. Next week's game against the Jets should be a win, but matchups with the Dolphins, Ravens, and Saints await afterward.

The Raiders got some buzz as a potential contender after an aggressive offseason in which they made a series of win-now moves, including trading for Davante Adams and signing Chandler Jones. Losing to a better Chargers team in Week 1 was hardly a surprise, but the offense disappearing as Las Vegas blew a 23-7 fourth-quarter lead at home to the Cardinals this week is alarming.

Tennessee, the No. 1 seed in last year's AFC playoffs, is at risk of also falling to 0-2 after starting the campaign with a home loss to the Giants. A home date with the Raiders is on the schedule for Week 3, so it could be a battle of teams clawing to keep their season from slipping away early.

A 17-game regular season probably gives these squads a slightly better chance at rebounding than those previous not-so-fortunate 0-2 starters in NFL history, but having your backs against the wall already is not ideal.

Lions laying a foundation

How can you not love what the Lions are building?

It's one thing for a new regime to come in and say they're going to build a physical football team, but in Dan Campbell's case, he went so far as to term it as follows in his introductory presser in 2021, via ESPN:

"So this team is going to be built on, we're going to kick you in the teeth, right? And when you punch us back, we're going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we're going to get up, and on the way up, we're going to bite a kneecap off. All right? And we're going to stand up, and it's going to take two more shots to knock us down. And on the way up, we're going to take your other kneecap, and we're going to get up, and it's going to take three shots to get us down. And when we do, we're going to take another hunk out of you. Before long, we're going to be the last one standing. That's going to be the mentality."

It's another thing to turn all that talk into action. The Lions are well on their way to doing exactly that, and as much as we should all be talking about the emergence of Amon-Ra St. Brown as an elite playmaker, the real story is in the trenches.

Detroit's offensive line started the year with an impressive performance against a stout Eagles front, paving the way for a committee of players to combine for 181 rushing yards. It was more of the same in Sunday's win over the Commanders, as Penei Sewell and Co. pushed around a similarly talented defensive line en route to 191 rushing yards.

To further illustrate just how much the Lions' front five has been steamrolling top competition, consider how long it takes before the ball-carrier even has to take on contact: TruMedia's advanced metrics have Detroit averaging a league-best 3.8 rushing yards before contact per rush, via Austin Gayle of The Ringer.

In other words, utter domination.

So they've got the line and the skill-position players, with St. Brown, D'Andre Swift, and T.J. Hockenson all having the makings of long-term studs - and that's before first-round wideout Jameson Williams makes his expected debut in the second half of this season.

If the pair of 2023 first-round picks can somehow help the team find a long term-answer at quarterback, Detroit may be one draft/a free-agent haul of defensive talent away from becoming a true contender. They really are that close.

Quick slants

Lance lost for the season 😔

Trey Lance appeared poised for a breakout sophomore campaign only to have a broken ankle end it before it could truly begin. He'll return as the 49ers' starter in 2023, but nearly two full years of little to no action after a college career with such little experience certainly isn't ideal for his development. For San Francisco, it's a reminder that you're always just one play away from your backup quarterback being the most important player in your organization. And as awkward as it may have been to keep Jimmy Garoppolo around all summer, that he stuck around as the No. 2 just may save the Niners' season.

Cowboys may not be done 👀

If you thought Dallas' year was over when Dak Prescott went down, you weren't alone. After Cooper Rush led the way to a huge win over the Bengals, however, the outlook doesn't seem so gloomy. The Cowboys' upcoming schedule (Giants, Commanders, Rams, Eagles) may have opportunities for two wins if they can play the way they did this week, and after that, we start talking about Dak making his return. Anything close to .500 at that point would have them right in the mix in a wide-open NFC.

Time to panic in Indy? 😬

We were willing to give the Colts a pass for their season-opening tie against the Texans. Week 1 always yields a few weird results, and Frank Reich's side has always ended up being just fine despite bizarrely never winning openers. Getting shutout 24-0 by the Jaguars, though? Come on. Matt Ryan is struggling, and games against the Chiefs, Titans, and Broncos are on deck.

Jags a team to watch 📈

Speaking of the Jaguars, credit is due for just how thoroughly they dominated the Colts. Trevor Lawrence looks far more comfortable in Doug Pederson's offense, as was to be expected after a rookie year wasted with Urban Meyer, and other young players are standing out on both sides of the ball. It sure seems like Jacksonville is deserving of some more love as a potential worst-to-first team.

Brady gets testy 😤

It was tough to miss Tom Brady spending most of the day yelling and throwing tablets as the Saints frustrated him to no end once again. It all worked out for the Bucs in the end, and Brady jawing at opponents actually helped start the Mike Evans-Marshon Lattimore fight, which got both players ejected and, conveniently for Tampa Bay, the Saints' best corner out of the game. Anyway, we can't be the only ones who look at Brady's visible frustrations a little differently following a brief retirement and reports that he wanted out of Tampa, can we?

Where is Pitts? 🤷

Credit the Falcons for making a game out of it against the Rams, nearly erasing a 28-3 (!) deficit before coming up short on their attempt at a game-winning drive. One question, though: How is Kyle Pitts not more involved in this offense? His final stat line (two receptions, 19 yards) was the exact same as it was in Week 1, only this week, the minimal production came on a mere three targets instead of seven. Look for the Falcons to go out of their way to get him more involved in the coming weeks.

Rookie WRs hit the ground running 🔥

The 2022 rookie class of receivers is carrying on the trend of highly touted prospects making a seamless transition to the professional level. Jahan Dotson found the end zone again to give him three scores through two games, Drake London's big game against the Rams puts him at 150 yards and a TD so far, Chris Olave racked up 80 yards while leading Saints receivers with 13 targets, and Garrett Wilson put the Jets on his back with eight catches for 102 yards and 2 TDs in a wild comeback win over the Browns.

Run out the clock 🤦

Cleveland falling apart late and losing to the Jets is a great example of just how important clock management can be. Although Nick Chubb had appeared to lock up the win with a 12-yard TD run with 1:55 to play, going into the end zone also crucially passed up the opportunity to go down in bounds and run out the clock. After a missed extra point, the Browns held a 13-point lead, and the Jets took full advantage of their final chance, scoring a 66-yard TD two plays later, recovering the ensuing onside kick, and then driving down for the game-winning score. That costly error ultimately falls on the coaching staff.

Stat of the week

Full list of teammates with 10+ catches, 150+ yards, 2+ receiving TDs in the same game:

Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle (Week 2, 2022)