Tag: Week 2

WATCH: Demario Davis gets his teammates going in Week 2 Saints pregame speech

WATCH: Demario Davis gets his teammates going in Week 2 Saints pregame speech

Leave it to Demario Davis to get his teammates motivated before a big-time game — for him, this is a ritual he enjoys every week. The New Orleans Saints’ Pro Bowl linebacker addressed his team before kickoff with the Carolina Panthers on Monday night to continue a tradition stretching back years.

It’s an emotional game, and Davis is an emotional player. Those around him feed off that energy. He’s been a major part of the team’s success in recent years and few teams can boast someone who matches his play to his pregame talk as well as he does. He and his defense have a lot on their hands while the Saints continue to figure things out offensively.

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Packers PFF grades: Best, worst players from Week 2 vs. Falcons

Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst performers from the Packers’ Week 2 loss to Falcons.

Blocking issues on offense and an inability to stop the run played leading roles in the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Without Aaron Jones, the Packers struggled to get going on the ground, and Bijan Robinson shredded Green Bay’s run defense.

Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst performers from the Packers’ Week 2 loss to Falcons:

ManningCast schedule: What games will Peyton and Eli call in 2023?

Peyton and Eli will call 10 ‘ManningCast’ games in 2023, with the next game scheduled for Week 4.

After a hilarious fake search for a third host this offseason, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning have returned to ESPN2 this fall for a third season of the ManningCast (without a third host).

As they have done for the past two seasons, Peyton and Eli will have special guests join them on the alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football, but they will remain the two hosts of the popular show.

Disney will continue to carry its standard MNF broadcasts on main ESPN with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman serving as the commentators for the primary broadcast. The ten alternate ManningCasts featuring Peyton and Eli will be broadcast on ESPN2 and available to stream on NFL+.

Here is the full ManningCast schedule of games during the 2023 season.

NFL Week Date Monday Night Football Game TV Channel
Week 1 Sept. 11 Buffalo Bills at New York Jets ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 4 Oct. 2 Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants ESPN2, NFL+
Week 5 Oct. 9 Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders ESPN2, NFL+
Week 7 Oct. 23 San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings ESPN2, NFL+
Week 9 Nov. 6 Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets ESPN2, NFL+
Week 10 Nov. 13 Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills ESPN2, NFL+
Week 11 Nov. 20 Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 13 Dec. 4 Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars ESPN2, NFL+
Week 15 Dec. 18 Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots ESPN2, NFL+
Wildcard Jan. 15 TBD Playoff Game ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+

Peyton and Eli both won a pair of Super Bowls as quarterbacks in the NFL.

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Lavonte David says Buccaneers knew exactly what Justin Fields was throwing before game-clinching pick-six

The Bears are so predictable and it came back to bite them.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a surprising 0-2 to start the 2023 season. And while Baker Mayfield deserves a ton of credit in his latest redemption story, it’s undoubtedly Tampa Bay’s defense leading the way for a resurgence in Florida. We saw it on Sunday as the Buccaneers rattled Justin Fields with consistent pressure. They even snagged an embarrassing game-clinching pick-six off the third-year quarterback in the final moments.

In the post-game, veteran linebacker Lavonte David said something eye-opening. He explained that the Buccaneers’ defense saw Chicago’s slip-screen play coming because offensive coordinator Luke Getsy used the “same formation” from a previous play and, really, for most of the game.

When Barrett successfully predicted the play, the rest was history. Professional football defenders are simply too good to give them a leg up schematically:

Sunday was a tale of two organizations. The Buccaneers still have plenty of talent over from their Super Bowl 55 championship team, especially on defense. And they look like an easy early-season success story because of it. The Bears, meanwhile, have a struggling young quarterback and a squad that somehow looks worse than the one that earned the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

No wonder the Buccaneers took advantage of Chicago’s miscues.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce ecstatic to have Chris Jones back on defense

Travis Kelce didn’t mince words when telling reporters how happy he is that Chris Jones is back on the #Chiefs’ defense.

Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones made his 2023 regular season debut in Week 2 and quickly showed why the team missed him in Week 1.

Jones earned 1.5 sacks and a batted pass during Kansas City’s 17-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, showing that while he may have missed offseason workouts and the preseason, his game never actually went anywhere.

One person who was seen having a good time with Jones was Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was super excited to have Jones back with the team.

“It’s just an interesting scenario, man,” Kelce said after the game. “I just want to make sure that he felt … that he’s every part of this from the jump that he’s always been. I love that guy.”

Jones’ absence from the team was purely contract-related. Long story short, Jones wanted a multi-year deal and to be paid like a top defensive lineman. Jones and the Chiefs weren’t able to come to an agreement that satisfied those terms, so the two agreed to a one-year deal with performance-based incentives added for Jones to earn throughout the season.

It may not have been what Jones wanted, but it’ll at least hold him over for the rest of the year. In the meantime, Jones can get back on the field and do what he does best.

“You know, sometimes contracts and things like that can kind of … get in the way, or at least the media can portray people to be somebody they’re not,” Kelce said. “I just wanted to make sure he knew we were happy as hell to get him back out there on the field and in the building. His energy is needed, man.”

Studs and duds from Broncos’ 35-33 loss to Commanders

Another soul-wrenching one-score defeat for the Broncos. Here are studs and duds from the loss.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This timeless quote from author Charles Dickens perfectly describes the state and “tale of two halves” of the Denver Broncos after their 35-33 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Here’s a look at Denver’s studs and duds from the heartbreaking defeat in Week 2.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes looking forward to utilizing run game more

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes liked what he saw from Isiah Pacheco in Kansas City’s win over the #Jaguars on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs only went to running back Isiah Pacheco 12 times in the running game in their Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but those carries were effective.

Pacheco averaged 5.8 yards per carry on the day, totaling 70 yards on 12 carries. Those 70 yards included a 31-yard rush that helped set up a touchdown for the Chiefs.

After the game, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had high praise for the second-year running back.

“I think he ran the ball well today,” Mahomes said after the game. “Whenever I found him there, he punched it through there. He made a lot of big runs. There at the end, just tough yards. That’s stuff that you need in this offense. As we continue to develop as an offense we’ll continue to get the run game more and it will open up the rest of the offense.”

The Chiefs seemed to be easing Pacheco into the offense in Week 1 after he spent most of the offseason rehabbing a shoulder injury, only giving him eight carries in that game.

After upping his load in Week 2, it’s clear the team plans to lean on Pacheco more as the season progresses. It could be that a focus on the running game could be what the Chiefs need to beat the early-season struggles that the offense has faced.

Behind the numbers: Packers fall apart in fourth quarter vs. Falcons

Going behind the numbers that define the Packers’ Week 2 loss to the Falcons.

If you’re up for it, let’s dive into the key stats from the Green Bay Packers’ backbreaking loss to the Atlanta Falcons following a fourth-quarter collapse.

The Packers were able to control much of the game and even had a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, their inability to stop the run and move the ball on offense in those final 15 minutes led to their demise.

Here is a close look at the key stats and figures that defined the Packers’ performance against Atlanta.

NFL rules expert Gene Steratore reacts to PI no-call on Broncos’ 2-point attempt

“The contact by the defender significantly impacted the receiver’s ability to make a play on the ball,” Gene Steratore said of the no-call.

Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste seemingly got away with pass interference in a game-deciding play against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

After pulling off an incredible 50-yard Hail Mary pass, the Broncos trailed the Commanders 35-33 with no time left on the clock. After the touchdown, Denver was given an untimed two-point attempt that could have sent the game into overtime.

On the two-point try, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson threw to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the end zone but the pass was broken up by St-Juste, who appeared to make contact before the ball arrived.

After the game, former NFL referee and current CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore tweeted that “the contact by the defender significantly impacted the receiver’s ability to make a play on the ball.”

Steratore served as a referee in the NFL from 2003-2018. St-Juste entered the league as a third-round pick out of Minnesota in 2021. The 26-year-old defensive back totaled three tackles and the game-deciding breakup on Sunday.

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10 takeaways from Broncos’ 35-33 loss to Commanders in Week 2

Here are 10 quick takeaways from the Broncos’ heartbreaking loss to the Commanders in Week 2.

The Denver Broncos lost to the Washington Commanders in heartbreaking fashion in Week 2.

After a successful 50-yard Hail Mary attempt, the Broncos trailed by two with the possibility of a two-point conversion sending the game into overtime. The two-point attempt fell incomplete (in part due to a questionable pass interference no-call) and Denver lost 35-33, falling to 0-2 on the season.

Here are ten quick takeaways from new coach Sean Payton’s second loss with the Broncos.