NFL Scores Week 2: Results and Top Fantasy Football Stars for Sunday Games

Fantasy football is a fickle pastime. It's tough to suss out who's going to break out and who is going to be reliable from game to game. Week 2 certainly had its fair share of surprise outings.

Just one week after the Tampa Bay defense makes Tennessee Titans rookie Marcus Mariota look like Joe Montana, they turn Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense into (mostly) mush. San Diego wideout Keenan Allen went AWOL in Week 2, so fantasy fans have now seen both the fun 2013 version and the disappointing 2014 version of him this year.

And Larry Fitzgerald, he's over the hill. What's that? Three touchdowns? Well, the last time he even had two touchdowns in a game was in November 2013 against Indianapolis, so you would've been forgiven for overlooking him in smaller leagues.

Running back Matt Jones came out of nowhere to rack up two touchdowns for the Washington Redskins, much to the chagrin of Alfred Morris acolytes. Cleveland wideout Travis Benjamin scored three touchdowns against the Titans for a similarly surprising star display.

Of course, some things you can still count on. Antonio Brown will get his five catches and 50 yards (and then some), while Rob Gronkowski receives and Tom Brady delivers, to the benefit of many fantasy football players and owners.

Here are the scores and top fantasy players for Week 2's early Sunday slate. Points are based on ESPN.com's fantasy football leaderboard.

Away	Score	Home	Notable Fantasy Performer
New England Patriots	40-32	Buffalo Bills	Tom Brady, 28 points (38-59, 466 YDS, 3 TD)
Tennessee Titans	14-28	Cleveland Browns	Travis Benjamin 29 points (3 REC, 115 YDS, 2 TD)
Houston Texans	17-24	Carolina Panthers	Cam Newton, 25 points (18-37, 195 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 76 RSH YDS, 1 RSH TD)
Arizona Cardinals	48-23	Chicago Bears	Larry Fitzgerald 29 points (8 REC, 112 YDS, 3 TD)
San Diego Chargers	19-24	Cincinnati Bengals	Andy Dalton, 21 points (16-26, 214 YDS, 3 TD)
Detroit Lions	16-26	Minnesota Vikings	Calvin Johnson, 14 points (10 REC, 83 YDS, 1 TD)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	19-26	New Orleans Saints	Jameis Winston, 18 points (14-21, 207 YDS 1 TD; 23 RSH YDS, 1 TD)
Atlanta Falcons	24-20	New York Giants	Odell Beckham Jr, 20 points (7 REC, 146 YDS, 1 TD)
San Francisco 49ers	18-43	Pittsburgh Steelers	DeAngelo Williams, 26 points (20 CAR, 77 YDS, 3 TD; 4 REC, 15 YDS)
St. Louis Rams	10-24	Washington Redskins	Matt Jones, 24 points (19 CAR, 123 YDS, 2 TD; 3 REC, 23 YDS)
Baltimore Ravens	33-37	Oakland Raiders	Derek Carr, 26 points (30-46, 351 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT)
Miami Dolphins	20-23	Jacksonville Jaguars	Allen Robinson, 27 points (6 REC, 155 YDS, 2 TD)
Dallas Cowbowys	20-10	Philadelphia Eagles	Cowboys D/ST, 20 points (10 points allowed, <250 yards allowed, 1 FMBL, 2 INT, 1 Sack, 1 TD)
Seattle Seahawks	17-27	Green Bay Packers	Aaron Rodgers, 21 points (25-33, 249 YDS, 2 TD; 23 RSH YDS)

Standout Performers from Early Sunday Slate

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

David Banks/Associated Press

In 2014, Fitzgerald scored just two touchdowns, by far the lowest total of his stellar career. He needed only two weeks—and really, one game—to surpass that total this season. 

Fitzgerald was rampant against the hapless Chicago Bears. One of his scores came on a flea-flicker with a Chicago defensive back draped all over him. NFL Network has the play: 

His third touchdown featured some more of his grizzled old-man strength, via Deadspin: 

With Carson Palmer under center, the 32-year-old Fitzgerald makes for a fine fantasy football option. There were signs of a resurgent season after he nabbed six catches for 87 yards on eight targets in a Week 1 win over New Orleans. 

Even better, Arizona has looked like one of the better scoring teams after two weeks, outpointing its opponents 79-52. With a favorable matchup against a depleted San Francisco team in Week 3, Fitzgerald looks likes a huge-upside WR2 option in all leagues.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

This might be the last we see of DeAngelo Williams in the star fantasy football ranks. Le'Veon Bell should be returning to his starting role next week after serving a two-game suspension, but man, did Williams make the most of his big opportunity. 

The 32-year-old back carried the ball 20 times for 77 yards and three touchdowns in Pittsburgh's 43-18 demolition of San Francisco. It was an improvement upon his already strong Week 1 performance, in which he ran for 127 yards against the New England Patriots.

ESPN Stats and Info noted it's been quite some time since Williams had a three-touchdown effort: 

TribLive Radio's Ken Laird passed along these comments from Steelers guard Ramon Foster after Week 1: 

Known as a speedster when he came into the league, Williams has shown greater instincts near the goal line and did some very tough running against San Francisco.

Williams spent plenty of time in Carolina splitting carries with Jonathan Stewart, so he's used to caddying for another running back or trading off series. He might still be worth stashing on your bench in 12- or 14-team leagues because he's been that good after two weeks, but expect his fantasy numbers to drop precipitously when Bell comes back.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Ben Roethlisberger may have accrued more fantasy points this week, but with another Steeler already putting in a superlative shift, it makes sense to give Tom Brady his due. 

Brady completed 38 of 59 passes for 466 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers, in a big game against Buffalo that ended up being much closer than it should have. Truly, he was Tom Terrific, and for the second week in a row. 

Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski have been the main beneficiaries of Brady's generous passing. Edelman scored twice against the Bills, while Gronk now has four TDs on the year after adding one more this week.

NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano noted it was a historically dubious effort for the Bills defense: 

Albert Breer, also of NFL Network, was in awe of Brady's play at his advanced age: 

New England has now won 22 of their past 24 meetings with the Bills. Once again, they look to be the class of the AFC East. There's absolutely no reason to have Brady, Gronkowski or Edelman anywhere near your bench until injury or calamity proves otherwise.