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It’s said in various iterations that once is a fluke, twice is a pattern and three times is a trend.

What that means for NFL teams is that after Week 2, patterns become obvious and can turn into trends quickly. That’s good news for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, who have enjoyed strong performances two weeks in a row from their rookie quarterbacks.

It’s not so good news for the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, who have seen their offensive lines fall apart when tested in the first two games of the season. It’s good news for the New York Giants, who spent a ton of money on their defensive front in the offseason to be rewarded by strong performances from Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon.

For every outlier, a player or team plays to its hype. Josh Norman was brutalized for his Week 1 performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers but recovered nicely against the Cowboys. Darrelle Revis is a different story—it’s officially OK to be concerned after the man who was once the best cornerback in football has allowed 10 catches on 13 targets for 173 yards, a touchdown, no picks and a 143.9 quarterback rating in two games.

Yeah, that’s a problem. Is it a trend? We'll find out more Sunday when Revis faces the Kansas City Chiefs.

Part of Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 player rating methodology that matters is the ability to look at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and suss out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season.

There are many ways to dissect and learn from what the NFL presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you just what’s going on out there.

With a 16-person crew of experienced evaluators, we'll comb through the game tape each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are rising and falling in performance and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious "clutch factor." No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting, and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Alex Kirby, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades, and we'll be bringing you player grades based on the game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 2 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

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The NFL1000 team of scouts has a series of important attributes to grade for every player in their positional review. Using a grading scale starting at 0 and going up to anywhere from 10 to 40 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts have graded each player based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. Our evaluators were given specific positional assignments based on their proven fields of expertise. 

• Doug Farrar: Lead Scout/Centers
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running Backs/Fullbacks
• Alex Kirby:- Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive Tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive Guards
• Joe Goodberry: Defensive Ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive Tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 Outside Linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 Outside Linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside Linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special Teams

Every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles is observed and graded based on a multi-tiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors to consider.

We'll adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie receiver.

• Does Eli Manning get a higher grade than his stats might indicate because the guys around him didn't play up to his level? Indeed. 
• San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett allowed one catch on three targets last Sunday. Is he graded higher because the receiver he was defending was Jacksonville's Allen Robinson, one of the league's best? Absolutely. 
• Are the performances of the Los Angeles Rams' and Green Bay Packers' defensive lines affected in an evaluative sense because they were ripping through the regrettable efforts of the Minnesota and Seattle offensive lines? Without question.
• Do we grade Chicago Bears rookie center Cody Whitehair on a more favorable curve when he fights the great Fletcher Cox to a draw? Of course we do.

We take these types of things into consideration every week.

We'll also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of J.J. Watt or Michael Bennett on the defensive line and how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil those cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We will not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and it needs to be graded accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we'll work to make it as definitive as possible.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 2 of the 2016 NFL season.

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You may have noticed that the NFL1000 is a bit top-heavy on cornerbacks this week. Well, that’s what happens when Jason Verrett shuts down Allen Robinson, Chris Harris allows two catches for 18 yards against the Colts, and Josh Norman has a nice game with excellent coverage and a forced fumble against the Cowboys. San Diego’s defense has question marks, but hardly any of them reside in a secondary with Verrett and Casey Hayward.

You may also notice two Vikings players high in our rankings this week—quarterback Sam Bradford and receiver Stefon Diggs, Well, that’s what happens when Bradford completes 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns (many of those completions were plus arm throws) and Diggs catches nine of those balls for 182 yards and a score.

You may also ask why Eli Manning ranks so high this week when he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and wasn’t that great in the red zone. Well, that’s what happens when he completes 32 of 41 passes for 368 yards and his receivers drop his three best throws—two of which would have gone for touchdowns.

You’ll find all of this week’s NFL1000 grades per position on the following pages, but here’s the top 50 for Week 2.

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Eli Manning was the best quarterback in the NFL in Week 2. Ridiculous, right? He didn't even throw a touchdown pass. His offense scored nine points. The Giants only won because of a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown. 

It's true the Giants struggled to score on what is quite clearly a bad New Orleans Saints defense, but Manning wasn't why. He was phenomenal. He showed off great arm talent, was consistently effective against pressure, threw with precision to every level of the field and made the right decision on almost every play.

His performance didn't result in more points for a couple of reasons, primarily drops. In the first quarter, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Larry Donnell on a third down that the tight end dropped. On the following fourth down, he threw a touchdown pass to Odell Beckham that he dropped. Beckham, Donnell and Victor Cruz would combine to drop Manning's best throws of the game; the quarterback threw two exceptional deep balls down the left sideline in the second half that were dropped, one by Cruz and one by Beckham.

Furthermore, Cruz fumbled after a huge gain in the first half, and Shane Vereen fumbled near the Giants 40-yard line in the second quarter. Manning had a fumble that ended a drive, but that was mostly the offensive line's fault for capitulating from every angle.

The Giants offensive linemen struggled throughout the game, forcing Manning to compensate for them. He couldn't compensate when the team tried to run the ball in the red zone, though—another problem the Giants had in this game.

Drew Brees had similar issues to Manning in this game. Brandon Coleman and Coby Fleener left the quarterback frustrated, as they repeatedly ruined good plays. Brees only had one major negative in the game when he overthrew Fleener on a deep out, giving Janoris Jenkins an opportunity for an interception that he couldn't take advantage of.

Only a handful of quarterbacks were better than Brees in Week 2, and one was considered a big surprise. Sam Bradford's debut for the Minnesota Vikings couldn't have gone much better. He immediately established a rapport with Stefon Diggs.

Bradford didn't force Diggs to work for his yardage like Shaun Hill had the previous week either. Bradford consistently threw with precision and showed off impressive arm talent while delivering the ball against pressure on a number of occasions. He protected the ball and put his team in the best position to win a tight game.

Bradford's plaudits were overshadowed by criticism for Aaron Rodgers, who was better than his numbers suggest. His offense as a whole is an anchor on his performance right now, especially when teams force him to throw to Davante Adams, the worst receiver in the league who is getting consistent playing time. Rodgers is forced to hold the ball and create offense, something he did for two touchdowns in this game, because of the lack of quality around him. That's without even mentioning Mike McCarthy's scheme of isolation routes.

Jimmy Garoppolo's week 1 debut was impressive relative to who he was at the time. He carved open an admittedly bad Miami Dolphins defense by throwing accurately while executing the offense as designed. He wasn't protected as much in week 2 as he had been the previous week, though. His injury prevented him from ranking even higher, as the sample size for his performance was cut too short.

At the bottom of the rankings, it was a horrendous week for Kirk Cousins. The Washington quarterback again stockpiled yardage while making bad decisions and throwing inaccurate passes. He had one awful interception and was lucky that Sean Lee didn't catch another one. He also missed Josh Doctson and DeSean Jackson for at least two touchdowns.

Cousins couldn't even blame pressure or the coverage of the defense. His receivers were constantly open, and he wasn't under any pressure in the pocket. It was a catastrophic performance.

Week 2 also offered our first perfect category rating, as Cam Newton hit 25 in arm talent. Hitting 25 in any category is going to be rare, but such was the quality of Newton's Week 2 performance. To hit 25, you need to show off sustained velocity to every level of the field and an ability to throw with precision while manipulating the trajectory of your passes to fit them into specific windows.

Newton's arm is special, and he showcased that with two phenomenal deep throws to Ted Ginn, one to Greg Olsen and another to Kelvin Benjamin. While his accuracy wasn't consistent throughout the game, the range he showed off with his arm talent was a pleasure to watch.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/Run Threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Tom Brady—suspension
• Teddy Bridgewater—injury
• Tony Romo—injury

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The story of Week 2 at the running back position was injuries. Adrian Peterson had to be carried off the field Sunday night with a torn meniscus and is out for the foreseeable future. Doug Martin and Jonathan Stewart both hurt their hamstrings and are unlikely to play this week. Week 1 breakout star Ameer Abdullah sprained his foot, and Tim Twentyman of Lions.com reported he's been placed on injured reserve and can't return until Week 11 at the earliest.

The worst news of the week was Danny Woodhead tearing his ACL, which will force him to miss the entire season. It was an active week for the team doctors when it came to the running backs. 

There were, however, some trends that continued from Week 1 and look to be something we can get used to as the season progresses. DeAngelo Williams is the best backup back in the league—he was awesome again on both the ground and receiving the football.

Matt Forte looks to be one of the steals of free agency with another strong game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. Both Forte and Williams look explosive despite being over 30 years old.

Though the Chargers lost Woodhead for the year, Melvin Gordon is finally meeting expectations after being drafted in the first round last year. He is running with much more confidence and vision and is breaking tackles on almost every run. He looks like he is poised for a big year.

While the Chiefs have not had Jamaal Charles because of injury, their tandem of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West looks like one of the more balanced in the NFL. Ware is an exceptional between-the-tackles runner who just wears out defenses with his relentless nature, while West is a major threat as a receiver but keeps you honest with his ability to run the ball.

Latavius Murray had an underrated game against the Atlanta Falcons, bouncing inside runs consistently outside for first downs. Look for him to get more carries this weekend against the Tennessee Titans.

C.J. Anderson, Isaiah Crowell and DeMarco Murray all had good games. Crowell might be a future bell cow in this league, displaying the ability to do it all against the Baltimore Ravens. Anderson has earned his big paycheck for Denver, while Murray represents one of the better trades of the offseason.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Le'Veon Bell—suspension
• Jamaal Charles—injury
• Chris Ivory—inactive

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While fullbacks do not fill up the stat sheet in terms of yards and touchdowns, they still play a vital role in helping running backs and offenses function. Guys such as Malcolm Johnson, Patrick DiMarco and Jay Prosch play major roles in clearing holes and being physical at the line. All three guys are great on contact and play physical. Johnson helped Isaiah Crowell have a breakout game, establishing the running game as the only thing Cleveland can hang its hat on. 

Kyle Juszczyk and Jamize Olawale continue to be the most versatile fullbacks in the game. While both were targeted only two times in Week 2, they have to be accounted for every time they run into the flat or an actual route. They are not throwaway blockers for coordinators to game-plan against during the week and require a linebacker with speed to cover them.

Jalston Fowler and James Develin are a major part of two of the more physical run games in the NFL. Both guys helped their teams rush for more than 100 yards last weekend and establish consistent run games that led to big wins.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

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Week 2 featured some impressive individual performances at the wide receiver position as well as some head-scratchers.

Starting out in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks struggled to get going offensively against the Los Angeles Rams, and it showed in the grading this week. Other than a few routes from Tyler Lockett, the receiving corps struggled to get separation on its routes throughout the game, leading to contested catch situations as well as minimal yardage after the catch. 

While the 49ers lost, Quinton Patton was solid, particularly when asked to block. He threw a big block on linebacker Luke Kuechly on tight end Vance McDonald’s 75-yard touchdown run but was active throughout the afternoon in that aspect of the game.

On the other side of the field, Kelvin Benjamin found enough room to work against a shaky San Francisco secondary, and he seems to be rounding into form in the early stretch of 2016.

The much anticipated rivalry game between Dallas and Washington had some good performances and some bad. Rookie Josh Doctson was targeted on three different goal-line fade patterns—a staple of his game while at TCU—but he failed to pull in a single one of those targets. He was open on a deep ball that was underthrown by quarterback Kirk Cousins, but that was due more to a blown coverage in the Dallas secondary than his individual effort.

Dez Bryant matched up at times against Josh Norman and ran some good routes against both zone and man coverage.

The game of the week came from Stefon Diggs, when the Minnesota Vikings opened U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Diggs was able to get consistent separation on many of his routes and hauled in nine passes for 182 yards and a score. His route-running was near perfect, moving him to the top of the pack in Week 2.

Quincy Enunwa caught everything that came his way with six catches on six targets, but more than that, he was the most versatile guy on the field for the New York Jets. He lined up in the backfield, at the tight end spot and as a receiver, and it wasn’t just for show.

More than just a utility guy, Enunwa made a couple of tough catches and wasn’t afraid to expose his body to the big hit to come down with the football. He wasn’t scared to get his hands dirty, and his tough, hard-nosed approach as a blocker vaulted him into the top 10 this week.

Jarvis Landry was another tough-as-nails guy who put his team on his back in Week 2. With Miami facing a huge deficit against New England, Landry nearly brought his team back with 10 catches for 137 yards.

Not content to only elude defenders after the catch, many times he preferred to bowl them over like a fullback. Even without the ball in his hands, he’s a guy who the defense has to be aware of, just because of the punishment he likes to dish out when blocking downfield.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, two of the game’s elite receivers in Antonio Brown and A.J. Green met in wet conditions against hard-hitting defenses. The slippery conditions made it tough for them to replicate their quick cuts during route running from Week 1 and also led to a couple of incomplete passes that they usually would have caught, which is a big reason they dropped so far this week.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Keenan Allen—injury
• Josh Gordon—suspension
• Steve Johnson—insufficient snaps
• Donte Moncrief—injury
• Ty Montgomery—insufficient snaps
• J.J. Nelson—insufficient snaps
• Cordarrelle Patterson—insufficient snaps
• Laquon Treadwell—insufficient snaps
• Kendall Wright—injury

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For the second week in a row, Carolina Panther Greg Olsen stood out among the tight ends in the NFL. The Panther hauled in five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, with the score coming on a career-best 78-yard touchdown reception. Olsen was also an effective blocker.

On the other side of the field, the 49ers' Vance McDonald nearly matched Olsen with a 75-yard touchdown of his own, but it was his only reception of the day. 

Jordan Reed turned in another solid outing, albeit in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Washington tight end caught five passes for 70 yards, which led all Redskins receivers, including a number of tough contested catches that showed his hand strength and ability. He also contributed as a blocker with a number of key blocks, including one on the edge of an outside zone running play on Washington’s touchdown drive to start the second half.

On the other side of the field, veteran Jason Witten slid a bit this week, due primarily to some difficulties blocking on the edges or when tasked with blocking across the formation on split-zone running plays.

Out in Oakland, Falcons teammates Jacob Tamme and rookie Austin Hooper were impressive in Atlanta’s victory over the Raiders. Tamme was an effective receiver, catching five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. The rookie contributed three receptions for 84 yards, including a 44-yard catch and run on a well-designed play-action throwback passing concept. He also was stout in the running game, including delivering a strong block on Khalil Mack on one running play.

Some players fell back a bit this week, including Jermaine Gresham of the Cardinals and Luke Willson of the Seahawks. Like the rest of the offense, Willson struggled to get separation in the passing game as a receiver, and he missed some blocks up front against a tough Rams defensive front. Gresham was not as much as a factor in the passing game this week and saw just one target.

He’s not Rob Gronkowski, but Martellus Bennett continues to fill the Patriots’ No. 1 tight end role more than adequately. Showing the strength and hands that made him such an attractive acquisition for New England this offseason, Bennett hauled in five passes as well as a touchdown while continually adding strength to the run-blocking game.

In Denver, Virgil Green brought in three passes from new quarterback Trevor Siemian, but it was the way he controlled the line of scrimmage against the Colts that made him such a highly rated tight end this week. With Peyton Manning in retirement, head coach Gary Kubiak is investing in creating a powerful run game that the Broncos have been traditionally known for, and Green is one of the guys who makes it work.

Also, the Raiders saw much improved play from their tight ends Lee Smith and Clive Walford, who played well in the loss to the Falcons. Despite the disappointing finish for Oakland, Smith and Walford were much more dominant at the line of scrimmage, which is why they rose so high in this week’s rankings.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100