Week 2 in the NFL: What a Difference One Week Makes

After watching week 2 of the 2010 NFL season on Sunday, I’m still trying to figure out what happened. Most of the teams that looked good in week 1 looked horrible in week 2 and the teams that were bad in week 1 looked impressive in week two. I sure am glad that I didn’t have any money on this week’s games, because my pockets would be empty. Let’s take a look at the teams that had the biggest change in performance from week 1 to week 2, good and bad.

There are currently 16 teams that are 1-1 after two weeks of play.

 Indianapolis Colts/New York Giants - The Giants beat the Panthers 31-18 in week 1 and then got manhandled by the Colts, who looked like a completely different team than they did in week 1, when they got dominated by the Houston Texans.

San Diego Chargers/Jacksonville Jaguars - The Chargers went to Kansas City in week 1 and had some serious problems, losing 21-14 despite out-gaining the Chiefs by nearly 200 yards. In week 2, the Chargers dominated the Jaguars from the start, forcing 6 turnovers. The Jaguars on the other hand handled the Broncos in Week 1, which you’ll read more about next. Before proceeding, you must watch Philip Rivers tantrum in the Chargers week 1 loss to the Chiefs.

Denver Broncos/Seattle Seahawks- The Broncos lost to the Jaguars in week 1 and they looked pretty bad. However, in week 2 they easily handled the Seahawks with a +4 turnover ratio. The Seahawks took a step back after a super impressive week 1 win against the San Francisco 49ers, who many experts have picked to go far in the playoffs.

Atlanta Falcons/Arizona Cardinals- The Falcons couldn’t muster up a touchdown in a week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they scored five in a 41-7 week 2 victory against the Cardinals, who took care of the Rams in week 1.

Cincinnati Bengals/Baltimore Ravens – in week 1 the Bengals never had a chance against the New England Patriots, but they beat the Baltimore Ravens in a tough game in week 2. The Ravens took a giant step back after handling the hyped up New York Jets in week 1 in a sloppy game by both teams.

New York Jets/New England Patriots – These two teams just flip flopped opponents and results with the Bengals and Ravens. After beating the Bengals in week 1, the Patriots had a horrible second half against the stifling Jets defense, losing the game 28-14. The Jets really needed this win after their week 1 loss to the Ravens. The difference in week 2 for the Jets was no turnovers, less penalties, and Mark Sanchez’s arm.

Tennessee Titans – This is a classic “what a difference a week can make” example. In week 1, the Titans steam rolled the Raiders 38-13. In week 2, they took a giant step back, losing to the Charlie Batch led Steelers. Vince Young was also benched in the game in a “busch league” move by Jeff Fisher.

There are less teams at 2-0 and 0-2 than there are at 1-1. Here’s the most suprising 2 win/loss teams.

Dallas Cowboys/Minnesota Vikings – Most Surprising Two Loss Teams- This has to be a tie. These are two teams that a lot of people had picked to go to the Super Bowl. When looking at their schedule, the Cowboys really needed to win these two games to start the season, because things only get tougher from here. The Vikings on the other hand started the season with a tough loss to the defending champion New Orleans Saints. That’s not too surprising, but losing to the Miami Dolphins is. It’s disappointing to think that Brett Favre’s last season might go up in flames.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Most Suprising 2-0 Team - The Chiefs, Texans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a good case for this spot too, but weren’t the Steelers supposed to be horrible until Big Ben returned? They have found a way to grind out a win for two straight weeks against respectable opponents with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch under center. They haven’t been the prettiest wins, but they’re standing at 2-0 and they play Tampa Bay and Cleveland for two of their next three games.

New York Jets – Best 1-1 Team  – This was a close one between the Colts and Jets, but the difference was in their performances in the loss. The Colts just looked bad on defense in their loss to the Texans, which raises questions about whether they can perform consistently. The Jets on the other hand had 14 penalties for 125 yards and a very inopportune turnover. Those are mistakes that can be corrected and won’t happen every week. When the Jets cleaned up their game and threw the ball a little more, good things happened and they looked like they could be the Super Bowl team that Rex Ryan thinks they are.

Week 3 will tell us a lot more about these teams, because we’ll see which 1-1 teams show that their current loss was just a minor setback and which ones got lucky in their win. I hope there’s others out there who have had as rough a time as me picking these games during the first two weeks of the season.