Week 2 NFL Recap and Week 3 predictions
Week 2 Recap
Although the Dallas Cowboys have come up short in the past during the NFL playoffs, this team appears to be destined for a brighter future.
Dallas has outscored their opponents 70-10 in their first two games against both New York football teams.
Dak Prescott has been interception-free during the first two weeks while superstar DE Micah Parsons seems to be on the path to winning Defensive Player of the Year. Parsons has three sacks while adding seven total tackles so far.
All-pro CB Trevon Diggs has impressed this season and continues to show he is one of the best players in the league at his position. But during practice on Thursday, Diggs had to leave the practice early due to a non-contact injury.
After receiving an MRI, it was confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport that he suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the season.
This is a huge loss for the Cowboys as he was their anchor in the defensive backfield. We will see how Dallas will look to fill this massive void but Diggs will greatly be missed for them this season.
They picked up right where they left off after a dominant victory for the San Francisco 49ers in week 1. The LA Rams were more competitive than I thought they would be this week but the 49ers ended up with the 30-23 win.
Christian McCaffrey led the way for the 49ers as he totaled 135 yards along with a rushing touchdown in this game. I’ve said it throughout the past two seasons, when McCaffrey is healthy he is the best running back in the league.
For the second consecutive year, the Cincinnati Bengals have started the season 0-2. They lost at home 27-24 to division rival Baltimore Ravens who have looked great this season and are off to a 2-0 start.
Lamar Jackson had 287 yards with two touchdown passes and continues to establish his new connection with Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers.
Even while losing J.K. Dobbins to a torn ACL a week ago, the Ravens still found a way to have 178 team rushing yards
MNF
There were two games on Monday night in week 2 and they both were ugly games, to say the least. The Saints beat the Panthers in the first game 20-17 and the Steelers followed it up with a 26-22 victory over the Browns.
There were nine total turnovers throughout both games.
In the Cleveland and Pittsburgh games, we saw a gruesome injury as Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending torn MCL.
That is the fourth major injury that we have seen during the first two weeks of the NFL season. Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles, J.K. Dobbins also tore his Achilles, and Trevon Diggs tore his ACL during practice this week.
The Browns’ second-year running back Jerome Ford had a great game on the ground as he finished with 16 carries for 160 yards after Chubb exited the game.
Thursday night football
The 49ers moved to 3-0 after beating the New York Giants 30-12 in San Francisco to open up week three of the 2023 NFL season.
Purdy had his best game of the short season, throwing for 310 yards with two touchdowns.
Deebo Samuel looked like the dominant receiver that we are used to seeing on the field. He caught a touchdown pass while totaling 129 yards.
Best games of Sunday’s Week 3 slate
Today’s week three Sunday slate of games is not a great one, but every week the NFL has exciting games no matter what the matchups are.
LA Chargers at Minnesota Vikings - 1:00 P.M.
The first game we are looking at is the battle of the unbeaten teams. Both of these teams heading into the season were expected to be contenders in their conferences but each has gotten off to a slow start.
The Chargers offense has still been scoring a ton of points but their defense has not been able to keep up.
The Vikings have come back in each of their two losses but could not play a consistently good four-quarters of football.
I believe that they are missing the firepower that they had in the past with Dalvin Cook in the backfield. They haven't been able to establish the run and is making their offense stagnant.
Prediction: Chargers 31, Vikings 28
New England Patriots at New York Jets - 1:00 P.M.
The Patriots haven't started 0-2 in over 15 years and have come up short in both games this season but haven't been able to make enough big plays when it mattered.
The Jets offense didn't look great against the Cowboys last week and they are facing another tough matchup. I don't see this being the week where Zach Wilson has a positive game.
I believe that the Patriots’ defense will be the star of this game and will put a ton of pressure on the Jets.
Prediction: Patriots 27, Jets 17
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers - 1:00 P.M.
The Saints have had two close victories so far this season and I think they have been lucky so far. This week, they are heading into one of the toughest environments to play in.
I have been surprised by how the Packers offense has looked so far led by first-year starter Jordan Love. He is leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 6 while not throwing an interception. Love also has the fourth-best QBR (quarterback rating) through two weeks.
Prediction: Packers 24, Saints 20
Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins - 1:00 P.M.
The Broncos are a team some people thought would be better this season than last year as they now have elite Head Coach Sean Payton.
But so far through the two weeks, they look more like the Broncos that we saw struggle on defense last year. I just do not believe that Wilson will regain his MVP form that we saw in Seattle.
On the other side, the Dolphins look like a top-three team in the NFL. Tua is second in the NFL in passing yards and looks like the elite QB we saw last season before he was injured.
Prediction: Dolphins 34, Broncos 24