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By CLE Picks
Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books and here are my thoughts on Sunday's action:
Game Balls
The Dolphins/Tua
What a comeback! Down 21 points in Baltimore and you do that? That was phenomenal. And you see why they came back, it was not rocket science. Tyreek is really fast, the Ravens are running cover 0, maybe cover 1 at best, so go outrun the Ravens secondary and Tua will find you. It was nice to see Tua being able to do that. Waddle continues to shine early on this year. With a weapon like Hill on the other side you should do be able to shine. Again, props to Tua for stepping up, making the throws, and helping the Dolphins come back. Next up is another big game next week as they host the Bills.
Kyler and the Cardinals
We were about one quarter away from the Cardinals being on my "Running Laps" list this week but that all changed when Kliff finally handed Kyler the keys and told him to do his thing. Shocking enough it worked. As we saw with the Dolphins, that was one heck of a comeback and one heck of a win. Kyler's 4th quarter showed why he is worth the money he got this offseason.
Patriots/Packers/Jaguars
All three teams had very disappointing Week 1 showings, but they all showed up and responded in Week 2 to get the win. Let’s see where things go for these three teams in Week 3 because 2-1 looks a heck of a lot better than 1-2.
Running Laps
Browns
It must be football season in Cleveland, as yes, my Browns figured out another way to shock me with that embarrassing loss to the Jets. It’s not just blowing the 13-point lead with a minute thirty left that blows my mind, it’s the fact that they wasted a very good offensive performance from Jacoby Brissett. The strength of this team is supposed to be their defense while Watson is suspended. However, they no showed in the 4th quarter, similar to what they did Week 1 in Carolina. No pass rush, lack of communication, and blown coverages in the secondary. It is incredibly frustrating. That loss ranks up there with the Dwayne Rudd helmet throw for me in 2002. It's on to Pittsburgh this Thursday.
Colts/Raiders/Bengals
All three teams have a combined 0 wins. They all had high expectations coming into this season and better wake up fast if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. The Colts offense looks putrid and Matt Ryan looks old. Indianapolis still can’t win in Jacksonville. The Raiders, through three quarters, were very impressive. They looked like a team ready to get their first win of the season, but instead fell apart in the 4th quarter/OT. The Raiders better figure it out this week as they head to Tennessee because you can not go 0-3 to start the year in such a tough division like the AFC West. Finally, there’s the Bengals...you may call it a Super Bowl hangover, a bad start, or whatever. What I call it is a QB who doesn’t have much confidence in his offensive line right now. It's surprising considering the upgrades they made to the line this offseason. Do I think the Bengals can figure things out offensively? Yes, they are way too talented not to. However, with the schedule that they have, they better figure it out fast because what I’ve watched the first two weeks is not the AFC Champs from a year ago.