NFL NOTES: Seven From Sunday - Week 2
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| (Stevie Sanders/Kansas City Chiefs) |
A look at seven statistical highlights from games on Sunday, September 17, the second week of the 2023 season.
With three games remaining in Week 2, nine games have been decided by one score or less (eight points) and 10 games have been within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter.
Four teams – ATLANTA (12 points), the NEW YORK GIANTS (21), TENNESSEE (11) and WASHINGTON (18) – overcame deficits of at least 10 points to win in Week 2.
The NEW YORK GIANTS overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Arizona, 31-28, as GRAHAM GANO kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
The WASHINGTON COMMANDERS overcame an 18-point second-quarter deficit and came back to defeat Denver, 35-33, after trailing in the fourth quarter.
The ATLANTA FALCONS overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Green Bay, 25-24, as YOUNGHOE KOO kicked the game-winning 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.
The TENNESSEE TITANS overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-24, in overtime while the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS defeated Detroit, 37-31, in overtime in Week 2. This season marks the fourth time in the past six seasons at least one game has gone to overtime in each of the first two weeks of the season.
Seven teams – ATLANTA, BALTIMORE, DALLAS, PHILADELPHIA, SAN FRANCISCO, TAMPA BAY and WASHINGTON – improved to 2-0 to start the season. MIAMI can join this group on Sunday Night Football while CLEVELAND and NEW ORLEANS can begin 2-0 with wins on Monday. Last season, each of the six teams to begin the season 2-0 advanced to the postseason.
Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES passed for 305 yards with two touchdowns while tight end TRAVIS KELCE had four receptions and his first touchdown catch of the season in the Chiefs' 17-9 win at Jacksonville.
Mahomes, in his seventh season, recorded his 42nd-career game with at least 300 passing yards and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (41 games) and MATT RYAN (41) for the most such games by a player in his first nine seasons in NFL history.
Kelce has 818 career receptions and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer SHANNON SHARPE (815 receptions) for the fourth-most receptions ever by a tight end. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer TONY GONZALEZ (1,325), JASON WITTEN (1,228) and ANTONIO GATES (955) have more.
Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN completed 31 of 37 attempts (83.8 percent) for 274 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 124.5 rating in the Bills' 38-10 win over Las Vegas.
Allen has 180 combined passing and rushing touchdowns and surpassed RUSSELL WILSON (177 touchdowns) for the fourth-most combined passing and rushing touchdowns by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history. Only PATRICK MAHOMES (204), Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (199) and CAM NEWTON (184) have more.
Las Vegas wide receiver DAVANTE ADAMS had six receptions for 84 yards and his first touchdown reception of the season on Sunday against Buffalo.
Adams has 88 career touchdown receptions and surpassed LARRY FITZGERALD (87 touchdown receptions) for the fifth-most touchdown receptions by a player in his first 10 seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers JERRY RICE (131), RANDY MOSS (124), MARVIN HARRISON (110) and TERRELL OWENS (101) have more.
Baltimore quarterback LAMAR JACKSON totaled 291 yards (237 passing, 54 rushing) with two touchdown passes and no interceptions for a 112.8 rating in the Ravens' 27-24 win at Cincinnati.
Jackson has 48 career games with at least 50 rushing yards and surpassed CAM NEWTON (47) for the second-most such games by a quarterback in NFL history. Only MICHAEL VICK (54 games) has more.
Cincinnati rookie wide receiver CHARLIE JONES returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown on Sunday.
With Jones' 81-yard punt return for a touchdown this week and Jets rookie Xavier Gipson's game-winning 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 1, 2023 marks the first season since 2015 with a punt-return touchdown in each of the first two weeks. It also marks the first season with a punt-return touchdown by a rookie in each of the first two weeks since 2010, when DEXTER MCCLUSTER (Week 1) and DEZ BRYANT (Week 2) accomplished the feat.
Indianapolis rookie quarterback ANTHONY RICHARDSON rushed for two touchdowns in the Colts' 31-20 win at Houston.
Richardson, who had a rushing touchdown in his first career game last week, is the third quarterback ever with three rushing touchdowns in his first two career games, joining DAUNTE CULPEPPER and JACK THOMPSON.
With two rushing touchdowns in Week 2, Richardson – at 21 years and 118 days old – became the youngest quarterback in the Super Bowl era to record multiple rushing touchdowns in a single game, surpassing LAMAR JACKSON (21 years and 357 days old in Week 17 of the 2018 season).
Houston rookie quarterback C.J. STROUD completed 30 of 47 pass attempts (63.8 percent) for 384 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 103.5 rating on Sunday.
Stroud, who had 28 completions in his NFL debut last week, has 58 completions in his first two starts and surpassed JUSTIN HERBERT (57 completions) and MIKE WHITE (57) for the second-most completions by a player in his first two career games in NFL history. Only JOE BURROW (60 completions) had more.
Stroud has 626 passing yards in his first two games, the fifth-most ever by a player in his first two career games. Only CAM NEWTON (854 passing yards in 2011), KYLER MURRAY (657 in 2019), JUSTIN HERBERT (641 in 2020) and TODD MARINOVICH (638 in 1991-92) had more.
With Richardson (21 years and 118 days old) and Stroud (21 years and 349 days old) both starting at quarterback, it marked the youngest combined age between two starting quarterbacks in NFL history and the second game all-time to feature two starting quarterbacks both under the age of 22. The only other matchup between starting quarterbacks under the age of 22 was Tampa Bay's JAMEIS WINSTON and Tennessee's MARCUS MARIOTA in Week 1 of the 2015 season, whose combined age was 43 years and 202 days old.
Los Angeles Rams rookie wide receiver PUKA NACUA, a fifth-round pick from BYU, had 15 receptions for 147 yards on Sunday, the most receptions in a single game by a rookie in NFL history.
Nacua, who had 10 receptions for 119 yards in Week 1, is the first player in NFL history with at least 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards in each of his first two career games.
Nacua is the fifth player in NFL history with at least 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards in each of his team's first two games of a season, joining MILES AUSTIN (2010), Pro Football Hall of Famer ISAAC BRUCE (1998), COOPER KUPP (2022) and ANDRE RISON (1994).
Nacua has 25 receptions in his first two career games and surpassed EARL COOPER (19 receptions in 1980) for the most receptions ever by a player in his first two career games.
Nacua is the third player in NFL history with at least 25 receptions in his team's first two games of a season, joining MICHAEL THOMAS (28 receptions in 2018) and ANDRE RISON (26 in 1994).
Nacua is the fourth player in NFL history with at least 100 receiving yards in each of his first two career games, joining WILL FULLER (2016), DESEAN JACKSON (2008) and DON LOONEY (1940).
The DALLAS COWBOYS defeated the New York Jets, 30-10, in Week 2 after defeating the New York Giants, 40-0, on Kickoff Weekend.
The Cowboys are the fifth team in the Super Bowl era to score at least 70 points and allow 10-or-fewer points through their first two games of a season, joining the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS in 2019, DETROIT LIONS in 1970, OAKLAND RAIDERS in 1967 and HOUSTON OILERS in 1966.
Linebacker MICAH PARSONS recorded two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the victory.
Parsons has 10 career games with at least two sacks and is the sixth player since 1982 to record 10-or-more games with at least two sacks in his first three NFL seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers REGGIE WHITE (16 games) and RICHARD DENT (12), as well as SHAWNE MERRIMAN (12), ALDON SMITH (12) and DWIGHT FREENEY (10).
Additional notes from Sunday include:
Detroit quarterback JARED GOFF completed 28 of 35 pass attempts (80 percent) for 323 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for a 121.8 rating on Sunday.
From Week 9 of the 2022 season until Week 2 of the 2023 season, Goff recorded 383 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the third-longest streak of pass attempts without an interception in NFL history. Only AARON RODGERS (402 attempts in 2018) and TOM BRADY (399 in 2022) had longer such streaks.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 104.2 rating on Sunday against Tennessee.
Herbert has 23 career games with at least 300 passing yards and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (22 games) for the third-most such games by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only PATRICK MAHOMES (26) and Pro Football Hall of Famer KURT WARNER (26) have more.
Green Bay quarterback JORDAN LOVE, in his third-career start, recorded three touchdown passes with no interceptions for a 113.5 rating on Sunday.
Love, who had three touchdown passes and no interceptions in his second-career start last week, is the fourth player ever with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions in two of his first three career starts, joining CASE KEENUM (2013), PATRICK MAHOMES (2017-18) and Pro Football Hall of Famer KURT WARNER (1999).
Los Angeles Rams quarterback MATTHEW STAFFORD passed for 307 yards in Week 2 and has 52,723 passing yards in 193 career games, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING (52,606 passing yards) for the third-most passing yards ever by a player in his first 200 career games. Only DREW BREES (55,439 passing yards) and MATT RYAN (54,349) have more.
Denver quarterback RUSSELL WILSON had 364 total yards (308 passing, 56 rushing) and three touchdown passes on Sunday.
Wilson has 5,023 career rushing yards and became the third quarterback ever to record 5,000 career rushing yards, joining MICHAEL VICK (6,109 rushing yards) and CAM NEWTON (5,628).
San Francisco running back CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY had 135 scrimmage yards (116 rushing, 19 receiving) and one rushing touchdown in the 49ers' 30-23 win at the Los Angeles Rams.
McCaffrey has 40 rushing touchdowns and 22 touchdown receptions since entering the NFL in 2017 and is the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 40 rushing touchdowns and 20 touchdown receptions in his first seven seasons, joining NEAL ANDERSON (47 rushing, 20 receiving), Pro Football Hall of Famer MARSHALL FAULK (67 rushing, 22 receiving), CHUCK FOREMAN (52 rushing, 23 receiving) and ALVIN KAMARA (49 rushing, 22 receiving).
Tampa Bay rookie safety CHRSTIAN IZIEN recorded an interception in the Buccaneers' 27-17 win over Chicago.
Izien, who had an interception in Week 1, is the fourth undrafted player since 1967 with an interception in each of his first two career games, joining RAY ISOM (1987), ROBERT LESTER (2013) and BRENARD WILSON (1979).
