NFL - Week Two Review

The New England Patriots won again without starting quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski this weekend, 31-24 against the visiting Miami Dolphins as Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a shoulder injury after throwing for three touchdowns in the first half as the Pats built a huge lead.
The Patriots will go with reserve QB Jacoby Brissett until Brady returns from his four-game suspension in three weeks. New England running back LeGarrette Blount rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown to aid the win.
The other big story from the weekend was Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson leaving the game Sunday night with what appeared to be a severe knee injury. The Vikings won their home opener, 17-14 over the Green Bay Packers in the brand new US Bank Stadium.
Vikings QB Sam Bradford passed for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the offense while the Vikes defense limited the Packers to 263 total offensive yards and sacked Aaron Rodgers five times.

                                          Around the NFL  . . . . . . .

The Denver Broncos rode the defense to a 34-20 win against the visiting Indianapolis Colts as they scored on a sack/fumble recovery return and an interception return for score by Aqib Talib . . .  The Atlanta Falcons surprised the host Oakland Raiders, 35-28 as QB Matt Ryan (396 passing yards) threw two TD passes . . .  The San Diego Chargers rebounded nicely from their Week One loss with a 38-14 trouncing of the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars behind four TD passes from Philip Rivers . . .   Carolina throttled the San Francisco 49ers, 46-27 as QB Cam Newton threw four TD passes, including two to WR Kelvin Benjamin . . .  The Arizona Cardinals blasted the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 40-7 as their defense intercepted four passes (one for TD) while the offense rolled up 416 total yards . . .   The Baltimore Ravens stormed back from a 20-point first quarter deficit to defeat the host Cleveland Browns, 25-20 as Joe Flacco had a pair of scoring passes and kicker Justin Tucker drilled three field goals . . .   Tennessee came back and knocked off the Detroit Lions, 16-15 for a road win as QB Marcus Mariota had two fourth quarter TD passes to make the difference . . .  The New York Giants beat the visiting New Orleans Saints, 16-13 in a surprising defensive struggle that saw the Giants scored on a blocked field goal return (65 yards by Janoris Jenkins) and three field goals from Josh Brown . . .  The Pittsburgh Steelers bested the Cincinnati Bengals on a rainy day in the Steel City as QB Ben Roethlisberger had three TD passes and the defense came up with a big fumble recovery late in the game to seal the win . . .  The Dallas Cowboys topped the host Washington Redskins, 27-23 as RB Alfred Morris burned his former team with a four-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter . . .   The Houston Texans won at home over Kansas City, 19-12 by shutting down the Chiefs offense (only four field goals) and riding a first quarter TD pass from Brock Osweiler . . .  The New York Jets got a road win in Buffalo last Thursday night, 37-31 as RB Matt Forte scored three touchdown and had 100 yards rushing to offset 297 passing yards and three touchdowns from Bills QB Tyrod Taylor . . . . .  In the Monday Night Football game, the Philadelphia Eagles knocked off the host Chicago Bears, 29-14 as Ryan Mathews rushed for two touchdowns and QB Carson Wentz added a TD pass while the Eagles defense came up with two turnovers in the win. Bears QB Jay Cutler suffered a sprained thumb on his throwing hand and left the game in the second half.




                                                     Heftyinfo NFL co-Players of the Week

Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Chargers QB Philip Rivers