It was week two of the NFL, and with every good play, there were most likely five awful ones. The games were either extremely close or a team would be blown out. This wasn’t a showcase of what the NFL can accomplish. To many’s surprise and anguish, the teams who fell victim to this were the Eagles and Bengals.
On Monday night, The Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons started off with the ball and quarterback Jalen Hurts made a quick pass to wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Then Saquon Barkley, the new running back, takes the ball up for a great amount of yards. However, Kirk Cousins who was traded from the Minnesota Vikings played with the Falcons and made a huge play when he passed the ball to wide receiver Drake London that put them near the 50-yard line. After multiple attempts Cousins is sacked and the Falcons are forced to attempt a field goal which puts them on the board first. When the Eagles got the ball back, Jalen Hurts scrambled near the end zone and was tackled near the 6-yard line. Hurts then passes the ball to wide receiver DeVonte Smith for the lead in the game. It was back and forth with who was leading in the game but one play messed up everything for the Eagles. During the second quarter, Nick Sirianni made the decision to keep running the ball when they could have put three points on the board with a field goal which ultimately could have helped them out a lot. Due to this error, the game’s final score was 22-21.
Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles states “ We were trying to go on around the outside and, you know, it didn’t work.”
The Bengals and Chiefs also had an extremely close game. The Bengals started off with the ball and quarterback Joe Burrow threw it to Tighten Drew Sample for the first down. Burrow also launches the ball to Tight End Mike Gesicki which puts them down at the 6-yard line. As a result, the Bengals were able to kick a field goal and start off with the lead. Then quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks for his receivers and scrambles downfield and gains 9 yards before getting knocked out of bounds. The Chiefs are near the end zone and Mahomes tosses the ball to running back Isiah Pacheco who is stopped a yard before the end zone. This leads the Chiefs to kick a field goal which ties the game in the first quarter. With 23 seconds left in the first quarter, Mahomes threw an interception to linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither which stopped the Chiefs from scoring any more points in that quarter. During the second quarter Bengals are able to score a touchdown putting them in the lead at ten points. The Chiefs responded with a pass to number 4 Rashee Rice for a touchdown that ties the game again. The Bengals respond to their touchdown with big plays but are only able to achieve a field goal to maintain the lead. While the Chiefs had possession they ran the ball and it was knocked out and claimed by the Bengals defense. That was a big mistake for the Chiefs because the Bengals were about to knock in a field goal keeping them six points away. In the third quarter, Mahomes throws a touchdown pass to number 64 Wanya Morris the backup left tackle, and takes the lead by one point. Burrow responds with a long pass to 81 Jermaine Burton which gains them about 48 yards. Burrow then connects with receiver Andrei Iosivas for a touchdown that takes the lead away from Kansas City. Mahomes throws the ball and is intercepted by Cam Taylor-Britt the cornerback. Burrow has the ball and is sacked and fumbles when Chamarri Conner takes the ball and runs it back for a touchdown which ends up putting the Chiefs in the lead. Kansas went for a two-point conversion but ended up not being able to connect with anyone making the game 22-23. Burrow connects with number 1 Ja’Marr Chase to get the first down and move their way down the field. Chase is then flagged on a play which ultimately causes Cincinnati to kick a field goal to take the lead by two points. Mahomes was able to connect with Travis Kelce number 87 for a big gain but had a ten yard penalty on the play due to offensive holding. Another penalty causes the Chiefs to lose out on big yards because of some offensive issues. Mahomes launches the ball to Rice when number 33 Daijahn Anthony gets a penalty for pass interference which gives Chiefs first down. The Chiefs kick a field goal during the last seconds of the fourth quarter which causes the game to be 25-26 with the Chiefs taking the win over the Bengals.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes says “Those are great football teams we’ve played these last two weeks… and be able to come out with wins at home is important and we obviously feel like we can get a lot better.”
The week two of the NFL wasn’t perfect but nothing is ever perfect. This week is gonna let all the teams in the NFL reflect on mistakes made or helping teams understand what they are doing right. Week two of the NFL was full of some disappointment but also some excitement.
