The Baltimore Ravens, the reigning No. 1 seed in the AFC, are among the expected playoff contenders to start the year with an 0-2 record. The Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams are also in that camp, and each will enter Week 3 desperate to avoid falling to the dreaded 0-3 mark.
The Carolina Panthers are sitting at 0-2 as well. They have one of the NFL’s most anemic offenses, as they have scored just 13 points across two games. Does that mean it’s time to bench Bryce Young and declare him a sunk cost?
The Panthers aren’t the only team with quarterback questions. The Miami Dolphins are staring down Tua Tagovailoa’s impending indefinite absence with just Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle on their quarterback depth chart. Are the Dolphins doomed, or can Mike McDaniel find a way to keep them competitive until Tua can return?
And what should we make of the New Orleans Saints after they crushed the Dallas Cowboys on the road to improve to 2-0? They could certainly be an NFC contender, but they might not even be the best team in their division.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Here’s more on the most notable overreactions from Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season:
The Dolphins are doomed without Tua Tagovailoa
Few would blame the Miami Dolphins for exiting their 31-10 ‘Thursday Night Football’ loss to the Buffalo Bills feeling a bit hopeless. Not only did the team lose by 21 points; it also lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to yet another concussion.
Tagovailoa has suffered three known concussions since the start of the 2022 NFL season, so his status moving forward is murky. He reportedly wants to continue playing, but some have opined that he should hang up his cleats to preserve his long-term health.
Regardless of Tagovailoa’s choice, it seems like he will be sidelined indefiniitely short-term. That won’t be good news for the Dolphins, who sport a record of 1-4 in games Tua has missed during Mike McDaniel’s two-plus years as Miami’s head coach.
Even so, it’s still too early to write the Dolphins off. McDaniel still has weapons like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane at his disposal, so he can scheme up enough plays to keep the offense moving even if Thompson is his top quarterback. And if Tagovailoa returns to the field sooner than most expect, Miami might not fall too far behind in the AFC wild-card race.
The Ravens are in trouble after an 0-2 start
Ravens fans probably felt frustrated after a hard-luck loss on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Their vexation will only grow after Baltimore blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead to the Las Vegas Raiders to drop to 0-2.
Still, the Ravens shouldn’t panic yet. Yes, they have come up short twice, but they outgained their opponents by 99 and 123 yards, respectively, in their losses. Their defense has held up reasonably well while their offense has been decent even as the team has broken in three new starters along the offensive line.
As the Ravens’ offensive line gels, they should be better positioned to finish off some of these tightly contested games. They need that to happen soon — their next three games are against the Cowboys, Bills and Bengals, respectively — but they still have time to work their way into what should be a competitive AFC North race.
The Saints are the best team in the NFC South
The Saints impressed many when they crushed the Panthers in Week 1. Even so, few expected them to give the same treatment to the Cowboys in Week 2.
New Orleans beat Dallas 44-19 in a game that saw Alvin Kamara total four touchdowns while Derek Carr completed 11 of 16 passes for 243 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Saints’ new-look offense under Klint Kubiak seems to suit Carr and Kamara well, so there is plenty of reason for optimism in New Orleans. The NFC is wide-open, so the Saints could emerge as a real contender if their offense continues to play at a high level.
But to call the Saints the clear-cut best team in their division might be premature. The three-time reigning division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers just beat the Detroit Lions, 20-16, to improve to 2-0 for the fifth straight season, so Todd Bowles’ squad won’t willingly cede that title to the Saints. And the new-look Atlanta Falcons may still believe they can work their way to the top of the NFC South as Kirk Cousins grows more comfortable on his surgically repaired Achilles and in Zac Robinson’s offense.
The Panthers need to bench Bryce Young
Look, if this was exclusively about performance, then yes: the Panthers should probably bench Bryce Young. He hasn’t performed well at all this season, failing to record a touchdown through two games while throwing three interceptions and generally looking uncomfortable in the pocket.
At the same time, the Panthers aren’t going anywhere and their backup quarterback is 36-year-old veteran Andy Dalton. They don’t have a lot to gain by benching Young, especially since they brought in head coach Dave Canales in an effort to spark the second-year quarterback.
The Young era may not be pretty for the Panthers thus far, but it doesn’t seem like it’s over yet. If his struggles persist,, Carolina will probably have to think about admitting defeat and replacing the player who was selected with the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But that won’t happen until further down the line — if it happens this season at all.
The Rams’ injuries are making them a non-contender
Aaron Donald’s retirement was a big blow to the Rams’ defense, but he is far from the only player that the team is missing. The Rams offense is equally decimated by injuries, and that only got worse in Week 2.
Cooper Kupp missed more than half of Los Angeles’ 41-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals with an ankle injury and was seen in a walking boot after the game. He joined a laundry list of banged-up Rams that also includes receiver Puka Nacua (knee), guard Steve Avila (knee), backup left tackle Joe Noteboom (ankle) and tight end Tyler Higbee (ACL).
As long as that unit remains shorthanded, the protection and weaponry around Matthew Stafford will be severely diminished. That will make it difficult for Los Angeles to overcome its defensive deficiencies with offensive production as the Rams did during their playoff run last season.
That could cause Los Angeles to remain in the NFC West cellar, especially if the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks continue to exceed early season expectations.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
