By Tucker Harlin

Week 2 of NFL football did not disappoint. If anything, it featured surprising results with a handful of 2023 playoff teams suffering in stinker upset losses to teams that did not make it in 2023

These are some thoughts I had from Week 2’s results

MIAMI WILL NEVER WIN A DIVISION TITLE WITH JOSH ALLEN IN BUFFALO

The Miami Dolphins have now been subjects of two reigns of terror in the AFC East in the past 25 years.

The Dolphins have two AFC East titles in that stretch, the first in 2000 and the second in 2008, the same season Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL.

When Brady left New England after the 2019 season, the Dolphins had yet to acquire the pieces that have turned them into playoff contenders.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen had led Buffalo to its first playoff appearance in his career in 2019, and the Bills were ultimately able to solidify their grip on the division with the addition of Stefon Diggs the following season.

Tua Tagovailoa was drafted in 2020 and his two best receivers didn’t get to Miami until the following two years. Jaylen Waddle was drafted in 2021 and Tyreek Hill was acquired from the Chiefs in the 2022 free agency cycle.

With Thursday’s 31-10 loss, the Dolphins are now 1-11 against the Bills in the last five seasons.

I don’t mean to pile on Tua too hard after watching him go down with another concussion, but he threw an abysmal pick six on the drive before he was concussed.

It isn’t just the Bills the Dolphins struggle against, it’s every playoff caliber opponent they see.

But of course, they play the Dolphins the most so it stands out the most.

NOBODY LOOKS THE PART IN THE AFC NORTH

If you had asked me who the best teams in the AFC North were on paper before the season, I would have said the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

Both of those teams are 0-2 and somehow, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that plays the ugliest form of football in the division, leads at 2-0 two weeks into the season.

It’s worth noting the Ravens and Bengals both have a loss to the Chiefs in their two losses, but the other loss is a stinker on both sides.

The Bengals lost 16-10 in Week 1 to the Patriots. Burrow was without his second best receiver in Tee Higgins, allowing the defense to concentrate more effort into slowing down Ja’Marr Chase. Cincinnati is notorious for slow starts with Burrow at quarterback, so these two losses aren’t necessarily indicative of things to come.

The Ravens dropped a 26-23 home loss to the Raiders this week. The frustrating part for the Ravens is the fact they led by 10 early in the fourth quarter, but Gardner Minshew was able to deliver on a pair of key third downs and eventually connected with Davante Adams for the score. Baltimore couldn’t get anything going on offense late in the game.

As I alluded to earlier, the Steelers are 2-0 but have relied heavily on field goal kicking and defense to get their wins. We know the Broncos are in an uphill battle, and I’ve been out on the Atlanta Falcons as a potential NFC South champ since before the season started.

Cleveland is the one team I haven’t mentioned, but I think the Browns are turning into a new version of the Steelers.

The defense is incredible, but Deshaun Watson is not the guy he was in Houston five years ago, something the Browns failed to consider when looking at possible risks acquiring him.

Long story short, 2024 will feature yet another intriguing race in the AFC North.

NEW ORLEANS IS FOR REAL

I went into the season thinking the NFC South was the weakest division in the league and that the Saints were the third best team in the division.

Through two weeks, I may have missed on that take.

New Orleans has scored 91 in its first two contests. I put no stock in the Saints’ win over the trainwreck of an organization that is the Carolina Panthers, but a 44-19 win against on the road against one of the top defenses in the league is an impressive feat.

Derek Carr has started off on a stronger note than what we’re accustomed to seeing, and Alvin Kamara shredded the Cowboys both on the ground and with a 57-yard touchdown catch this week.

It’s early in the year, but if the Saints continually string together strong offensive outings to pair with an already great defense, watch out.

Atlanta is making an effort to find its way back into the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, and Tampa Bay only appears to have gotten better since its loss to Detroit in the divisional round.

But if I had to pick a team across the league that can make the playoffs this year that didn’t last, the Saints are my best bet.

KEY INJURIES COULD RESHAPE THE TRAJECTORY OF THE NFC WEST

The San Francisco 49ers and LA Rams were the two best teams in the NFC West in 2023, both finding their ways into the playoffs.

But both teams have dealt with their fair share of injuries to important offensive skill players in the opening weeks of 2024.

San Francisco has been without Christian McCaffrey each of the first two weeks and will now be without Deebo Samuel for the foreseeable future. That’s a less than ideal situation for a team whose second best receiver is rusty due to a holdout over contract negotiations.

The Rams lost Puka Nacua for over a month in their loss to the Lions in Week 1, but they at least left Detroit knowing Cooper Kupp was still reliable. But that changed in the blowout loss to Arizona in Week 2 when Kupp left with an injury that will sideline him for several weeks.

These injuries open up possibilities for the other two teams in the NFC West to pad division leads early in the year.

We’ve already seen it with the Cardinals blowing out the Rams 41-10 in Week 2, and we could very well see it again when they take on the 49ers in early October. Though it was projecting near the bottom of the division in the preseason, Arizona has the healthiest team in the division as it stands.

Seattle has dealt with an injury of its own with Kenneth Walker missing time due to an oblique issue, but it’s got depth at receiver and a strong back up in Zach Charbonnet to pick up the slack while Walker’s out. The Seahawks also play the 49ers in early October.

Week 2 NFL Takeaways

Fanrun Fantasy Football Scoreboard: Week 2

Monday Shenanigans: Tennessee at Oklahoma