NFL Week 2 latest buzz, upset predictions and fantasy tips
Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season is here, and league insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano are here to break down the biggest questions, latest news and notable buzz heading into the slate of games. Plus, they pick out which teams are on upset watch and which players should — or shouldn’t — be in your fantasy football lineups.
Which teams should be on alert after Week 1? Which new coach made the best entrance? Are the Packers content with Malik Willis while Jordan Love’s injured knee heals? And which running back situations are more clear after the first week? It’s all here, as Dan and Jeremy answer big questions and empty their reporting notebooks with everything they’ve heard heading into Week 2.
Graziano: Probably the Panthers, but we didn’t think they were going to be good anyway. So I’m going to say the Browns. Sure, edge rusher Micah Parsons and that Dallas defense will make a lot of quarterbacks look bad, but Deshaun Watson looked really bad against the Cowboys. Even when he had time or was able to find enough space to throw, he was missing badly.
Cleveland has put together an excellent roster (especially once its offensive line gets healthy) and has hopes of competing at the highest level. The Browns overhauled their entire offensive philosophy this offseason in the hopes of making Watson’s life easier and getting the best out of him. If he’s not at least decent, they have a massive problem. And he was a long way from decent, as Watson’s 9.3 QBR was the worst in the league for Week 1. Jeremy, is it already time to think about Jameis Winston?
Fowler: I don’t think we’re quite there. To at least think about Winston over the course of the season? Possibly, because teams must consider every contingency. But the Browns should — and probably will — give Watson a healthy run to fix this. While I agree that Sunday’s performance was unsettling, the Browns were playing without their top two offensive tackles and the Cowboys’ defense was stifling. There’s no way around it: Watson hasn’t looked like the same quarterback who starred for the Texans from 2017 to 2020. He has 2,386 passing yards in 13 games in Cleveland. The signatures of his game in Houston — poise and brilliant playmaking under duress — have been weaknesses in Cleveland.
It must be asked whether he can ever regain his fastball. But people with the Browns have been adamant that they saw glimpses of the old Watson throughout the preseason. Even if that seems far away after one week, the Browns will hope that time on task, without injury, will reset his confidence.
I’ll pivot to another team with even more quarterback uncertainty — the Giants. No team needs a stronger Week 2 than Brian Daboll’s crew. The goodwill Daniel Jones built up in 2022 is dissipating by the week. The onus is on New York to show life on offense. Anything short of improvement will place Jones’ contractual future squarely in the spotlight. At least the Giants are catching their Week 2 opponent, the Commanders, in a transitional phase.
Graziano: Yes, and the Commanders are the one team Jones has played very well against throughout his career. If he can’t get right against them, then he’s in real trouble. That four-year, $160 million contract Jones signed before the 2023 season included only two years of fully guaranteed money. So if the Giants were to release him after this season, they’d have $22.21 million in dead money counting against their salary cap, though they wouldn’t have to pay him the $78 million in salary and bonuses he’s currently scheduled to earn over the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Where are you on the Jets? The long-anticipated Aaron Rodgers debut (take two) was a serious flop Monday night. Wasn’t their defense supposed to be one of the best in the league? The 49ers scored on eight straight possessions and were playing a backup running back! And sure, the Niners are one of the best teams in the league, but wasn’t Rodgers supposed to allow the Jets to compete with the NFL’s best teams? The Jets didn’t look like they were anywhere near the 49ers’ class. I have some concerns about their defensive depth and a relatively thin group of offensive playmakers.
Fowler: The Jets getting outclassed was a mild surprise. There’s enough talent on that roster to compete for the playoffs and pull off a few high-stakes games. They should have been better against the run. Rodgers looked a bit rusty, but his arm is still elite. The Jets need an additional playmaker on offense, either a tight end or wide receiver Mike Williams, to take the pressure off the rest of the group, but their tight end room isn’t overly impressive. Still, they should be fine. The offensive line is better, and that helps.
