Asked & Answered: Are the Vikings, Saints legit? When are we going to see the Trevor Lawrence magic?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports illustration)
Every week in the NFL season brings a host of new questions ⊠and answers some old ones, too. Letâs run down what we learned in Week 2 ⊠and what weâll be wondering about in Week 3 and beyond.
ASKED: How far can the Vikings go?Weâre not yet ready to give up on all our âSam Darnold is terribleâ takes over the years; if we have to get rid of cherished beliefs like that, what else do we have? But youâve got to admit Darnold has looked â well, not ârejuvenated,â that would imply he was juvenated to begin with â letâs go with âinspired.â He threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, snaring a third of his yardage total on this absolute seed to Justin Jefferson:
Kevin OâConnell has the Vikings humming after Sundayâs big 23-17 win over the 49ers. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is working magic on that side of the ball. It gets tougher from here â the Texans and Packers await â but itâs clear that this team wonât be the NFC North walkover everyone expected.
Beating the Panthers isnât exactly the mark of a champion. Beating the brakes off Dallas, in Dallas, and you can start thinking about the division crown. The Saints have been spinning in place since Drew Brees retired, but Sundayâs utter beatdown of Dallas â 44-19, and it didnât even seem that close â is the kind of game that makes us reassess everything we know about this team.
Given that the Saintsâ quarterback is Derek Carr and their leading rusher was Alvin Kamara â both of whom we know very well at this point â the X factor is clearly new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who has managed to harness and then unleash an array of weapons. (Kamara getting 115 yards and three touchdowns on the ground? Three receivers topping 60 yards? It happened!) The question of Dallasâ viability is one that hangs over the Cowboys every year, but the Saints have put the league on notice that theyâll be looking to return to their own former glory very soon.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) leaps over Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) on a run during the second half. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
ASKED: When are we going to see the Trevor Lawrence magic?You know the line on Lawrence â best No. 1 draft pick since Peyton Manning, savior of Jacksonville, blah blah. Itâs the start of Year 4 now, and Lawrence is just ⊠OK? If that? Jacksonville lost a very winnable game against Cleveland Sunday, 18-13, and it was in large part because of Lawrenceâs inability to find receivers, put the Jaguars in the end zone, and â at the end of the game â keep from getting sacked in the end zone himself. These are not the actions of a marquee, front-line, elite-level quarterback â and Lawrence gets paid like one, and has all the expectations of one.
Two games in, and Jacksonville is two games behind Houston for the division lead. The only surprise here is that itâs not an even bigger deficit. After all, you donât spell DUVALLL with Wâs.
ANSWERED: Whether Arizona is on the right pathLook, itâs fair to admit you had questions about Kyler Murrayâs viability as an NFL quarterback, whether based on his size, propensity for injury or decision-making. But if you had those questions, you now have your answer: When healthy, and when surrounded by the right playmakers, Kyler Murray is a dangerous QB. Murray and the Cardinals diced the Rams 41-10 Sunday, the kind of beating that leaves some long-term psychic scars.
Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. might just be the next great QB/WR combo. They hooked up for an easy 130 yards and two touchdowns, rendering Harrisonâs unspectacular rookie debut last week a moot issue. Harrison was the best player on the field in college; why would anyone think heâd be the worst in the NFL? James Conner (122 yards rushing, 1 touchdown) has found his mojo this season too, and the result is an offense thatâs as lethal as expected. But donât discount the Cardinals defense, either; it takes weight to shut down a Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford offense the way Arizona did Sunday. Weâre not yet ready to write in Arizona as an NFC favorite, but it has all the pieces necessary to elbow into the playoff conversation.
Maxx Crosby #98 of the Las Vegas Raiders sacks Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter during an NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium on September 15, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
ASKED: How much trouble are the Bengals and Ravens in?You couldâve made a lot of money betting that both the Ravens and Bengals would be 0-2 at this point in the season, if youâre the kind of person that likes wagering on othersâ misery. Two AFC playoff perennials, already staring at a huge mountain to climb just to get into the postseason? Inconceivable! But here we are, so letâs dig in.
If youâre looking for the âbetterâ loss, look to the Bengals. After last weekâs ugly and unexpected loss to New England, Cincinnati found its footing and very nearly beat the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, losing on a late field goal. The Bengals may or may not be a postseason threat, but they have a pleasant little stretch coming up here â Washington and Carolina, before a showdown with Baltimore â that can help them erase these early-season woes in a hurry.
Baltimore, on the other hand, saw a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead against Las Vegas â Las Vegas! â evaporate en route to a 26-23 loss. Thatâs a sign of an across-the-board breakdown, uncharacteristic for a John Harbaugh-coached team. Baltimore has a choppy road in the immediate future â Dallas, Buffalo and that Bengals divisional matchup â so if this team wants to put itself in position to be a Super Bowl contender, thereâs no more time to waste.
ANSWERED: Whether the Bears are ready to level upIf you know a Bears fan, give âem a hug today. This fanbase hasnât had much to cheer about since, oh, 1985, so when they landed Caleb Williams in the draft this year, there was (justifiable) cause for celebration. Now? Not so much. Williams threw two interceptions â ugly ones, at that â and never looked comfortable in a 19-13 loss to Houston Sunday night. Granted, a whole lot of that isnât Williamsâ fault â itâs clear that the Bearsâ O-line was overmatched, and the last thing you want a rookie quarterback to see is a swarming, hungry defense like Houston threw at Williams. Any time you take seven sacks, youâre hurting.
Chicago is going to need to adjust its protection for Williams, pronto, or this season is going to go sideways. With Detroit (see above), Minnesota (also see above) and Green Bay (TBD) in the division, Chicago has no room for error. The Bears have a get-right game next week against Indianapolis and a tough one against the banged up Rams before they can exhale with a Carolina date. Theyâll need to show more than they have so far before weâre in on them.
