The Week 2 Playbook

September 20, 2021

By: Carlos Alvarez

Welcome Back 

If Week 1 brought overreactions, Week 2 settled the score. Only seven NFL teams are 2-0 after two Sundays. Get caught up on the weekend’s football and baseball action in about 3-4 minutes.

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NFL

The Week 2 Playbook 

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Ravens Lamar Jackson Caps Sunday NFL Action With Gutsy 4th-Down Run to Ice Chiefs (36-35)

 

Week 2 is in the books! But it ended with one of the gutsiest calls of the weekend. You can read more about the Sunday night thriller between the Ravens and Chiefs below, as well as all the top moments from Week 2.

 

Sunday Night Football: Ravens def. Chiefs (36-35)

Sunday’s finale in the NFL concluded with a 4th-quarter comeback that many viewers might’ve missed with an early bedtime. The Ravens tallied 12 unanswered points in the 4th to beat the Chiefs, and they iced it with a 4th-down QB run with Lamar Jackson inside two minutes. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gets the nod for gutsiest call of the week.

 

Week 2 Top Performers

QB T. Brady (TB): 24/36, 276 yards, 5 TDs

QB K. Murray (ARI): 29/36, 400 yards, 4 total TDs

QB L. Jackson (BAL): 346 total yards, 3 TDs

RB D. Henry (TEN): 35 car. 182 yards, 3 TDs

RB D. Cook (MIN): 22 car. 131 yards

WR C. Kupp (LAR): 9 rec. 163 yards, 2 TDs

 

Rookie QBs Struggle

A bunch of rookie quarterbacks saw the wheels come off on Sunday. Bears QB Justin Fields stepped in for an injured Andy Dalton, but did little to nothing, while Zach Wilson (4 INTs) and Trevor Lawrence were completely overwhelmed.

 

QB Justin Fields (CHI): 6/13, 60 yards, 1 INT

QB Trevor Lawrence (JAX): 14/33, 118 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

QB Zach Wilson (NYJ): 19/33, 210 yards, 4 INTs

 

All Week 2 Scores & Highlights

Patriots def. Jets (25-6) | Broncos def. Jaguars (23-13) | Bills def. Dolphins (35-0) | 49ers def. Eagles (17-11) | Rams def. Colts (27-24) | Raiders def. Steelers (26-17) | Bears def. Bengals (20-17) | Browns def. Texans (31-21) | Panthers def. Saints (26-7) | Cardinals def. Vikings (34-33) | Buccaneers def. Falcons (48-25) | Titans def. Seahawks (33-30) | Cowboys def. Chargers (20-17)

 

Undefeated Club (2-0)

Rams, 49ers, Raiders, Panthers, Broncos, Cardinals, Buccaneers

 

Monday Night Football (Tonight)

Lions at Packers (8:15 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

NFL: Notable Injuries & News From Sunday’s Week 2 Games

ESPN: NFL Week 2 Takeaways & Big Questions

SI: Eagles Believe DE Brandon Graham Out for Season With Torn Achilles

USA Today: Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa Carted Off After Hit to Ribs

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CFB

Bama Survives the Swamp

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#1 Alabama Avoids Upset Scare From #11 Florida (31-29) to Retain No. 1, Top-12 Teams All Win in Week 3

 

Week 3 of the college football season brought little surprises among the nation’s top-ranked teams, but the matchup of the weekend was a thriller in Gainesville. #11 Florida made a furious comeback against #1 Alabama in the SEC stunner, but the Crimson Tide remained unbeaten with a narrow win (31-29) despite getting outscored 26-10 in the final three quarters.

 

Elsewhere in college football, the Top-12 teams in the rankings were all winners on Saturday. The biggest among them was #10 Penn State who jumped four spots in the rankings after beating #22 Auburn. #6 Clemson fell three spots even after a win. #4 Oregon and #3 Oklahoma swapped spots, and the Ducks are now in the top-3. Here’s where they stand after the first three games of the season.

 

AP Poll

1. Alabama (3-0) | —

2. Georgia (3-0) | —

3. Oregon (3-0) | ↑1

4. Oklahoma (3-0) | ↓1

5. Iowa (3-0) | —

6. Penn State (3-0) | ↑4

7. Texas A&M (3-0) | —

8. Cincinnati (3-0) | —

9. Clemson (2-1) | ↓3

10. Ohio State (2-1) | ↓1

 

Rest of Top-25: 11. Florida, 12. Notre Dame, 13. Ole Miss, 14. Iowa State, 15. BYU, 16. Arkansas, 17. Coastal Carolina, 18. Wisconsin, 19. Michigan, 20. Michigan State, 21. North Carolina, 22. Fresno State, 23. Auburn, 24. UCLA, 25. Kansas State Full AP Poll

 

Top Highlights

#1 Alabama def. #11 Florida (31-29)

#10 Penn State def. #22 Auburn (28-20)

Fresno State def. #13 UCLA (40-37)

West Virginia def. #15 Virginia Tech (27-21)

#23 BYU def. #19 Arizona State (27-17)

Michigan State def. #24 Miami (38-17)

 

Additional Storylines

ESPN: AP Poll Reaction: What’s Next for Each Top-25 Team?

CBS Sports: College Football Grades for Week 3: Penn State Gets ‘A+’

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MLB

Crew Clinch Playoff Bid

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Brewers Clinch Postseason Berth to Join Dodgers & Giants in Playoffs

 

After the Dodgers and Giants clinched spots in the MLB playoffs last week, the Milwaukee Brewers became the third NL team to join the postseason on Saturday thanks to losses by the Reds and Padres. Milwaukee is in the playoffs for the fourth straight year. They’ll nab the No. 2 seed behind the winner of the NL West, but Milwaukee can rest easy for the final two weeks of the season with no threat to the 2-spot.

 

Read: Brewers Clinch Playoff Spot for 4th Straight Season

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

 

Rosario Rips the Cycle: Eddie Rosario had himself a day on Sunday with a cycle on just five pitches. He joined Freddie Freeman as the second Braves player to hit for the cycle in 2021. Braves beat the Giants (3-0) to keep a 3.5-game lead in the NL East.

 

Cards Sweep PadresThe National League race took a turn over the weekend with St. Louis’s sweep of San Diego that swung the wild card race from a half-game advantage to 3.5 in favor of the Cardinals.

 

Shohei Shreds the A’sShohei Ohtani was back on the mound for the Angels on Sunday, and the two-way star struck out 10 batters in eight innings of a 3-2 loss (10 innings). Ohtani gave up just five hits and two runs but got little run support. He’s now third in the HR race.

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\"🎥\"THE HIGHLIGHTS

\"⚽\"️ SOCCER: Chelsea Crush Spurs to Stay Atop EPL

Five matches into the Premier League season and Chelsea are still unbeaten. The Blues buried rival Tottenham on Sunday (3-0) to remain atop the early EPL standings with Liverpool and Manchester City with 13 points each.

 

\"🏀\" WNBA: Sun Set ‘W’ Record With 14th Straight

A fitting end to a fantastic season saw the Connecticut Sun claim their 14th straight win to set a WNBA record for the longest win streak. They beat the Dream (84-64) on the final day of the regular season. Playoffs begin Thursday.

 

\"⛳\"️ PGA: Homa’s Walk-Off Put Wins in PGA Opener

The first event of the new PGA Tour season traveled to San Francisco for the Fortinet Championship where Max Homa delivered a stunning 7-under final round, including a wild walk-off birdie putt to win it by one stroke (-19).

 

\"🏎️\" NASCAR: Larson Takes Bristol Night Race

The first set of eliminations in the NASCAR playoffs came Saturday night in Bristol after Kyle Larson celebrated in victory lane. Larson held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch, but four drivers were eliminated as the field was cut to 12 — Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell.

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THE STORYLINES

\"⚽\"️  10 Things From Matchweek 5

What did we learn during matchweek 5 of the 2021-22 Premier League? Here’s a look at 10 things which stood out, as our writers share their observations from across the most recent Premier League games. (NBC Sports)

 

\"🏈\"College Football Playoff Takeaways

College football fans aren\’t the only ones who desperately missed the nonconference matchups, and three weeks into the season, there have been plenty of results that will continue to resonate with the committee through Selection Day. (ESPN+)

 

\"⛳\"Ranking the Ryder Cup Golfers

For a match-play event, with partners, during a week that looks, sounds and plays different than any other, predicting who will win—let alone which players will shine—borders on impossible.Here are all 24 golfers playing at Whistling Straits, ranked. (Golf Digest)

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