NFL Week 2 winners, losers: 49ers struggle without CMC

NFL Week 2 winners, losers: 49ers struggle without CMC originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The cobwebs have been dusted off and NFL teams now are getting into the rhythm of the season.

Week 2 means some teams are off to a perfect start to their season, others have had mixed results and a few are still struggling to get going. With 10 games in the early window on Sunday, there were plenty of highlights and lowlights from across the league.

Here are some winners and losers from Sunday’s action:

Winner: Big plays

Offense had a moment in the early games of Week 2.

In the 1 p.m. ET window, there were seven touchdowns of at least 40 yards. Justin Jefferson led the way with a 97-yard score in the Minnesota Vikings‘ win. The New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys game had three deep scores — Rashid Shaheed for 70 yards, CeeDee Lamb for 65 yards and Alvin Kamara for 57 yards.

Elsewhere, Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (44) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin (41) had touchdowns of over 40 yards.

Everything looked fine for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 without their star. That wasn’t the case in Week 2.

The defending NFC champions fell to the Vikings 23-17 in what turned out to be a revenge game for Sam Darnold. Brock Purdy had an interception and was sacked six times in the defeat as the 49ers’ offense couldn’t get rolling.

The team had 102 rushing yards, including 100 from McCaffrey’s replacement Jordan Mason. He obviously wasn’t the problem, but the lack of big-play ability was evident. The 1-1 49ers will be without McCaffrey for the next three weeks at least after placing him on IR, so they’ll have to figure it out quickly to stay afloat in the NFC.

Winner: Klint Kubiak has the Saints rolling

The Saints entered the 2024 season with little fanfare. That should officially change after Week 2.

New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak debuted with a 47-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, with the caveat being that it came against a team that won two games last season. The Saints followed that up, though, with a 44-19 win over the Cowboys in Dallas.

Alvin Kamara was the star for Kubiak’s unit, totaling four touchdowns in the blowout victory. It was the seventh time in his eight-year career that he’s had at least three touchdowns in a game. Derek Carr was stellar in the game, too — 11 of 16 for 243 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Loser: Aidan Hutchinson‘s performance goes to waste

The Detroit Lions wasted an all-time performance from Aidan Hutchinson.

The pass-rusher was a one sack shy of a franchise record on Sunday, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got some playoff revenge in a 20-16 win. Hutchinson was unstoppable in the game, sacking Baker Mayfield 4.5 times in defeat.

Aaron Rodgers is in the win column for the New York Jets.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Jets gutted out a 24-17 victory in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans. Rodgers had a steady game, completing 18 of 30 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Backup running back Braelon Allen was the star for New York with two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving.

For the Titans, second-year QB Will Levis had another head-scratching performance. He had an interception and a disastrous fumble in the red zone as the Titans fell to 0-2.

Another week, another lifeless offensive performance for the Carolina Panthers.

The NFL’s worst team last year fell to 0-2 after a 26-3 loss to the Chargers, and former No. 1 pick Bryce Young still isn’t producing. The Panthers QB went 18 of 26 for 84 yards and an interception. It might be counterproductive to bench Young this early in his second season, but veteran Andy Dalton might be the better option right now for first-year head coach Dave Canales.

Jim Harbaugh’s squad, which improved to 2-0, jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime and never looked back. They rolled to an easy road victory with another away game against the Pittsburgh Steelers slated for Week 3.

Winner: Matt LaFleur and Malik Willis

With Jordan Love injured, the Green Bay Packers had no trouble dismantling the Indianapolis Colts in their home opener.

Led by backup quarterback Malik Willis, Matt LaFleur’s offense had 261 rushing yards in the 16-10 victory. The Packers averaged 4.9 yards per carry (53 attempts) after averaging 7.8 in their Week 1 loss. Clearly, the ground game is a point of emphasis for the unit.

Winning a game without Love is no small feat, especially considering Willis was just picked up in a preseason trade. He went 12 of 14 for 122 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and a touchdown, which was plenty to secure the win against a quiet Colts offense.

Loser: Rams‘ injuries

After falling to the Lions in overtime in Week 1, the Rams were dealt multiple blows as key personnel on both sides of the ball suffered injuries, such as star wideout Puka Nacua. On the road again versus a divisional rival, the Rams’ woes were evident, but also worsened when Cooper Kupp also exited with an ankle injury.

Los Angeles lost in a blowout 41-10 as Arizona dominated through the air and on the ground. With the 49ers coming next at SoFi Stadium, a venue routinely filled with red when the matchup occurs, the Rams will hope to have at least some bodies back to avoid dropping to 0-3.

Never judge a rookie based off one game. Harrison Jr. exploded onto the scene Sunday after a lackluster Week 1, in which quarterback Kyler Murray later said it wasn’t his job to force targets to the wideout.

But it was a different story in Week 2 as Harrison Jr. launched to a hot start, catching four passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns before cooling off for the second half. Murray himself threw for 266 yards on an efficient 17 of 21 clip to go with three scores and no picks.

Loser: QB play in Steelers vs. Broncos

Pittsburgh went on the road and pulled out a close win over Denver. How close? Well, just 13-6. Justin Fields helped the Steelers move to 2-0 with Russell Wilson still sidelined, but it was far from pretty. Fields threw for 117 yards on 13 of 20 completions, one touchdown and no picks while also rushing for 27 yards on eight attempts.

Bo Nix threw for more yards than he did in Week 1, but is still searching for his first league touchdown. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 246 yards, no touchdowns and two picks while rushing for 25 yards on four tries. One of the picks came on the very last play of the game, which Nix looked to go deep but wouldn’t have been near enough to score even if it was caught.

It’ll be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin keeps Fields as the starter due to their results even if Wilson is healthy.

Winner: Chiefs and lucky breaks

You need some luck every now and then to ensure results go your way. There’s a reason why Kansas City have gotten so used to winning in the Patrick Mahomes era. The Chiefs were on the brink of falling to the Cincinnati Bengals, but drew a controversial pass interference play on a 4th and 16 that essentially moved them into field goal range. Harrison Butker drilled the 51-yard attempt as time expired.

Joe Burrow delivered with 23 of 36 completions for 258 yards, two touchdowns and no picks as Ja’Marr Chase remained quiet again with just four catches for 35 yards. Cincinnati is now 0-2 with the Washington Commanders up next.

Mahomes had one of the worst games he’ll likely have all season, but it won’t matter in this one. He completed 18 of 25 passes for just 151 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. The Chiefs will meet the Falcons in Atlanta next week.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast