Indianapolis Colts (L, PHI, 30-27)
Trent Richardson (21 carries, 79 yards) and Ahmad Bradshaw (13 carries, 70 yards) are teaming up to provide the Colts with a formidable ground attack. But Richardson fumbled twice, including a third-quarter drop that led to the Eagles’ game-tying touchdown. Andrew Luck threw a fourth-quarter interception from the Eagles’ 22-yard line with the Colts leading 27-20. Now the Colts, who led 20-6 in the third quarter, are 0-2 for the first time since 2011, otherwise known as the year of purgatory post-Manning and pre-Luck.
Grade: B-
Kansas City Chiefs (L, at DEN, 24-17)
The Chiefs somehow stayed with the Broncos and had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds despite losing star running back Jamaal Charles to a sprained ankle after just two carries. Knile Davis took over and ran 22 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Smith completed 26 of 42 passes and threw for 18 first downs. The Chiefs moved the chains on 11 of their 16 third downs.
Grade: B- (0-2)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (L, STL, 19-17)
The Buccaneers fell victim to rotten luck when Josh McCown threw a 29-yard pass to Mike Evans at the Rams’ 32-yad line in the final seconds. Evans was hurt on the play and the Bucs were out of timeouts, and the 10-second runoff ended the game before Tampa Bay could attempt a field goal. The Bucs had a punt and a field goal blocked in the game. Bobby Rainey was a bright spot. He replaced an injured Doug Martin and ran 22 times for 144 yards.
Grade: C+ (0-2)
New Orleans Saints (L, 26-24, at CLE)
The Saints lost a lead in the final seconds for the second week in a row. This time, Billy Cundiff’s 29-yard field goal with three seconds left capped the Browns’ 14-play, 85-yard drive. The Saints trailed 16-3 and took a 17-16 lead, then fell behind again before regaining the lead. Saints receiver Marques Colston wasn’t targeted Sunday after fumbling the ball away in overtime in Week 1.
Grade: C+ (0-2)
Seattle Seahawks (L, at SD, 30-21)
If Richard Sherman is going to put on a show for the media when he breaks up a pass to clinch the NFC championship game, he’d better face the music and give reporters something to put in their notebooks when he gets burned. But he didn’t speak to the media Sunday, according to Pro Football Talk, after Keenan Allen showed he’s not a “sorry” receiver by catching five passes for 55 yards on him.
Grade: C+ (1-1)
Atlanta Falcons (L, at CIN, 24-10)
The Falcons will need to score a lot of points to win games this season, and they didn’t do that on Sunday. They trailed 24-3 before Julio Jones’ touchdown in the fourth quarter. After losing A.J. Green in the first quarter, the Bengals still racked up 472 yards of offense on the Falcons. Atlanta linebacker Paul Worrilow leads the NFL with 29 tackles, including 14 Sunday. So there’s that.
Grade: C (1-1)
Detroit Lions (L, at CAR, 24-7)
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi both are descendants of the “Air Coryell” offense. The scheme’s namesake, former Chargers coach Don Coryell, probably facepalmed himself up there in the clouds watching the Lions score their fewest points since Week 7 of the 2012 season, when they went 4-12. Air Coryell couldn’t fly the Chargers to the Super Bowl, and if the Lions can’t put up enough points to win against a stout defense like the one in Carolina, they can forget about the playoffs.
Grade: C (1-1)
New York Giants (L, ARI, 25-14)
It must have been hard for Giants fans not to think of Joe Pisarcik. The Giants led 14-13 with less than 11 minutes remaining. Then, in a span of 1:21, Victor Cruz dropped a third-down pass, Ted Ginn returned the ensuing punt 71 yards for a touchdown, Quintin Demps fumbled the kickoff and Chandler Catanzaro kicked a field goal to give the Cardinals a 22-14 lead. The next Giants possession ended with a fumble in the red zone.
Grade: C (0-2)
New York Jets (L, at GB, 31-24)
The Jets jumped out to a 21-3 lead after 20 minutes. Then came a meltdown both on and off the field. They were in Packers territory and poised to add to a 21-9 lead when Geno Smith threw a wounded duck into the hands the Packers’ Tramon Williams. Key defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson was ejected for fighting when the Packers made a two-point conversion to go up 24-21. Smith threw what would have been a game-tying, 37-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley with 3:37 left, but the Jets sideline called a timeout.
Grade: C (1-1)
San Francisco 49ers (L, CHI, 28-20)
Colin Kaepernick threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the 49ers first game at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers led 20-14 early in the fourth quarter when Kyle Fuller returned a Kaepernick pick to the 49ers 6. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kaeperneck put the ball at the 3, and on the next play Jay Cutler threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett, giving the Bears a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Grade: C (1-1)
Minnesota Vikings (L, NE, 30-7)
The Vikings didn’t do as well without their star running back in Week 2 as the NFL’s other purple-clad team did. Filling in for Adrian Peterson, Matt Asiata caught a touchdown pass on the game’s opening drive. He ran for just 36 yards on 13 carries, however, and Matt Cassel threw four interceptions in his first start against the guy he used to back up.
Grade: C- (1-1)
Pittsburgh Steelers (L, at BAL, 26-6)
How much do 33-year-old Troy Polamalu and 34-year-old Ike Taylor have left in the tank? Considering that 35-year-old Steve Smith (six catches, 71 yards) made both of them look silly, it appears the needle is perilously close to “E” for both of them. It didn’t help that the Steelers couldn’t sack Joe Flacco, or that Ben Roethlisberger’s streak of 30 straight games with a touchdown pass came to an end.
Grade: C- (1-1)
Tennessee Titans (L, DAL, 26-10)
The Titans scored 10 points against a Cowboys defense that was a punchline heading into the season. Jake Locker completed three of his first 10 passes with an interception. He finished 18 of 34 with a touchdown and two picks. The Titans moved the chains on just two of their 10 third downs and while they sacked Tony Romo four times, they allowed 220 rushing yards. They stopped Jamaal Charles in Week 1, but couldn’t stop DeMarco Murray (167 yards) Sunday.
Grade: C-
Miami Dolphins (L, at BUF, 29-10)
When every point in the first 39 minutes of the game is scored on special teams, it’s not the day for a special teams breakdown. The Dolphins gave up a 102-yard kickoff return to C.J. Spiller that widened their deficit to 16-3 in the third quarter. Brandon Fields punted five times for an average of 30.5 yards and had a punt blocked. Rookie Jarvis Landry muffed a punt in the fourth quarter.
Grade: D (1-1)
Jacksonville Jaguars (L, at WAS, 41-10)
OK, so Kirk Cousins could start for a lot of NFL teams. But Robert Griffin III wasn’t the only Redskin who went down Sunday. DeSean Jackson also left with an injury, and the Jaguars couldn’t take advantage. For all the futility that has pocked this franchise’s history, the Jaguars never allowed 10 sacks in a game until the Redskins did it Sunday. Jacksonville mustered just eight first downs. The Redskins had 32.
Grade: F
Oakland Raiders (L, HOU, 30-14)
Special guest professor Charles Woodson will assist in the grading process this week. “We suck” is what the veteran safety told CSN Bay Area. “Suck”ing in this case means failing to force a turnover while turning the ball over four times. That includes one blooper-reel play in which James Jones caught a 26-yard pass at the Texans’ 29, fumbled, then recovered his fumble and advanced to the Texans’ 13 before fumbling again. This time, the Texans’ recovered.
Grade: F