Best And Worst Of NFL Week Two

There has been a lot of negative stuff going around the National Football League this past week, with all of it coming from off the field incidents. While all that stuff has gone on, the play on the field during week two is what should be really talked about right now. There's a lot to talk about from the second week of the season. Sure the injury bug has started to hit hard around the league, with star players like Robert Griffin III (ankle), Knowshon Moreno (elbow), and Eric Decker (hamstring questionable) among the big names going down with injuries in week two. Along with that, some teams saw surprises in their ballgames, like the Saints falling to 0-2 on the year, Seattle losing its first game of the year to the Chargers, Chicago coming back in the 2nd half on San Francisco and Buffalo staying undefeated. Those are just some of the big headlines coming out of this week around the league. We know there's a lot of action going on on Sundays, so we got you covered. Here are some of the best and worst from week two in the NFL.

Best:
Antonio Gates, Tight End San Diego Chargers
It's a well known fact that Gates career has been on a decline the past few years. He was one of the top five tight ends in all of football, but now is somewhat of a shell of his former self. This past Sunday, Gates showed the football world that he still has something left in the tank. He had seven catches for a total of 98 yards and three touchdown catches. Those three TD grabs were the first time he's done that in a game in almost nine years. And to make that even more impressive, he did it against arguably the best defense in the entire league.

Worst:
Seattle Seahawks Secondary
In the season opener, Richard Sherman wasn't really tested by the Green Bay Packers. Week two was a completely different story. It wasn't just on Sherman, it was on the entire Seattle secondary. The Seahawks lost their first really meaningful game in about nine months, and it was the secondary that seemed to be kinda a letdown. Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers filleted the famed Seattle secondary (and linebackers) for 284 yards and those three scoring darts to Gates. Seattle's defense looked really average, which isn't really a good thing heading into their Superbowl rematch against the Broncos at home.

Best:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
After missing week one due to the rib injury, Newton came back under center with a bang in the week two win over the Lions. Despite the fact that he was sacked four times, Newton still finished the day going 22 of 34 for 281 yards and a touchdown. Under normal circumstances, that might not look like a outstanding week, but it was not only the first start of this season for Newton, he put up those numbers and lead the Panthers to victory without DeAngelo Williams and Greg Hardy.

Worst:
Matt Ryan, Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
Week one saw Matty Ice go off against the Saints with over 400 yards passing, three touchdowns and no turnovers in the big win over the Saints. Week two was a different story as it seemed Matt Ryan came back to earth a little bit. Ryan went 24 of 44 for 231 yards and a touchdown. The three picks Ryan threw really hurt the Falcons chances in their loss to the Bengals. Plus throw in the fact that his passer rating was under 50% this week, and it would spell a recipe for disaster for the Falcons passer.

Best:
Dallas Cowboys Defense
In their season opener against the 49ers, the Cowboys defense looked bad. San Francisco really lit them up good in the opening game, plus he wasn't given much help from Romo's performance in week one either. Then week two rolled around and the Cowboys really came to play against the Titans. Dallas held the Titans to 10 points, 82 rushing yards and picked off QB Jake Locker twice as the Cowboys evened their record at 1-1.

Worst:
New Orleans Saints Defense
Their performance against the Falcons in week one was pretty bad, allowing 568 total yards in the overtime loss that started the year off. So many people thought that the Saints would be able to turn things around against the Cleveland Browns. That didn't exactly go according to plan, either. New Orleans lost track of Browns WR Andrew Hawkins, whose 28-yard reception with 6 seconds to go set up Cleveland's game-winning field goal. A popular preseason Super Bowl pick, the Saints and their sorry defense are suddenly looking like playoff long shots given the historical lack of success for teams starting 0-2 — though they remain just a game out of the NFC South lead.

Best:
Sammy Watkins, Wide Receiver Buffalo Bills
I don't think too many people had the Bills pegged to start the season off 2-0. But they are, thanks to their 29-10 win in week two over the Dolphins. Watkins had a big game this week, helping power the Bills to their victory. The rookie receiver  began paying dividends Sunday, for the Bills, thanks to his eight-catch, 117-yard effort that includes his first NFL TD. Those receiving yards were 5th most in the NFL this week, but Watkins leads all rookie receivers in yards and catches this season. This game was sort of his coming out party, letting other teams know that he has arrived.

Worst:
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback Washington Redskins
This isn't exactly a bad performance but more a case of bad luck than anything else. A dislocated ankle most certainly jeopardizes his season. But it's not the only question that could arise after backup Kirk Cousins, who some analysts view as a better fit for coach Jay Gruden's offense, shredded the Jaguars in relief of RG3. So who knows where he stands when he comes back this year, if he does.

Best:
Bill Belichick, Head Coach New England Patriots
With the Patriots win on Sunday over the Vikings, Belichick picked up career victory number 200 as a head coach in the NFL. The win makes him one of only six coaches in league history to win 200 games, the others being Marty Schottenheimer, Curly Lambeau, Tom Landry, George Halas, and Don Shula. During his 15 years as coach of the Patriots, not including this year, Belichick has had one losing season and one other year where the team has won less than ten games in a season. So congrats to Bill Belichick for hitting the 200 win mark.

Worst:
Marty Mornhinweg, Offensive Coordinator New York Jets
The timeout that he called with about 7 minutes left in regulation cost the Jets a game tying touchdown in their loss to the Packers. What I want to know here is why was he even calling a timeout in the first place. No coach, other than the head coach, is allowed to call a timeout. Marty's stupidity in this instance screwed the Jets over in this game and cost them a chance to win the ballgame in Green Bay.

There you have it. Some of the best and worst from week two!