By Flint Wheeler
What we learned in week 2 of the NFL regular season:
- Bills fail to handle Brady
- Cowboys lose Romo but beat Eagles
- Steelers drop the hammer on San Francisco
Only when the next week starts in the NFL do you really get the full extent of the overreactions from the previous week. Maybe Peyton Manning doesn’t have a wet noodle for an arm. Perhaps Jameis Winston isn’t going to stink every game he plays.
It’s possible that Marcus Mariota won’t be the second-coming of Andrew Luck after all. These things will all work themselves out over the course of the season.
For the Steelers, it was a picture perfect day on the North Side for the team to officially embark on their 2015 home schedule against the San Francisco 49ers. Maybe it was the extra four days the Steelers had to prepare since their last game, maybe it was the short week and the cross-country travel that left the 49ers flat. Either way, the Steelers dominated and the city of Pittsburgh went to bed very happy on Sunday night.
Injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Rex is all talk, again
The Buffalo Bills were coming off of a huge win over the Indianapolis Colts and still Rex Ryan had to make this week all about his personal vendetta against the New England Patriots. Granted, no one actually likes the Patriots, or wants them to win anything.
Still, Rex Ryan proved yet again that he’s all talk when it comes to beating the Patriots. Tom Brady threw the ball 59 times for 466 yards and three touchdowns. Brady found profitable matchups all over the field with Rob Gronkowski, Dion Lewis and Julian Edleman, who accounted for 24 catches and 308 yards en route to the 40-32 victory for the Patriots.
So much for that ferocious Rex Ryan Buffalo defense, huh. Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor came crashing down to earth with three touchdowns, three interceptions and two fumbles. He also got sacked a total of eight times against the Patriots suspect defense.
LeGarrette Blount made his return to the lineup following his one-game suspension with a whopping two carries. Well done.
Oh no Romo
The Dallas Cowboys are 2-0 but are down two offensive stars. Last week the Cowboys lost wide receiver Dez Bryant with a foot injury and this week they’ve lost quarterback Tony Romo to a broken collar bone.
Thankfully for the Cowboys they were playing the offensively and defensively inept Philadelphia Eagles. For anyone who was hoping to see that genius Chip Kelly at work with all of the changes the team made in the offseason and his crafty ideas of an up-tempo offense. Keep waiting.
Sam Bradford had more rushing yards for the Eagles than DeMarco Murray did. As for the Cowboys and what their plans at quarterback include. They still have senior citizen Brandon Weeden hanging out and trying to figure out how to work the offensive playbook on the tablet. I’m sure that will work out fine.
Dropping the hammer
The Pittsburgh Steelers started the season with some pretty big difficulties getting the ball into the end zone and getting points on the board. On Sunday, we saw what we hoped will be the 2015 Steelers going forward. The Steelers were a perfect 5 of 5 in the red zone and didn’t have to kick a field goal all day.
That was good because the only negative to come out of the game is that Josh Scobee doesn’t only have issues kicking field goals in New England, he also has problems giving extra friggin points in Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger went 21 of 27 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. DeAngelo Williams broke a franchise record by scoring three touchdowns on the day with 77 yards on 20 carries.
The defense made their first appearance of the season with Ryan Shazier leading the way with 15 tackles, one sack and three forced fumbles.
Steelers kicker Josh Scobee missed his first extra point but connected on his next three after that.
