10 winners and losers from NFL Week 2, including Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys

Head coach Antonio Pierce knew that his Raiders were up against it on the road in Baltimore. The Ravens were coming off a Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and found themselves in must-win mode. However, Pierce more than had the Silver and Black ready to play. They scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit and win by the score of 26-23. This included a 70-yard drive late in the final stanza that concluded with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Davante Adams. Talk about coming up big in the clutch.

Much like what we saw during his rookie season, Bryce Young was a disaster in the season opener last week. That included throwing two interceptions and leading the Panthers to just 10 points in a 37-point loss to the New Orleans Saints. If possible, he was even worst against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Young completed 18-of-26 passes for a mere 69 net passing yards, throwing zero touchdowns while tossing yet another interception. The end result was a 26-3 home loss to the Chargers. We’re not even sure where Young goes from here.

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It wasn’t the same dominant performance we saw in Week 1 as Tampa Bay disposed of the Washington Commanders. We also weren’t expecting that heading into Detroit to take on the Lions. But Baker Mayfield and Co. took care of business in a big way. The Bucs came out on to by the score of 20-16 in a hard-fought game. Mayfield threw for only 185 yards and was sacked five times. But it’s the defense that came up big. That included picking off Lions quarterback Jared Goff twice. Tampa now finds itself at 2-0 on the campaign after a surprising playoff appearance last season.

Dallas headed into NFL Week 2 riding high after a blowout road win against the Cleveland Browns. It comes out of Sunday’s action with a ton of renewed questions, including the status of head coach Mike McCarthy. Why? Well, they were absolutely throttled at home by the New Orleans Saints by the score of 44-19. Dallas yielded a franchise record 35 points in the first half, including touchdown passes of 70 and 57 yards. This was a complete embarrassment in every way possible. That’s actually putting it lightly.

Sam Darnold played only one season with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Minnesota Vikings this past spring. But that did not stop a certain 49ers player from trolling him heading into this NFL Week 2 game. About that? Darnold exacted his revenge in front of the home crowd inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Darnold completed 17-of-26 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 23-17 upset win. That included a game-changing 97-yard touchdown pass to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Yes, Darnold has gone from a first-round bust to a starter-caliber quarterback right in front of our eyes.

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New Orleans has outscored its first two opponents by the combined margin of 91-29. Taking care of business against the bad Carolina Panthers in Week 1 is one thing. Going into Dallas and absolutely destroying the Cowboys is a completely different thing. Derek Carr threw touchdown passes of 70 and 57 yards in the first half alone. New Orleans laid 35 points on Dallas before halftime, winning going away by the score of 44-19. This absolutely does look like a well-oiled machine after NFL Week 2.

A lot was made of Kyler Murray not targeting rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in his debut against the Buffalo Bills last week. It did not take long for the two to flip the script Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. That included two touchdown strikes within the first six minutes and 13 seconds of the game. It was part of a broader effort that saw Harrison Jr. record four receptions for 130 yards in a blowout 41-10 win over the Rams. This kid is legit. The Murray-to-Harrison connection is, too. NFL Week 2 proved that to a T.

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The Cincinnati Bengals headed into NFL Week 2 smarting from a season-opening loss to the New England Patriots. No one really gave them much of a chance on the road against the defending champion Cincinnati Bengals. Despite this, Cincinnati came to play big time. It was up 25-23 late in the fourth quarter with Kansas City facing a fourth-and-16. That’s when the unthinkable happened. Second-year defensive back Daijahn Anthony committed pass interference against Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice at the Bengals’ 36-yard line. It set up a game-winning field goal from Chiefs kicker Butker to send Cincinnati to 0-2 on the season.

Mere weeks after being acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans, Malik Willis was forced into starting duties. That’s due to the knee injury Jordan Love suffered in Green Bay’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Boy, was Willis up to the task at home against the Indianapolis Colts. The former third-round pick from Liberty completed 12-of-14 passes with a touchdown and zero picks in the 16-10 win. Sure, the Packers called a conservative game. But this mistake-free performance helped Willis lead them to their first victory of the season.

Related: NFL Week 2 defense rankings

This rookie first-round pick earned Denver’s starting duties because head coach Sean Payton thought he was ready out of the gate. That was primarily due to Nix’s extensive experience in college. About that? Payton might now want to rethink his status. Nix threw two interceptions in his debut last week. He added two more in a 13-6 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Through two games, Nix has accounted for zero touchdowns and four interceptions while leading Denver to a combined 26 points. Ouch!