The 10 Most Important Stats From Week 2 in the NFL
By Jason McIntyre
1: The number of times the Cardinals crossed midfield in their 34-0 loss to the Rams. When you combine the 2nd half of the Raiders game and Sunday vs the Cardinals, the LA Rams have given up zero points in six quarters. The Cardinals have the feel of a 2-3 win team.
2: Number of catches by Rob Gronkowski against the Jaguars defense in New England’s 31-20 loss. The two catches were one fewer than Jacob Hollister, an undrafted tight end from Wyoming who had three receptions in the loss. Gronkowski was only targeted four times. Nobody backs up trash talk like Jalen Ramsey.
4: The number of missed kicks by Cleveland’s Zane Gonzlaez. A 2017 7th round draft pick out of Arizona State, Gonzalez couldn’t have had a worse day – he was 0-for-2 on extra points, and he missed two field goals, including the potential game-tying kick in the closing seconds.
6: Pat Mahomes has been the NFL’s best QB through two weeks, and he carved up the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, going 23-for-28 passing for 326 yards and six touchdowns. If he keeps this up, Mahomes is going to prove a lot of people wrong – myself included.
6: The number of times Jimmy Garappolo was sacked Sunday in the win over the Lions. Garoppolo was sacked three times in the opener, so that’s nine times in two games; last year, he was sacked just eight times in six games.
7: Touchdown receptions of 75 yards or longer for Desean Jackson, which ties the NFL record held by Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice. Jackson caught a 75-yard TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick on the first play of Tampa’s 27-21 win over the defending Super Bowl champs.
18: Tackles made by Colts rookie linebacker Darius Leonard, a 2nd round draft pick out of South Carolina State. It’s the most for a Colts rookie since 1994. Leonard also had a sack, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble in the win over the Redskins.
22: The number of rushing yards for Tampa’s Peyton Barber in a 27-21 win over the Bucs. He leads the Bucs in rushing with the paltry sum of 91 yards through two games, but Tampa is 2-0 because of an aggressive passing game.
80: Receiving yards from Saquon Barkley in the Giants’ 20-13 defeat in Dallas. It sounds impressive, but it’s actually the lowest yardage total ever for anyone who has caught 14 passes in a game.
257: The Miami Dolphins only had 257 total yards of offense, yet were able to beat the Jets, 20-12. The Dolphins had fewer 1st downs than the Jets (21-18), fewer yards (362-257), and fewer yards per play (5.7 to 4.4). Two huge differences: The Jets were 0-2 in the red zone while Miami was 2-for-3; and Miami had two touchdown drives of less than 50 yards.