Week 2 NFL Lessons: Klint Kubiak Has the Raiders Thinking About the Postseason

To put it nicely, the games on Sunday weren’t as entertaining as the ones from last week. We went from a near record-setting Week 1 in terms of points scored to wondering whether players on our fantasy football teams were allergic to the end zone.

The Bears dropped 59 points in the season opener against the Panthers and managed only one field goal in an ugly 9–3 loss against the Vikings in Week 2. To make matters worse, Chicago could be without Caleb Williams for quite some time after he was carted off the field with a hamstring injury.

Jayden Daniels also exited early after sustaining a dislocated left elbow during the Commanders’ 37–20 loss to the Cowboys. Washington already needed Daniels to carry the bulk of the workload to have a shot to compete. They now appear hopeless if Daniels is forced to miss a handful of games for the second consecutive season.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom in Week 2. The Raiders are one of the biggest surprise teams of the young season after beating the Chargers and improving to 2–0. The Broncos also avoided a disastrous start after rallying against the Jaguars to even their record.

Let’s dive into our Week 2 lessons.

Klint Kubiak has the Raiders thinking about the postseason

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Raiders after they traded Maxx Crosby to the Ravens days before the start of free agency in March.

But they didn’t operate as a team looking to start from scratch after spending plenty of money on free agents Tyler Linderbaum, Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker. That was followed by Baltimore backing out of the trade and returning Crosby to Las Vegas, giving the Silver & Black more reasons to go for it now with Kubiak, the first-time head coach.

So far, the offseason moves and the voided trade have worked out because, suddenly, this team is set up for the present and the future, with No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza watching from the sidelines and Kirk Cousins giving the Raiders a 2–0 record after their 26–14 upset win over the Chargers.

Kubiak’s offensive scheme, with its perfect balance of toughness and creativity, has helped his players find ideal matchups, including wide receiver Tre Tucker, who had five catches for 119 yards and one touchdown. Let’s not forget that Kubiak and Cousins have made it work despite star tight end Brock Bowers missing the first two games due to a knee injury.

But the biggest bright spot from Sunday might have been the Raiders’ excellent defense. Crosby is no longer a one-man show, with a unit that forced six fumbles against the Chargers. Dean, the former Eagles linebacker, had half a sack and two of the nine hits on Justin Herbert.

Not many had the Chargers winless and the Raiders undefeated after two weeks. Perhaps it’s the Chargers who should be thinking about a rebuild.

Age isn’t nothing but a number for older 49ers

The 49ers were the opposite of old and slow in their first game since returning from Australia. Behind its veteran players, San Francisco cruised to a 35–13 victory over Miami and appeared headed for another winning season with its biggest trip of the regular season out of the way.

The 49ers (2–0) did see another one of their receivers go down to injury, but they had enough weapons to pick up the slack after Demarcus Robinson was carted off the field. San Francisco exploded for 21 points in the third quarter thanks to the stellar performances of George Kittle, Mike Evans and Kyle Juszczyk—three players over the age of 31. And Christian McCaffrey, who turned 30 in June, was again a versatile weapon who logged two touchdowns against Miami (0–2).

However, not every 49ers star is in the 30-and-over club. Brock Purdy is looking like an early MVP candidate after carving up the Rams and Dolphins to start the season. The 26-year-old was 20-of-22 for 287 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Age doesn’t mean much for this team, especially when Purdy is playing as well as he has in the first two games.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle — Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle starred for Denver on Sunday, notching 138 yards on eight catches. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Broncos OC Davis Webb will be fine after brushing off a slow start

Webb nearly lost it on the sideline after seeing Bo Nix throw an interception inside the red zone that contributed to Denver’s double-digit deficit against Jacksonville. However, Webb and the Broncos eventually found tranquility with a come-from-behind 20–13 victory.

I’m sure many were calling for coach Sean Payton to take over offensive play-calling duties after what happened in Kansas City last week and the ugly first half on Sunday. Still, Webb’s patient approach with the rushing attack eventually paid off and made life easier for Nix in the passing game. The Jaguars (1–1) couldn’t keep up with Jaylen Waddle (eight catches, 138 yards) in the second half partly because of how effective the running back tandem of J.K. Dobbins and rookie Jonah Coleman was on the field. Both saw 10 carries, combined for 75 yards and Coleman provided the eventual game-winning three-yard touchdown run with 7:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Credit to Webb for never wavering from the game plan after Nix’s costly interception. If the Broncos continue to play with balance, it should work itself out with a defense that rarely struggled as much as it did against the Chiefs last week.

It turns out Payton knew what he was doing after making Webb his offensive play-caller.

It’s not hyperbole to say Tyler Shough can be just as good as Josh Allen

Some took it as a diss while others thought the praise wasn’t warranted when Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver referred to Saints second-year quarterback Shough as “a poor-man’s Josh Allen.”

I don’t think it was an insult or hyperbole. Shough is the real deal, and what he displayed against Weaver’s defense in the Saints’ 24–17 comeback victory perfectly displayed his upside, which could eventually go as high as it did for Allen.

Oftentimes, we forget how special a passer Allen has become because he’s such a physically imposing playmaker at 6' 5", 237 pounds. The 6' 5", 219-pound Shough isn’t quite as big as Allen, but he does provide plenty of mobility—he recorded nine carries for 23 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens (1–1).

However, as a pocket passer, Shough is already pretty polished, and his arm allowed the Saints (1–1) to overcome two double-digit deficits against the Ravens and Lions to open the season. (New Orleans lost to Detroit 31–30 in overtime.) On Sunday, Shough went 27-of-34 for 252 yards and a touchdown—and he had 410 passing yards in the season opener. It might not be a stretch to say Shough is further along than Allen was as a passer at this point in his career, but Shough, who will turn 27 in a week, is older than most second-year players.

But I’ll stop with the comparisons. The Saints have a complete team that plays hard for coach Kellen Moore, and Brandon Staley’s defense was outstanding in the second half (three points allowed), shutting down Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry in Baltimore.

After two tough games, the schedule now opens up a bit for New Orleans with back-to-back home games against Las Vegas and Atlanta. The Saints appear to be the best team in the NFC South with a red-hot Shough.

Kevin Stefanski needs more blame for the Falcons’ dreadful offense

I get it. Cooper Rush should no longer be starting games for any NFL team with how poorly he’s played the past two weeks, including the 34–3 blowout loss against the Panthers. Still, that’s not enough to let Stefanski off the hook for his dismal offense.

In Cleveland, Stefanski’s excuse was that he didn’t have a franchise quarterback to make it work in his final two seasons there (the Browns averaged less than 17 points per game in that span). His reputation for being a strong offensive mind clearly didn’t take much of a hit despite being fired because he landed quickly in Atlanta.

While he still doesn’t have quality quarterback options, there should be no excuse for producing only one touchdown in eight quarters with the trio of Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London. That’s two consecutive weeks that the Falcons (0–2) embarrassed themselves offensively. Pitts has one catch. London improved from the Steelers outing, but he hasn’t come close to reaching 100 yards in a game. And Robinson didn’t play up to his lofty standards against the Panthers (1–1), recording 81 total yards. Additionally, the defense was just as bad on Sunday, giving us a bigger sample size of Stefanski’s struggles as an overall head coach.

As for a bigger concern, Stefanski saw what this offense did last week against the Steelers and still decided it would be a good idea to start Rush again. He eventually opted for option D when he pulled Rush for Jack Strand, the rookie undrafted free agent. Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. haven’t been available this season.

Again, it’s a dire quarterback situation, but it’s long overdue for Stefanski to make it work with what he has at the position.

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