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Several NFL players have their work cut out for them in Week 2.
Some of them have to help their teams bounce back from season-opening losses. Some have to replace injured starters. Some have daunting coverage assignments.
These four players have to up their game in Week 2.
The Broncos defense is a tough matchup, but that doesn’t entirely excuse several disappointing performances on offense by the Ravens in their 19-13 loss at Denver.
Justin Forsett, coming off a career year with 1,266 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, ran for just 43 yards on 14 carries. Steve Smith Sr., the Ravens’ top receiver last year with 79 catches, caught two passes Sunday for 13 yards.
The Ravens generated just 173 yards on offense and scored no offensive touchdowns. Forsett, who turns 30 next month, played for four teams and never gained more than 619 yards in a season before 2014. The Ravens are counting on a journeyman running back to not turn back into a pumpkin, and they’re woefully thin at receiver with rookie Breshad Perriman out until October with a knee injury.
So it’s up to Joe Flacco to make something out of this offense and keep the Ravens from dropping to 0-2 Sunday at Oakland. Flacco completed 18 of 32 passes for 117 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in Week 1. He’s got to do better than that. He’s got a Super Bowl ring and makes $20 million a year. He’s got to be a leader and pull this offense out of the fire.
Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore told The Buffalo News that he wants to cover Rob Gronkowski Sunday when the Patriots come to Buffalo.
Gilmore wasn’t spouting incendiary bulletin board material, but the Patriots can take anything that comes out of the mouth of an opponent and cook it up into a motivational stew.
The Bills want to maintain the momentum of their 27-14 win over the Colts. For that to happen, Gilmore can’t let his words come back to haunt him. And the 6-foot-0, 190-pound corner will have his hands full when and if he covers the 6-6, 265-pound Gronkowski.
Gronkowski caught five passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots’ season-opening, 28-21 win over the Steelers. Granted, the Steelers left him uncovered a couple of times, but even when he’s covered Gronkowski can be a nightmare for opposing defenses. He caught 82 passes last season, 12 for touchdowns. Gilmore broke up four passes against the Colts, making him the league leader in that category according to Sporting Charts.
It’s not like Gilmore hasn’t been stepping up already. He just has to take it up a notch or two to stop Gronkowski.
No one knows for sure how long Dez Bryant will be out with a broken bone in his right foot, but everyone agrees that he’ll be out on Sunday when the Cowboys visit the Eagles.
That makes Terrance Williams the Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver. Tight end Jason Witten was the Cowboys’ most targeted receiver in Sunday’s 27-26 win over the Giants. He caught eight of the nine passes thrown his way, according to Pro Football Focus. That includes the game-winning touchdown.
Williams wasn’t quite as reliable as Witten. He caught five of the eight passes Romo threw to him and dropped a pass. He has to play like a top receiver or Witten will have defenders draped all over him and the Cowboys’ offense will be bogged down.
Russell Wilson was sacked six times in Week 1, more than any quarterback in the NFL.
Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn both had two of those sacks in the Rams’ 34-31 overtime win over the Seahawks. Donald was the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year and Quinn came into the season with 40 sacks over the last three seasons.
Still, the Seahawks can forget about a third straight Super Bowl appearance if Wilson is sacked six times a game. The entire Seahawks offensive line has to step up, but the focus is on Okung because he’s the left tackle and therefore responsible for protecting Wilson’s blindside. Also, like most left tackles, it’s Okung who makes the big bucks. His average annual salary of $8 million is seventh on the team, according to Spotrac.
Okung didn’t earn his money on Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus he was to blame for two of those sacks and also allowed five quarterback hurries. Okung himself said, “I just have to play better. I’ve got to protect the quarterback better. That’s unacceptable.”
The Seahawks will try to avoid an 0-2 start Sunday night at Green Bay. Julius Peppers had 1.5 sacks in the Packers’ 31-23 win at Chicago. Okung and the rest of the Seahawks’ offensive line have to keep him away from Wilson.
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