NFL WEEK TWO birds with one stone

Giants score for the first time this season.

The Cardinals are clearly playing hard but it was amazing to see the Giants get outscored 60-0 through the first six quarters of the year.

I’m not, that’s what we expect of them. They really played below their potential last week. Geno is a Pro Bowl QB with two of the best WRs in the league, and finally looked like it.

I will say that despite being a Seattle fan and not at all a fan of Goff, I was still sad about the pick 6, because I thought his interception-free passing streak was cool. Granted, that seemed to be the turning point where the Lions needed to dig their way out, and probably wouldn’t have won without it, but I still felt bad. I didn’t enjoy that pick 6 nearly as much as I normally would have.

Only took 7 quarters. I guess it wasn’t just the Cowboys.

I’m not in shock, but I am disappointed. Come on, Detroit.

From the stat line, you have to be feeling good about Jordan Love.

It’s what I’d expect. They’ve got to be the favorite to top the AFC East and should expect to be in the second round of the playoffs.

Kansas City also bounced back with a win, but they didn’t look explosive.

Miami and New England is a comin’…oh boy!

And once they woke up, they’ve managed to tie the game late and are threatening to win it with a 1:12 left.

Come on {\color{blue}\mathbf{GIANTS}}

Woo! 24 unanswered point for the improbable win.

Well, this is an insane start to the season. Worst opening game in {\color{blue}\mathbf{GIANTS}} history followed by biggest comeback since 1949 apparently.

Serious-looking injury to Saquon Barkley. Really feel bad for him considering the team essentially refused to give him a long term contract.

Really good game for both teams even though the Seahawks won twice. Apparently if you’re a Seahawk and a DB hits you at the line and you hit back to get free, that’s an offensive PI. If these two teams meet again in the playoff it would not be the most surprising thing this season.

As weird as this sounds, Tyler Lockett stepped it up this game. I wonder if DK was hurt more than he let on.

It’s possible, though he had done clutch plays toward the end. I think DK caught the pass before the OT TD play (though I might be misremembering).

DK also tends to draw defenders to him due to his size and speed, which frees up Tyler. It’s one reason why having a tandem of great receivers is so useful. So he might not have had the opportunities.

One rule of thumb is that if you create separation from a defender by extending your arms prior to a catch, that will be called OPI. I did not object to the penalty, as frustrating as it was. You could tell Pete knew it was legit because when they showed him looking at the replay on the big screen, he looked disappointed, not mad.

If you want to gripe about a BS penalty, how about the grounding penalty when Geno threw into the end zone and the receiver had a different route. That was crap. I see that happen all the time without flags.

Commander with the comeback and wild finish. We’ll take it!

I’ll be at the game with the Bills next week, should be interesting.

That one too. You’d have to describe the offensive PI play to me. I was listening on the radio and according to the announcers he was hit on the line and so he hit back to get on his route and they called that OPI.

And Denver and Sean Payton now own a worse 2-game record than his predecessor Nathaniel Hackett. Shouldn’t have talked shit…

So Colby Parkinson ran forward, and a few yards past the offensive line he made contact with the defender. I didn’t see him get “hit” at all; neither hit each other. Put he pushed off the defender with both hands, shoving him away, then ran right to catch the ball.

For years I’ve watched replays when there was a question of OPI and one thing that’s always pointed out is whether the receiver extends his arms. If a receiver pushes a bit but his arms stay significantly bent, that’s usually not OPI. If they’re straight or somewhat straight, that shows that the push is more extensive and always draws a flag if an official sees it.

The timing and circumstances sucked, but it seemed like an earned penalty.

I am not happy to have kinda called this loss. Yes, it was a good game on both sides (at least, for the Lions’ offense it was; their much vaunted, rebuilt defense looked pretty ineffective). And the Seahawks are a good team who were clearly determined to make up for their disappointing loss to the Rams last week. But these Lions are supposed to finally be contenders! Their constant winning was supposed to distract me from my existential despair this year! I know, it’s still very early in the season, but a home opener loss after beating the defending SB champs is a real momentum-killer.

Yeah, that OPI call you mention may have been questionable, but that late shove by C.J. Gardner-Johnson after the tackle that turned what might have been 3 into an easy 7 was such a stupid, stupid penalty. That is just sloppy. He’s still young but not exactly a rookie.

Patriots have 2 losses in a row due to a booth review. Last week the reversal was clearly correct, but last night was quite a judgement call.

Rex Ryan just made an interesting point on ESPN: The Denver Broncos have the most points per possession in the league. They just don’t get enough positions because their defense can’t get off the field.

Points per possession? Never heard that one before.

I thought Russell looked good in the game, what little I saw. That literal last second touchdown miracle was vintage Russ and reminded me of what he used to do in Seattle, when we were used to his 4th quarter heroics. Unfortunately the 2 point conversion was unsuccessful, so they lost, but wow they really made it a game.

The way they let Washington come back from being behind so much was on the defense, and Sean Payton is going to have to figure that out.