What To Look For - Week 2
NO NEED TO PANIC: Since 2002, 145 of the 244 playoff teams (59.4 percent) began the year at either 1-1 or 0-2, including nine teams and six division champions last season.
Since 1990, 63 percent of teams (165 of 262) that started 2-0 advanced to the postseason, while 42 percent of teams that began 1-1 (193 of 460) made the playoffs. Out of the 265 teams that began a season 0-2, 30 advanced to the postseason (11.3 percent).
Last year, the LOS ANGELES RAMS became the second eventual Super Bowl winner in the past five years to begin the season 2-0. Of the 56 total Super Bowl champions, 35 (62.5 percent) won their first two games of the season.
TOP PASSERS ON THURSDAY NIGHT: The Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) on Thursday Night Football in the first-ever NFL regular-season game to air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video (8:15 PM ET). It will be a pivotal early season AFC West clash and will feature two of the league's top passers.
Kansas City's PATRICK MAHOMES (302.4 passing yards per game in 64 career games) and Los Angeles' JUSTIN HERBERT (291.8 in 33 career games) rank first and second, respectively, all-time.
On Kickoff Weekend, Mahomes earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording five touchdown passes and 360 passing yards, his sixth-career game with at least five touchdown passes, tied for the fourth-most ever. It also marked his 32nd-career game with at least 300 passing yards.
With at least 300 passing yards on Thursday night, Mahomes will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (32 games) for the most games with at least 300 passing yards by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history. Herbert passed for 279 yards and three touchdowns in last week's Chargers victory, his 14th-career game with at least three touchdown passes, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famers PEYTON MANNING (13 games) and KURT WARNER (13) for the third-most such games by a player in his first three career seasons in NFL history.
With at least three touchdown passes against Kansas City, Herbert will tie Mahomes (15 games) for the second-most such games by a player in his first three seasons ever. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (18) has more.
Herbert also enters Thursday with at least 300 passing yards in 17 career games and can surpass Mahomes and Warner for the second-most games with at least 300 passing yards by a player in his first three seasons ever. Only ANDREW LUCK (19 games) has more.
CATCHING RECORDS: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver COOPER KUPP followed up his record-breaking 2021 season with 13 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown on Kickoff Weekend. Going back to Week 13 of the 2020 season, Kupp has now recorded at least five receptions in 22 consecutive regular-season games.
With five catches against Atlanta on Sunday (4:05 PM ET, FOX), Kupp will tie DEANDRE HOPKINS (23 consecutive games from 2018-20) for the second-most consecutive games with at least five receptions in NFL history. Only ANTONIO BROWN (36 games from 2013-15) has a longer such streak.
Detroit wide receiver AMON-RA ST. BROWN ranked second among rookies with 90 receptions last season and, from Weeks 13-18, became the first rookie all-time with at least eight receptions in six consecutive games. On Kickoff Weekend, he picked up where he left off and had eight catches for 64 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia.
With at least eight catches against Washington on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, FOX), St. Brown will become the third player in league history to record at least eight receptions in eight consecutive games, joining ANTONIO BROWN (eight consecutive games in 2014) and MICHAEL THOMAS (eight consecutive games in 2019).
DOMINANT DEBUTS: Philadelphia wide receiver A.J. BROWN tied a career high with 155 receiving yards last week in his Eagles debut, the second-most among all players in Week 1, while Las Vegas wide receiver DAVANTE ADAMS totaled 141 receiving yards in his Raiders debut, the third-most in the NFL on Kickoff Weekend. Each player has a chance to rank among the most receiving yards ever by a non-rookie in his first two games with a new team.
GEAUX-ING FOR YARDS: Last year, former LSU wide receivers JUSTIN JEFFERSON (1,616 receiving yards) and JA'MARR CHASE (1,455) ranked second and fourth, respectively, in receiving yards across the league. Chase recorded the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era, while Jefferson's 3,016 career receiving yards were the most-ever by a player in his first two seasons.
Last week, Jefferson led the NFL with a career-high 184 receiving yards in Minnesota's victory over Green Bay. It marked his 15th-career game with at least 100 receiving yards and his fifth-career game with at least 150 receiving yards, both among the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in the Super Bowl era.
Chase totaled 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown on Kickoff Weekend. In 18 career games, he now has 1,584 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions.
With a receiving touchdown at Dallas on Sunday (4:25 PM ET, CBS), Chase will become the second-fastest player ever (19 games) to record 1,500 receiving yards and 15 touchdown receptions in his career, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDY MOSS (20 games). Only ODELL BECKHAM JR., another former LSU Tiger, reached the milestone quicker (17 games).
SACK ATTACK: Last week, a total of 11 players across the league recorded at least two sacks, tied for the most such players to do so in Week 1 since 2000 (11 players in
2011 and 2006). Among those players with multiple sacks on Kickoff Weekend was Cleveland's MYLES GARRETT, who now has 60.5 sacks in 69 career games. With a sack against the New York Jets on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS), Garrett will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DERRICK THOMAS (61 sacks) and J.J. WATT (61) for the third-most sacks by a player in his first 70 NFL games since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
With two sacks, Garrett will surpass T.J. WATT (62) for the second-most sacks in his first 70 NFL games. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer REGGIE WHITE (79) has more. Dallas' MICAH PARSONS, who led all rookies with three multi-sack games last season, also recorded two sacks in Week 1. With another two-sack performance against Cincinnati on Sunday (4:25 PM ET, CBS), Parsons will become the sixth player since 1982 with at least two sacks in five of his first 20 career games, joining MARK ANDERSON, JOEY BOSA, ELVIS DUMERVIL, CLAY MATTHEWS and ALDON SMITH.
Jacksonville's TRAVON WALKER was selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft and recorded both a sack and interception in his NFL debut last week. He joined AUNDRAY BRUCE, TOM COUSINEAU, STEVE EMTMAN and MYLES GARRETT as players selected first overall in the NFL Draft to record a sack in their first career games since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. He was also the first top-pick to record both a sack and interception in his first-career game since 1982.
With a sack against Indianapolis on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS), Walker will join Garrett as the only No. 1 overall picks to record a sack in each of their first two career games.
