Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season is in the books. For 16 teams and the dozens of players who suffered injuries this week, Tuesday morning means a whole new week of football and preparing for their next game. However, a handful of players might not want to leave Week 2 so soon. Here’s a look at who impressed and who underachieved this week.
Please note that a player who suffered an injury will almost never be listed in the “losers” section. This section is for players who underachieved or were demoted on the depth chart due to bad play, not due to an injury. For example, while Saquon Barkley suffered a horrible season-ending ACL injury, he won’t be listed here.
Quarterback
Winner: Dak Prescott (39.8 FPTS)
Dak Prescott had an incredible week, leading the Cowboys to an improbable comeback against the Falcons. He completed 37 passes for 450 yards and a touchdown through the air while adding three touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, he was sacked just once and did not throw an interception. He spread the ball out well, too, targeting nine different players.
Loser: Kirk Cousins (-1.48 FPTS)
Kirk Cousins was absolutely miserable in Week 2. Minnesota lost to Indianapolis by three scores as Cousins completed just 11 passes for 113 yards. He threw three interceptions and no touchdowns and was sacked three times, finishing the game with ha quarterback rating of 15.9. He’ll need to turn things around fast if the Vikings, who are currently 0-2, want to compete this season.
Running Back
Winner: Nick Chubb (26.3 FPTS)
Nick Chubb finds himself on this list after proving himself in Week 2. Although he didn’t have the best running back performance (shoutout Aaron Jones), he did run over the Cincinnati defense for 124 yards and two touchdowns while still splitting time with Kareem Hunt (101 scrimmage yards, two touchdowns). Chubb’s excellence on Thursday night solidified his name among the rest of the backfield monsters in the RB1 tier.
Loser: Ronald Jones (10.7 FPTS)
Ronald Jones opened Sunday’s game as Tampa Bay’s starter but coughed up his role fairly quickly. An early fumble for Jones immediately led to more action for Leonard Fournette, who ultimately finished with 16 touches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Jones, meanwhile, added 27 yards on nine touchdowns. In the end, not only did Jones struggle in Week 2, but he also lost his starting job. Jones is definitely trending down.
Wide Receiver
Winner: Terry McLaurin (25.5 FPTS)
Terry McLaurin was somewhat quiet in Week 1 but came on loud and strong this week against Arizona. Although Washington lost, McLaurin caught seven of 10 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown, accounting for six of the team’s 15 points, more than one-third of their recceptions, and more than half of their total receiving yards. Week 2 signifies a flash of excitement and promise after a flukey Week 1 for McLaurin.
Loser: Will Fuller (0 FPTS)
There’s not much that needs to be said here. With the Texans’ offense playing from behind, Deshaun Watson was passing, yet Will Fuller was not part of the offense. Watson threw 34 passes to seven different receivers and Fuller was not targeted once. Kenny Still and Keke Coutee, who were presumptively behind Fuller on the depth chart, each caught two passes while Randall Cobb caught five for 59 yards. We knew Fuller was flukey, but this might be an all-time low.
Tight End
Winner: Jonnu Smith (24.4 FPTS)
Everyone expected Smith to have a huge game, but it’s still fun to look at his huge Sunday. With A.J. Brown out, Smith was the focal point of the passing offense, catching four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. It would have been nice to see Smith rack up more than five targets, but you can’t really complain when a tight end finishes with 24.4 points and could quite possibly do it again next week. Smith provides Tennessee with reliability and optimism at tight end and that was on full display this weekend.
Loser: Rob Gronkowski (0.0 FPTS)
Putting the same player as a loser in back-to-back weeks is a big no-no, but Rob Gronkowski is definitely worthy of another placement in this section. Tom Brady threw 35 passes on Sunday and only one was intended for Gronkowski. He finished with zero catches for zero yards, which was even worse than his two catches for 11 yards the week prior. Could Gronk and Brady iron out these wrinkles in the next few weeks? Sure. Will that happen? Probably not. Feel free to let Gronkowski sit on the waiver wire this week in leagues of 12 or less.
Defense
Winner: Colts (17 FPTS)
The Colts held the Vikings to just 11 points on Sunday. As mentioned in the quarterback losers section, Kirk Cousins was picked apart by the Colts’ defense, which sacked Minnesota’s signal-caller thrice. Darius Leonard and Kenny Moore combined for 11 tackles while Moore, T.J. Carrie, and Khari Willis each tallied one interception.
Loser: Bengals (-4 FPTS)
After a decent Week 1 showing against the Chargers, the Bengals’ defense returned in Week 2 ready to shut down the Browns. Instead, Cincinnati fell to 0-2 as they were dismantled by Cleveland. The Browns, who were silenced by the Ravens in Week 1, finished with 434 yards of total offense. The Bengals tallied one turnover while surrendering nearly three dozen points in the 35-30 defeat on the road.
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