MIAMI - The Buffalo Bills (2-0, 1-0 AFC East) humbled the Miami Dolphins (1-1, 1-1) on the road with a convincing 27-19 victory.
Miami's Jalen Hurts came back down to Earth after his AFC Offensive Player of the Week award last week tossing a pair of costly INTs including a pick-6 in the first quarter.
"That put us behind the 8-ball early," Hurts said. "I got to take care of the ball."
Hurts finished with 328 passing yards with a TD, but was sacked 8 times on the day by a relentless Buffalo defense.
"We expect this division to go down to the wire," Sean McDermott said. "To get a win, in the division, is huge even in Week 2."
A late Julio Jones TD gave Miami fans some hope late, but the team couldn't get close enough for a realistic Hail Mary as time expired.
"We are 1-1," Jones said. "We now need to focus on the Raiders."
Miami will now prepare to take on Jon Gruden's Las Vegas Raiders.
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles
PHILADELPHIA - The San Francisco 49ers (2-0) rode their stifling defense to a 22-3 win over the Philadelphia Eagles (1-1). The 49ers defense could do no wrong and had rookie quarterback Trey Lance seeing ghosts all day. San Francisco sacked Lance seven times, including five from defensive lineman Bilal Nichols.
"Uh, that was awesome," Nichols said. "I don't know if I've ever had a game like that before."
Offensively, San Francisco stuck to their game plan of healthy doses of Alvin Kamara. Kamara carried 30 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns and was instrumental in getting the chains moving in the second half.
"Anything to help this team win," Kamara said. "I feel like I'm more of that veteran presence on this team so I need to set the example every day."
The Niners have allowed just 10 total points through two games. However, their defense will get a bigger test next week at home when they open against 3GML rival Green Bay.
Houston Texans @ Cleveland Browns
CLEVELAND - The Houston Texans (2-0) came back from a 10-0 deficit to dominate the Cleveland Browns (1-1) 48-30 Sunday afternoon. Things looked bleak early when all-pro defensive end Myles Garrett sacked quarterback Andy Dalton on Houston's first two drives, forcing the Texans to punt. Garrett gave right tackle Bobby Evans fits, forcing the Texans to make a change. In came rookie Quinn "The Belly" Meinerz and the Houston offense never looked back. While it looked like Meinerz had a difficult time with Garrett, he didn't allow a sack and gave his quarterback just enough time to get the ball out.
"Quinn played his butt off today," Coach David Shaw said. "We knew he played some tackle in college and with Bryan [Bulaga] and Christian [Darrisaw] out, we needed someone to step up."
With the offense allowed to find its groove, running back Marlon Mack had perhaps the game of his career. Mack topped the century mark on both the ground and in the air, finishing with 100 yards rushing and 102 receiving.
"They were taking our other guys out of the game so I knew the ball was going to come my way," Mack said. "It was rough missing last year so I'm just glad I have the opportunity to prove what I can do."
Of note in this one was the Texans continued to find success with their two-quarterback system. Both Andy Dalton and Gardner Minshew played meaningful snaps on the day. However, Dalton took a shot to the knee and couldn't finish the game. Early reports are he avoided major injury, but with a short week and the Carolina Panthers looming on Thursday night, odds are Minshew Mania is back.
Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY - The Detroit Lions (0-2) were outmatched 45-13 on Monday Night Football by an impressive Green Bay Packers team. The Lions were down numerous players and just didn't have the weapons to keep up with a Packers team loaded with talent.
Green Bay (2-0) amassed over 500 yards of offense against a Lions secondary that looked confused all night. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was impressive, throwing for 403 yards and three touchdowns. However, he took a hard sack from linebacker Jamie Collins in the 4th quarter and was seen wincing on the sideline.
"He took a shot to the ribs and is pretty sore," Coach Eric Bieniemy said. "We'll see what the tests show tomorrow."
Collins was all over the place for the Lions in the losing effort but coach Dan Campbell wasn't having it.
"We lost," Campbell said. "Jamie needs to play better if he wants to be here. His bench press numbers were sub par this week too. Can't have that."
When asked about his coaches comment, Collins said, "Was he watching the game? I gave it my all. Man, I'm calling my agent. Green Bay seems like they have something good going on over there, maybe they'll want me."
Adam Schefter is reporting that GM SD was admiring Collins' play throughout the game. Considering Collins' comments, could there be a move coming soon?
Green Bay looks to keep it rolling next week against the 2-0 San Francisco 49ers.
