The Sportsletter - Week 2: September Surprise 🏈

BY JEFF YODER

SEPT. 16, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 🙌

Surprise, surprise! Week 2 in the NFL was full of shockers. This week’s power rankings will get a huge overhaul, but there’s one game left — a battle of the birds (Tonight: Falcons at Eagles, 8:15 pm ET, ESPN).

A busy early-fall weekend means we have a loaded highlights section: UFC, MLB, WNBA, Soccer, Golf & Racing. Plus, Caitlin Clark officially owns the WNBA rookie record books. Join us for tomorrow’s feature recapping her rookie season.

Letter Rip!

NFL

Week 2: September Surprise 🏈

Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images

Surprise Teams Shook the NFL in Week 2 — Namely, Saints RB Alvin Kamara’s 4-TD Day Buried the Cowboys

Ah, that beautiful NFL parity is at it again. The NFL hierarchy gets another big shift this week. Among the top surprise winners on Sunday in Week 2 were the Saints and Cardinals — both victorious by 20-plus points. New Orleans produced the biggest exclamation win of Week 2 by steamrolling the Cowboys (in Dallas, no less) to the tune of 44-19. Saints RB Alvin Kamara (180 yards, 4 TDs) carved up the highly-touted Cowboys defense, and the Saints lead the NFL in scoring with 91 points through two weeks. No other team has more than 70.

Other Surprises: Elsewhere, the Cardinals crushed the short-handed Rams in an NFC West matchup that was never close (41-10). Kyler Murray revival season? The Vikings also upset the 49ers to move to 2-0. The Packers beat the Colts with backup QB Malik Willis (16-10). And the Commanders-Giants rivalry clash was downright ugly. Washington got its first win without scoring a touchdown — seven field goals (21-18), including a game-winner as time expired.

Game of the Week: The Bengals went into Arrowhead and seemingly had the Chiefs on the ropes until the very end. A pass interference call granted Kansas City new life on their final drive to set up Harrison Butker’s 51-yard game-winning field goal (26-25). That’s a 2-0 start for the champs against the Ravens and Bengals by razor-thin margins, but wins are wins.

The Best of Week 2 (Stats)

💥 Offensive Explosions

RB Alvin Kamara (NO): 180 yards, 4 TDs

WR N. Collins (HOU): 135 yards, 1 TD

WR Justin Jefferson (MIN): 133 yards, 1 TD

RB J.K. Dobbins (LAC): 131 yards, 1 TD

WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (ARI): 130 yards, 2 TDs

WR D.K. Metcalf (SEA): 129 yards, 1 TD

WR Malik Nabers (NYG): 127 yards, 1 TD

*Kyler Murray: Only QB to Throw 3 TDs in Week 2

🔒 Defensive Dominance

DE Aidan Hutchinson (DET): 5 tackles 4.5 sacks

LB Fred Warner (SF): 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT

👟 Kicking Clinics (Special Teams)

K Austin Seibert (WAS): 7/7 FGs

K Daniel Carlson (LVR): 4/4 FGs

K Harrison Butker (KC): 51-Yard Game-Winner

Week 2 Scores & Highlights

Bills def. Dolphins (31-10)

Chargers def. Panthers (26-3)

Vikings def. 49ers (23-17)

Packers def. Colts (16-10)

Saints def. Cowboys (44-19)

Commanders def. Giants (21-18)

Jets def. Titans (24-17)

Buccaneers def. Lions (20-16)

Seahawks def. Patriots (23-20, OT)

Raiders def. Ravens (26-23)

Browns def. Jaguars (18-13)

Cardinals def. Rams (41-10)

Steelers def. Broncos (13-6)

Chiefs def. Bengals (26-25)

Texans def. Bears (19-13)

Monday Night Football

Falcons at Eagles (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

Stay tuned for the Week 2 Game Ball, Power Rankings & Pick ‘Em winners tomorrow and Wednesday.

SI: NFL Week 2 Recap: Who’s Up, Who’s Down, What’s Next for Every Team

CBS Sports: Scorigami! Saints-Cowboys Make NFL History in Week 2

Yahoo! Sports: The Steelers Have 1 Touchdown in 2-0 Start

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

AP Poll: Horns Hook the No. 1 Spot

Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images

Texas Leaps Georgia for New No. 1 in AP Poll for the First Time Since 2008

Move over, Dawgs! The Texas Longhorns are No. 1 once again. For the first time since in 16 years, Steve Sarkisian has the newest members of the SEC atop the college football universe. Texas throttled UTSA on Saturday (56-7) in a game where QB Arch Manning played the entire second half and racked up 276 yards and 5 TDs. Starting QB Quinn Ewers suffered an ab injury. That blowout, while expected, showed a contrast as previous No. 1 Georgia needed a fourth-quarter touchdown just to survive Kentucky (13-12). Much of the top 10 remains unchanged, but a fun weekend of rivalries produced some good games.

Notable Week 3 Highlights

#1 Georgia def. Kentucky (13-12)

#2 Texas def. UTSA (56-7)

#4 Alabama def. Wisconsin (42-10)

#5 Ole Miss def. Wake Forest (40-6)

#6 Missouri def. #24 Boston College (27-21)

#7 Tennessee def. Kent State (71-0)

#9 Oregon def. Oregon State (49-14)

#10 Miami def. Ball State (62-0)

#16 LSU def. South Carolina (36-33)

#18 Notre Dame def. Purdue (66-7)

AP Poll

1. Texas (3-0) | ↑1

2. Georgia (3-0) | ↓1

3. Ohio State (2-0) | —

4. Alabama (3-0) | —

5. Ole Miss (3-0) | —

6. Tennessee (3-0) | ↑1

7. Missouri (3-0) | ↓1

8. Miami (3-0) | ↑2

9. Oregon (3-0) | —

10. Penn State (2-0) | ↓2

Rest of Top-25: 11. USC (2-0), 12. Utah (3-0), 13. Kansas State (3-0), 14. Oklahoma State (3-0), 15. Oklahoma (3-0), 16. LSU (2-1), 17. Notre Dame (2-1), 18. Michigan (2-1), 19. Louisville (2-0), 20. Iowa State (2-0), 21. Clemson (1-1), 22. Nebraska (3-0), 23. Northern Illinois (2-0), 24. Illinois (3-0), 25. Texas A&M (2-1)

AP: Texas on Top! Longhorns Take Over No. 1 in AP Poll for First Time in 16 Years

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

Merab Spoils the Sphere