Ja’Marr Chase, Zach Wilson and the other big disappointments of NFL Week 2

Week 2 of the NFL season offered teams a chance to right their wrongs from Week 1, or build on their opening game success. Many franchises took that opportunity and ran with it, while other players and teams laid an egg this weekend. We’ll take a look at which teams and players wished they could do Week 2 over.

For the majority of the preseason, Jacobs refused to report to Las Vegas Raiders camp in hopes of a new contract. It was a fair ploy considering how explosive of a 2022 season he had, but his performance against the Buffalo Bills Sunday was one to forget. Although he played well in the passing game, Jacobs rushed for -2 yards on nine carries.

One of these weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals will receive standout performances from both Chase and Tee Higgins. That did not come in Week 2, as Higgins found his stride, but Chase was limited to five catches for 31 yards. Chase is supposed to be one of the premier playmakers in the NFL, so look for a huge bounce back week in their next game.

The Jaguars had a golden chance to hang toe to toe against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, a team that they faced in last year’s playoffs. While Jacksonville’s defense did a decent enough job to win, their highly touted offense wasn’t able to find the end zone. Trevor Lawrence struggled with turnovers, and it seemed like he couldn’t find the same rhythm with Calvin Ridley that he had in Week 1.

The 2023 NFL season was going to be a huge tipping point for Fields as to whether he could be a respectable enough passer in the league. So far, early returns seem to indicate that he has a long way to go in that department. Fields threw two interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and also didn’t add much on the ground.

Given the state of their roster, the road to wins during the 2023 season was going to be arduous for Arizona. However, they had the makings of a victory staring them in the face, and they blew it. The Cardinals squandered a 20-0 halftime lead to lose 31-28 to the New York Giants. Arizona will be hard pressed to find other games in which they project to jump out to that kind of advantage.

It’s nothing that Burrow did intentionally, but the flaring up of his calf injury from the preseason adds a little more suspense to the Bengals’ uneven start. Questions about his Week 3 availability and mobility are going to dominate the conversation, and it’ll be interesting to see if this changes the way Cincinnati calls plays moving forward.

One of the biggest microscopes on the weekend was positioned firmly on the play of Wilson, who was tasked with stepping in for the injured Aaron Rodgers. The New York Jets hoped he could game manage them to a victory against the Dallas Cowboys, but Wilson tossed three picks. If the team is serious about making the playoffs, New York may need to trade for a veteran soon.

In what turned into a wild contest, Washington ended up hanging on for dear life in their win against the Denver Broncos. The Commanders are extremely fortunate to be 2-0, as they conceded some long pass plays. One of those sequences came at the end of the game, where Denver caught a Hail Mary as time expired.