The Buccaneers' 2020 season could have quickly turned into a disaster with an 0-2 start, but Tom Brady made sure that didn't happen on Sunday during Tampa Bay's home opener.
The Buccaneers quarterback, who has never started 0-2 in his entire 20-year career, started off hot as Tampa Bay jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead on their way to a 31-17 win. There was a report before the game that Brady was extra focused in practice this week, and that definitely seemed to translate on to the field as the 43-year-old led the Bucs on two touchdown drives before the first quarter even ended.
The second touchdown drive was capped with a beautiful 23-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Mike Evans that gave Tampa Bay a 14-0 lead.
That was easy 😏
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 20, 2020
📺: #CARvsTB on FOX
📲: Bucs app pic.twitter.com/BFMihUKeEt
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was probably thrilled to see some chemistry between Brady and Evans, especially after last week where Tampa Bay's star receiver was limited to just one catch for two yards. Brady targeted Evans four times in Week 1 and one of those targets turned into an interception that led to a minor controversy in Tampa. After the loss to the Saints, Arians pinned the blame for the pick on Brady, before backtracking a day later and blaming Evans. Either way, the chemistry between Evans and Brady just wasn't there.
This week, it was a completely different story. Including that touchdown pass, Evans caught seven passes for 101 yards. Evans actually set up Tampa's first touchdown of the day in the first quarter when he caught a 50-yard pass from Brady.
.@TomBrady and @MikeEvans13_ connect for 50 yards! #GoBucs
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2020
📺: #CARvsTB on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/gdttfTQjuY pic.twitter.com/Q8yO5r70I2
Although Brady's numbers weren't overly impressive (23 of 35, 217 yards, one TD), Arians was probably just excited to see the chemistry grow between Brady and his receiving corps. Brady could have put up even bigger numbers if not for multiple dropped passes, including a throw that would have been an easy touchdown if it had been caught by LeSean McCoy.
Arians was actually asked about McCoy's drop after the game, and based on his answer, it seems that everyone in Tampa has put last week's drama behind them.
"Don't worry, I'll tell everybody it was Tom's fault," Arians joked, when asked about McCoy's drop.
Of course, there wasn't much that was "Tom's fault" this week. Besides the throws to Evans, Brady made several other big throws in the game, including a huge flea-flicker in the second quarter that went for a 36-yard gain to Justin Watson.
Tom Brady with the flea flicker to Justin Watson pic.twitter.com/zy664p1ZcG
— Ben Brown (@FelixTheDog23) September 20, 2020
The scary thing for the rest of the NFL is that the Buccaneers offense is probably only going to get better and better every week as Brady continues to get more comfortable.
Alright, let's get to the grades for every game from Week 2. If you're looking for grades from the Browns' 35-30 win over the Bengals on Thursday, be sure to click here.
Tampa Bay 31-17 over Carolina
| C |  |
| With the Panthers trailing 21-0 at halftime, it looked like this game was going to turn into a total blowout, but instead, Carolina did mount a respectable comeback in the second half. The problem for the Panthers is that they just couldn't get out of their own way in the first half. On their first four possessions of the game, disaster struck in every way that disaster can strike as Carolina lost a fumble, threw an interception and failed to convert a fourth down off a fake punt. The fake punt was especially ugly, because it came on a fourth-and-1 at Tampa Bay's 36-yard line on a play where the Panthers should have just left their offense on the field. Overall, the first half was so ugly that Carolina didn't reach the red zone until the third quarter. | |
| B+ |  |
| Although Brady will be getting the headlines in Tampa, don't think we forgot about the Buccaneers defense, which seems to be the only defensive unit in the NFL that has figured out how to stop Christian McCaffrey. Although McCaffrey scored two late touchdowns, the Bucs limited him to just 59 yards rushing. In his last three games against the Bucs, McCaffrey has averaged just 42.3 yards. The Buccaneers defense also sacked Teddy Bridgewater a total of five times to go along with two picks. Ndamukong Suh played a big part in that defensive pressure as he led Tampa with two sacks. | |
Tennessee 33-30 over Jacksonville
| B+ |  |
| The Jaguars didn't win this game, but after two weeks of football, it's become pretty apparent that they have their quarterback of the future. Minshew Mania was running wild in Nashville as Gardner Minshew kept the Jaguars in the game with a phenomenal performance that included passing for 339 yards, which was the second-highest total of his career. Minshew also threw three TD passes, which tied a career high. Although the Jags QB threw two picks, both of those came on passes that were tipped. The Jags offense also got a lot of help from James Robinson, who carried the ball 16 times for 102 yards. The biggest problem for the Jags in this game is that their defense had no answers for a Titans offense that converted seven of 11 times on third down. | |
| B+ |  |
| With the Jaguars trying to take Derrick Henry out of the game, it was up to Ryan Tannehill to win things for Tennessee, and that's exactly what he did. Not only did Tannehill come up with big throw after big throw for the Titans, but he also tossed four TD passes, which tied a career high. On Tennessee's first two drives, Tannehill went 4-of-5 for 99 yards and two scores as the Titans shot out to a 14-0 lead. Tight end Jonnu Smith continues to play like a star. Although he only caught four passes, he did some damage with those receptions, going for 84 yards and two TDs. Of course, the most important thing for the Titans might be the fact that Stephen Gostkowski seems to have bounced back from last week. After missing three field goals in Week 1, Gostkowski hit two against the Jags, including a 49 yarder with under two minutes to play that ended up accounting for the game-winning points. | |
Indianapolis 28-11 over Minnesota
| F |  |
| When you combine a bad offensive line with a quarterback who isn't very mobile, that's usually a recipe for disaster in the NFL and it definitely was for the Vikings on Sunday. In a game where he was facing constant pressure, Kirk Cousins melted down with one of the worst performances of his career. Not only did the Vikings quarterback throw three interceptions, but he also got sacked for an ugly safety in the second quarter. The only bright spot for the Vikings in this game was... you know what, let's not kid ourselves, they didn't have any bright spots. | |
| A+ |  |
| After watching Philip Rivers throw multiple interceptions last week, Colts coach Frank Reich decided to go back to his bread-and-butter this week: The run. The Colts ran 65 offensive plays in this game and 40 of those were runs. Although Marlon Mack was lost for the season last week, Jonathan Taylor proved he could carry the load with 25 carries for 101 yards and a TD. Of course, this game was a blowout for one reason and one reason only: The Colts defense absolutely dominated Minnesota. The Colts held the Vikings to just 175 total yards, marking the first time in 2014 that Indy has held an opposing offense under 200 yards. The Colts defense also got three interceptions and three sacks from a defense that looked determined to destroy the Vikings. | |
Buffalo 31-28 over Miami
| B+ |  |
| Going into the 2020 season, Josh Allen had never thrown for 300 yards in a game, but now he's done it twice. After throwing for 312 yards last week, Allen topped himself in Week 2 with a 400-yard game. Allen diced up the Dolphins defense and he did it by utilizing Stefon Diggs as often as possible. The Bills front office is looking more and more brilliant each week for the Diggs trade. In this game, Diggs caught eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. The only surprise in this game was that the vaunted Bills defense couldn't shut down the Dolphins, but thanks to Josh Allen, that didn't matter. | |
| B |  |
| If you didn't know who Mike Gesicki was before this week, you probably will now, and that's because the Dolphins tight end had the biggest game of his career. The 2018 second-round pick caught eight passes for 130 yards and a touchdown as the Dolphins went toe-to-toe with the favored Bills for all four quarters. This game briefly looked like it was going to be a classic FitzMagic upset as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but Miami had too many defensive breakdowns. The Dolphins defense allowed two long touchdown drives of more than 75 yards in the fourth quarter and those drives are a big reason why the Bills were able to sneak away with the win. | |
San Francisco 31-13 over N.Y. Jets
| A+ |  |
| Sometimes, the NFL is just about surviving, and that's exactly what the 49ers did in Week 2. Not only did they go into the game knowing they wouldn't have their best offensive weapon (George Kittle) and their best corner (Richard Sherman), but during the game, they also lost Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert and Nick Bosa. Despite all of that, the 49ers still managed a double-digit win. Garoppolo and Mostert both came up big before leaving the game. On Mostert's end, he started the scoring off on the day when he ran 75 yards for a TD on the first play from scrimmage. As for Garoppolo, he was 12 of 16 for 131 yards and 2 TDs before getting pulled at halftime due to an ankle injury. Basically, the 49ers' JV team won this one for San Francisco and they did it handily. | |
| F |  |
| If there's one team in the NFL that's already hit rock bottom this year, it's definitely the Jets. If you're wondering how bad things got for them on Sunday, they couldn't even stop the 49ers from converting a third-and-31 in the third quarter. Due to injuries, the 49ers didn't have their starting quarterback or their top running back in the game, but they still converted the third down thanks to a 55-yard run. The play basically summed up the Jets' entire season so far and also Adam Gase's entire time in New York. | |
L.A. Rams 37-19 over Philadelphia
| A |  |
| Sean McVay has been criticized for never beating Doug Pederson. Well, he owned the Super Bowl winning coach Sunday by confusing Jim Schwartz's defense with play action passes and wide receiver counter runs to take a commanding 21-3 first half lead the Rams would never relinquish. McVay and the Rams offense are showing they are back to the 2017/2018 form that earned them two NFC West titles and an NFC Championship while averaging 31.4 points per game. Goff completed his first 13 passes and Los Angeles racked up over 450 yards of offense in crushing another NFC East team. The L.A. defense is pretty legit too, forcing three Eagles turnovers and preserving the early lead it earned. The NFC West is loaded and Los Angeles is a contender for the division title. | |
| F |  |
| Philadelphia is just not a good football team. There's no other way to put it. A team that got younger and faster this offseason had no answer for McVay's play action passes and bootlegs as Jared Goff threw just seven incomplete passes on the day. Los Angeles also averaged 5.4 yards per carry (before kneel downs) and finished 7 for 11 on third down, showcasing how outmatched the Eagles defense actually was. The Philly offense isn't any better, as it finished with three turnovers and failed to score over 20 points for the second consecutive week. Carson Wentz is inconsistent and Pederson didn't take any shots downfield with speedsters DeSean Jackson and Jalen Reagor. Outside of Miles Sanders, this team doesn't have much to work with. I'm not sure if they can beat the Bengals next week. | |
Rams-Eagles grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Dallas 40-39 over Atlanta
| D |  |
| Your same old Atlanta Falcons in 2020? You betcha. Even as the Falcons mounted a 14-point lead, it felt like they could always find a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Shades of the infamous 28-3 Super Bowl collapse loomed large overhead, but they staved off the narrative for 59 football minutes. The problem is, the games are 60 minutes long, and Dak Prescott made sure to remind them of such at AT&T Stadium. Credit Matt Ryan and Calvin Ridley for a monster game, but the defense gave up the game when they could least afford it. That, combined with an absolute brain fart on an onside kick that allowed the Cowboys to recover, followed by another big play from Prescott that set up Greg Zuerlein for the game-winning boot. For most of the contest, the Falcons offense looked great, as evidenced by the 39-point explosion. But, in the end, allowing the other team to climb back from a list of mistakes and a double-digit deficit to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory is unforgivable. | |
| B+ |  |
| Your same old Dallas Cowboys in 2020? Not so fast. Truth be told, they deserve a hearty F as a grade for fumbling four times in the first quarter and losing three of them, which allowed the Falcons to jump all over them with a 14-0 score. It looked as if they'd get run out of their own gym, and they would've if Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott didn't take matters into their own hands in the second quarter. The offense, which also saw rookie first-round pick CeeDee Lamb join Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup in making game-changing plays, along with a career day from backup tight end Dalton Schultz, helped keep the Cowboys alive in spite of themselves. The defense, however, was mostly abysmal and allowed the Falcons to stave off the gradual Cowboys onslaught, but it was Dallas who had the last laugh. Mistakes be damned, because the Cowboys' never-say-die attitude floats them from failure to a well-earned 'B+'. Why not an 'A'? Because they wouldn't have had to sew their own arm back on had they never cut it off in the first place. | |
Falcons-Cowboys grades by Patrik Walker (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Chicago 17-13 over N.Y. Giants
| D+ |  |
| The offense is boring and the line is not where it was hoped to be this early in the season. The stats were relatively even between these two teams, but that is not to say either played well. The ugliest part of this loss for the Giants is that it's looking like they're going to lose Saquon Barkley for the season after the running back suffered what the team reportedly fears is a torn ACL. | |
| C+ |  |
| The Bears offense is still not going to inspire fear in anyone. They flashed at times, but old errors bubbled to the surface. For instance, Mitchell Trubisky played well at times, but he also had multiple throws where he looked like the Trubisky that we've all come to know. The defense played well as New York struggled with injury and play-calling. Despite being put in a few tough spots, the Bears defense came up with multiple big stops to help seal the win. | |
Giants-Bears grades by Josh Edwards (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Pittsburgh 26-21 over Denver
| C+ |  |
| Denver gets credit for hanging tough despite losing Drew Lock to injury early in the game. That being said, the Broncos' defense, after recording an interception and a turnover on downs, was unable to make enough plays in the fourth quarter, as the unit gave up a touchdown pass and a back-breaking, 59-yard run by James Conner. The Broncos need to find a way to get the ball more to Melvin Gordon, who made the most of his 21 touches with 84 total yards and a receiving TD. | |
| B |  |
| The Steelers received 311 passing yards and two touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, 106 rushing yards from James Conner, and seven sacks and two forced turnovers by their defense. Despite this success, Pittsburgh was in jeopardy of losing to the Broncos, who played without Lock for the majority of the day. While it did enough good things to improve to 2-0, Pittsburgh's two turnovers and lack of red zone success (it was 1-3 in the red zone on Sunday) kept Denver in the game. Pittsburgh's pass defense, for a second-straight week, also gave up way too many big plays, as Lock's replacement Jeff Driskel managed to throw two touchdowns while keeping the Broncos close. | |
Broncos-Steelers grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Green Bay 42-21 over Detroit
| D |  |
| Detroit looked strong out of the gate, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, but fell off a cliff from that point on. The Lions were shut out in the second and third quarters and the Packers proceeded to light up the scoreboard over that same stretch. There was no answer for Aaron Jones, and Matt Patricia's team gave up back-to-back critical penalties prior to halftime that started to give Green Bay some life. | |
| A |  |
| A little sluggish to start, but the Packers absolutely rolled over the Lions. At one point, Green Bay went on a 31-0 run that really vaulted them ahead. This was the second game in a row that Aaron Rodgers' club was able to score 40-plus points and this time it was thanks to running back Aaron Jones. He totaled a career-high 236 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns in the win. The Packers defense was also able to put up points as corner Chandon Sullivan picked off Matthew Stafford and rolled into the end zone for a touchdown. A dominant display on all phases. | |
Lions-Packers grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Baltimore 33-16 over Houston
| A- |  |
| Baltimore gashed Houston's defense to the tune of 230 rushing yards on 37 carries. The Ravens' defense was equally impressive, sacking Deshaun Watson four times while recording two turnovers. The Ravens did not get a perfect grade after allowing Lamar Jackson to take way too many unnecessary hits on Sunday. Jackson, despite Baltimore's selection of J.K. Dobbins in this year's draft, had a team-high 16 carries. Dobbins had just two carries, while no other Ravens player had more than 10 rushing attempts. | |
| D |  |
| Deshaun Watson, simply put, was not put into many situations to be successful on Sunday, as Houston often asked him to run play-action against a Baltimore defense that had no issues getting into the Texans' backfield. Houston, without Duke Johnson, had little success on the ground, which made things even harder for Watson and his receivers. Defensively, the Texans, along with getting pushed around in the running game, failed to force a turnover. The one bright spot was J.J. Watt, whose two sacks moved him past Warren Sapp for 41st on the all-time list. | |
Ravens-Texans grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Kansas City 23-20 over L.A. Chargers (OT)
| B- |  |
| It's early in the season, but we haven't exactly seen the same explosive Chiefs offense we have grown accustomed to over the past two years. In Week 1, Kansas City relied primarily on rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and on Sunday, they were shut down by the Chargers defense in the first half. Being the better team, they eventually got things back on track, and that's really all that matters. Mahomes turned into a legitimate dual-threat quarterback with 54 rushing yards on four rushes and Tyreek Hill had a couple of big plays that got the Chiefs going. Not the best performance for Kansas City overall, but a win is a win and that's all that matters. | |
| A- |  |
| The Chiefs had won 11 out of the past 12 contests against the Chargers, but L.A. was in this game on Sunday for two reasons: Their rookie quarterback and their defense. Justin Herbert was told just moments before the game that he was going to register his first career start, and he began the contest with an eight-play, 79-yard drive which ended with a touchdown -- a four-yard run the rookie ran in himself. He finished with 311 passing yards, two total touchdowns and one interception, and was more than impressive in his NFL debut. As for the defense, they did a great job getting pressure on Patrick Mahomes all game and took away some of the little things that make the Chiefs such an explosive team. The Chargers held their own on the line of scrimmage and were on the lookout for screen plays and misdirection. It may not have been enough for a victory today, but the future is bright in Los Angeles. | |
Chiefs-Chargers grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Arizona 30-15 over Washington
| C- |  |
| Washington's vaunted defensive line was able to overrun the Eagles last week during their upset win in Philadelphia, but this week, they had no answers for Kyler Murray. Although they were able to put some pressure on the Cardinals QB, it didn't really help, because he would simply escape the pressure and make a big play. Washington trailed 20-0 at halftime and never really made a run after that. Washington did score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but those both game in garbage time. | |
| A+ |  |
| It might only be Week 2, but we're going to go ahead and start the Kyler Murray MVP campaign anyway after what he did to Washington. The Cardinals quarterback ran circles around Washington's defense as he carried Arizona to victory. Not only did Murray throw for 286 yards and a touchdown, but he also rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. For the second straight week, Murray made sure to target DeAndre Hopkins early and often. The Cardinals new receiver caught eight passes for 68 yards and a TD. | |
Seattle 35-30 over New England
| B+ |  |
| Cam Newton alone probably deserves an "A," because he almost single-handedly led New England to a thrilling comeback win. But man, he could use some help in the ground game, not to mention on the other side of the ball. Stephon Gilmore isn't going to get outmuscled every week, but the secondary wasn't up to par on Sunday night. Still, for this team to take the Seahawks to the wire, they deserve a lot of respect. | |
| A- |  |
| Their defense deserves a lower grade for allowing a Patriots offense devoid of any ground game outside of Cam Newton to score 30 points and come within a few yards of a last-minute upset. But Russell Wilson alone lifts the whole team's grade to another level. Five touchdowns on a night that started with a pick-six? This guy was pure MVP material in prime time, and if Seattle can figure out how to get any kind of pass rush, they should be primed for a deep run. | |
Patriots-Seahawks grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Las Vegas 34-24 over New Orleans
| D |  |
| It's starting to look like Drew Brees has lost his fastball. Although it's possible that this was just one bad game by the Saints quarterback, the reality is that he was simply off all night. Not only did he throw an ugly interception near the end of the first half, but he also missed on multiple throws that were intended for open receivers. Overall, it was a sloppy game for a Saints team that was penalized 10 times for 129 yards, which is the most yardage that any team has been penalized in a single game through two weeks this season. Sean Payton also had a baffling challenge call in the fourth quarter that cost his team a timeout in a game where an extra timeout would have been nice. Apparently, the bright lights of Las Vegas were too much for the Saints, because they wilted in primetime. | |
| A+ |  |
| In the first NFL game ever played in the entertainment capital of the world, the Las Vegas Raiders provided plenty of entertainment for their new home city. Although the Raiders quickly fell into a 10-0 hole in the first quarter, they absolutely dominated after that. The Raiders offense moved up and down the field at will and a big reason for that was Darren Waller, who caught everything that Derek Carr threw his way. For the game, Waller caught 12 passes for 103 yards and a TD. Carr diced up the Saints secondary to the tune of 282 yards and two touchdowns. Jon Gruden embodied the spirit of Vegas with multiple big gambles against the Saints. The Raiders went for it twice on fourth down in this game and converted both times. | |
