It had big plays, more points than last week, plenty of sacks, including great individual sack days, and it had large passing days from quarterbacks.
Chris Johnson's huge plays went for naught in the Titans' 34-31 loss to Houston. (AP)
Do we really get 15 more of these? Let's hope so.
Whenever you looked up, a runner or a receiver was ripping off a play bigger than the next.
We saw Tennessee's Chris Johnson with three touchdown plays of more than 50 yards, including a 91-yard run.
We had Frank Gore with two touchdown runs of 79 yards or more.
We saw Cincinnati's Antwan Odom with five sacks and Denver's Elvis Dumervil with four.
We had San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers throw for 436 yards and lose.
We saw Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner setting a record for single-game completion percentage, hitting 24 of 26 passes for a 92.3 percentage against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He hit his first 15.
Then there was Eli Manning and his 330 yards and a late-game drive to the winning points with no time left to give the New York Giants a victory in the late game over Dallas.
Fun stuff.
But the most impressive two things of the entire day are the same two things that impressed last week; the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets.
The Saints blew out the Philadelphia Eagles 48-22 on the road as Drew Brees threw three more touchdown passes to give him nine on the season. The Saints have scored 93 points in two games and are the first team to get at least 45 points in their first two games since the 1968 Oakland Raiders.
At this clip, Brees is on a pace to throw 72 touchdown passes. Anybody still want to criticize the Saints for throwing it too much?
The flip side is the Jets, who beat the New England Patriots 16-9 and dominated the explosive Patriots offense. They hit Tom Brady all afternoon to get to 2-0. The Jets have not allowed a touchdown on defense in their first two games, showing they have taken well to first-year coach Rex Ryan's standards.
Both the Saints and the Jets earn A's here in our CBSSports.com Week 2 Grades. If they keep it up, we just might see them together in January down in Miami.
Redskins: It wasn't pretty, but they'll take it. They moved it from 20 to 20, but couldn't score. The defense played well, forcing a key turnover inside the 5 late. Jason Campbell was efficient, but he didn't make it happen in the red zone.
C-
1.85
C-
Rams: The defense gave up yards, but made the plays when it needed to stop Washington drives. The offense didn't do much. Steven Jackson was solid with 104 yards, but Donnie Avery's fumble was a killer.
Texans: Matt Schaub bounced back from a tough go last week in a big way, throwing for 357 yards and four touchdowns. Andre Johnson had two of those touchdown catches and racked up 149 yards on 10 catches. The defense gave up way too many big plays, especially to Chris Johnson. They have to clean that up.
F
1.65
B-
Titans: What happened to that defense? Maybe they do miss Jim Schwartz. There is no way that should happen to that group. Johnson had a huge day, rushing for 197 yards and scoring the three big-play touchdowns.
Saints: Can anybody stop Brees? The Eagles defense was carved up. The Saints have to worry some about their defense. They made some key stops, but they gave up a lot of yards. They did have three picks.
B+
3.65
C+
Eagles: Kevin Kolb made some plays, but the three interceptions hurt. He did throw for 391 yards. The Eagles defense came back down to earth a little. They are better than that. But it's tough against the Saints.
Jets: This one goes to the defense. The aggressive, attacking defense hit Tom Brady all day long and never let the Pats get into a groove. Mark Sanchez took care of the ball and the Jets did just enough on offense.
A
4.00
B-
Patriots: The New England defense had a decent enough day to win. Who could have imagined the Pats offense would cost them a game? Brady could never get it going. Randy Moss was a nonfactor. The line was overmatched.
Raiders: This is a game they probably should not have won, considering how badly they were dominated. But they found a way, thanks to JaMarcus Russell leading them on a game-winning drive. Russell didn't play well other than that. The defense bent, but stiffened at key times.
F
1.00
C-
Chiefs: They moved the ball, but couldn't score. They also shut down Oakland's offense for most of the game, but that last drive was a killer. Matt Cassel had two picks in his first start for the Chiefs. Losing this one should not have happened.
Cardinals: Kurt Warner set a completion-percentage record at 92.3. He missed two passes and didn't get touched. He threw two touchdown passes. The big play was the return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown by Antrel Rolle. The defense played well until the game was out of hand.
C-
2.85
C-
Jaguars: The defense was terrible. They don't have any semblance of a pass rush, and it showed. Their offense isn't designed to keep up, although David Garrard did have a decent day after the Jaguars fell behind.
Bengals: Carson Palmer threw three touchdown passes, but this day belonged to Odom and running back Cedric Benson. Odom had five sacks as the Bengals did a nice job up front. Benson ran for 144 yards. The Packers offense never really got going. Palmer's pick for a score by Charles Woodson hurt.
C
2.65
C-
Packers: Their offensive line was overmatched, and it showed. Aaron Rodgers took a beating. Their defense made some big plays, but Benson ran through them all afternoon, especially at the end when the Bengals needed it.
Vikings: The defense played well, especially in the second half. Chad Greenway had two picks of Matthew Stafford. They also forced a fumble at 10-10 that led to the go-ahead score. Adrian Peterson didn't put up the huge numbers, but he had a touchdown and a good day. Brett Favre was efficient.
B+
3.00
C
Lions: They fought for a half, but you can't turn it over and expect to win when you're undermanned. Matthew Stafford played like a rookie at times, and Kevin Smith's fumble was a killer. The defense played decent enough.
Falcons: The offense had a good game, but the defense struggled. Matt Ryan hit on 13 consecutive passes during one span and threw three touchdown passes. Michael Turner went for 105 yards.
B
2.85
C-
Panthers: The offense bounced back, especially Jake Delhomme. He had a good day. The running game went for 144 yards. The defense had problems again. They didn't get any pressure. Anybody seen Julius Peppers?
49ers: Frank Gore had a monster day to key the offense and quarterback Shaun Hill was efficient with the football. The defense had a second consecutive big game, doing a great job shutting down the Seattle running game.
B
3.50
D
Seahawks: Their offense didn't show up. And when Matt Hasselbeck went out with a rib injury in the second quarter, they were done. The defense needs to learn how to limit big plays. Gore made them look silly.
Bills: Fred Jackson had a big day running it (163 yards) and Trent Edwards threw two touchdown passes. The defense gave up some passing yards, but shut down the Tampa Bay running game and scored on an interception return.
A
3.50
D
Buccaneers: For the second consecutive week, the defense was terrible. The Bills dominated that unit. Byron Leftwich threw for 296 yards and three scores. But he threw it 50 times. That's too many.
Ravens: The defense gave up a lot of passing yards, but they made huge stops in the red zone. That was the difference. The fourth-down stop by Ray Lewis at the end was a great play. Joe Flacco had another good day at quarterback.
C+
2.65
C+
Chargers: The Chargers blew too many scoring chances. They wasted a heck of a day by Philip Rivers, who stood in the face of a fierce rush and threw for a career-high 436 yards. He did throw two big picks. The defense played OK, but gave up too many points.
Broncos: The defense is playing well, shutting down the Cleveland offense. Elvis Dumervil was the star. Kyle Orton had a nice game with 263 yards and a touchdown. They also ran for more than 150. Don't look now, but they're 2-0.
C+
3.15
D-
Browns: It was horrible. Again. The offense didn't do anything. They couldn't run it and Brady Quinn struggled. The defense didn't play much better. It's not good right now.
Bears: Jay Cutler redeemed himself after his poor play in the opener. He completed all four of his passes on the game-winning drive. He threw two touchdown passes. The defense did a nice job on the Pittsburgh running game, which put the game into the hands of the passing game.
C
2.65
C+
Steelers: Jeff Reed missed two key field goals that cost the Steelers. The lack of a running game hurt again. The defense played well enough to win, but let down late. This game was theirs for the taking, but Reed cost them.
Giants: Eli Manning and that passing game were on fire. Did he look good in the drive to the winning points or what? It looks like Mario Manningham and Steve Smith will be fine at receiver. On defense, they were gashed in the run game, which has to be fixed.
B
3.00
B-
Cowboys: The running game was dominant from start to finish. They ran it right at the Giants to keep them in the game. But that defense, especially the pass defense, was horrible. That's the second week for that, so now it's a big concern. Where was DeMarcus Ware? Tony Romo wasn't great either.
Colts: This one was all about Peyton Manning. Give him the ball late, down three, and watch him go. The Colts hit big plays in the passing game to win this game. The defense couldn't get Miami off the field. That's a concern.
B-
2.50
C
Dolphins: They ran it at will, controlled the clock, and still lost the game. Why? They don't have Manning. There aren't any big plays in the offense. The pass defense really let down on that last drive for the Colts.
You are being way too kind when saying that the Bears arent playing good football. The are absoutely stinking up the joint. As a die hard Bears fan that has tried to keep looking at the stupid glass as half full I have finally had enough of this wreck of a team. I would love to say its injuries or something like that as to why the Bears are so god awfull but its not. When y
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Well, Pete, I think you gave us apretty good report card this time. Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving day anymore? They have to have their head examined for playing Matthew Stafford...why? Here's your franchise QB, and let's see how he likes being a punching bag for the Packers.
If the Cowboys would stop making mistakes, they could have put 40 on the Raiders. As it w
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Why is it that the Cowboys can play a team like the Eagles and beat them but the media either calls it a weak league and but when we lost earlier in the season to the Giants they were on their way back to the Superbowl. I know the Cowboys are the team people love to hate but my goodness what happened to us being just plain Good. I'm not saying we are Superbowl material yet but we are making some s
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I'm a Packer fan, but to say they deserve an A for this game is more then just a stretch. The Special Teams play was bad once again coughing the ball up on the opening drive, missing a 43 yard field goal, and giving up 2 34 yard returns. The offense had trouble scoring TD's in the red zone and also gave up a Safety. The penalties problem continued, the Atari Bigby block in the ba
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The Ravens at home on a Sunday night playing a divisional game against a team without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Guard Chris Keamouteau, safety Troy Polamalu, and DE Aaron Smith...the most 4 important people for the Steelers, and the Ravens playing against Dennis Dixon only win in OT because of the kid's interception in his first start ever. I say the Ravens should be getting a C-.
Let me start by saying, this isn't directed at ALL Steelers fans, just the ignorant ones who can't type a post or have a conversation without mentioning 6 Super Bowl wins, and when I say "Steelers fans" I'm referring to these ignorant ones...
The Steelers don't have more championships than other other franchise. In fact, they're not even in the top 3. The current leaders are t
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This is a plea to Prisco to start grading teams OBJECTIVELY rather than based on expectations. Please explain to me how the Chiefs earn an A while the Steelers earn a D, when the game went into overtime? Just because a team that normally plays poorly manages to win a squeaker against a good team, they get an A? You gotta be kidding me. Did you watch the game??? The Chiefs were dominat
Prisco probably should have said that playoff races are usually a bunch of good teams chasing each other for a few coveted spots, usually while playing a decent level of football. The problem is that even the mediocre 6-4 clubs continually play up and down each week, there are only a few teams that play consistently well almost each week and the rest are basically struggling to put together any ki
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I am so sorry Pete to douse water on your platonic love affair with Peyton ....but no team ever deserves an "A" when they fall behind 17-0 against an opponent they own...and your "special boy" Peyton throws 2 picks(again!!)
Even your "binky buddy" Manning said they did not play a complete game....... they get an "A" for playing a 1/2 gam
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"Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way."
They got a D and the Chiefs got an A??? They got outplayed and got an A? Strange grades indeed.
Prisco - I usually love your writing despite what everyone else on here has to say about it. However, your argument does not make mathematical sense. For example, you mentioned that the Bengals would have virtually locked up the AFC North if they had beat the Raiders. They would have a two game lead plus tie breaker with 6 games to go.
The problem with that thinking is that it assumes
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How can you say that? Because you read the stats and saw the yardage that McNabb put up? Or did you actually watch the game?
The Chargers offense was scoring at will and the defense held Philly to a field goal on, what?... 3 redzone situations - one being 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. So the Chargers went to playing prevent D most of the game. T
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I am not a Colts fan, but how can a team that is PERFECT on the season only have a 3.15? Isn't a PERFECT record equivalent to a 4.0? if not, why the heck not? What else is supposed to happen in this league other than win ALL of your games?
I have huge respect for Pete Prisco. The amount of dis he suffers on this forum is way over the top. And unwarranted. Nevertheless , for once , I'm disappointed with him this week.
The Sunday night game was a classic. For most of the game New England was terrifyingly awesome. On both sides of the ball. Brady was exceptional. By contrast Indy was not inspiring and I thought Manning had t
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I don't agree with what Prisco is saying. No playoff races in the coming weeks? Sure, there are a divisions with significant leads, but that doesn't mean the end of the season is set up for a number of big wild card races. Still, another other reason I don't agree is that a few weeks ago I remember either Prisco or Judge saying the exact same thing about there being no races, exc
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