ICYMI in NFL's Week 2: NFC East bizarre so far; Romo injured
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) Washington Redskins Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams was looking ahead to his surprisingly in-the-thick-of-it team's early showdown against the New York Giants, coming up on Thursday night.
''I think they won today,'' Williams mentioned, ''if I'm not mistaken.''
Um, Trent, sorry but you're mistaken.
A reporter soon informed Williams that the Giants had blown another sizable lead Sunday.
''They lost? Well, we've got an angry team (to face),'' Williams said with a laugh. ''We've got to be careful. It's not time to underestimate anybody.''
Talk about a sign of how bizarre things already are in the NFC East: The Redskins need to caution themselves about not underestimating an opponent?
Tom Coughlin's Giants are 0-2, the first team in NFL history to blow 10-point fourth-quarter leads in each of their first two games, according to STATS, after a 24-20 defeat against Atlanta. Chip Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles are 0-2, too. So both of those clubs are looking up at the Redskins, who are 1-1 after going 7-25 the past two seasons.
And while the Dallas Cowboys are in first place at 2-0, they're now without Tony Romo - who broke his left collarbone in Sunday's 20-10 victory over Philadelphia - in addition to Dez Bryant, already out with a broken right foot.
''It's going to be a challenge,'' said Brandon Weeden, who will replace Romo as the Cowboys' starting quarterback.
In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL's second regular-season Sunday:
MURRAY'S MALAISE
The third member of Dallas' star-filled trio on offense last season, running back DeMarco Murray, is no longer with the Cowboys at all, having joined the Eagles as a free agent. How's that working out? Through two games, the leading rusher in the NFL a year ago has gained 11 yards on 21 carries. Against his former team, Murray ran 13 times for a grand total of 2 yards. Yes, you read that correctly. ''All I'm worried about is winning,'' Murray said. ''I'm not worried about rushing yards.'' Not doing well in either category, actually.
INFLATED STATS
Tom Brady is making the most of his chance to play after a judge overturned his four-game suspension stemming from the Patriots' improperly inflated footballs in the AFC championship game. He already has thrown for 754 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions; Peyton Manning in 2013 is the only other QB to reach those numbers through two games. Brady was 38 for 59 for 466 yards and three scores in a 40-32 victory at Buffalo that made the Patriots 2-0 and left Bills coach Rex Ryan saying: ''I've been on the wrong end of it a few times when the kid gets hot, and Brady was hot.''
EXTRA POINTS COST EXTRA
Two weeks in, the NFL's decision to push back the distance for extra points appears to be having a real affect. First of all, teams already have missed nine kicks after touchdowns - more than the eight missed all of last season, STATS said. And look at what Pittsburgh did in its 43-18 win against San Francisco: After each of their first two TDs, the Steelers went for 2-point conversions - and were successful. And after their third touchdown? The Steelers sent out kicker Josh Scobee for the PAT ... and, naturally, he missed.
GOING DEEP
Johnny Manziel connected with Travis Benjamin on one 60-yard touchdown toss, and another from 50 yards out, to help the Browns beat Tennessee 28-14, a week after that duo had a 54-yard TD play. ''Johnny Football'' is hardly alone when it comes to successfully chucking the football: There have been 17 touchdown passes of at least 40 yards so far; the last time there were more through Week 2 was the 18 in 1994, according to STATS.
WINLESS
Too soon to panic, of course, but it's not looking good so far for some teams that probably didn't expect to be 0-2 right now, including the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens, the New Orleans Saints and the aforementioned Eagles.
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