Now that the first two weeks of the NFL are complete, we've seen a few surprises and a few injuries to keep an eye on over the following weeks.

Before I go on.. can we believe that we're in Week 2 and there have already been 2 TIES this year!?!?

Week 1 Surprises:

The New York Jets!

  • How about that dominating Week 1 performance by their Defense and Special Teams?!
  • Not to mention Sam Darnold starting his career off by throwing his first pass for 6 points in the wrong direction .. only to recover well enough to finish with a 116.8 QBR on 2 TDs, 1 INT, 198 Yards Passing and a 76.2% completion percentage!
  • Sure, we don't expect to see this type of performance from the Rookie every week (since the Jets won't be playing the Lions every week), but this was a pretty outstanding performance from a rookie in his first NFL Regular Season game.
  • Let's level-set some expectations here though ... After Week 2 against Miami, Darnold showed his inexperience with 2 bad interceptions over the middle of the field. In any case, definitely give the Dolphins credit for dominating on Offense and Defense during this game.

James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers.

  • I don't know about the rest of you, but this guy came out of nowhere for me in Week 1. Granted, I haven't spent nearly as much time researching and watching football over the past couple of years as I have prior to that, but this kid did really well!
  • After Week 2's 8 rushes for 17 yards - 1 TD + 5 catches for 48 yards + a 2 PT conv, does this mean Le'Veon Bell now has a stronger case for getting paid? Probably not.. KC put up a great game and Pittsburgh looks like a team in need of better focus.

Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers.

  • WEEK 1 TAKE: Did he just lose his starting job!? He's no longer listed on the team's depth chart for Week 2. There goes another $850k down the drain ... I hope this man is still training while he's not playing football ... while I'm sure he's going to land somewhere and be an instant play-producer ... this is not looking good for those early Fantasy Football Draft Picks!
  • WEEK 2 TAKE: Well, maybe he'll get his job back? For those who drafted him early in Fantasy Football, you're definitely hoping he signs that paper soon (but signs aren't looking good for your hopes)!

Patrick Mahomes II, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

  • This guy has been dominant for 2 straight weeks. Is it too late to get on the hype train??
  • ESPN Power Rank of KC Chiefs: #3 (from #6 last week) only behind the #1 Rams and #2 Jags.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Playing for the team that most analysts wrote off as one of the worst in the NFL this year (Power Rank #30 of 32 before Week 1 and an 80-1 chance of making it to the Super Bowl per bleacherreport.com) ...
  • Now that Fitzpatrick dominated the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, people are beginning to take the Bucs a little more seriously! ESPN Power Rank is now #11 (from #19 after last week), Straddling between the Steelers at #10 and Chargers at #12.
Week 1 Injuries:
  • Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers. Fractured Right Foot. He will be evaluated Month-to-Month (no surgery).
    • Week 1: This is a re-injury of his foot that he broke/fractured last year and struggled with. Not a good sign for the Carolina Panthers' passing attack.. or the running game. But that's all OK because Cam "Superman" is going to just juke all of your defenders and run down the field for 6+ first downs per game.
    • Week 2: No surprise, he's still out.
  • Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers. Left Knee. TBD.
    • Week 1: The team is making this sound like it's not a big deal. Also, Rodgers would play through a broken collarbone if the team let him... he just wouldn't be very good.. Keep an eye on the injury report as this week progresses.
    • Week 2: Clearly Rodgers was bothered by the injury, but he played decently and it wasn't Rodgers' play that ultimately decided this week's TIE.
  • Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers. Minor Elbow Injury. TBD.
    • Week 1: I wouldn't be too concerned about this. It seems like Big Ben is injured every game of every season for as long as I can remember but the guy plays through just about everything. And with a solid running game, he should have ample time to throw, or just hand the ball off and watch the chains move down the field.
    • Week 2: WOW, Talk about getting blown out 21-0 to start the game, then coming back to tie 21-21 at half. I would say that the injury didn't affect Big Ben with 60 passing attempts, 3 TD, 0 INT and add in 1 rush TD (DID YOU SEE THAT!?), he's good to go.
  • Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars. Minor Hamstring Injury. Day-to-Day.
    • Week 1: It's always tough to feel out leg injuries with running backs. Especially when they come out of a game early and never return. I'd expect a minimum of Fournette starting the game and being used sparingly, or coming out of the game alltogether again. It's a 16+ game season and the Jags need this man to be healthy down the stretch.
    • Week 2: It was probably a smart call for the Jags to keep Fournette on the sideline for this matchup. Get him as healthy as you can before you put him back in.
  • Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks. Grade 2 MCL Sprain in Right Knee. At least a few weeks?
    • Week 1: This could be a long wait until he comes back. If the Seahawks can string together some wins, they probably won't play him until they're confident he's healed.. if they can't get some wins.. he might come back too early and suffer further (and lasting?) injury.
    • Week 2: No surprise, still out.
  • Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans. Right Elbow. TBD.
    • Week 1: They're still evaluating him.. he lost feeling in his fingers and right hand.. those are not good things to hear from a right-handed QB..
    • Week 2: Didn't play in the game; was active as the backup. Keep an eye on this for week 3. As long as the Titans win, they won't mind letting Mariota sit on the bench and heal.

Week 2 Injuries:

  • LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills. Ribs. TBD
    • Rib injuries are tough to work out. This will likely be a game-time decision on Sunday against the Vikings, if McCoy is able to practice at all this week.
  • Greg Zuerlein, K, Los Angeles Rams. Groin. "A Few Weeks"
    • It's unusual to find a Kicker on injury lists, but here is one from the [nearly?] unanimous #1 Power-Ranked Team. It will be interesting to see what the Rams do without their star Kicker .. so far they've been getting a bunch of successful 2-pt conversions...


With Week 2 in the books, the week 1 flukes are popping their heads out and some of the week 1 studs have established consistency and are offering major up-side potential for the rest of the season!

Has your sleeper pick made any progress?

Did you make the right call avoiding Bell?

Share your stories in the comments below!