In 2024, the breakout team is the Saints, who have scored 47 and 44 points in their two wins, the fourth-most points (91) through two games in NFL history. The new offensive coordinator is Klint Kubiak, and take one guess where he came from.
Yes, of course, Kubiak was the 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023. He also, of course, is the son of Gary Kubiak, who spent 25 years coaching the Shanahan offense. No one was talking about the Saints a month ago, but we should have seen these fireworks coming, which is where we begin the Week 2 Review:
▪ The Saints lead the NFL with a plus-62 point differential that is the second-best of the last 35 years behind the 2019 Patriots (plus-73). They are overwhelming opponents, jumping out to a 30-3 halftime lead over the Panthers and 35-13 over the Cowboys.
They opened their Week 1 game against Carolina with nine straight scores, and began Sunday's blowout win at Dallas with six straight touchdowns.
Most impressive is the performance of quarterback Derek Carr, 33, who has never won a playoff game or been considered elite. Through two games, he's completing 77 percent of his passes, averaging 11.4 yards per attempt, and leads the NFL with a near-perfect passer rating of 142.4 and a near-perfect QBR of 96.2.
The league usually catches up to teams that explode out of the gate; of the 33 teams to have a point differential of at least plus-50 through Week 2, only the 1996 Packers won the Super Bowl. But it's remarkable how well Shanahan's offense travels to other teams.
▪ The NFC South also features the biggest train wreck. Sunday's 26-3 loss at home to the Chargers was the Panthers' second blowout of the season, with the fans booing the team off the field, Adam Thielen erupting on the sideline, and most alarmingly, Bryce Young throwing for just 84 yards and an interception. Clearly, owner David Tepper had had enough.
The Panthers made a dramatic move Monday by benching Young, last year's No. 1 overall draft pick, just two games into his second season for 36-year-old Andy Dalton, a journeyman for the last five years. But it had to be done.
The Panthers can't keep trotting Young into the huddle when he's clearly overmatched. First-year coach Dave Canales risked alienating his locker room and fan base if he stuck with Young, who has no touchdowns and three picks this year.
JaMarcus Russell, perhaps the biggest bust at No. 1, lasted three years with the Raiders. Young might make it only two.
▪ The Panthers had plenty of competition for stinkiest performance of the day. The Ravens fell to 0-2 for the second time in John Harbaugh's 17 years after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter at home to the Raiders. The Cowboys saw their 16-game home win streak come to an end with the 25-point loss to the Saints. Anthony Richardson threw three interceptions in a bad Colts loss to Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis.
The Broncos managed just 6 points in a home loss to the Steelers. The Giants became the second team ever to score three touchdowns, hold the opponent to zero, and still lose. And the Jaguars fell to 0-2 with an ugly home loss to the Browns. Trevor Lawrence didn't sugar-coat it.
"We suck right now," he said.
▪ A low-scoring Week 1 was followed by an even lower-scoring Week 2. Entering Monday night's Falcons-Eagles game, NFL teams had scored 56 touchdowns for a 1.87 per-team average that is the lowest for a Week 2 since 1997.
Scoring is down nearly 3 points per game from last year. And through two weeks, NFL teams are averaging 2.12 touchdowns per game, the fewest since 2006.
▪ But field goal kickers have never been better. The 136 field goals made entering Monday night are the most in the first two weeks, ahead of the 121 in 2022. The leaguewide success rate of 91.9 percent is the second-best ever (93.8 in 2012).
And 50-yard kicks are no sweat anymore. Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn is already 6 for 6 from 50-plus yards, the most ever in the first two weeks. Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell ranks second all-time, going 4 for 4 this year.
Leaguewide, kickers are 35 for 39 from 50-plus (89.7 percent) -- the most attempts and makes in NFL history, and the second-best success rate.
▪ Caleb Williams, Chicago: Through two games, his nine sacks are tied for the league lead, he's 31st out of 31 QBs in yards per attempt (4.0), he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass, and he ranks 29th with a 53.0 passer rating. He has incredible tools, but isn't seeing the field well.
▪ Jayden Daniels, Washington: He has been the most efficient rookie. He completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards in the win over the Giants, plus had 44 rushing yards. The Commanders didn't score a touchdown, but they did notch seven field goals and didn't turn the ball over.
▪ Bo Nix, Denver: The Broncos are 0-2, Nix hasn't thrown a touchdown pass, his four interceptions are tied for the league lead, and he's 30th in passer rating (51.0). Remember, the NFL is hard, and rookies aren't supposed to thrive right away.
▪ Week 2 was better for rookie pass catchers. The Cardinals' Marvin Harrison Jr. had 130 yards and two touchdowns, the Giants' Malik Nabers had 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, and Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had nine catches for 98 yards.
▪ The 1-1 Lions are No. 2 in yards gained but No. 16 in points scored because they have been dreadful in the red zone, with three touchdowns in 11 trips. They gained 463 yards Sunday but went 1 for 7 in the red zone in a 20-16 loss to the Bucs.
▪ The biggest underdogs of the week are 2-0: The Patriots (+7.5) beat the Bengals in Week 1, and the Raiders (+8.5) beat the Ravens in Week 2.
▪ The "West Coast team playing at 1 p.m. East Coast time" is officially not a thing. West Coast teams went 49-29 the last five years, and on Sunday the Raiders won in Baltimore, the Chargers won in Carolina, and the Seahawks won in New England. The only loss this year is the Cardinals' 6-point defeat at Buffalo in Week 1.
▪ Giants coach Brian Daboll definitely isn't helping his own cause by bungling the kicker situation. What a mess.
▪ Going to repeat this all year: Kyler Murray is a problem.
▪ The NFL made a big deal out of making the hip-drop tackle a 15-yard penalty, but the officials aren't calling it. Houston's Joe Mixon got hurt Sunday night, the announcers called out exactly what happened, yet there was no flag.
▪ Two things can be true with the new kickoff rules.
Yes, the numbers are better than last year: The touchback percentage has fallen from 82 to 67 percent, and the return percentage has doubled from 15.4 to 30.6 percent. Kickoff returns also are 4.6 yards longer on average.
But 67 percent touchbacks is still way too high. The NFL didn't go far enough with the rules; the touchback has to move from the 30 to the 35 next year.