NFL Week 2’s best Quarterbacks
With week 2 of the NFL season wrapped up it’s safe to say that quarterback play has been severely down throughout the league to start the season. The NFL passing yard average through the first two weeks is 193.2 which is lower than the league average was in 1980 (196.0). It’s very early in the season but at this point the league is on pace to average the lowest league average since 1979. With all that said there is still a few quarterbacks who played well and propelled their teams to victory.
Geno Smith
For me the best quarterback of the weekend was Geno Smith who has continued his resurgence in Seattle after being written off by the Jets. Smith has led an explosive Seahawks offensive to an 2-0 start to the season in large part due to his playmaking and ball security. Smith led the league in passing this week with 327 yards going 33/44 with 1 touchdown and zero interceptions against a staunch New England defense.
Geno also played his best when his team was trailing and made some huge throws late in the fourth quarter to get his team into field goal position to force overtime. Although Smith was written off in New York it’s hard to deny that he’s been one of the best quarterbacks in the league through two weeks.
Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold is having his own Geno Smith redemption story in Minnesota after being written off by the Jets and Panthers. Darnold has been the surprise of the season so far leading a banged up Vikings team to a 2-0 start after many thought they’d be one of the worst teams in the NFC.
Darnold was 17/26 for 268 yards two touchdowns and one interception against one of the better defenses in the league in San Francisco. Darnold also made some huge plays late in the game with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hochenson on the sidelines. If Darnold can continue his good play the Vikings will be a tough matchup because of their defense and offensive playmakers on a weekly basis.
Kyler Murray
If anyone other than Geno Smith was in contention for best quarterback of the weekend it would be Kyler Murray. Murray played a near flawless game against the Rams on Sunday afternoon going 17/21 for 26 yards 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Much of the storylines surrounding the Cardinals after they blew a week 1 game in Buffalo was about Murray and highly touted rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. not being on the same page. However that couldn’t have been further from the truth in week 2 as Harrison had 4 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. If this dynamic duo can keep things rolling for Arizona their offense can be as scary as any in the NFL.
Honorable mention:
Gardner Minshew had a really good game for the Las Vegas Raiders winning as the biggest underdogs of the week at Baltimore. Minshew wasn’t a world beater in week 2 but he was consistent enough and limited his mistakes giving the Raiders an opportunity to win it late with a field goal.
Jayden Daniels was a bright spot in week 2 for the Commanders. Although he’s yet to throw a touchdown pass Daniels showed massive improvement in week 2 and showed glimpses of his high ceiling potential. Daniels was the second most accurate passer in week 2 throwing for 226 yards on 23/29 passing. Daniels added another 44 yards on the ground and protected the football enough to get his team in field goal position often enough to win the game.
For NFL fans it’s been an ugly start to the season but quarterback play usually picks up as the season goes on. Especially with how little starters play in the preseason slow starts are happening now more than ever. So let’s hope we have more good quarterback play to take a look at after week 3.
