Week 2 of the 2022 NFL regular season was certainly one for the books. Boring games quickly turned entertaining, the Detroit Lions were favored for the first time in 24 games and actually covered as victors and the New York Giants are somehow 2-0.
Who had the Jacksonville Jaguars shutting out the Indianapolis Colts on their bingo card? Or the Dak Prescott-less Dallas Cowboys defeating the reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals with a game-winning field goal? With so much happening around the league this past Sunday, let's break down five of the most wild moments from Week 2.
5. Broncos crowd has to help Nathaniel Hackett
First-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett wants to forget how Week 1 ended as quickly as possible, but Broncos country unfortunately experienced some deja vu in their home opener.
Down three points to the Houston Texans in the third quarter, Hackett was facing a fourth-and-2. After some indecision on what to do, the Broncos accidentally ran out the play clock, and drew a delay-of-game flag. The penalty pushed Denver out of field goal range, and the Broncos were forced to punt.
With Hackett struggling with the clock, the fans at Mile High actually attempted to help him out.
The Broncos ultimately defeated the Texans 16-9, but it didn't feel like much of a victory.
4. Scoop-and-score OT game-winner
The Arizona Cardinals-Las Vegas Raiders matchup was certainly one of the most wild games of Week 2. The Cardinals scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to send the Raiders to 0-2, including a scoop-and-score walk-off in overtime.
After Arizona turned the ball over on downs in the extra period, Las Vegas took over needing just a field goal to win. Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow caught an 11-yard pass to get into enemy territory, but fumbled. It was recovered by the Raiders, but just two plays later, Renfrow fumbled again! This time, the ball was scooped up by Byron Murphy, who returned it 59 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
If you thought Murphy fumbled before he crossed the goal line, you are not alone. It was close, but it appears the officials got the call correct. If he did fumble, this sequence probably would be No. 1 on this list.
3. New York Jets comeback
Is Joe Flacco elite? The 37-year-old threw for 307 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the 31-30 upset victory over the Cleveland Browns Sunday, but what's arguably more shocking is how the Jets won the game.
The Browns extended their lead to 13 points with a touchdown right after the two-minute warning, although kicker Cade York missed the extra point. Down double digits without much time, Flacco and Co. were going to have to work quickly.
Two plays into New York's next possession, Flacco hit Corey Davis for a 66-yard score.
Now down six points with no timeouts, the Jets had to go for the onside kick. Believe it or not, they recovered it.
Then, nine plays later, Flacco hit rookie wideout Garrett Wilson for the game-winning score.
Before today, NFL teams had lost 2,331 straight games when trailing by 13-plus points in the final two minutes of a game (including playoffs). What's even more funny is that the last team to lose when holding a 13-plus point lead in the final two minutes was the Browns in 2001. For the Jets, this snapped a 13-game losing streak in the month of September, which was tied for the longest losing streak in September in NFL history.
2. Insane Mike Evans-Marshon Lattimore fight
We all understand the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are rivals, but things got out of hand on Sunday, as a massive brawl led to Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore being ejected. The melee began with Lattimore jawing at Tom Brady. Then, things escalated.
Watch, as Evans ran over from the sideline, and laid into Lattimore.
This is not the first time Evans had a run-in with Lattimore. The wideout decked him from behind during a game in 2017, after the cornerback shoved then-Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston on the sideline after he touched the back of Lattimore's helmet.
1. Tua Tagovailoa's explosion
If you know a Tua hater, they probably called out of work Monday morning because they are SICK. Even the biggest fans of Tagovailoa probably didn't expect him to throw for 469 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. He had just three 300-yard games to his name coming into this weekend!
The Ravens entered the fourth quarter up 21 points. They were in control all game, but things were about to change. Tagovailoa led four straight touchdown drives, which included the game-winning touchdown toss to Jaylen Waddle with just 14 seconds remaining! Tagovailoa threw four passing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which tied the record for the most thrown by a signal-caller in NFL history. Tagovailoa also tied the Miami Dolphins' franchise record for most passing touchdowns in a single game. Tyreek Hill went for 190 yards and two receiving touchdowns, and Waddle recorded 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns as well.
It's wild to think about. What if this is just the beginning for Miami? Mike McDaniel looks like a great hire at this point, and he certainly knows how to game plan on offense. Maybe this is the moment we will look back at and say: "That's when Tua proved he was a franchise quarterback."
Tagovailoa leaves Week 2 as the NFL's passing yards leader with 739, and he's also tied for most touchdown passes with seven.