Hawks in the NFL - Week 2

Week 2 in the NFL is in the books. It was a great week for T.J. Hockenson. Geno Stone had a day. Tristan Wirfs, Anthony Nelson, and Kaevon Merriweather moved to 2-0 for the frisky Buccaneers. It was kind of quiet otherwise. Let’s go!

T.J. Hockenson

We start with Hock. The Vikings tight end had a somewhat quiet game Week 1 - 8 receptions for 35 yards - but came up with the goods on Thursday. The Vikings lost - their defense stinks - but Hockenson did everything he could to keep the Vikings in the game, pulling in 7 receptions on 8 targets for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Up next for the 0-2 Vikings is a date with the 0-2 Chargers. Loser leaves town match in Week 3? Loser leaves town match in Week 3.

Geno Stone

One team not included in any loser leaves town matches are the 2-0 Baltimore Ravens. Stone has shown through in a big way. Like Hockenson, his Week 1 was kind of quiet - 2 tackles - but Sunday’s 27-24 win in Cincinnati was perhaps a full arrival for the safety. He finished the game with 9 tackles, 7 of them solos, with an interception tossed in there. It was Stone’s second career pick.

Pro Football Focus is always a little goofy in their ratings, but they had Stone as the 10th-best overall defender in Week 2, and the 5th-best defensive back. Not bad for a seventh-round pick!

Nick Niemann

Niemann was thrust into a starting role this week due to injuries in the Chargers linebacker corps. Niemann didn’t disappoint, logging 9 tackles and a quarterback hurry in their loss to the Titans.

Sam LaPorta, Noah Fant, Jack Campbell, and Matt Nelson

Here’s the “All of the Iowa guys are in this game” feature for the week. Two of Iowa’s tight end crew plus Cambell and Nelson squared off at Ford Field, with the Seahawks picking up a much-needed 37-31 win over the Lions in overtime. It was a busy day for all four Hawks in this game. Let’s start with Detroit.

LaPorta was again a good security blanket for Jared Goff, catching 5 passes on 6 targets for 63 yards. Nelson played all 66 snaps for Detroit’s offense, getting the start at right tackle. On the defensive side, Campbell collected 6 tackles (4 solo) for the Lions.

For Seattle, Fant got on the board for the year after getting no targets in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fant caught all 4 of his targets in Detroit for 56 yards, including this 31-yarder.

He also had a big 17-yarder in overtime that kick started Seattle’s game-winning drive. Each team sits at 1-1 now.

Tristan Wirfs, Anthony Nelson, and Kaevon Merriweather

There isn’t a lot to report here other than Wirfs was again a monster. Neither Nelson nor Merriweather recorded stats. But it doesn’t matter - the Bucs are 2-0 after a 27-17 win over the pretty terrible Chicago Bears.

George Kittle

George Kittle notched 3 receptions on 3 targets for 30 yards in San Francisco’s 30-23 win over the Rams. The 49ers are good.

Josey Jewell/Broncos Corner

First, the good news. Jewell had 9 tackles and nearly had a pick in Denver’s bewildering 35-33 loss to the Commanders. Jewell’s had an excellent start to the year. Going back to PFF - Jewell was the second-ranked linebacker in the NFL for Week 2, and he’s the 4th-ranked linebacker in the league over the first two weeks of the year. What a great start to the season for Jewell.

Not a great start to the year? The Denver Broncos as a whole. Here we are again with this BS. 21-3 lead that immediately disintegrates with a Russell Wilson fumble, a targeting hit on a touchdown pass that leads to an ejection (worst hit of the year by Karim Jackson on Logan Thomas, by far), the offense disappearing for 30 minutes, before a miraculous Hail Mary is answered...but the 2-point conversion isn’t. This is going to be a long year in the Mile High City.