Big Ben Tuesday: Knee Jerking After Two NFL Weeks – Giants, Jets, Bengals, Bucs

EAST RUTHERFOR, NJ – The NFL is fluid. Things can change in an eye blink. In two weeks some of the things we think right now will seem ridiculous. But that won’t stop me from making sweeping judgments from what I’ve seen so far. It’s time for a Week 2 Knee Jerk. Off we go. Get it, jerk-off?

GIANTS

The valiant second half comeback will keep me interested for a few more weeks. But my eyes still hurt from that blinding turd of a first half. James Connor was running wild and they made Joshua Dobbs look like Joe Montana. I guess the Giants D made some nice adjustments to force two key three and outs in the fourth quarter, but Dobbs was oddly conservative late when he had been completing passes at will for three quarters. But no sacks or turnover against the Cards? Where the heck was Kayvon Thibideau?

Although they won, you have to be less confident in the Giants making noise this season. Especially with a tough stretch of contenders lined up: @ SF, Seattle, @ Miami, and @ Buffalo. To have any hope, the Giants need to find a way to steal two of those and then get right against the Commanders, Jets (suddenly much more winnable) and Raiders. Of note, all three of the other NFC East teams are 2-0.

JETS

Speaking of the Jets, they didn’t do much better vs the Cowboys. Take away the long TD to Wilson and it was about the same as the Giants. Great start for the Cowboys with double Jersey domination.

It’s not surprising that the Jets’ offense sputtered, but the defense looked average. CeeDee Lamb ran wild with a career high in receptions. Dak looked like he was going through the motions in a preseason scrimmage against the second stringers. Did we underestimate Mike McCarthy?

The Jets are gonna need to make a move for a QB soon. They can’t just sit there eating popcorn while the house burns. The sooner Minnesota collapses, the better. Cousins comin’, yo.

The saddest story I’ve heard in months is that supposedly when Aaron Rodgers saw Garrett Wilson at halftime on Game 1 he said, “sorry kid.” Hello Lifetime, I have an idea for your next special.

I’ll say it again, the Aaron Rodgers injury sucks no matter how you feel about him. We’ve all been boned because we’ll never know how that would have played out.

SURPRISES

Do it, Woody!

The 2-0 Bucs are a big surprise, even though the wins haven’t been against top teams. I never expected Baker Mayfield to prove functional or Mike Evans to remain a top receiver. So my bust, on that.

The Bengals have stumbled out of the gate with their $55 million dollar man struggling to get the ball to Chase and looking mighty rusty. The schedule gets easier but if Jake Browning is under center, things could get away from them.

Speaking of things getting away from us, Angry Ward is here tomorrow. Swing by.

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About Ben Whitney 427 Articles
Ben Whitney comes from journalistic stock. Aside from his brothers, rumor has that his great-great grandfather was the youngest brother of Eli Whitney and covered the earliest "rounders" games. Big Ben is also another New York Rugby Club player/pal of Different Matt, Short Matt and Junoir Blaber. He likes film noir discussions, has twin girls and took up ice hockey after retiring from rugby.