NFL Week 2: Of course the Saints explode on offense – they hired a 49ers coach

Yes, of course Kubiak was the 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023. Plus, of course, he's the son of Gary Kubiak, who coached the Shanahan offense for 25 years. A month ago, no one was talking about the Saints, but we should have seen these fireworks coming, and here we start with the Week 2 recap:

▪ The Saints lead the NFL with a plus-62 point differential, the second-best in the last 35 years behind the 2019 Patriots (plus-73). They are overpowering opponents, taking 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 points and started Sunday's blowout win in Dallas with six straight touchdowns.

Most impressive is the performance of 33-year-old quarterback Derek Carr, who has never won a playoff game and is not considered an elite player. Through two games, he has completed 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 typically catches teams that explode from the start; of the 33 teams that had 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 cascades to other teams.

▪ The NFC South also has the biggest disaster to offer. Sunday's 26-3 home loss to the Chargers was the Panthers' second loss of the season. Fans booed the team off the field, Adam Thielen went berserk on the sidelines and, most alarmingly, Bryce Young threw for just 84 yards and had an interception. Apparently owner David Tepper had had enough.

The Panthers made a dramatic move on Monday by benching Young, last year's first-round draft pick, just two games into his second season for 36-year-old Andy Dalton, who has spent the past five years as a migrant worker. But it had to be done.

The Panthers can't keep putting Young back in the lineup when he's clearly inferior. First-year coach Dave Canales risked alienating his locker room and fan base by holding on to Young, who has no touchdowns and three interceptions this year.

JaMarcus Russell, perhaps the biggest flop at No. 1, stayed with the Raiders for three years. Young may only make it to two.

▪ The Panthers had plenty of competition for the worst 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' 16-game home winning streak ended 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 only managed 6 points in their home loss to the Steelers. The Giants became the second team ever to score three touchdowns, hold their opponents to zero and still lose. And the Jaguars fell to 0-2 after an ugly home loss to the Browns. Trevor Lawrence didn't sugarcoat it.

“We suck right now,” he said.

▪ A low-scoring Week 1 was followed by an even lower-scoring Week 2. Before the Falcons' game against the Eagles on Monday night, NFL teams had scored 56 touchdowns, an average of 1.87 per team, the lowest for a Week 2 since 1997.

Points scored have dropped by nearly 3 points per game compared to last year. And after two weeks, NFL teams were averaging 2.12 touchdowns per game, the fewest since 2006.

▪ But field goal kickers have never been better. The 136 field goals made through 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 all-time (93.8 in 2012).

And 50-yard kicks are no longer a problem. Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn has already made 6 of 6 over 50 yards, the most in the first two weeks. Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell is second all-time with 4 of 4 this year.

League-wide, kickers hit 35 of 39 shots out of over 50 throws (89.7 percent) – that’s the most attempts and hits in NFL history and the second-best success rate.

Rookie QB Watch

▪ Caleb Williams, Chicago: After two games, his nine sacks are tied for the league lead, he is 31st of 31 QBs in yards per attempt (4.0), he has yet to throw a touchdown pass, and he ranks 29th with a passer rating of 53.0. He has incredible skills, but he doesn't see the field well.

▪ Jayden Daniels, Washington: He has was the most efficient rookie. In the win over the Giants, he completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards and also had 44 rushing yards. The Commanders did not score a touchdown, but did score seven field goals and did not lose the ball.

▪ Bo Nix, Denver: The Broncos are 0-2, Nix has yet to throw a touchdown pass, his four interceptions are tied for the league lead, and he is 30th in passer rating (51.0). Remember, the NFL is tough and rookies shouldn't be successful right away.

Quick hits

▪ Week 2 was better for the 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 were awful in the red zone, allowing three touchdowns in 11 attempts. On Sunday, they gained 463 yards but went 1 of 7 in the red zone and lost 20-16 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.

▪ There is no such thing as “West Coast team plays at 1 p.m. Eastern time.” West Coast teams have gone 49-29 over the past five years, and on Sunday the Raiders won at Baltimore, the Chargers at Carolina and the Seahawks at New England. The only loss this year was the Cardinals' 6-point loss at Buffalo in Week 1.

▪ Giants coach Brian Daboll is definitely not doing himself any favors by messing up the kicker situation. What a mess.

▪ This will be repeated all year: Kyler Murray is a problem.

▪ The NFL made a big deal out of assessing a 15-yard penalty for hip-drop tackles, but refs aren't calling it. Houston's Joe Mixon got hurt Sunday night, the commentators called out exactly what happened, but there was no flag.

▪ Two things can apply to the new kick-off rules.

Yes, the numbers are better than last year: The touchback percentage has dropped from 82 to 67 percent, the return percentage has doubled from 15.4 to 30.6 percent. Kickoff returns are also 4.6 yards longer on average.

But 67 percent of touchbacks is still far too many. The NFL has not gone far enough with the rules; the touchback must be moved from the 30th to the 35th next year.

Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].