Niners Nation
Week 2 is in the books, and the San Francisco 49ers remain first in the NFC West. Hopefully, this doesn’t change anytime soon.
Unfortunately, their three rivals also won, so any hopes of separation this week will have to wait.
The good news is, the 49ers have yet to play a home game. Both of their wins are on the road, which is encouraging. The other good news is this time last year, you knew something was very, very wrong, because Week 2 in 2024 was the Minnesota Vikings game where Sam Darnold threw that ridiculous touchdown pass that never should have happened.
It took a bit until we labeled the 49ers a frustrating disappointment, but Week 2 in 2024 was where we could at least say, “Work in progress…kinda.”
The 49ers still have the more manageable schedule, and things should get tougher for the others unless the chaos that happened today continues. Then who knows?
The Cardinals started the game against the Carolina Panthers with a disaster of a fumble by Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The ball came out of Young’s hands and bounced towards the Panthers’ end zone. The Cardinals rolled on top of it and kept rolling into the end zone, getting spotted 7 points.
From there, it was some nice Bryce Young plays mixed in with a mistake. You’d think the Cardinals are running away with this thing, then the fourth quarter comes. It starts with the score 27-9, Cardinals. The Panthers manage a score in there and succeed their two-point try to make it 27-15, Cardinals. Then, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray throws a ball up in the air that gets picked, letting the Panthers get another touchdown. Now it’s 27-22, Cardinals.
The Panthers got the ensuing onside kick with a short field. Cue the Bryce Young fumble, only for the Panthers to get bailed out with a holding penalty against the Cardinals. From here, it was penalty after penalty with these two teams, with the only thing moving being the clock. It felt like they stayed midfield for the entire final two minutes. Eventually, the Panthers ran out of downs and penalties, and the game ended when Young took a sack on fourth down.
Not a pretty game. It’s hard to figure out what the Cardinals are. They are 2-0, but they don’t feel like a 2-0 team (and yes, I know the 49ers are somewhat on the same boat).
Of all the NFC West games this week, the Rams’ win was the least bizarre. There were mistakes, sure, but the chaos meter wasn’t nearly as high as what we saw in Seattle or Arizona. The Tennessee Titans even managed to grab the lead a couple of times, but a massive brain fart late sealed it for Los Angeles.
The Tennessee Titans certainly tried; they even managed to get the lead a couple of times. This, despite the game starting with this:
Unfortunately, the Titans had...
