2019 NFL SEASON QB GRADES - Week 2

week 2 takeaways

+ Lamar Jackson and the new-look Ravens showed that their Week 1 explosion against the Dolphins was no fluke, and wasted little time doing so. After Arizona's first possession ended with a punt downed at the six yard line, the Ravens immediately trusted Jackson to let it fly and the second year QB completed a 15 yard first down laser with his heels in the end zone to tight end Nick Boyle on Baltimore's first offensive play. The Ravens were in the end zone six plays later. One area to keep an eye on is his rush attempts, which spiked back to 16 in Week 2 after his career-low of 4 in Week 1. Jackson is a uniquely tough and durable athlete at QB, with hundreds of college carries and hits absorbed in his past, but eventually high-volume QB carries catch up to everyone in the NFL.

+ Patrick Mahomes is yet to really hit his stride so far in 2019 but you would never know it looking at his stats or pass chart from Week 2. The superstar QB actually struggled in the first quarter in Oakland en route to an early 10-0 deficit. But Mahomes opened Q2 with a long TD bomb and continued the onslaught with three more gorgeous TDs before halftime. Three of the four 2nd quarter TDs were completed over 35 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage. While not remotely unexpected, Mahomes has been by far the most effective downfield passer in the NFL through two weeks.

+ Kyler Murray is making plus throws all over the place already in his brief time as an NFL starter and effectively moved the ball for most of the game in Week 2 against a good Ravens secondary. Murray was 7/11 on throws beyond 10 yards this week and 4/5 beyond 20 yards while also going 12/14 on quick-hitter line of scrimmage plays. The Achilles heel so far for the Cardinals? Red zone offense. Kliff Kingsbury has played it extremely conservatively inside the 10 so far this season and Murray hasn't yet found a comfort zone for making improvisational scoring plays near the goal line.

- Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense went from opening night let down to legitimate concern real quick after another underwhelming Week 2 performance. Trubisky completed just one 10+ yard pass the entire game against the Broncos and it came on his final attempt. 10 of his 27 pass attempts and 7 of his 16 completions were at or behind the line of scrimmage in the game. It's been blatant through two weeks how limited Matt Nagy's trust in Trubisky is as an attacking weapon in the Chicago offense.

- Kirk Cousins has hit some surprising early season struggles and is becoming an area of concern for an otherwise excellent Vikings team. His 14/32, 230 yard stat line in this critical divisional matchup at Lambeau is underwhelming at face value, but it was his inexplicable late 4th quarter red zone interception that really sunk the ship. On 1st and goal from the 8 with 5:10 left in the game and Minnesota trailing by 5, Cousins rolled back and to his right before heaving a desperation lob into the end zone from about the 20 yard line that was intercepted by Kevin King. The unacceptable error was only the period on the sentence: Kirk Cousins doesn't look right so far in 2019.

+/- Mason Rudolph and Teddy Bridgewater will take the reigns in Pittsburgh and New Orleans respectively moving forward after Week 2 injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees. Two of my particular favorites, each of these #2's has a chance to hit the ground running as both have been in their systems dating back to the start of last year. The biggest question for Teddy will be his ability to regain his knack for aggressive playmaking throws, the trait that got him drafted in the 1st Round in 2014 but was already missing in action toward the end of his Vikings tenure. Bridgewater also has Sean Payton favorite Taysom Hill hot on his heels for first team reps. For Rudolph, the challenge is greater as his team is worse and his experience much more limited. His legendary work ethic is already well documented during his time in Pittsburgh however and he will have an interesting opportunity to reignite his explosive collegiate connection with wideout James Washington over the course of the season.