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Week 2 of the NFL season is here, and this week was full of unexpected outcomes. From a Miami Dolphins quarterback making us hold our breath once again and question if he should hang it up to the Dallas Cowboys getting demolished at home by a less-than-stellar New Orleans Saints team, the results left us all in shock. I can’t forget to mention an Arizona Cardinals rookie phenom who mesmerized us against the Los Angeles Rams, showing potential to be a game-changer in the league.
Tua Tumbles Into Another Concussion…Should He Retire?
Friday the 13th came a day earlier for the Dolphins and their franchise quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Late in the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills on primetime television Thursday, Tagovailoa suffered the fourth concussion of his NFL career after colliding with Bills safety Damar Hamlin as he tried to get the first down. Tagovailoa could walk on his own two feet with coach Mike McDaniels beside him, but he could tell he was shaken up.
Tagovailoa’s susceptibility to concussions has sparked much debate on whether the Dolphins quarterback should retire from the game of football. Should he? Football is a very violent sport that only a very few will have long careers, if lucky, without significant damage to their memory and body. Above all injuries, there’s nothing that causes more caution amongst players, fans, and so forth when a player suffers a concussion, let alone repeatedly.
We’ve seen the damage concussions can cause, such as CTE, with players such as Aaron Hernandez and Junior Seau being cautionary tales of two who fell victim to it. Concussions are something Tagovailoa is seemingly prone to, especially suffering it on a non-malicious hit from Hamlin, which causes it to be more alarming for his playing future. Tagovailoa has made it clear he won’t retire and will come back once it is safe to do so once cleared by doctors.
Tagovailoa, 26, has his whole life ahead of him and has already accumulated generational wealth of $43 million being paid to him as his signing bonus after signing a four-year, $212 million deal this past offseason with $167 million guaranteed. However, if Tagovailoa were to retire hypothetically, he’d forfeit $124 million unless the Dolphins agreed to settle with him on a payout, making it much more complicated to tell an ultra-competitive professional athlete to “retire.”
We all want Tagovailoa to stay healthy for his wife, kids, and so forth in the long term, as he has his whole life ahead of him. At the same time, you can understand why he wants to continue playing the game he loves for as long as he can. Let’s hold our breath and pray he doesn’t suffer another catastrophic concussion once he returns to action.
Cardinals Rookie Marvin Harrison Is A Phenomenon
Rick Scuteri/AP Photo
Coming into the 2024 NFL Draft, Marvin Harrison Jr (son of NFL legend Marvin Harrison) was highly touted out of Ohio State, whom many considered the best receiver prospect in a decade, perhaps since “Megatron” Calvin Johnson. His NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 was underwhelming, to say the least, for someone so highly touted. He quickly turned that around in Week 2.
In Week 2, Harrison Jr. showed why he is considered such a phenomenon a primary target against the Los Angeles Rams defense. In the first quarter alone, Harrison Jr. went for four receptions on 130 yards for two touchdowns, utilizing every bit of his 6’3, 205 lb frame to his advantage. He caught his first career touchdown in style off a Kyler Murray bomb off a direct go route to the endzone while keeping his feet in bounce, displaying his elite body control.
Harrison Jr.’s following touchdown will come off a difficult corner-out route that very few receivers in the NFL can make. This route involves turning your body to catch the ball while running at full speed with a defender trying to stop you. This is great for exploiting the cover 2 zone coverage, which shows Harrison Jr’s high football IQ to read and react to what the defense is giving him, eventually diving into the endzone for his second career touchdown.
Given their explosive abilities, as Murray's connection with him grows, watch out for what could eventually become one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in the league.
Dallas Gets Demolished By New Orleans
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo
Every season has the same rhetoric and soliloquy as the Dallas Cowboys. They are a talented team in a big market with great regular seasons, but they can’t deliver in the biggest games and big moments when needed. They haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1996!
The Cowboys have invested significantly in their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott. His four-year, $240 million deal, including $231 million guaranteed and an $80 million signing bonus, is the largest contract in NFL history. Despite throwing for 293 yards and a touchdown, Prescott's two interceptions against the Saints in their 44-19 blowout loss at home have raised questions about his performance under pressure.
For someone getting paid as the highest-paid player in league history, you’d want a better performance against a Saints team that’s not expected to do much this year despite the talent they have offensively. But it’s not entirely Prescott’s fault, as the Cowboys' flawed defense should get a majority of the game, getting utterly exploited by the Saints All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara, who rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries for three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, simply dismantling the Cowboys defense.
All losses aren’t created equal, but losing to a Saints team you know is going to run the football primarily. The Cowboys' defense allowed the Saints to score on every possession through the first three-quarters of the game and 35 first-half points, the most allowed in a half in franchise history, snapping their 16-game home win streak. On the offensive side, their run game is nonexistent, with running backs Ezekiel Elliot and Rico Dowdle combining for just 46 yards, 13 carries, and no touchdowns.
With a struggling defense, lack of a reliable No.2 receiver outside of CeeDee Lamb, and an offensive line that doesn’t seem as dominant as years past, it can be a long season down in Dallas.
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