After overhauling some of the ratings and doing some work on the drive charts, the next eight games of week 2 were played. Results were favorable, and I think the changes to the ratings paid dividends, but some things are not yet where they need to be.
For whatever it’s worth, six of the eight winners were the same as real life, and in the other two, what turned out to be the better team over the course of the season got the victory. So that was a bit improved over the previous eight games. Interceptions finally got to where they needed to be at 1.6 per game, right on target. Fumbles went down, though.
The biggest thing that needs work is that I need more scoring. There were only 32 points per game over these eight contests. There were 48 in real life (and the 2023 season average was 43.6). So I need to add some touchdowns to the drive charts.
After doing that, it’s on to week three.
Here are the recaps of the other eight games of week 2:
Tennessee 16, Los Angeles Chargers 6: Tennessee got a 3-yard run for a TD by Derrick Henry in the first quarter and a Ryan Tannehill to DeAndre Hopkins touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter to make it 16-0. LA avoided a shutout by scoring on its last possession, a Justin Herbert to Keenan Allen pass. (actual: Tennessee 27-24)
Arizona 21, New York Giants 20: New York led 14-6 at the end of the third quarter after Daniel Jones’ second touchdown pass. Arizona closed the gap to 17-14. On the Giants’ final possession, Arizona got a stop and forced New York to make a field goal, which made the score 20-14. Arizona drove the ball down the field and scored a walk-off game-winning touchdown on James Conner’s second touchdown of the quarter. (actual: New York 31-28)
San Francisco 24, Los Angeles Rams 23: Brock Purdy threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to Christian McCaffrey and Jake Moody hit a 54-yard field goal right before halftime to put the 49ers ahead 17-16. But San Francisco’s offense went stagnant in the second half, and a third-quarter touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua put LA ahead 23-17. Things looked bleak when Purdy threw his second interception in the fourth quarter, but the 49ers defense got a stop. San Francisco had to drive the entire length of the field on its final possession, and did so, culminating with a game-winning touchdown run by Jordan Mason. (actual: San Francisco 30-23)
Dallas 24, New York Jets 0: New York’s offense couldn’t do anything. The Jets fumbled on their first possession, and the Cowboys turned a short field into a touchdown. New York then punted on their next 10 possessions. Dak Prescott threw three first-half touchdown passes. (actual: Dallas 30-10)
Denver 23, Washington 13: After some early field goals, the teams traded touchdowns midway through the second quarter, and Denver led 13-10 at the half. Both teams added a field goal to their tally in the third quarter. Denver iced it with a Russell Wilson-to-Lil’Jordan Humphrey touchdown pass late in the fourth. (actual: Washington 35-33)
Miami 23, New England 10: After some early field goals, the Dolphins scored touchdowns on their final possession of the first half and their first possession of the second half (sandwiching the Patriots’ only TD), putting Miami ahead 20-10. It was 23-10 after three quarters. New England was stopped on a fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter. (actual: Miami 24-17)
New Orleans 17, Carolina 13: Derek Carr threw touchdown passes to Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave, the latter giving the Saints a 17-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Carolina tacked on 10 points in its final two possessions but couldn’t get the ball back for one last shot. (actual: New Orleans 20-17)
Pittsburgh 20, Cleveland 3: The Browns’ Deshaun Watson threw three interceptions, two of which then resulted in Najee Harris touchdown runs. It was 20-0 in the fourth quarter when the Browns finally got on the board with a field goal. (actual: Pittsburgh 26-22)
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 