Week 2 is in the books! A little less exciting than Week 1 if you're a fan of offense; only 440 points had been scored through Sunday afternoon's games, whereas 702 had been posted by this time last week. If you're a fan of fumbles, be sure to tune in; there have been 82 fumbles through the first two weeks of the NFL season so far. Though, if you are a fan of fumbles, consider becoming a fan of something else.
Every Sunday, I'll find several of the coolest advanced stats from the day's NFL action to share with you. Some call them NFL Next Gen Stats. I call them Next Ben Stats: the data that might not make it on the broadcast but will make you a smarter fan (and laugh a little bit, probably).
Let's start with the statement day from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Jump to:
Hurts' long conversions
Bears' scoring regression
Jets like Mitchell on third down
Gonzalez vs. Metcalf
Saints' bad first-half offense
Less pressure on Nix
3: How many third-down conversions Jalen Hurts had on third-and-11 or longer in the Eagles' win -- the first such game of his career.
Hurts had nine total third-down conversions -- the most he has had in any game, regular season or postseason.
Hurts' best trait has always been his poise and confidence. Never has that been more clearly on display than against the Titans when things at times did not go the Eagles' way. Philadelphia's methodical opening drive ended in a 90-yard interception return after Hurts was duped on a quality play from safety Amani Hooker. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Dallas Goedert both went down with injuries for an offense already missing guard Landon Dickerson. The defense started struggling mightily in the second half.
Hurts, armed with as bad of a run game as he has ever had to endure, still lined up on third down and diced 'em up. The Titans' wanted to be a zone team to keep eyes on Hurts. (Think Jeffery Simmons' pregame comment of "making Hurts play quarterback.") And Hurts did. His comfort with new wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (five catches, 74 yards) is notable, and DeVonta Smith's rise to WR1 was punctuated by an unbelievable catch against the sideline to set up the go-ahead score.
The Eagles are 2-0. It has been far from pretty, but Hurts is willing this team to tough wins in September.
4: How many third-down conversions WR Adonai Mitchell had for the Jets -- after having just 10 in his career (34 games) previously.
Mitchell fell out of trust in Indianapolis after his errors cost the Colts' a tight Rams contest in 2025, hence the trade to New York shortly thereafter. The Jets have been nothing but enthusiastic about Mitchell's maturity and focus, and you saw the fruits of that labor in a strong if ultimately disappointing showing against the Packers.
The third-year wideout ended his day with six catches on 11 targets for 63 yards. In four of his past eight games with the Jets, Mitchell had at least nine targets -- more than he had in a single game as a Colt. Mitchell got schemed-up targets in this game, he got high-value looks off of motion, he made himself available on the scramble drill, he had yards after catch opportunities and he had two deep looks that were close but not connected.
It was a complete WR game. The Jets are telling you they really like what they have in this young player. And Geno Smith is one of the best quarterbacks to keep hammering a young receiver, even through mistakes and drops (which Mitchell had one of in this contest). Mitchell's stock is rising.
56: The difference in the Bears' point total from Week 1 to Week 2 -- the fourth-largest week-over-week point difference in NFL history.
According to ESPN Research, it was the biggest swing since the 1973 Falcons, who had a 62-point falloff. Before them? The 1934 Eagles and the 1920 Rochester Jeffersons -- a real team, apparently!
(Incidentally, 56 is also the difference in the Panthers' defensive outing, with 59 points allowed in Week 1 and only 3 in Week 2. That is the second-biggest such swing in league history.)
Everything went right for the Bears' offense in Week 1; everything went wrong in Week 2. Chicago had multiple drops on the day. D'Andre Swift fumbled at Minnesota's 1-yard line. A penalty wiped out a completion to the Vikings' 16; that drive ended in a punt. And of course, the Bears had a field goal blocked inside the Vikings' 10 -- after QB Caleb Williams came up lame on what would have been a walk-in touchdown, screaming and holding his right hamstring.
The rain had an enormous impact on the Bears' offense, but coordinator Brian Flores and the Vikings' defense deserve worlds of credit for finding solutions against Ben Johnson's offense. The play of defensive tackle Jalen Redmond stood out, but rookies Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange contributed, as well. And the breakout season of edge rusher Dallas Turner is well upon us. The Vikings' defense is as legit as it gets.
We await news on Williams' injury with bated breath. Even in a bad game, he was making some special plays. The league is more fun when he's healthy.
34: How many routes Christian Gonzalez was opposite DK Metcalf -- the most shadow snaps Gonzalez has taken in a single game, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
What was the result of that coverage in Patriots' 20-3 win over Steelers? Three receptions for 11 yards, and two were on throws behind the line of scrimmage.
The Steelers did their usual with Metcalf by running him on shallow crossers and quick slants, using his superior speed and size to outclass man cover corners. But that's the thing about Gonzalez: Even among the league's premiere corners, he's noticeably big and fast. He can play these heavy man coverage days against bigger receivers -- such as Metcalf or Atlanta's Drake London -- when other corners can't.
32.9%: The Saints' offensive success rate in the first half, which is 29th leaguewide. They're 27th in EPA per play and in yards per play, as well.
And what about the second half? Great question. Including overtime, they are eighth in success rate (50%), sixth in EPA per play and 11th in yards per play.
It's too early yet to say what exactly is happening. Is Kellen Moore and his offensive staff cooking up excellent second-half adjustments? That's part of it. Is quarterback Tyler Shough settling down once defenses capitulate into softer coverages when protecting second-half leads? That is absolutely part of it. How about getting to use all four downs to string together a series? Yep. The Saints are 4-for-4 on fourth down, and all of them have come in the fourth quarter or later.
The Saints are now 1-1 with two second-half comebacks under their belts. Those are great experiences for a young team, which will never count itself out of a game for the rest of the season. But the Saints need to find a way to get early offense. The offseason investments in the running game (RB Travis Etienne Jr. and G David Edwards) have yet to show up. The heavy reliance on WR Chris Olave (second in the league in receiving yards with 268) feels fragile, as he doesn't have a great injury history.
Still, I like what I've seen from Moore. Shough is stringing together enough plays -- though he does have to cut down on the sacks -- and the Saints are cooking something on offense.
19.4%: How often Bo Nix was pressured in a win versus the Jaguars, per Next Gen Stats. It was less than half his pressure rate (45.5%) from Week 1.
The Broncos' 31-10 loss to the Chiefs in Week 1 was uncharacteristically riddled with pressures and sacks from the usually sack-averse Nix. I'm impressed with how quickly Denver offensive coordinator Davis Webb cleared things up. Nix was pressured on only six dropbacks against Jacksonville after enduring 15 pressures (and taking four sacks) a week ago. The Broncos' 17 unanswered points and seven-point victory feel sweet, but they had an even better day on offense hidden by red zone errors in the first half.
This is as much a Jaguars stat as it is a Broncos stat. Jacksonville's D-line is a ferocious run-defending unit but continues to feel absent a pass-rush presence when Josh Hines-Allen isn't single-handedly dominating. Nix worked hard to get the ball out fast: Only 6.5% of his dropbacks lasted longer than four seconds. But Hines-Allen got shut out on the day: zero pressures on 24 pass rushes. The Jaguars can't have that if they want to be a serious Super Bowl contender.
