24. New England Patriots
Last week: 26th
After a disappointing loss in Week 1, Mike Vrabel got his first win as head coach of the Patriots, and he did it against an absolutely reeling Miami Dolphins team. At one point in this win, it felt like the Dolphins had grabbed some momentum but the Patriots stole it right back on special teams.
There was a punt return touchdown allowed by the Patriots, but Antonio Gibson took the kickoff on the very next play back for a score of his own. Like many of the games in the early window, this win by the Patriots was one of the most entertaining games of the day.
Most important for Patriots fans, Drake Maye was much more efficient with 19 completions on 23 attempts with a pair of touchdowns.
23. New York Giants
Last week: 29th
I’m not sure the New York Giants are going to get a better effort all season long from quarterback Russell Wilson. Under a ton of pressure after the offense scored just six points last week, Wilson responded by getting the Giants up to a big lead early on. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.
The Giants got into a shootout with the Cowboys, and couldn’t get the job done in overtime. Wilson ended up throwing an extremely ill-advised interception to Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson late, but the Giants defense simply has to do more. Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns before that.
You can argue the Giants now have some legitimate hope for better days ahead with this offensive performance, but at 0-2, they are falling behind quickly in a tough division.