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    • Alvin Kamara leads Saints into rare territory
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    Alvin Kamara leads Saints into rare territory

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    The 32 Things We Learned From Week 2 of the 2024 NFL Season:

    1. Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s jersey number, arguably the biggest story of Week 2 after suffering his third documented concussion in the past two years, is not only casting doubt on the Fins’ season, but also his NFL future. Asked what he said to Tagovailoa, a close friend of his, as he walked off the field Thursday night, HC Mike McDaniel revealed, “I told him he’s the starting quarterback in his family.”

    1a. As for his football family — the family that signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension this summer — the Dolphins are 7-9 without him in the starting lineup since he was their first-round draft pick in 2020.

    1b. On a happier No. 1 note — Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray also has that jersey number — he earned a perfect passer rating for the first time in his six-year career at 158.3 after throwing for 266 yards and three TDs in a 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

    1c. And as for the #1 team in the NFL? It’s probably The Kansas City Chiefs are still the reigning champions after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 26-25 on Sunday. But check back Tuesday morning for our weekly power rankings.

    2. The debate over second place, and the undoubtedly much-shuffled top five, will undoubtedly center on the New Orleans Saints, who are 2-0 – thanks to a league-leading 91 points – after beating the visiting Dallas Cowboys 44-19.

    3. Since the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, only one team has scored more points through two games than the 2024 Saints: the 2009 Saints (93), the only team in the franchise’s 58-season history to win the Super Bowl.

    4. New Orleans RB Alvin Kamara was the star performer on Sunday with 180 yards and four touchdowns, marking the second time in his eight-year career that he has reached the end zone at least that many times in a game.

    5. Fun fact: The Saints were also 2-0 last year … en route to a 9-8 record, but didn’t reach the postseason due to tiebreakers that didn’t favor New Orleans.

    6. And congrats to Saints LB Demario Davis, who has now played in all 100 games for the team since signing with New Orleans in 2018. The two-time Pro Bowler had eight tackles in Sunday’s win.

    7. Dallas’ loss ended a streak of 16 straight regular-season wins at AT&T Stadium.

    8. But the manner of the Cowboys’ demise will undoubtedly fuel many more discussions about their viability in 2024 after what largely felt like a failed offseason.

    9. Of course, New Orleans isn’t the only (surprise?) club with a 2-0 mark – one of six (Bills, Buccaneers, Vikings, Seahawks and either Bears or Texans) to emerge with that mark in a battle among 1-0 teams – the most in Week 2 since the merger.

    10. Mike Macdonald, 37, bested the New England Patriots’ Jerod Mayo, 38, on Sunday in a matchup of the league’s youngest coaches. Macdonald is the first Seattle coach to ever begin his tenure with consecutive victories.

    11. So much for “Burrowhead.” After losing their first three games against Joe Burrow’s Bengals (including the playoffs) since the start of the 2021 season, the Chiefs have won their last three. None of the six games have been decided by more than a single score.

    12. On the other hand, six games in Week 2 also featured teams that were 0-1… and the Colts, Giants, Jaguars, Rams, Ravens and Titans are now all among the teams that are 0-2 in the regular season. That means there’s an 11.5% chance of making the playoffs, based on what’s happened since 1990.

    13. After another of their patented fourth-quarter collapses – against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders of all teams – Baltimore is 0-2 for the first time in its tenure under QB Lamar Jackson, who was drafted in 2018.

    14. Jackson is the first reigning MVP to start 0-2 since Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams lost back-to-back games in 2002.

    15. The New York Jets posted an evenly matched 24-17 victory over Tennessee, thanks to key contributions from the NFL’s oldest and youngest players.

    15a. NYJ QB Aaron Rodgers, 40, threw two touchdown passes, while rookie RB Braelon Allen, 20, scored twice — including a 12-yard pass from Rodgers.

    16. After recording 4½ sacks on Sunday, Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson is now on pace to have 47 this season. (That would be a record. It’s also still, well, early.) Still, some smart folks were projecting Hutchinson to be the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.

    17. Hutchinson also became the fourth player since 1982, when the sack became an official statistic, to record at least three sacks in each of his first three seasons.

    18. Sure, the Lions lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with HC Dan Campbell saying the loss was “100 percent on me” because of a sequence late in the first half when an excessive-man penalty ran out the clock and cost Detroit a chance to score. But whatever the loss to a 1-1 team, the ever-accountable Campbell undoubtedly deserved more points from a locker room that already idolizes him.

    19. Just when you thought the Green Bay Packers might rehash all that progress they made in 2023 after QB Jordan Love’s knee injury, it turns out a little bit of vomiting can lead to a big win.

    20. It was also a plus that Pack QB2 Malik Willis, now in his third season, threw his first career touchdown pass in a 16-10 win over mistake-prone Indianapolis.

    21. After catching one pass in his NFL debut, Cards WR Marvin Harrison Jr. needed one quarter to collect four receptions for 130 yards and two scores in the runaway against the Rams.

    22. It may not look pretty, but it doesn’t appear the Pittsburgh Steelers will immediately turn to veteran QB Russell Wilson and his problematic calf after getting off to a solid 2-0 start with Justin Fields and a dominant defense… not that Fields wasn’t always the better option.

    23. Still tough to watch. The Steelers and Denver Broncos combined for the same number of points (19) and penalties in Pittsburgh’s 13-6 win.

    24. Is it really so unreasonable to expect a punter to have a legitimate shot at making PATs and field goals when a team’s regular kicker is out? The New York Giants are the latest example of “apparently not” after Graham Gano suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday’s opening kickoff. P Jamie Gillan missed his only extra-point try Sunday, and the Giants simply dismissed kicking as an option.

    25. Meanwhile, new Washington Commanders K Austin Seibert made all seven field goal attempts, making the difference in a 21-18 win over the G-Men.

    26. It’s hard to understand why new Giants RB Devin Singletary chose to wear predecessor Saquon Barkley’s number 26. Singletary rushed for 95 yards and a TD in Sunday’s loss … but the image of him scuttling into the end zone almost feels like an unnecessary troll of the team’s fans.

    26a. But if that wasn’t bad enough for Giants fans, they’ll get to see Barkley again in primetime on Monday night when his Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons.

    27. Arizona K Matt Prater’s 57-yard bomb on Sunday was his 81st field goal of 50-plus yards, breaking his own record.

    28. Prater’s, 40, consistency from downtown should likely be appreciated even more considering the Ravens’ Justin Tucker, almost universally regarded as the best kicker of his era, is now 1-of-7 from 50-plus yards since the start of the 2023 season.

    29. Tucker fired a shot from 60 yards wide to the left on Sunday, another part of Baltimore’s stunning home loss to Las Vegas.

    30. Minnesota WR Justin Jefferson galloped for a 97-yard TD in his team’s 23-17 upset of the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. According to Next Gen Stats, Jefferson actually traveled 127.5 yards on the play, the most by a player on an offensive TD since NGS started in 2016.

    31. Kit of the week: The Jets won in their green kits and with their old (now permanent) logo. It was the first time in almost exactly 35 years that they had worn that kit combination.

    31a. The Broncos debuted their new blue pants on Sunday, and it didn’t help.

    32. Very early MVP voting goes to … Kamara. He already has five TDs this season — after averaging five during the 2022 and ’23 campaigns — and 290 yards from scrimmage.

    ***

    Follow Nate Davis of USA TODAY Sports on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

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