Terps in the NFL: Stefon Diggs leads the way again in week two

It’s just week two, but to most NFL fans it is clear that Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs is one of, if not the best receiver in the league.

On Monday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans, Diggs had 12 catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns. He became the second receiver in Bills history to start a season with two 100-plus-yard receiving games, and helped the Bills demolish the Titans, 41-7.

He opened his scoring account on the night with a clutch four-yard touchdown catch on fourth down. While falling back, Bills quarterback Josh Allen found his target wide open in the end zone for the team’s second touchdown of the game.

The highlight of the night for the Bills was a 46-yard touchdown to Diggs. Allen stepped up in the pocket and launched one to Diggs, who beat his defender and laid out in the end zone for the score.

For his last touchdown of the night, Diggs beat cornerback Chris Jackson on a post route, allowing Allen to easily get it to his receiver for the 14-yard touchdown.

Two games into the 2022 season, Diggs leads the league in touchdowns with four, ranks second in receptions with 20 and has 270 receiving yards — only Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has more. If he continues this level of play, Diggs has potential to be an All-Pro selection for the second time in his career.

Former star Maryland wide receiver DJ Moore put up the same amount of yards in week two for the Carolina Panthers that he did in week one, but his week two performance added more to the highlight reel. His three receptions for 43 yards on six targets remained the same, but Moore found himself wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown at Metlife Stadium against the Giants. Despite the Panthers’ 19-16 loss, Moore remains a focal point of the offense, playing 100% of offensive snaps this week.

After a subpar week one, Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage stepped it up a bit this week. He managed to come up with six solo tackles, leading the Packers in tackles during the team’s 27-10 victory against the Bears. It was a much better performance than his contribution during the team’s loss in week one, but this season he’s still allowed three catches on three targets in pass coverage. With one year left on his contract, he’s will have to prove to the team that drafted him that he can be a starting safety in the NFL.

Playing his first game of the season after recovering from ankle surgery during the end of the offseason, Los Angeles Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson showed that he still has to shake off some rust after his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite recording six tackles in his performance, he finished with the lowest Pro Football Focus grade on the defense (40.1). Receivers had an 83.3% completion percentage when he was covering them, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a 156.9 passer rating when throwing toward Jackson. He also gave up a touchdown during the team’s 27-24 loss to Kansas City, and while he was coming back from an injury, it was definitely not a performance to remember.

Rookie draft picks Nick Cross and Chigoziem Okonkwo had a reduced role in their second NFL games.

A week one starting safety for the Indianapolis Colts, Cross went from playing every defensive snap against the Texans to playing 65% of defensive snaps against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played OK, getting three solo tackles and two assists on tackles, but it ultimately didn’t help slow down the Jaguars, who went on to beat the Colts, 24-0. Indianapolis fell to 0-1-1 to start the 2022 season.

Okonkwo, a tight end for the Tennessee Titans played just 15% of the offensive snaps in his first game, and he got more playing time this week with 29% of the offensive snaps. But, he didn’t get involved in the offense at all, being targeted zero times by quarterback Ryan Tannehill. His performance wasn’t a blank slate, though, as he managed to record a solo tackle on special teams, but the Titans got blown out by the Bills.

Other performers

• Playing 69% of defensive snaps this week compared to 81% last week, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Yannick Ngakoue put up similar numbers to the ones he put up last week. He put up one solo tackle and one assisted tackle to go along with a QB hit for the Colts. But, the defensive line wasn’t able to create enough pressure to disrupt the Jacksonville Jaguars offense as they lost, 24-0.
• Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson played a little over half of the defensive snaps this week with 43. He put up two combined tackles in the team’s 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
• Defensive tackle Byron Cowart registered his first statistic of the 2022 NFL season as an Indianapolis Colt with a tackle for loss. This was the only stat he recorded in ten defensive snaps and four special teams snaps in his team’s loss.
• Making his impact known on special teams this week, Detroit Lions linebacker Josh Woods had an assisted tackle and a solo tackle while playing 72% of the team’s special teams snaps in week two. The Lions would go on to beat the Washington Commanders, 36-27. Woods has recorded a special teams tackle in both games to start the season.
• Atlanta Falcons rookie wide receiver Jared Bernhardt got the first offensive snaps of his NFL career against the Rams this weekend, lining up two times and not recording a catch during the Falcons’ 31-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
• Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Michael Dunn continued to play his role as backup for the Browns. He had zero penalties in 11 offensive snaps and five special teams snaps on Sunday against the Jets.
• For the first time this season, running back Ty Johnson got involved in the game for the New York Jets. He had one catch for four yards on three targets, also recording a tackle on special teams to help the team with make an improbable comeback against the Browns for a 31-30 win.
• This week, running back Jake Funk played the same amount of special teams snaps as he did last week (12), but also got two offensive snaps in which he didn’t record a stat for the Los Angeles Rams.
• Linebacker Keandre Jones remained on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad for week two.
• Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. remained on the practice squad for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Rookie defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu earned a practice squad spot for the Tennessee Titans, and hasn’t been moved to the active roster since.
• Seattle Seahawks tight end Tyler Mabry was on the practice squad for the second week of the season.