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Caleb Williams QB | CHI
Bears' Caleb Williams: Rookie struggles continue
Williams completed 23 of 37 pass attempts for 174 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 19-13 loss to the Texans. He was sacked seven times and added 44 rushing yards on five attempts.
Williams improved in some facets following his underwhelming debut against the Titans in Week 1. The first-overall pick from this year's draft matched upstart sophomore C.J. Stroud in terms of completions in the primetime loss, but the latter had far more success on a per-attempt basis. Williams was expected to go through growing pains as a first-year starter, but there have been minimal positives to point to through two games to justify starting him in standard fantasy formats. There should be better days ahead for Williams and a loaded Bears supporting cast, potentially starting with a Week 3 matchup against the 0-2 Colts.
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C.J. Stroud QB | HOU
Texans' C.J. Stroud: Mistake-free in win on SNF
Stroud completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Sunday's 19-13 win over the Bears.
Stroud threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins in the second quarter, Ka'imi Fairbairn tacked on four field goals and Houston's defense added to Caleb Williams' slow start as Stroud showed that he's the superior young quarterback at this stage of their respective careers. The second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has led the Texans to a 2-0 start with a tidy 3:0 TD:INT heading into a Week 3 trip to Minnesota, and Stroud hasn't thrown an interception since Week 11 of his rookie season.
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Jake Haener QB | NYG
Saints' Jake Haener: Serving as No. 2 quarterback
Haener carried three times for minus-3 yards in Sunday's 44-19 win over the Cowboys.
Haener has opened the season as the Saints' No. 2 quarterback, backing up Derek Carr in both of the team's first two contests while Spencer Rattler has been a healthy inactive as the third man on the depth chart. With Carr leading the Saints to blowout wins over the Panthers and Cowboys, Haener has seen garbage-time action in the fourth quarter of both contests. The two late-game cameos represented his first NFL appearances, as Haener didn't see any action with the Saints as a fourth-round rookie a season ago.
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Jacoby Brissett QB | ARI
Patriots' Jacoby Brissett: Leads offense effectively
Brissett completed 15 of 27 passes for 149 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Seahawks. He added two rushes for six yards.
The Patriots have relied upon Rhamondre Stevenson heavily in the first two games, limiting Brissett to a combined 51 attempts. Brissett was effective when called upon Sunday, however, and showed strong rapport with Hunter Henry in the short areas of the field. He also recorded his first touchdown of the season on a five-yard connection with Ja'Lynn Polk. Due to limited volume and a conservative game plan, Brissett isn't well-suited for fantasy production, but he's proven capable of running a competent offense early in the campaign.
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Matthew Stafford QB | LAR
Rams' Matthew Stafford: Loses another weapon Sunday
Stafford completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 216 yards with no touchdowns or rushing attempts and one lost fumble in Sunday's 41-10 loss to the Cardinals.
Stafford struggled mightily after losing top wideout Cooper Kupp (ankle) in the first half of Sunday's blowout loss to a division rival. It was the veteran signal-caller's first game without a TD pass in a Rams uniform since Week 1 of last season. The loss of Kupp is concerning considering Stafford lost the services of 2023 ROTY Puka Nacua (knee) in last week's loss. Stafford will likely lead a ragtag group of receivers into a difficult matchup against the 49ers on Sunday.
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Joe Burrow QB | CIN
Bengals' Joe Burrow: Loses nail-biter to rival QB
Burrow (wrist) completed 23 of 36 passing attempts for 258 yards and two touchdowns while adding nine rushing yards on six attempts in Sunday's 26-25 loss to Kansas City.
Burrow also committed a pivotal turnover when he was strip-sacked for a touchdown in the opening moments of the fourth quarter in a narrow loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The LSU product saw a marked improvement in his fantasy score following a Week 1 dud against the Patriots. Burrow wasn't his sharpest from the pocket, watching his completion percentage regress to 67.7 following Sunday's loss. Cincinnati's franchise QB didn't visibly appear to be limited by his surgically repaired wrist, downplaying any concerns raised on social media earlier this week. Despite taking the loss, Burrow's stock is trending upward following a solid performance against a difficult opponent as the Bengals prepare to face the Commanders next Monday.
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Patrick Mahomes QB | KC
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes: Just 151 pass yards in Week 2 win
Mahomes completed 18 of 25 passes for 151 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 26-25 win over the Bengals. He added four rushing attempts for 29 yards.
Mahomes threw a perfect pass down the sideline for a 44-yard Rashee Rice touchdown in the second quarter, and he added a one-yard touchdown pass to backup left tackle Wanya Morris as the Chiefs reached into their bag of tricks in the third. Despite doing just enough to get his team to 2-0 heading into Week 3 against the Falcons thanks to a game-winning 51-yard Harrison Butker field goal on the game's final play, Mahomes has some errors to clean up. Mahomes was picked off in the first quarter and again in the third, with the latter coming soon after a would-be interception was taken off the board by a penalty. Kansas City also caught a couple bad breaks before a defensive pass interference penalty set up the game-winning field goal, as Mahomes had fourth-quarter completions of 41 yards to Travis Kelce and 21 yards to Rice erased by penalties to suppress the star quarterback's stat line.
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Kyler Murray QB | MIN
Cardinals' Kyler Murray: Throws three TDs in win
Murray completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for 266 yards and three touchdowns while adding 59 rushing yards on five attempts in Sunday's 41-10 blowout win over the Rams.
Murray tore apart the Rams' secondary in Sunday's lopsided victory, missing just four pass attempts and committing no turnovers. The 2019 first-overall pick has battled injuries over the past two seasons, but he is now playing with the confidence we saw from the star QB prior to breaking down physically. Murray is shaping up to be a great bounce-back candidate in 2024 with four touchdowns and a 73 percent completion rate through two games. A true barometer awaits for the 26-year-old in Week 3 when the Cardinals host a stingy Lions defense at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.
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Geno Smith QB | NYJ
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Big performance against Pats
Smith completed 33 of 44 passes for 327 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in Sunday's 23-20 overtime win over New England. He added five rushes for eight yards.
Smith saw some additional volume thanks to overtime, but he was asked to take to the air more than in Week 1. He responded with a strong performance, highlighted by a 56-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter while also showing strong rapport with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The downside to his performance was that he found the end zone only once, but it was an encouraging performance heading into a Week 3 matchup against Miami.
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Jayden Daniels QB | WAS
Commanders' Jayden Daniels: Does just enough for first NFL win
Daniels completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards in Sunday's 21-18 win over the Giants. He added 44 rushing yards on 10 carries.
The rookie quarterback led the Commanders on seven scoring drives, but all seven resulted in field goals rather than finishing in the end zone. Daniels did a good job of taking care of the ball though, despite fierce pressure from the Giants defense that resulted in five sacks. The second overall pick in the 2024 Draft has been brought down seven times through his first two games, and the inability of the Washington offensive line to protect Daniels could encourage coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to continue having him throw quick. high-percentage passes. Daniels will likely need to use his legs again in Week 3 against the Bengals.