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Winners, losers from NFL Week 2
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Za'Darius Smith (52) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the second quarter of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

NFL Week 2 winners, losers: Eagles defense dominates Super Bowl rematch

With most of the NFL's Week 2 schedule in the books, it is time to take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's action. The Indianapolis Colts are 2-0 thanks to a huge game from Jonathan Taylor, while the day was defined by special teams blunders across games. 

NFL Week 2 Winners

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit LionsIf you were concerned about the Lions after their Week 1 performance against the Green Bay Packers, you might want to ease them. The Lions scored 52 points against Chicago on Sunday, led by a five-touchdown effort from Goff, with three of them going to Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

Brandon Aubrey, K, Dallas Cowboys. A lot of people played well in Dallas, including quarterback Dak Prescott and bounce-back games from wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. But Aubrey is the star of this game with a 64-yard field goal as time expires to send it to overtime, and then the overtime winner. The best long-distance kicker in the sport. 

James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills. The Bills offense rolled against the Jets, scoring 30 points thanks to a huge performance from Cook. He rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns in the 30-10 win. 

Kyle Shanahan, HC, San Francisco 49ers. Yeah, it was against the New Orleans Saints. But you still have to give Shanahan some credit for putting together a game plan, given his team's injury situation and getting a 279-yard, three-touchdown game out of backup quarterback Mac Jones. 

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis ColtsThe Daniel Jones-led Colts are 2-0 and one of the biggest surprises in the NFL, and Jones certainly deserves his flowers for another strong game on Sunday. But this performance was all about Taylor with 165 yards rushing on 25 carries (6.6 per carry) and another 50 yards receiving. 

Andrew Mukuba, DB, Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have another young star in the secondary in Mukuba, and he showed it on Sunday. Mukuba recorded six tackles, 0.5 sacks, a tackle for loss, a pass defense and a game-changing interception to help the Eagles defense roll in a 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl rematch. 

NFL Week 2 Losers

Miami Dolphins defense. This is a brutal unit and potentially a brutal team. After failing to get a stop in their Week 1 loss to the Colts, the Dolphins came out on Sunday and allowed three consecutive scoring drives to open the game against the New England Patriots. In two weeks, the Miami defense has made just two stops (excluding an end-of-half kneel-down series). 

Kaleb Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers. Did he not know the rules? Did he just forget? Did he just give up on the play? Whatever it was, this is one of the biggest game-changing plays of the day and the type of thing that will get a rookie benched for a long time.

Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets. After a sensational debut with the Jets in Week 1, Fields badly regressed in Week 2 and completed just 3-of-11 passes for 27 yards before leaving with a concussion. He still ran the ball well (49 yards on five attempts), but it was not anywhere close to enough to make up for the lack of a passing game.

Brian Daboll, HC, New York GiantsThere were a lot of positives for the Giants in their Week 2 loss to the Cowboys. Russell Wilson bounced back with a huge performance. Malik Nabers was tremendous. They scored 37 points. But Daboll gets into the loser category for the way the Giants defense came out following Nabers' last-minute touchdown in the fourth quarter. They were far too passive and gave Dallas easy yards to allow the Cowboys to get into Aubrey's field goal range. Aubrey is not your normal field goal kicker, and the Giants should have known that and played a more aggressive approach on defense. 

Denver Broncos special teams. Another tough day for another special teams unit. Not only did the Broncos miss a field goal that could have extended their lead late in the game, but they were also called for leverage on a Colts field goal attempt that went wide and would have given Denver the win. But the penalty gave the Colts another chance for the win. They did not miss. 

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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