I held off another week on getting DirecTV max, but figured I'd supplement my two screens with some streaming games on my monitors. I logged into my account and discovered if you want to stream the ticket, you need to upgrade for that too. It was probably for the best as it's enough work to avoid the commercials on two screens. I also remembered my trick during the late games from last year, have the volume on one and not the other, and hit mute when the audible one goes to break - the command hits both screens and changes which one's on without having to change the channels. I know, genius.
• The Giants won by 13, but the score was closer than the game. The Giants defense dominated early, and the offense was crisp. An early fumble and botched FG snap kept Houston in the game, but eventually the Giants took over. Rashad Jennings looked like peak Arian Foster, breaking tackles and making nice cuts while slashing for extra yardage. He also saw 34 carries to Andre Williams' six. No one has a bigger share of his team's backfield than Jennings right now.
• Victor Cruz stopped on a dime during his TD catch, before accelerating toward the corner of the end zone - shades of the superstar he was in 2011. It'll take more than one strong game to trust it, but there's upside in this offense. and I'm interested to see what happens once Odell Beckham gets back.
• DeAndre Hopkins made a great one-handed downfield catch that was called back due to illegal motion. He looks more like the No. 1 right now than Andre Johnson. Alfred Blue got stuffed a lot, but broke off one 46-yard run, boosting his average. He didn't do anything to lose the job should Foster remain out.
• I didn't watch much of the San Diego game, but they bucked two trends simultaneously: (1) that west coast teams don't travel well for early games on the east coast; and (2) that teams playing the Seahawks don't cover the following week. Of course, San Diego dominated time of possession against the Seahawks and did most of the the aggressing, so maybe that was an exception. But my feeling is most of these factors - if they mean anything, and usually they don't - are priced into the lines already.
• What a drive by Peyton Manning and the Broncos to tie the game. It was 80 yards in 59 seconds with no timeouts against the Seattle defense in Seattle. It doesn't get tougher than that. And the throw to Demaryius Thomas for the two-point conversion was perfect. Of course, the Seahawks' drive in overtime was a tour de force in is own right as Russell Wilson methodically took the Broncos defense apart. But if the two teams were to meet again in the Super Bowl, you have to think Denver would feel a lot better about it after getting back in the game.
• So annoying the Darren McFadden touchdown to tie the game in the closing seconds was called back due to an inconsequential hold. Not only did I have McFadden going in a league (it didn't matter), but it could have caused quite a bit of survivor damage as well. How are the Pats life and death with the Raiders at home?
• I was down on Julian Edelman before the season, and so far it looks like I'm very wrong, but part of my assumption was the Pats wanted to get more than 6.5 YPA. But Aaron Dobson was scratched again, and the Pats were content to target Edelman 13 more times (84 yards, 6.5 YPT.) Maybe Bill Belichick - who won 12 games and made it to the AFC title game while missing Rob Gronkowski most of the year - knows something I don't, but I don't see this team's upside.
• Normally laying a full TD on the road with a big-name quarterback against a league doormat is a sucker play, but Jacksonville's decision to start Chad Henne over Blake Bortles despite Bortles clearly superior play in the preseason spoke volumes. And the Colts at 0-2 were a desperate animal, so I uncharacteristically laid the points. It was such a sucker play, the line finally went off at 5.5, meaning the sharp money probably jumped all over the Jaguars at seven. Now that Bortles is likely to start going forward, I'd expect the Jaguars to rally - maybe not right away, but they'll go on a run of near-upsets and actual upsets at some point.
• It's hard not to like the Cardinals passing-game setup - even Drew Stanton is serviceable with those targets and in that system. Arizona has to be on the short list of Super Bowl contenders right now, assuming Carson Palmer can come back at full strength before long. Meanwhile Stanton is doing a poor man's 2013 Josh McCown impression. And you have to love how far down the field Michael Floyd is getting his targets.
• After Andrew Luck's huge day, many might have him as the clear No. 4 QB - or perhaps higher - but I'd still go with Nick Foles whose receivers always seem to be wide open. Even though Washington shut down the running game entirely, Foles still put up another 300-plus game and three scores. Jeremy Maclin is easily a top-15 receiver right now and probably top-10.
• It was hard to fathom the Packers scoring only seven points against a depleted Lions secondary. Eddie Lacy now looks slower than his predecessor at Alabama, and Aaron Rodgers was running for his life much of the day. Of course, Matthews Stafford putting up 10 offensive points at home against Green Bay's defense is perhaps even more disturbing.
• The Saints won and covered at home, but it wasn't pretty. I was expecting to see the well-oiled machine that routinely scores in the high-30s and 40s, but Drew Brees and the offense weren't especially crisp. I suppose you could do worse than 293 yards, 8.4 YPA and two TDs, though.
• I let my SXM producer Trevor Ray co-manage my second "Beat Chris Liss" NFFC team, and I had the lineup set this week when he emailed me during the second half of the early games saying he wanted to bench Alex Smith for Geno Smith. I told him I was leaning Alex, but if he felt strongly he could do it, as it was close. The issue was Geno could be without Eric Decker, and in the NFFC, passing TDs are worth six points, so running QBs don't get as much of a boost when they score on the ground. Trevor made the switch anyway, and it turns out Alex scored 28 points on our bench. Our opponent's done - and he's up 24.35 points. For Trevor's sake, Geno better get us there, or we're going to have a lot to discuss on the radio this week.
• Kirk Cousins had a huge game, and it's possible he'll be a poor man's Nick Foles this year given the weapons and the system. It's also worth remembering Chad Henne threw for 400-plus yards as a second-year player on the Dolphins once too.
• The Panthers looked like a contender, while the Steelers were 0-2 and had just gotten destroyed by a not especially impressive Ravens squad, and yet Pittsburgh was getting only three points in Carolina. That line moved up to 3.5 by kickoff, but it still seemed like an easy call to take the Panthers. Of course, the Steelers destroyed them and bullied their usually stout defense. It's a good reminder not to get too wedded to recent results when evaluating a game.