By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Week Two in the NFL brought plenty of excitement.
Eight games this week were decided by one score or less.
With the Rams’ win on Monday Night, 24 of the 32 teams in the league are 1-1 or better.
Here are my picks for the best NFL performances by former players from the region.
1. Josh Allen, QB, Bills/Wyoming
Allen accounted for five total touchdowns in the Bills’ Thursday night win over Detroit.
The former Wyoming star threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns while adding 69 yards on the ground and a pair of scores.
2. Devin Lloyd, LB, Panthers/Utah
The former Ute had a stellar performance as the Panthers dominated the Falcons.
In the 34-3 win, Lloyd recorded nine tackles, one sack, three total stops for loss, three passes defended, and two interceptions.
Lloyd is the fifth linebacker with a sack and two interceptions, including an interception returned for a touchdown, in a game since 1982.
3. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions/USC
The Lions came up short in Buffalo, but the former Trojan came up big in the primetime affair.
The former USC star caught nine passes for 142 yards and found the end zone twice. It was his fourth straight regular-season game with at least eight receptions.
It was also his second consecutive game with two scores.
4. Jared Goff, QB, Lions/Cal
Goff did all he could to keep up with Josh Allen and the Bills but ultimately came up short.
In the TNF loss, the former Cal QB completed 68.4% of his passes for 327 yards and four passing TDs.
That effort earned him a QB rating of 130.5, his highest rating in a game since week 12 of last season.
5. Dalton Kinkaid, TE, Bills/Utah
The former Ute is quickly becoming the favorite target of Josh Allen this season.
Coming off a career high in yardage a week ago, he added another 95-yard night on Thursday.
He hauled in seven passes on the night, finding the end zone one time.
6. Davante Adams, WR, Rams/Fresno State
The 14th career season for the former Bulldog may not have started great in Australia, but once he got back to North America, he took off.
He had a fantastic second week of the season on Monday Night against the Giants, catching five passes for 145 yards and a TD in the Rams’ win.
7. Christian Elliss, LB, Patriots/Idaho
The former Idaho Vandal had a big game in Week 2 as the Patriots shut down the Steelers.
Elliss finished the game with 12 tackles and had a sack and a forced fumble.
The 12 total stops were the second most of his career and the most since Week 17 of the 2024 season when he collected 13 tackles.
8. Trey McBride, TE, Cardinals/Colorado State
McBride had eight catches for 41 yards and a touchdown against Seattle.
The former CSU star had nine receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
He is now the fifth tight end in NFL history with at least eight receptions in each of his team’s first two games of a season.
9. Dalton Schultz, TE, Texans/Stanford
The Texans fell to the Bengals in week two, but the TE out of Stanford had a career day.
Schultz posted career highs in both receptions, with 12, and receiving yardage with 140 in the game.
It was just the second time in his nine-year career that he topped 100 yards in a game.
11. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers/Arizona
For the third time in his career, the former Arizona WR went over 100 receiving yards.
McMillan caught five passes for 101 yards as the Panthers have scored 30+ points in their first two games of a season for the first time ever.
12. Denzel Boston, WR, Browns/Washington
The rookie out of Washington scored his first NFL TD in the Browns’ win over Tampa Bay.
Boston ended the day as the leading receiver for Cleveland, catching seven passes for 95 yards along with the TD.
13. Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers/Stanford
The All-Pro out of Stanford continues to reach milestones.
On Sunday, he found the end zone twice in the win over the Dolphins. The two scores give him 100 for his career in 114 games, the fourth fastest to the 100 TD mark in NFL history.
His scores are evenly split between San Francisco and Carolina become just the third player in NFL history with at least 50 TDs with two teams, joining Randy Moss and Marshall Faulk.
Other Notables (in no order)
Jordan Love, QB, Packers/Utah State—2 TDs & 0 INTs, his 19th starts with multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions; the second-most such starts by a quarterback in his first 50 career starts.
Carson Schwesinger, LB, Browns/UCLA—10 tackles
Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers/Oregon—89 total yards
Romeo Doubs, WR, Patriots/Nevada—96 yards
Bobby Okereke, LB, Panthers/Stanford—9 tackles, 1 interception
Jonah Coleman, RB, Broncos/Washington—58 total yards, 1 TD
Bo Nix, QB, Broncos/Oregon—288 yards, 1 TD
Jaden Hicks, S, Chiefs/Washington State—10 tackles
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
