What to know from NFL Week 2: No lead is safe, and we could all use a drink

And those were just the comebacks. There were boos in Denver during Russell Wilson’s first home game as a Bronco. The Dallas Cowboys’ Cooper Rush knocked off the defending AFC champions. Two of the biggest bullies of the week were the, uh, Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions? We could all use a few cocktails, and here is what to know.

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Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are even more terrifying together than imagined. In Baltimore, the Dolphins fell behind the Ravens, 35-14, with 26 seconds left in the third quarter, at which point their offense warned the rest of the league that they will never be out of any game. Tua Tagovailoa had an epic fourth quarter, leading Miami to a 42-38 victory by finishing with 469 passing yards and six touchdowns, the last of which he lofted to Waddle with 14 seconds left.

Tagovailoa put to rest concerns that he doesn’t have enough arm strength or poise in the pocket to operate first-year coach Mike McDaniel’s offense. It sure helps to have a receiver tandem that could be unlike any other in NFL history. Waddle and Hill might be the fastest players in the league, and their presence puts immense pressure on the defense on every snap. They are a defensive coordinator’s ulcer made flesh.

On Sunday, Hill and Waddle combined for 22 catches, 361 yards and four touchdowns. Hill scored from 48 and 60 yards. In Week 1, Waddle decided the Dolphins’ victory over the New England Patriots by taking a slant on fourth and seven at midfield and turning it into a touchdown. They are a constant threat to blaze by the secondary but also to stress the defense with short catches that, if not defended properly, could turn into giant gains.

The AFC is loaded with star quarterbacks and likely contenders. The Dolphins belong in that group as long as Hill and Waddle stay healthy. And in a stacked conference where tiebreakers are likely to matter for wild-card teams, Baltimore’s collapse could leave a lasting mark.

San Francisco cashed in its Trey Lance insurance in the worst way. Injuries made the 49ers’ quarterback decision for them — and made them look prescient for keeping Jimmy Garoppolo in the fold. Lance exited San Francisco’s 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter with a right ankle injury he suffered after taking a vicious hit on a running play, riding off the field on a cart with an air cast on his leg. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced Lance is out for the season with a broken ankle that will require surgery.

Their starting quarterback sidelined for the season, the 49ers turned to the passer who took them to a Super Bowl and two NFC championship games in the past three years. There was probably too much emphasis placed on the narrative of Garoppolo’s re-signing with the 49ers and not enough on the practical implications. The potential drama didn’t really matter; having a qualified backup on an NFC contender in case of injury did.

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The 49ers will mourn the loss of Lance, but they will not miss a beat with Garoppolo. He didn’t have to do much Sunday, thanks to San Francisco’s defense. When he gunned a 38-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ross Dwelley, the 49ers moved ahead 13-0. The Seahawks never challenged. The 49ers’ quarterback saga is over, at least for now, but their status as a contender remains.

Nick Chubb scored a touchdown and blew the game. With just over two minutes left, on first and 10 from the Jets 12-yard line, Chubb took a handoff around left end. The Jets had used all of their timeouts. If Chubb stayed in bounds and knelt inside the 2-yard line, the Browns could kneel out the clock. Even if that was asking too much, Chubb only needed to kneel inbounds for the Browns to bleed the clock, kick a field goal and make defeat an impossibility.

Instead, he danced around a tackler and scooted into the end zone. The Browns led 30-17 and then suffered a procession of calamities. Cade York shanked the extra point. Corey Davis sprinted past the Browns’ secondary for an inexcusable 66-yard touchdown catch. Braden Mann executed a perfect onside kick. Joe Flacco hit rookie Garrett Wilson — who’s really good, by the way — for a 15-yard touchdown. Jacoby Brissett drove the Browns near midfield, then rifled a desperate interception. Jets 31, Browns 30.

Many pointed to York’s miss or the Browns secondary’s miscommunication as the reason Cleveland lost. Those were brutal mistakes, but they never should have had a chance to matter. In the NFL endgame, the clock matters more than points. Blame belongs not only to Chubb but also to Coach Kevin Stefanski for not ensuring his star running back played to the situation.

The Buccaneers’ defense is carrying Tom Brady. That is bad news for the opposition, because Brady is likely to figure it out as Tampa Bay’s receiving corps gets healthier. The Buccaneers were without Chris Godwin and Julio Jones, who looked strikingly spry in Tampa Bay’s Week 1 victory. They lost Mike Evans when his years-long quarrel with Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore erupted into a fight that led to both players’ ejections.

Brady is clearly frustrated. He spiked a tablet on the sideline. He completed 18 of 34 passes for 190 yards. The Bucs have scored 39 points in two games, which includes just two offensive touchdowns. Afterward, according to reports, Brady’s news conference lasted less than two minutes and included six questions before he thanked the media and walked off.

But the Bucs are 2-0. Tampa Bay has yielded 13 points in two games and has created six turnovers, including the pick-six Mike Edwards used to seal its 20-10 victory over the Saints. If Brady can come close to the level he played at the past two seasons, the Bucs look like the best team in the NFC.

The Kenny Pickett Watch is on in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ 17-14 loss to the Patriots materialized for many reasons. Gunner Olszewski’s muffed punt set up New England’s second touchdown. Pittsburgh played without injured star pass rusher TJ Watt. The Patriots and their maligned offensive line ran down the Steelers’ throats for a 13-play drive that drained the final 6:33.

But when you draft a quarterback in the first round and your starter passes for 362 yards — total — in the first two weeks, one topic will dominate. After Mitchell Trubisky threw a zero-yard check-down on third and eight in the third quarter, fans at Acrisure Stadium chanted “Ken-ny! Ken-ny!” for the quarterback who played there in college for Pitt.

Trubisky told reporters he would “just block it out,” but the chants won’t go away soon. He has not gotten enough out of the Steelers’ receiving corps, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt while targeting rookie George Pickens only six times (for two catches and 26 yards). “I’d have to look at the tape,” Coach Mike Tomlin said when asked about Trubisky’s performance. “But, obviously, we didn’t make enough plays collectively, him included.”

The Steelers play Thursday night, which probably doesn’t provide enough time to make a quarterback switch. If Trubisky again plays poorly, the Steelers would have three extra days to prepare Pickett to face the Jets in Week 4.

The Jaguars’ offseason looks like a winner. Jacksonville overhauled its franchise (again), in ways both sensible and controversial. The Jaguars hired a coach with a Super Bowl win on his résumé. They used the first draft pick on a pass rusher who had 9.5 sacks in his college career, signed a second-tier wideout to a megabucks contract and used another first-round pick on an off-the-ball linebacker.

It has only been two weeks, but all of those decisions — conventional or otherwise — appear savvy after the Jaguars shut out the Colts, 24-0. Under Doug Pederson, second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence has made a leap, and he played perhaps the best game of his career Sunday. He completed 25 of 30 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, never coming close to an interception and showing off his mobility.

Like Pederson’s influence (and Urban Meyer’s absence), Christian Kirk’s presence has lifted Lawrence. His four-year, $72 million contract was met with disdain, and it may hamstring the Jaguars’ cap in future years. But in two games, he has 12 receptions for 195 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, No. 1 pick Travon Walker had an interception in Week 1 and has applied constant pressure. Rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd grabbed an interception Sunday and has been one of the most productive tacklers in the league.

Early indications are it won’t take much to win the AFC South. With 15 games left, the 1-1 Jaguars finished Sunday alone in first place.

Cincinnati needs to figure out how to protect Joe Burrow. The Bengals, recognizing that Burrow took too many sacks last season, remade their offensive line in the offseason. The personnel may be better, or at least more expensive, but the problem remains. Burrow has been sacked 13 times — six of them coming Sunday against the Cowboys, who upset the Bengals, 20-17, behind backup quarterback Cooper Rush.

The Bengals are always going to live with Burrow taking more sacks than a typical elite quarterback. Burrow’s genius is how he can see the whole field, and to maximize that skill he prefers to send five receivers into the pattern and hold the ball to let routes develop. The Bengals offensive line gets less help from chip blocks and tight ends than most.

But Cincinnati needs to find a better balance. Burrow can overcome sacks with big plays — but not at the rate they’re happening. And the more often he takes hits, the more risk the Bengals take on. Coach Zac Taylor needs to figure out how to let Burrow thrive playing his style while keeping him upright.

The defending AFC champions are 0-2. Last year, even with the additional wild card, no team started 0-2 and made the playoffs.