Welcome to the “Casual Fan” section of The Show Notes! This is where I talk about sports. Certain aspects of what you read here, such as the depth of the analysis and amount of objectivity, will vary depending on a number of different factors. I promise to always be entertaining, though. Typos and grammatical errors are a direct reflection of my hatred of generative AI. If you like this, check out my show!

Week 2 is in the books! Let me be the first to wish your fantasy team better luck next year! Hopefully, this will cheer you up in the meantime!

If you watched the latest season of Netflix’s Quarterback, you learned pretty quickly that Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield is powered by vengeance. I can’t imagine he’s dreamt about a more perfect revenge scenario than the one that lay before him on Sunday. He had the chance to beat the team that threw him into the NFL trash heap in 2022, and put the final nail in the coffin of the QB they had brought in to replace him.

When the Cleveland Browns made that trade for Deshaun Watson and gave him $230 million in guaranteed money, almost everyone in the world knew it was a mistake. Watson had missed the previous season fighting sexual assault allegations from TWENTY-TWO different massage therapists. The NFL suspended him an additional 11 games as a result of their investigation into all of that. When he did eventually play, he was terrible. Then, he tore his Achilles tendon twice.

Last week’s loss to the Jaguars was Watson’s first game since October 2024, and he looked so bad that ESPN was reporting that Cleveland was going to reevaluate its quarterback situation heading into next week’s game. In Baker Mayfield’s first start against The Nasty Man™, he had the opportunity to bury Watson once and for all. The man who took Baker’s job was now fighting for his, and all Baker had to do was dust off his Punisher mask one more time.

But he didn’t.

Watson played his best game in forever, completing 24 of his 30 passes for 238 yards and 2 TDs. Even God tried to intervene with lightning, causing a 2+ hour delay after Watson’s second TD pass gave the Browns their first lead with just under 4 minutes left. When the game resumed, Baker led the Bucs to the red zone, but his 4th down pass to Emeka Egbuka fell incomplete in the endzone with 18 seconds left. Tampa Bay is 0-2 for the first time since 2014.

Perhaps our most specific category in this column’s two weeks of existence! Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels each went down with scary-looking injuries. Williams suffered a non-contact leg injury that initially looked like an Achilles or knee issue, but early reports are that it’s just a Grade 1 pulled hammy. He’ll miss the next game for sure, but the Bears say he’ll be week-to-week after that.

Daniels dislocated his non-throwing elbow on the Commanders’ final play of the first half in their loss to Dallas. Not only did it look disgusting, but it’s also the same injury that cost him seven games last season. If this ever happens to me, please just shoot me.

There is some good news, though! Rumor has it that Jayden’s mom has already sent his elbow a cease and desist letter ordering it not to dislocate again in the future.

Just a week after opening the season and the John Harbaugh Era with a decisive win that instilled hope in the fanbase of brighter days ahead, everybody died. In Monday night’s blowout loss to the Rams, QB Jaxson Dart, WR Malik Nabers, LB Brian Burns, and LT Andrew Thomas all left with injuries. Hell, the only Giants fan I know caught COVID for the first time. It looks like everyone mentioned avoided a season-ending injury, but Dart should miss some time with a sprained MCL. It was fun while it lasted!

Look, this man is out here bullying people. As a quarterback! He put the Lions on fraud watch early this season with 5 TDs in Buffalo’s 41-31 win on Thursday night. Two of those touchdowns were on the ground, which means he’s a third of the way to his 4th consecutive year with 12+ rushing TDs. He’d join Derrick Henry as the only other active player to achieve that feat. Derrick Henry, the ass-kicking running back. Again, Allen’s a quarterback. He’s going to have to win a Super Bowl this season, or we’re going to drag him, but he’s unreal in the regular season.

The aforementioned lightning delay in the Bucs-Browns game wasn’t the only extreme weather of the weekend. Extreme heat in the Nashville area resulted in the turf temperature being 157 degrees during the Titans-Eagles matchup. Players’ cleats were literally melting, and Eagles coach Nick Sirriani had to get an IV. Shout out to climate change! It’s only a matter of time before every stadium is required to be a dome.

Between a presumptive Super Bowl hangover and a new offensive coordinator, I suppose it wasn’t crazy to think JSN would take a step back from the production that earned him last season’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. However, I’d like to point out that he’s still Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I’ve been waiting for this dude to be That Dude in the NFL since his record-setting 2022 Rose Bowl performance. He’s arrived, and I have to imagine he’s here to stay for a bit. He torched the Cardinals for 11 catches, 155 yards, and a career-high 3 TDs.

Shout out to the late, great Dennis Green and his epic rant. They say the only thing constant is change, but some things never change. The Ravens lost a shocker to the Saints after forgetting that Derrick Henry is Derrick Henry. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce looked like the league’s most lethal combination in a clutch win against the Colts. The Chargers are already the league’s biggest disappointment of the season thanks to an offensive line that seems determined to get Justin Herbert killed. Did I write this on Monday or in 2024? Who knows?

Alright, that will do it for Week 2! Be on the lookout Thursday for the world’s greatest weekly sports watch guide, Screen Shots! MLB and WNBA playoffs are right around the corner, and there’s simply no better way to keep track of it all. See you then!