You never want the biggest storyline to come out of any given week during the NFL season to be injuries, but here we are. The quarterback position was particularly hammered in Week 2, with the likes of Jaxson Dart (season-ending knee injury), Jayden Daniels (dislocated elbow), and Caleb Williams (hamstring) headlining the group of wounded NFL stars. While that was the big -- and unfortunate -- storyline to come out of the week, there were other fascinating developments.
For instance, Deshaun Watson looked ... good? As we noted last week, Watson was at a fork in the road in his career as he took on the Bucs in Tampa. We thought he'd go the wrong way and find himself benched.
Instead, he turned in one of his best performances since arriving in Cleveland. His 121.9 passer rating in a 23-19 win over Tampa Bay was the third-highest of his Browns tenure. It also likely saved him his job for at least one more week.
See, even when you think you're expecting the unexpected, the league turns itself on its head. Well, now it's time to dive into Week 3 and highlight three storylines/performances that are somewhat flying under the radar, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them thrust into the spotlight after this week's action. If you're deep in the NFL weeds on Twitter/X, Josh Downs is a familiar name.
He's been an advanced-stats darling and one of the big deep-league sleepers heading into the year for fantasy. Soon enough, the NFL at-large will know who Downs is, maybe even as soon as this week. With Alec Pierce on injured reserve due to a heel injury, a path is cleared for Downs to be the No. 1 option in Indianapolis' offense.
We already got a glimpse of what Downs can do in Sunday's Week 2 matchup against the Chiefs. In the 33-30 loss, he caught seven of his nine targets for 72 yards. Six of those seven catches came over the final three quarters when Pierce was sidelined.
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