Football is back in full swing, ladies and gentlemen. Week 2 featured many anticipated matchups (along with no shortage of drama) including the Patriots' duel with the Bills, and a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game between Seattle and Green Bay. This week's slate of games showcased some impressive home performances across the league. Home teams proved to be dominant, going 9-6 in the week's slate of games.
Despite some exciting individual performances across the league, these three individual road warriors stood out from the pack:
Greatness on the Road winner ...
Tom Brady
Leading up to the weekend's anticipated clash between the AFC East rivals, Rex Ryan claimed the Bills would slow down Tom Brady. Brady quickly foiled Ryan's plans and silenced the masses at Ralph Wilson Stadium by going to the air and leaving an empty backfield against the Bills. Brady continuously connected with Rob Gronkowski, Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman. The trio accounted for 24 catches and 308 yards in the Patriots' 40-32 victory.
Brady threw 59 times in Sunday's game. He racked up three touchdowns and 466 yards passing -- the second-most passing yards of his career and the most passing yards by any player against Buffalo. Brady improved to 24-3 all-time against Buffalo, while the Patriots improved to 27-3 in the past 30 games against their division foe.
Runners up ...
Carson Palmer
The Cardinals' offense knocked around a beleaguered Bears defense at Soldier Field. Carson Palmer connected with veteran wideout Larry Fitzgerald for three of his four touchdowns. Palmer has seven touchdown passes in two games. Palmer's performance was overshadowed by Jay Cutler's injury in the second quarter.
Palmer connected on 17 of 24 passes for 185 yards, and improved to 15-2 in his last 17 starts. Palmer wasn't the only Cardinal that shined in Week 2. Fitzgerald had 112 receiving yards and his three touchdowns matched a career-high he set against Philadelphia in the conference final seven years ago.
Julio Jones
The Falcons needed a big game from Julio Jones, and he came through. Jones shined in the Falcons' 24-20 victory over the Giants to help Atlanta improve to 2-0. The veteran wide receiver had 13 receptions for 135 yards, tying Tony Gonzalez's club reception record. A 37-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Jones helped set the Falcons up to best the Giants in the final minutes.
