BBNFL Week 2: Brandin Echols picks off Will Levis; Josh Hines-Allen is a beast
Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books and a handful of former Wildcats stamped their name firmly in its pages. In the case of Brandin Echols, he made a name for himself at the expense of another Kentucky great, Will Levis.
With the Jets down seven in the second quarter, Echols pulled off one of the most impressive interceptions of the weekend, ripping a deep pass away from the arms of the receiver and coming down with the ball.
‘Cat on ‘Cat crime.
I mean, it wasn’t as jaw-dropping as the interception by Cam Taylor-Britt for the Bengals, but impressive nonetheless. The play was one of just four times Levis targetted Echols’ man. Of those four targets, Echols allowed just one reception for six yards.
Josh Hines-Allen is an absolute beast
If Brandin Echols stamped his name on the pages of Week 2, Josh Hines-Allen tore those pages to shreds. The newly hyphenated edge rusher made the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line look like they played for Eric Wofford, pressuring the quarterback seven times and coming away with a sack and three tackles. It led to a Jaguar and BBNFL-best 92.1 PFF grade.
The Jags ultimately lost the game due to an inept offense of their own, but Josh Hines-Allen remains a bad, bad man. Afterward, he told reporters his defense needs to do a better job of creating turnovers to put the offense in a good situation to score. An honorable, albeit subtle jab.
Dru Phillips and Wan’Dale Robinson keep making plays for the New York Giants
If you didn’t know any better, you wouldn’t know Dru Phillips is a rookie. Through the first two games of his NFL career, he has been a force for the Giants’ defense, coming away with an interception in Week 1 and putting up another monster game in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders.
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Phillips led the team in tackles with eight, one of which was a sack, and another of which came in the backfield for a loss. PFF awarded him a 70.7 PFF grade, good for 4th-best on the Giants’ defense the second time in two weeks he was over 70.
Of course, Phillips wasn’t the only former Kentucky great who played well for the G-Men on Sunday. Wan’Dale Robinson caught his first touchdown of the season and it was a big one as it gave New York the lead in the 4th quarter.
Rookie Malik Nabers gobbled 17 targets out of the Giants’ 26 pass attempts, but Robinson did catch two of the four thrown his way for 18 yards and the tuddy.
Ultimately, the New York Football Giants lost their kicker due to injury early in the game and a series of failed two-point conversions made it possible for Washington to come back to win the game.
Other BBNFL Notes
- Will Levis is still looking for his first win of the season as the undisputed starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, despite the occasional incredible touchdown pass. We’ll forgive that he threw one of these on Sunday to Calvin Ridley, a former Louisville Cardinal.
- Former first-round pick, Jamin Davis, was a healthy scratch for the Commanders on Sunday. The surprising move puzzled even ardent fans, but the online consensus is that the coaching staff moved Davis from linebacker to edge rusher this season and it hasn’t been going all that well. This will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
- Ray Davis tripled the amount of attempts he had from Week 1, rushing nine times for 29 yards. In very Ray Davis fashion, 24 of those yards came after contact. He is carving out his role on a very good Buffalo Bills team.
BBNFL snap counts and PFF player grades for Week 2
PFF grades reflect the players’ respective offensive or defensive grades unless the snap count listed is special teams (ST), in which case it is the special teams’ grade.
| Player | POS | Snaps | Stats | PFF Grade |
| Josh Hines-Allen (JAX) | LB | 53 | 7 QB pressures, 1 sack, 3 tackles | 92.1 |
| Keidron Smith (DEN) | DB | 12 (ST) | 2 tackles | 76.5 |
| Brandin Echols (NYJ) | DB | 66 | 4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 INT | 73.3 |
| Dru Phillips (NYG) | DB | 66 | 8 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack | 70.7 |
| Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) | WR | 35 | 4 targets, 2 rec, 18 yards, 1 TD | 65.9 |
| Carrington Valentine (GB) | DB | 32 | 1 tackle, 3 assists, 1 pass breakup | 65.9 |
| Will Levis (TEN) | QB | 66 | 19/28 passing, 192 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 rushes, 38 yards | 65.9 |
| Trevin Wallace (CAR) | LB | 18 (ST) | no stats | 64.4 |
| Josh Pascal (DET) | DL | 13 | 1 tackle, 1 QB pressure | 64.2 |
| Ray Davis (BUF) | RB | 14 | 9 rushes, 29 yards, 1 target, 1 rec, -1 yards | 63.9 |
| Mike Edwards (BUF) | DB | 6 | 0 tackles | 62 |
| Luke Fortner (JAX) | C | 4 (ST) | no stats | 60.6 |
| Landon Young (NO) | OL | 7 | 0 pressures allowed | 60.4 |
| Brenden Bates (NYJ) | TE | 4 | 0 targets | 59.6 |
| Bud Dupree (LAC) | LB | 31 | 2 tackles | 58.5 |
| Za’Darius Smith (CLE) | LB | 37 | 2 QB pressures | 55.9 |
| Lonnie Johnson Jr. (HOU) | DB | 23 (ST) | 1 penalty | 50 |
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