Week 2 Takeaways for the 2026 NFL Season
Week 2 brought us plenty of good and bad. On the good side, Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still a monster regardless of who plays QB. He caught 3 TDs in a one-man show. Cleveland and Green Bay earned their first wins in a very long time, giving those fanbases something to cheer! On the bad side, Miami, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and the Chargers look absolutely putrid. I’m finding it difficult to locate any hope for them in 2026. We also saw both injury comebacks and new ailments for some very notable quarterbacks. We’ll go over these extremes and everything in between in my week 2 takeaways!
TNF: Bills’ Offensive Onslaught Too Much for Lions to Overcome
We expected a shootout between these two offensive juggernauts, but unfortunately for the Lions, their offense took a little too long to wake up. The early news was negative for Buffalo, as DT Ed Oliver became a surprise inactive after injuring his hip during warm-ups. Even losing WR DJ Moore to a shoulder injury in the first half couldn’t dampen the Bills’ spirits. That’s because it was their first official game in the new Highmark Stadium (apparently preseason doesn’t count for that either)! With 61000 fans packed in, Buffalo started fast and never relented. As usual, everything began and ended with QB Josh Allen.
The man on a mission took on an overmatched and already-injured Lions defense and embarrassed them. He led his team to an immediate 21-0 advantage (something Detroit knows a bit about) through the air and on the ground. His supporting cast did their part as well. RB James Cook (21/135/1) topped 100 yards by halftime, while Allen’s new favorite weapon, TE Dalton Kincaid (7/95/1), led the team in receiving. Even WR Keon Coleman (6/63) had an encouraging performance, while WR Joshua Palmer (1/43/1) caught one ball for a long TD for the second straight week. On the other side, the Lions could do nearly nothing right.
QB Jared Goff had shaky protection for a while, and that allowed DE Greg Rousseau to earn a strip sack, his third of the year (Detroit retained possession but punted). Detroit’s poor secondary made their jobs harder by committing countless penalties. The only thing working was RB Jahmyr Gibbs (16/52; 6/61/1 receiving), who is earning his money as the league’s highest-paid back. However, his role faded as the Lions had to abandon the ground game. Detroit finally arrived in the second quarter, scoring 10 points. In fact, they finished with 31, as Goff (26/38, 317 yards, 4 TDs) and WR Amon-Ra St Brown (9/142/2) caught fire.
Once the Lions went down two scores though, this was over. That’s because their defense never gave them a chance to fight back. Allen (20/31, 248 yards, 3 TDs; 11/72/2 rushing, excluding kneel-downs) accounted for 5 scores and made it look easy. The Bills punted just twice, and they went 5/5 in the red zone. As far as I could see, their only real error was a Tyler Bass PAT miss. I’m still worried about both defenses here (each has given up 30+ points per game), but Buffalo concerns me less. They seem like they can outscore literally anyone. Detroit is also capable, but they have to put together 4 good quarters in a row first.
Bears, Commanders, and Giants Lose Their Games and Their QBs
Sunday was not a good day to be a top-2 pick from the 2024 NFL Draft. A torrential downpour at Soldier Field made the Vikings-Bears game a complete slog. The weather plus a Brian Flores-engineered defense from Minnesota turned Chicago’s 59-point-scoring offense from Week 1 into a 3-point punt and turnover machine. Whenever Chicago got any momentum, errors ruined it. RB D’Andre Swift (16/45; 5/54 receiving) was the Bears’ best producer, but he lost a critical fumble at the goal line. Rookie TE Sam Roush had two key drops and a bad penalty. Minnesota even blocked a 23-yard FG to pile onto the misfortune.
Vikings QB Carson Wentz (11/20, 143 yards) put up just 9 points himself, but he played a turnover-free game and relied on good running from RB Aaron Jones (23/105) and his stout defense. That was the difference: counterpart Caleb Williams (15/26, 138 yards, INT; 5/42 rushing) fired an end-zone INT and generally looked frazzled. The worst was yet to come though. On a late scramble, Williams suffered a noncontact hamstring injury and left on a cart. You could see the pain on his face, and it hurts just as much for the fans in Chicago. Williams is one of the bright young QBs, and he and the offense had big goals ahead of them.
He’ll miss time, though maybe not as much as expected, and that’s crushing for the Bears. Backup Tyson Bagent (5/9, 54 yards) is competent, and he nearly led the team on a game-winning drive. In fact, if not for a last-second sack by Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner (a rising star who had 2 sacks on the day), Bagent might’ve pulled it off. Still, he’s not Williams. HC Ben Johnson has to go back to the drawing board and design an offense around the former UDFA. The Eagles are coming to town for MNF, so there’s no time to waste. Meanwhile, it’s Minnesota sitting atop the NFC North with a 2-0 record. Kyler Murray will ruin that.
Over in Dallas, Washington was being whipped by the Cowboys when audiences saw an all-too-familiar sight. Stupidly, the Commanders went on 3rd-and-1 at the 1-yard line with 3 seconds left in the half instead of kicking an FG. As QB Jayden Daniels (11/17, 96 yards, TD; 7/69 rushing) took the snap, he tripped and braced himself with his left arm. The elbow bent the wrong way in a horrific manner, and Daniels left on a cart. This was another dislocated elbow, and it happened to the same elbow he dislocated last year. We can expect him to miss a month or so, but here we are talking about yet another Daniels injury.
Backup Marcus Mariota (11/16, 111 yards, TD) is just as good of a passer as Daniels. Where the Commanders suffer is the running game; despite leaving at halftime, Daniels still led Washington in rushing yards. Right now, the QB doesn’t even matter though. That defense (which let Dallas score 37 points) will wreck the team’s chances regardless. The problem is a long-term one. Daniels is officially down the RGIII path. His talent is undeniable, but so too is his penchant for missing games. As always, the best ability is availability. Washington must now decide whether Daniels has enough of it to continue viewing him as their franchise QB.
Finally, we had another familiar outcome: Giants QB Jaxson Dart leaving injured. He was hit while throwing and injured his knee (supposedly a sprained MCL) on his first series. Jameis Winston (11/27, 111 yards, INT) came in and was ineffective this time, but it didn’t matter. The Rams were too hot. Without WR Puka Nacua (hip), Davante Adams (8/195/2) went off, looking like his old Packer self. LA also rode two waves of emotion: one from not being in Australia anymore and another from the season debut of unretired DT Aaron Donald. The legend looked fine while knocking off the rust, but he’s probably a story for another day.
This section is about injured QBs, and Dart is yet again among them. His continued recklessness with his body was always going to pose an injury risk, but this one wasn’t even his fault. Moving outside the pocket and facing the rush while throwing is a fairly common QB situation. This time, he just happened to be sandwiched by a couple of defenders, causing his knee to twist. Nonetheless, injuries are becoming a theme for Dart. Analysts are excited about his sophomore season, but there won’t be anything to be excited about if he can’t stay upright. With better protection, the onus is on Dart to take care of himself.
Packers and Eagles Avoid Massive Upsets on the Road
Who thought the Jets and Titans would keep things close with the Packers and Eagles, respectively? The teams themselves clearly did, and they played like it. In yet another rain-marred game, the Jets tried to play spoiler. For 3.5 quarters, they had the Packers under control. There was nothing explosive about either offense, but at least New York could move the ball. Green Bay never reached 200 yards of total offense, and they trailed 17-7 well into the 4th quarter. One thing lesser teams do when they take a rare lead is become overly conservative, and I think the Jets were guilty of that. They went into a shell and lost their rhythm.
Simultaneously, the Packers took advantage of New York’s prevent-style defense to regain their own momentum. They scored 10 points in the final frame, shut the Jets down, and kicked a game-winning FG in OT. I can’t really praise them much, as neither team played well. They combined for 27 accepted penalties for 289 yards, as well as 8 fumbles (somehow only one was lost). For the Jets, this was a blown chance to have a rare 2-0 start. Green Bay had more riding on the game though. They haven’t won since the middle of last year. Breaking through that barrier and avoiding an 0-2 record will serve them VERY well in the weeks ahead.
The opposite weather impacted the Eagles-Titans game. Nashville had sweltering heat, reaching 157 degrees on the field and causing cleats to melt. Combined with the facts that Philly is breaking in a new offense and RB Saquon Barkley left with a stringer, this game got dicey in a hurry. Despite how poor Tennessee looked in Week 1, the Eagles simply could not shake them. QB Jalen Hurts threw 2 INTs, the running game averaged just 2.8 YPC, and the increasingly tired defense finally buckled. Behind two rushing TDs by Titans QB Cam Ward (13/20, 183 yards; 2 rush TD), Tennessee took a surprising 20-17 lead late.
Hurts, however, is known for being clutch. With 1:56 to go, he calmly led the Eagles down the field. WRs Devonta Smith (10/117/1) and Dontayvion Wicks (5/74) provided some timely assists, but it was unsung 2nd-year receiver Darius Cooper (2/26/1) who came up with the winning TD with just 9 seconds remaining. Being 2-0 is great and all, but Philly does not look to be in sync yet. The good news is that they bought themselves more time to figure things out, and maybe Barkley’s return and the lessons learned from that final drive will spur them. That said, not all of the favored teams could avoid the upset bug though because…
Ravens and Buccaneers Fall Despite Holding 4th-Quarter Leads
Most expected Baltimore to cruise at home against New Orleans. The Ravens seemed to be operating effectively for a half. Derrick Henry (16/68/1) ran well, and the defense suffocated the Saints. If you watched last week’s game between the Saints and Lions though, you knew that New Orleans would wake up at some point. In the second half, they did. The script was nearly identical too. QB Tyler Shough (27/34, 252 yards, TD; 9/23/1 rushing) caught fire as soon as he started feeding WR Chris Olave (8/86/1). WR Devaughn Vele (5/64) made multiple huge catches, while the defense held Baltimore to three second-half points.
DE Chase Young (1.5 sacks) and LB Pete Werner (11 tackles, sack) made the biggest plays, but the Saints didn’t come back alone though. The Ravens contributed as well. Henry barely had any carries after halftime despite his team leading. Even with a new coach, Baltimore had their old habits and blew yet another double-digit lead. The Saints went on a 15-0 run to take a 24-17 lead, and with a last gasp, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (21/31, 235 yards, TD, INT; 4/34 rushing) fired a game-sealing pick. This is a building block of a win for New Orleans. Aside from losing LT Kelvin Banks to an ankle injury, this was an excellent game.
Even more people though Tampa Bay would crush Cleveland at Raymond James Stadium. The matchup was billed as the “Baker Bowl”. You know the story: Cleveland selected QB Baker Mayfield #1 overall in 2018, had some success with him, and then infamously discarded him in favor of Deshaun Watson. Mayfield badly wanted to show up his old team, but that didn’t go according to plan. The newly extended QB is not yet comfortable in his new offense led by OC Zac Robinson. He panicked in the pocket even when things were fine, and he couldn’t reach the end zone more than once. Both bad offenses traded FGs.
Watson (24/30, 238 yards, 2 TDs; 7/22) had his best game as a Brown. He wasn’t special, but he played clean, efficient football without the support of a running game (he led Cleveland in rushing yards). He too failed to reach the end zone in the first two quarters but found a groove in the second half, leading two TD drives. Cleveland even took a 23-19 lead over the flailing Bucs. Tampa learned a lesson: the longer you let a bad team stick around, the more likely they are to actually pull off the upset. “Long” was literal in this case, as a 2-hour-plus lightning delay at the two-minute warning postponed the ending.
When the players returned, the field was slick, and the rain continued to poor. Mayfield (21/34, 182 yards, TD, INT; 4/29 rushing) couldn’t pull off a miracle. He needed just 28 yards, but the conditions made any offense hard to come by. A turnover on downs sealed the Browns’ victory and likely delayed an appearance by Shedeur Sanders for at least another week. The contract Tampa gave Mayfield was foolish, and the truth is that the Bucs haven’t looked good since early last season. An 0-2 start isn’t the end in the NFC South, but it’s a bad sign nonetheless. It’s looking increasingly likely that this will be the last season for HC Todd Bowles.
AFC West Provides Surplus of Drama
Rarely does one division give us three intriguing matchups during the same week. Denver, looking to bounce back from their poor loss to Kansas City last Monday night, had to host Jacksonville, Week 1’s most dominant team. The first half was more of the same for these Broncos. Their defense was stout, but the offense did next to nothing. Actually, QB Bo Nix and company scored just 6 points through three quarters. Presumably, OC Davis Webb had to be feeling some heat. Nevertheless, Denver trailed by just 7 points because of their defense’s excellent effort. CB Riley Moss in particular broke up 3 passes, including a key INT.
In the 4th quarter, something changed. Webb finally found a play-calling rhythm, and Nix (22/31, 288 yards, TD, INT) led the offense on 2 TD drives. He still isn’t running very much, but new WR Jaylen Waddle (8/138) got involved in a big way, opening up the offense. The Broncos held on for a 20-13 win, making Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (17/29, 189 yards, INT) look pedestrian in the process. This game likely exposed some weaknesses on Jacksonville’s roster, but the bigger takeaway is the switch that Denver flipped. Perhaps HC Sean Payton doesn’t have to snatch play-calling duties away after all. His team could be just fine.
A real stunner took place in LA. In an intradivisional matchup between the Raiders and Chargers, Las Vegas surprisingly had the upper hand. Simply put, it was domination. LV QB Kirk Cousins (19/29, 253 yards, 3 TDs, INT) and WRs Tre Tucker (5/119/1) and Cody White (2/24/2) had fantastic games. Cousins is keeping #1 pick Fernando Mendoza firmly on the bench. Defensively, the Raiders won the line of scrimmage, racking up 3 sacks and forcing Bolts QB Justin Herbert (15/27, 192 yards, TD, 2 INTs, 3 FUM, 0 lost) into terrible ball security. Rookie CB Hezekiah Masses had both INTs by himself, spear-heading the 26-14 road win.
LA is just not a good team right now. They fumbled 6 times (though they only lost one) and couldn’t get out of their own way. OC Mike McDaniel is not producing a dangerous attack, and Herbert frankly doesn’t look like a franchise QB right now. On defense, the Chargers were fair but arguably less than the sum of their parts. Faced with 2 “easy” home games, they lost both. Looking at their schedule, I’m having a hard time finding a game they should be favored to win. This season’s outlook is bleak. On the other side, congratulations to Raiders HC Klint Kubiak for a 2-0 start! Unlike their rivals, this team is headed in the right direction
The AFC West’s final team, the Chiefs, treated us to a shootout on SNF against the Colts. I have to start by saying that the Colts really impressed me. WR1 Alec Pierce reaggravated his heel injury and barely played, but Indy still managed to score 30 points. RB Jonathan Taylor (24/92/2; 4/40 receiving) was a beast despite the lackluster YPC average, and WRs Josh Downs (7/72) and Laquon Treadwell (3/62) really stepped up. QB Daniel Jones (22/31, 210 yards, TD, INT) even looked good again, shaking off some of his post-injury rust to leave a potent attack. The Colts had just one problem: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
The old Mahomes was back in full, looking like his pre-injury self. Mahomes (32/47, 383 yards, 4 TDs; 2/17 rushing) posted a sterling stat line and was in vintage form. His connection with TE Travis Kelce (9/101/1) revived itself, and WRs Tyquan Thornton (4/86) and Rashee Rice (4/83) even had big games. RB Kenneth Walker (24/117; 6/61 receiving) had another huge day, but the story here is Mahomes. The league’s best QB delivered every time KC needed him. He willed his team past the Colts 33-30 in OT, showing that he can carry the team on his back once more. Look out AFC: the Chiefs are a major threat again.