NFL Week 2 Recap

NFL Week 2 Takeaways 

By: Andrew Ferguson

Just when you think you have a few things figured out in the NFL, you quickly realize, you know absolutely nothing at all. Week 1 in the NFL put on display the highest scoring week 1 in NFL history. We learned that does not mean it will carry over into week 2 even though we saw the Lions and Bears try to carry over the momentum. I hit on a nice Thursday night, 7 leg player prop parlay to give me the fakest boost in confidence known to sports gambling. Then came a downpour of low scoring affairs and injuries to key players, especially at quarterback. And let’s just say, every bet over the weekend missed. I truly was excited to have the house to myself as my wife was out of town and we’ve been traveling so much. The excitement of having some downtime to watch football, gamble and be lazy quickly disappeared as I was anxiously just wanting her to come back home and coddle me after being such a loser. 

But we ride, and we don’t quit! Onto week 3! But so much has changed going into this week and how we view what’s coming. Who’s legit, who are frauds and what’s to come over the next 6 days? Let’s get right into my key takeaways from week 2:

1)Are the Chiefs Super Bowl Contenders? 

Sitting at 2-0 to start the season is always a great feeling. Especially after the struggles Kansas City dealt with last year and the big injury to Mahomes. To see him running around, making plays and winning games this early is hard to believe and it’s a huge breath of fresh air to the Chiefs. They have a division win along with another conference win so these were two huge wins they’ve racked up early. However, they haven’t been on the road yet so we’ll see what’s to come. And when you look at their schedule as a whole, it has some scary moments, but it balances out with some favorable matchups in between. So the answer to this question is yes, the Chiefs are contenders. I can’t tell you how many times I wrote off Tom Brady and the Patriots and they would continue to linger around the league and even win Super Bowls. I’m not going to make that mistake. As long as the Chiefs have a healthy Mahomes and Andy Reid, they can make a run any year. The addition of Ken Walker has been massive and if the run game continues to steamroll their opponents, watch out for a bounceback year and for a Super Bowl run. 

2) What Quarterback Injury Hurt the Worst This Weekend?

Painwise? Probably Jaxson Dart. But don’t tell that to Caleb Williams who looked like someone shot his leg with a .50 caliber sniper. It ended up being a grade 1 hamstring injury so he’s on the shelf for a short time it seems like. What a baby and he must have a very small pain tolerance. But when it comes to their team, losing Caleb is going to hurt the worst. The Bears struggled against the Vikings defense even before the injury in tough weather so I can’t even imagine how bad it will look with a backup. But going from 59 to 3 points is the biggest drop off in week-to-week scoring in NFL history for one team. While Caleb is out, this defense doesn’t impress me enough to put the team on their back. All offensive players should be benched in fantasy, with the exception of De’Andre Swift and the panic meter is pretty high for me on those pass catchers that were already underperforming in the statsheets. This offense is built around Caleb and making plays and any downgrade to that will be brutal. Dart’s injury really hurts as we’re now finding out it may be season ending. Over the last 10 years, one team who had a top 5 pick in the NFL draft ended up making the playoffs that year. The Giants were my pick for that when comparing it to the Jets, Raiders, Cardinals and Browns. But hey, maybe the raiders aren’t messing around sitting at 2-0. Our Banner Boss, Aryon, called the Commanders having a tough year and the Banner Bro himself, Brandon, called Jayden Daniels not looking beefy enough to stay healthy all year. This combo was already proven correctly as Daniels suffered another dislocated elbow. The timetable for his return is in question but we are already seeing this team fall apart. But out of these 3 QBs, Williams will be missed the most given they were going for the scoring record and a Super Bowl run that I can’t say the same about the Giants or Commanders. 

3) Is This Finally the Bills Year?

How long have we been saying this? Probably not longer than Cowboy fans. But from what I’ve seen from Josh Allen and this offense, someone must have kicked his dog or something because he’s playing like a possessed freak. 9 touchdowns in 5 days from your QB is absolutely wild. They’ve played against 2 respectable teams that many have making playoff runs so these aren’t little baby wins either. I wrote this earlier in the offseason: Josh Allen watching Drake Maye make it to a Super Bowl before him will unleash a fire inside of Allen. And we are seeing just that. I picked the Bills as my AFC favorite this year and they’ve shown me nothing to not feel that way still. Maybe the defense isn’t as elite as some others but I’m not betting against Allen for that reason. They dominated the Lions on Thursday in the first half and it took Detroit to go into desperation mode to claw their way back into the game but still lost by 10. Give me the Bills over the field in the AFC. 

4) Are the Rams Back on Track?

This question is hard to answer. I’m not holding that trip to Australia against them as I still believe they mismanaged that travel. Also, seeing Jaxson Dart go down on MNF in the first series was brutal and it wasn’t a competitive game after that. However, the Rams got a much needed win to prevent going 0-2 in a year where they’ve gone all in on a Super Bowl run. So to answer the question, I will still say no until I see them beat better opponents. The injuries to Myles Garrett and Puka Nacua got swept a little bit under the rug as well with a beatdown last night so people don’t seem to be panicking as much. However, these are two of the best players in the league at their positions and they need to get back onto the field ASAP for me to consider them NFC favorites still. I’m keeping them high in my power rankings until I see anything less. Their next 3 games against Denver, Philadelphia and Buffalo will be a huge indicator of how I’ll view this team the rest of the season. 

5) Who’s Winning the NFC South?

Does anyone even care? Well you should because whoever does, still gets a home playoff game (which is madness to me). A lot of people picked Tampa Bay to win the South. Someone has to right? They have the weapons on offense, Baker just got extended and an average to decent defense. Well, they just lost at home to the Browns to go 0-2 and now sit behind the Saints and Panthers. How embarrassing and someone needs to be fired from the Bucs. The Falcons are finally rolling out Michael Penix Thursday night. Too late? Maybe not, this division is not out of reach for anybody yet so if Penix gets rolling, maybe the Falcons do too. I promise I’m just not saying that as a Falcons fan, I’m just saying this division really sucks and anything can happen. But from the eye test, I’d have to put my money on New Orleans. Again, my fandom hates saying that but with an almost comeback win against the Lions and a huge win on the road against Baltimore, it’s hard to say they’re not a scrappy team that can surprise people. I still can’t trust Carolina after allowing 59 points to the Bears. I can’t get over that and playoff caliber teams just can’t have showings like that on defense especially after your offense put up 37 for you. Tampa still has a chance once these divisional games start taking place so they’ll need to win these head-to-head games more than ever. But they can’t allow these easy wins to slip through their fingers like this again. 

6) Can the Seahawks Repeat?

What they’re showing so far this season is yes, they can repeat. No matter who’s at quarterback. Mike McDonald is a top tier coach. The Seahawks have an elite defense. What else do you need? How about one of the best wide receivers in the league that can go for big plays and 3 TDs in a single game. It really isn’t that complicated. Get your best player the ball, and everything will work out. Drew Lock is playing great but once Sam Darnold returns from injury, this team will be clicking once again, just like last year. The only thing people seemed to be worried about is the run game with Ken Walker putting on a show in KC but we’ve seen a stable effort so far from rookie Jadarian Price and even the supporting cast. Seattle looks poised to get back into the playoffs and make another crack at a title and be the 9th team to go back-to-back. 

7) Which 0-2 Team Can Still Make the Playoffs?

One of the easy answers here is the Bucs as they have a chance to win their division still. But when you look at the following teams that are 0-2 (Chargers, Texans and Colts), who can still make a run? I don’t want to bore you with a schedule list but the Chargers just lost to the Cardinals and Raiders and their next 7 games are as follows: at Buffalo, at Seattle, home against the Broncos, at Kansas City, BYE, at the Rams, home against the Texans then at Baltimore. Please tell me a world where they are even 3-6 after this? The schedule gods thought they did them a favor with those 2 easy games at the beginning of the season, but this gauntlet will be impossible for any team to come out alive. I just can’t imagine the Chargers overcoming this enough to even get into a wildcard spot. Which is sad because I was very high on this team coming into the season. I’m not sold on the Colts even though they had a chance to beat the Chiefs. I’m still not a believer in Daniel Jones. So my money is on the Texans. If Stroud can get his act together and the defense can show up, that’s the safest thing you can bet on for an 0-2 team. 

8) Are the Vikings Legit?

I made a bold statement that doesn’t sound so bold now. Kevin O’Connell is a top 5 coach in the NFL. Maybe he’s even higher? The defense is looking pretty elite and he’s gotten two massive division wins against the Packers and Bears. Sitting at 2-0 and they’re getting Kyler Murray back. We’re finally going to see what this offense is capable of with these stacked receivers and Kyler’s athletic abilities. The run is looking good even without Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones may actually not be as washed as people thought. It’s still early in the season but I’m liking what I’m seeing and O’Connell is just someone that seems to get the job done no matter what. He went 9-8 last year still with some of the worst QB play in the history of the NFL. The Falcons can’t even get into the red zone in 2026. Sorry for the stray but I’m a big fan of the Vikings and I can see them potentially winning this division and surprising us all. 

9) What Do the Browns Do at Quarterback Now?

I had this conspiracy theory before the season started so put on your foil hats. The Browns intentionally named Watson the starter so they could trot him out there in two consecutive road games to start the year, look bad so they could bench him before their week 3 home opener. We almost got that, however he went into Tampa and kind of lit it up and pulled off a huge upset. Now he remains the starter and his boos may be just a little quieter in Cleveland… the team and town he plays for. Yes you read that correctly. But how long is his leash now? How many more games do the Browns need to lose before you give Sanders more playing time. I think the Browns have realized Sanders is not the QB of the future so they are just rolling with Watson since they’re on the hook for all that money. And hey, if it leads to some wins, why not just keep him going? Todd Monken won’t allow for tanking in his first year and an unpopular opinion, no team openly tanks. People are fighting for their jobs so Watson will remain the QB until he starts to look like trash. But is the expectation for him to go out and throw for 400 yards and 5 TDs? I don’t know why he thinks that because he hasn’t had a game like that since his rookie year. But fans will take efficiently throwing for 240 yards and 2 TDs and winning the game any day. Just ask us sad Falcons fans.