Week one featured some of the best moments in week one history, how will week two live up?
*All stats and standings are pulled from https://www.espn.com/nfl/standings, https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats, https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-playoff-predictor or https://www.nfl.com/stats/player-stats/.*
Wow, what a week one showdown. The Ravens looked all but certain to beat the Bills on SNF up 40-25 with about seven minutes left in the game but Bills quarterback Josh Allen had other plans–scoring 16 unanswered including a 32-yard game winning field goal by Matt Prater. Just when we thought things could not get crazier, the Vikings also pulled off a fourth quarter comeback. Down 17-6 with 12 minutes left in the game, quarterback J.J. McCarthy scored three touchdowns and won the game 27-24.
In week two, there are a number of games to pick from. The two this week feature a former offensive coordinator making his return to take on his former team as a head coach and two second year quarterbacks dueling it out on SNF.
Ben Johnson makes his Return to the Motor City
Neither Ben Johnson’s Bears or Dan Campbell’s Lions saw success in week one. Which team will bounce back in a “must-win” game?
On the Bears side of things, everything was going well. The Bears offense scored on their opening drive, which was something not seen in all of the 2024-25 season. The defense was playing smart and had scored off an interception thrown by McCarthy to Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright. Going up 17-6 going into the fourth quarter, a Bears win was in sights. McCarthy and the Vikings had other plans though, scoring 21 unanswered points before winning the night 27-24.
What caused that loss? For starters, quarterback Caleb Williams did not finish the night well. After starting the game 10 for 10, Williams would finish the game 11 for 25, totaling the night at 21 for 35. This is inexcusable, especially if you take into account how bad the misses were by Williams. It did not help either that the run game just could not get anything going either, as running back D’Andre Swift averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on 17 carries for the night.
The defense was fine for the game. Sure they allowed a total of 27 points, but when your offense cannot get anything going, it hurts you as well. The pass rush for the Bears was getting there all night, pressuring McCarthy on 50% of his dropbacks. This good defensive performance also comes with the Bears missing not one but three of their starters in cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon along with off-ball linebacker T.J. Edwards. The Bears offense will need to improve and the defense will need to stay healthy if they want to see winning football anytime soon.
On the flip side of things, this Lions team somewhat told a similar yet different story. Different in the sense of they were blown out but similar in the sense of how the teams offenses and defenses played.
The offense could not do much if anything. This could be accredited to a number of things. Offensive coordinator John Morton’s playcalling was lackluster. Examples of this range from the majority of the passes were targeted at the running backs in screen game or the tight end in the short game. The offense was so inefficient that running back Jahmyr Gibbs broke a record. That record being the least amount of yards with 10 or more catches as Gibbs finished the game with just 31 yards off of 10 catches. The offense did not find the endzone till the end of the game where rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa pulled in an impressive one-handed catch with even more impressive footwork.
On the flip side, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard called a fine game, his players simply were out of position multiple times throughout the game. Take for example the 48-yard pass to wide receiver Romeo Dobbs, where both the cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed were out of position. It also did not help that his pass rush did little to nothing. Returning edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson recorded zero tackles and zero sacks in the week one performance and things are not looking great as he takes on Bears right tackle Darnell Wright who posted a great pass blocking grade of 86 per PFF, which ranked fifth out of 81 tackles.
Both teams struggled, there is no denying that but this game serves as a chance for one or both teams to get things going in the right direction. This game will come down to the wire.
Final Score: Bears 24 – Lions 22
Michael Penix versus J.J. McCarthy face off under the lights for the first time since 2023-24 CFB National Championship
One quarterback was failed by his kicker while the other showed up when it mattered most, who will come out on top under the lights?
The Falcons failed Michael Penix, no way around it. Sure there were some throws Penix missed that needed to be made but at the end of the day, he led not one but two possible game winning drives. The first one came late in the fourth quarter where Penix made his best play of the day, scrambling for his life and reaching as far as he could and barely getting into the endzone. After that the Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield responded with an elite game winning drive of their own. The Falcons defense had chance after chance to stop him and simply could not get it done.
Now we move to the final drive, Falcons ball. Penix dropped back on the first play, moved around the pocket well, and scrambled for a first down. The next play he finds wide receiver Ray Ray McCloud for another first down. The next, he finds his tight end Kyle Pitts for yet again, another first down. It did not stop there though as Penix, after connecting with Pitts for four yards and his running back Bijan Robinson for six yards, gained another first down.
The team was now in field goal range and all kicker Younghoe Koo had to was make a 44-yard field goal, something he has done several times in his career. The kick went up and to the right to be no good. We will see if the Falcons can redeem Penix this week.
What a night it was for the Vikings. After a subpar first half of just two field goals and McCarthy trying to find his footing, the team went into the third. McCarthy then threw a horrible pick-six, as mentioned earlier, before proceeding to score three touchdowns in the fourth. McCarthy came back from his worst moment but it was not just him.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores makes any team’s day a living nightmare. Bears head coach Ben Johnson was one of the few who had worked around it. Not this night though. The Vikings defense came out flying in the second half. After failing to get Williams in the first half, the team saw success; getting two sacks and completely throwing the second year quarterback out of rhythm. The team also managed to pressure Williams on 30.4% of his dropbacks, while that is a career low for Williams, it was still above the league average at 27%.
This game should be fun but this Vikings defense just does things others cannot in the league.
Final Score: Falcons 17 – Vikings 30
Remaining Games:
TNF Commanders at Packers: Packers icy uniforms ice out the Commanders offense. Final Score: Commanders 23 – Packers 25
Giants at Cowboys: Cowboys offense gets back on track in the Giants second blowout loss. Final Score: Giants 10 – Cowboys 31
Seahawks at Steelers: Aaron Rodgers cannot find his vintage self in a disappointing game and loss. Final Score: Seahawks 24 – Steelers 3
Rams at Titans: After facing a rough defense on the road, Cam Ward “struggles” in the home opener against another great defense. Final Score: Rams 23 – Titans 10
Bills at Jets: Justin Fields keeps the Jets offense running in massive upset win. Final Score: Bills 20 – Jets 23
Patriots at Dolphins: While neither offense finds their footing, the Patriots defense comes to play in a clutch divisional win. Final Score: Patriots 16 – Dolphins 6
Jaguars at Bengals: In a second straight big cat battle, the Jaguars once again come out on top. Final Score: Jaguars 24 – Bengals 20
49ers at Saints: Saints drop back to back games against the NFC West. Final Score: 49ers 21 – Saints 10
Browns at Ravens: Ravens take out their loss frustrating by dropping another 40 points but this time in a win. Final Score: Browns 14 – Ravens 40
Broncos at Colts: It is officially the “Indiana Jones” era for the Colts after Daniels Jones has another great performance and wins. Final Score: Broncos 18 – Colts 24
Panthers at Cardinals: Cardinals offense finds good footing thanks to another Bryce Young disaster game. Final Score: Panthers 0 – Cardinals 21
Eagles at Chiefs: Chiefs get their Super Bowl revenge in a one point game. Final Score: Eagles 27 – Chiefs 28
MNF Buccaneers at Texans: Baker Mayfield and C.J. Stroud get back on track in an offensive shootout. Final Score: Buccaneers 37 – Texans 34
MNF Chargers at Raiders: Geno Smith is never writing back. Final Score: Chargers 20 – Raiders 30
Standings after week one: Record | Divisional Record
AFC South
1 Colts 1-0 | 0-0
8 Jaguars 1-0 | 0-0
13 Texans 0-1 | 0-0
15 Titans 0-1 | 0-0
AFC West
2 Chargers 1-0 | 1-0
5 Broncos 1-0 | 0-0
6 Raiders 1-0 | 0-0
12 Chiefs 0-1 | 0-1
AFC East
3 Bills 1-0 | 0-0
11 Jets 0-1 | 0-0
14 Patriots 0-1 | 0-0
16 Dolphins 0-1 | 0-0
AFC North
4 Bengals 1-0 | 1-0
7 Steelers 1-0 | 0-0
9 Ravens 0-1 | 0-0
10 Browns 0-1 | 0-1
NFC South
3 Buccaneers 1-0 | 1-0
10 Falcons 0-1 | 0-1
13 Saints 0-1 | 0-0
16 Panthers 0-1 | 0-0
NFC West
4 49ers 1-0 | 1-0
5 Cardinals 1-0 | 0-0
8 Rams 1-0 | 0-0
11 Seahawks 0-1 | 0-1
NFC East
2 Commanders 1-0 | 1-0
6 Eagles 1-0 | 1-0
12 Cowboys 0-1 | 0-1
14 Giants 0-1 | 0-1
NFC North
1 Packers 1-0 | 1-0
7 Vikings 1-0 | 1-0
9 Bears 0-1 | 0-1
15 Lions 0-1 | 0-1
Power Rankings after week one
- Bills | +1
- Packers | +7
- Ravens | +/-0
- Chargers | -new-
- Eagles | -4
- Buccaneers | +4
- Rams | -2
- Vikings | +/-0
- Chiefs | -2
- Commanders | -new-
