NFL Week 2: Chiefs comfortable winning ugly; what we learned from every Sunday game

It’s only Week 2, but the NFL has proven once again that you never know what’s going to happen on any given Sunday. Good thing we’ve got you covered. FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the biggest takeaways from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward. 

Bengals: Joe Burrow should have known better than to give the ball to Patrick Mahomes with two minutes and a deficit of fewer than three points. I don’t care how well the Cincinnati Bengals defense played during the previous 58 minutes. I don’t care if Mahomes played one of the worst games of his career. Mahomes simply flips on a switch in those situations. More on that in a second. But for Burrow, who had a 3-1 record against Mahomes, I expected more. I expected him to drive down the field and convert the drive into points. Instead, his final dropbacks were an incompletion and a sack. The good news is that Tee Higgins is back. The bad news is that Ja’Marr Chase seems off (and the reason is obvious: his contract) and the Bengals are now 0-2. That’s going to be a tough hole to get out of in the AFC North, where the Ravens (also 0-2), Steelers and Browns are going to be scrapping for wins.

Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes converted a fourth-and-16 to win. Yes, he and receiver Rashee Rice drew a penalty on the Bengals on the play. But it was a conversion nonetheless. That’s just how it goes with Mahomes, who is probably the best fourth-and-16 quarterback in the history of the game. It’s a silly thing to say, but there is no quarterback — not even Tom Brady — who I would pick to convert a fourth-and-16 over Mahomes. It wasn’t a pretty game for the Chiefs offense. Their defense bailed them out in the clutch. But they have a quarterback who always does just enough to eke out wins. This team was supposed to look different than last year’s team, with the defense losing some of its stars (most notably L’Jarius Snead) and the offense adding help (Hollywood Brown and rookies Xavier Worthy and Kingsley Suamataia). But this team’s identity is basically what it was last year: win — sometimes as ugly as possible. — Henry McKenna

Saints: New Orleans’ secondary played without corner Marshon Lattimore, nearly lost safety Tyrann Mathieu during the game, and still found a way to hold the Cowboys to one touchdown in a 44-19 romp Sunday. Dak Prescott hadn’t thrown multiple interceptions in a home game since 2022, but the Saints got picks from Paulson Adebo and Mathieu to keep the Cowboys from getting back into a lopsided game. It’s one thing to hold Carolina’s offense in check in Week 1, but the Cowboys were the NFL’s top-scoring offense in 2023, and to hold them to 19 points speaks well for how well New Orleans can play when their defense is fully healthy. 

Cowboys: Does Dallas miss Dan Quinn this much? The defensive coordinator got his first win as the Washington Commanders’ head coach, the same day the Cowboys defense allowed the Saints to score touchdowns on their first six drives on the way to a 44-19 rout — in Arlington, no less. The Saints offensive line was a question mark going in, with rookie left tackle Taliese Fuaga questionable with a back injury, but the line kept the Cowboys’ pass rush in check. Dallas had one sack, Micah Parsons was limited to just three tackles, and the secondary got torched for a 70-yard touchdown and a dizzying 15.4 yards per attempt from Derek Carr. Now they face the Ravens and Lamar Jackson in Week 3, so things aren’t getting easier. — Greg Auman

49ers: We thought the 49ers were the NFL’s most complete team. But maybe we were missing something. Against the Vikings, we saw two weaknesses in San Francisco that we’re not accustomed to seeing: The team’s pass defense looked unimpressive, and the team’s pass-protection looked even worse. Quarterback Brock Purdy took six sacks and threw an interception — he also a number of balls swatted near the line of scrimmage. His final stat line (28-for-36 for 319 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) doesn’t quite show how much he struggled to get the ball downfield. On the flip side, the 49ers couldn’t get Sam Darnold off the field, particularly on third down. The Vikings were 7 of 12 on third downs and 3 of 3 on their gotta-have-it drive where they scored a field goal that put the game out of reach. Are the 49ers’ weaknesses in defending and protecting the pass a one–game mirage? Or are they a sign of things to come?

Vikings: Darnold … doesn’t need his supporting cast? Minnesota had one the NFL’s best and most promising pass-catching groups in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. But late in the second half in Week 2, Darnold had none of them. He instead had to throw to receiver Jalen Nailor and running back Aaron Jones. And you’d think that would have Darnold falling apart, particularly against the San Francisco defense. But he was fine — good, even. After Jefferson’s injury, Darnold was 6 for 7 for 64 yards. When Purdy and company started knocking on the door, Darnold remained composed and extended the lead with a late field goal. If Minnesota can get a quality win like this without its stars, imagine what the Vikings can do with them. They’re in the conversation to be the best team in the NFC alongside … the Saints? And the Buccaneers? Just like everyone expected. — Henry McKenna

Buccaneers: Injury issues just keep piling up for the Buccaneers. Not only did they enter the game down right tackle Luke Goedeke, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and safety Antoine Winfield Jr., but defensive tackle Vita Vea went down with a knee injury early in the third quarter. Despite the constant pressure from the right side, quarterback Baker Mayfield made plays. Wide receiver Chris Godwin looks back to his old self. He had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. The Bucs secondary held its own too with multiple interceptions of Lions quarterback Jared Goff to prevent Detroit from getting into any real rhythm. That, combined with Mayfield’s improvisation skills, showed just how resilient this Bucs team is.

Lions: With Tampa Bay’s right tackle out, Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson pounced — literally. He finished with 4.5 sacks on the day, giving him 5.5 on the season, and it’s only Week 2. Despite Hutchinson’s field day and all the injuries to Tampa Bay’s defense, the Lions offense couldn’t get anything going on a consistent basis. Jared Goff was still muddling through some pressure and Detroit was consistently stopped short of scoring, going 1-for-7 in the red zone. The Lions had over double the offensive yards. They had 139 yards on the ground. Statistically, Detroit should have had that game but instead, they have frustration as they drop to 1-1 on the season as they get ready to go to Arizona and take on the Cardinals next week. — Carmen Vitali

Colts: After an explosive day passing the ball in Week 1, second-year QB Anthony Richardson showed he’s still a work in progress. Richardson had a tough day on the road at Lambeau Field, completing 17-of-34 passes for 204 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions for a 41.8 passer rating. After two touchdown passes of 50-plus yards in last week’s loss to the Houston Texans, Richardson’s longest completion against Green Bay’s defense was to rookie Adonai Mitchell for 30 yards. Green Bay’s defense also limited the dynamic Richardson to just 37 rushing yards, with most of those coming on a 21-yard run on the final drive of the game. The Colts did get a 103-yard rushing effort from workhorse running back Jonathan Taylor, but they need more consistent play from Richardson after an 0-2 start. 

Packers: Running back Josh Jacobs took over with quarterback Jordan Love out due to a knee injury, showing why the Packers signed him for big money in free agency. Jacobs totaled 32 carries for 151 yards, part of a 230-yard rushing effort for the game. Starting for Love, Malik Willis did enough to manage the game. Willis threw just 14 times for 122 yards and a score, while rushing for another 41 yards. While the numbers by Willis were not mind-blowing, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur created a blueprint for Green Bay winning without Love available — lean on a diverse rushing attack led by Jacobs and a scrappy defense. — Eric D. Williams

Giants: There is so much focus on Daniel Jones and the Giants’ quarterback issues, but it’s starting to be clear that their defense is going to be a problem. They just could not get off the field against the Washington Commanders on Sunday and were picked apart by their rookie QB, Jayden Daniels. The Commanders put up 425 yards and held the ball for 37:32. Those are ridiculous totals. Yes, the Giants held them out of the end zone, but Washington still got seven field goals for the 21-18 win. The bend-but-don’t-break nature of this defense has its merits, but it’ll be a disaster against better teams and more seasoned quarterbacks. Their pass rush is doing a lot of getting close, but not finishing the job. And their secondary has real coverage and tackling issues. They barely gave their own offense a shot. 

Commanders: Daniels has the game-manager thing down pat so far, which is a really good step in his development. And it’s a great thing for the Commanders because it turns out they’ve got a pretty diverse offense. With Daniels making good decisions in the pocket (23 of 29, 226 yards, no interceptions) and always a threat to run (10 carries, 44 yards) it opens up a lot of things for other players. Brian Robinson had a huge game with 17 carries for 133 yards. And Austin Ekeler showed why he could be an underrated weapon with 85 total yards. The big play still isn’t there consistently for Washington and the Commanders have to do better than seven field goals if they want to beat better teams than the Giants. But they racked up 425 yards of offense and every drive they had was sustained. Except for a kneel-down at the end of the first half, every one of their seven drives lasted at least eight plays and all but the game-winning drive at the end lasted at least four minutes. And all of them ended in points in the 21-18 win. – Ralph Vacchiano

Jets: In Sunday’s win, the Jets were able to lean on their running backs, Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, who combined for three touchdowns. Hall, who had more than 100 scrimmage yards, hauled in a 26-yard touchdown on a wheel route. Allen, a 20-year-old fourth-round rookie out of Wisconsin, scored on the ground and through the air. Even with the presence of Garrett Wilson, it feels like the Jets will have to lean on that backfield offensively this season. Through two games, they haven’t shown they can stretch the field vertically. The Jets look like a defense-led team, but even that side of the ball looks less daunting than it did entering the year. Starting edge rusher Jermaine Johnson was carted off the field Sunday and was immediately ruled out with an Achilles injury. 

Titans: The Titans entered 2024 hoping Will Levis can show them that he could be their franchise quarterback, but it’s already been a roller-coaster through two weeks. In the second quarter Sunday, he made a horrendous decision with Tennessee knocking on the end zone at the Jets’ 7: attempting an underhanded, backward pass to running back Tyjae Spears as he was falling to the ground. That turned into a lost fumble for Levis. The play was all the more unbelievable because it comes a week after he made a similarly bone-headed decision in the opener against the Bears, which turned into a pick-six. It’s still very early, but this sort of play from Levis across a full season will make the decision for the Titans to look for a new quarterback in the offseason very easy. — Ben Arthur

Raiders: Gardner Minshew is seen as one of the least-inspiring starting quarterbacks in the league, but the way he finished Sunday’s comeback win at the Ravens is remarkable. Down 10, sacked and facing second-and-20, Minshew completed passes of 26 and 30 yards to set up a field goal. Next drive, another 62 yards passing and a touchdown to tie the game, then one last field goal for a wild 26-23 comeback win over a Ravens team that made the AFC Championship Game a year ago. Minshew has talented targets in Davante Adams and rookie tight end Brock Bowers, and if the Raiders can play like they did in Sunday’s win, they’ll be competitive for a playoff spot in the AFC. 

Ravens: With their penchant for running the ball consistently well, few NFL teams should be as good at closing out a win as Baltimore. And yet the Ravens and Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter Sunday and found a way to blow it. Take away a desperation final play, and the Ravens had 10 yards on 10 plays trying to close out the win, unable to run out the clock on their home field. The Ravens had 27 carries for 151 yards; the Raiders had 27 total rushing yards. That’s hard to overcome, and yet Baltimore allowed Las Vegas to do that. After falling just short of the Chiefs in Week 1, the 0-2 Ravens had an even more disconcerting finish. — Greg Auman 

Steelers: If Russell Wilson can return from his injury and even be a decent game manager, the Steelers are going to be a tough team to beat. That’s because their defense looks really, really good. They gave up just 295 yards and two field goals to the Broncos on Sunday, one week after giving up 226 yards and 10 points to the Falcons. No, neither opponent is the Chiefs. But the Steelers defense does have five turnovers and four sacks in two games, and they’re giving up an average of 76.5 rushing yards, even though both games were close. They were only close because Justin Fields is doing nothing — 273 passing yards and one passing touchdown. The Steelers are 2-0 while they’re toughest competitors in the AFC North — the Ravens and Bengals — are 0-2. It’s all teed up for Wilson to come back and lead Pittsburgh to a division title.

Broncos: It’s going to be a long year in Denver. Sean Payton is probably doing the right thing by starting rookie Bo Nix at quarterback — especially considering his other options are Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson — and it will undoubtedly help Nix and the Broncos in the long term. But there’s not a lot on this offense to help Nix out. The Broncos ran for 56 yards on Sunday — 25 of which came from Nix. He’s actually accounted for 60 of their 155 rushing yards in two games (38.7%). That’s not helpful for a rookie quarterback. He needs more from his receivers, too, like veteran Courtland Sutton (five catches, 66 yards in two games). Nobody thought the Broncos would be good. And it helps that they have a relatively soft first-half schedule. But they won’t find many wins if they play like they did against the Steelers, when nobody seems capable of helping and Nix is left to try to win on his own. — Ralph Vacchiano

Chargers: Letting Austin Ekeler go in free agency wasn’t an easy call, but J.K. Dobbins has been a star in his first two games with Los Angeles. He rushed for 135 yards in the opener vs. the Raiders, and finished with 131 in Sunday’s win over the Panthers. That’s two of the three best games of his five-year NFL career, bested only by a 160-yard game in the 2020 finale with Baltimore. Dobbins has given Jim Harbaugh a steady ground game to pair with Justin Herbert. He’d shown flashes in Baltimore, but was never healthy long enough for sustained success. He’s also hit on big plays — a 61-yard run against Las Vegas and a 43-yard score against the Panthers. 

Panthers: Are the Panthers actually getting worse? After mustering 10 points in a season-opening loss to the Saints, they had just three points Sunday, with quarterback Bryce Young continuing to struggle at unprecedented levels. Young threw for 84 yards on 26 passes — barely 3 yards per attempt — and Carolina went 1-for-12 on third downs, unable to sustain drives at any level. It’s hard to imagine the Panthers worse than they were in going 2-15 last year, but they’ve now scored 10 points or fewer in eight of their last 10 games. New head coach Dave Canales knew it would be an uphill climb, but this is daunting. — Greg Auman

Browns: The Browns might have won, but they’re beginning to look like they might have a Deshaun Watson problem. Surely, considering he’s still playing on a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract, they expected more than just the game manager they’ve seen the first two weeks. Watson was better in this game — 18 of 34, 186 yards and no interceptions — but he’s now thrown for just 355 yards on 46-of-79 passing this season. That’s not even 4.5 yards per pass attempt. And he’s only thrown one touchdown pass. He’s healthy and he’s got a strong running game (125 yards against the Jaguars) and a good receiving duo with Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy. The Browns are 1-1, but they’re going to need a lot more from their painfully expensive quarterback if they want to build on last season’s success. 

Jaguars: Doug Pederson is supposed to be an offensive genius, but right now his 0-2 team is an offensive mess. Outside of one 66-yard pass from Trevor Lawrence to rookie Brian Thomas Jr., the Jaguars generated basically nothing on offense for the second consecutive week. It was so frustrating, in fact, that at one point cameras caught Lawrence and Pederson arguing on the sidelines. Maybe that stemmed from the fact that the quarterback was under pressure all game long, getting sacked four times — including once for a safety. Also, for the second straight week, Travis Etienne (13 carries, 52 yards) couldn’t find much room to run. The Jaguars were clearly missing injured tight end Evan Engram and they haven’t quite found a replacement for the departed Calvin Ridley. But right now, they don’t seem to have much of an offense at all. — Ralph Vacchiano

Rams: Winless through the first two games with a league-high seven players on injured reserve, Sean McVay’s Rams already appear to be circling the drain. Los Angeles had two of the team’s five projected offensive line starters missing with left tackle Alaric Jackson serving the second of his two-game suspension and left Steven Avila on the injured reserve list with a knee injury that required surgery. Predictably, the Rams struggled to protect Matthew Stafford, as he was sacked five times. The Rams also lost star receiver Cooper Kupp to an ankle injury in the second half, and fellow receiver Puka Nacua remains out indefinitely with a knee injury. While the Rams should get Jackson back next week, the task doesn’t get any easier with the defending NFC West division champs in the San Francisco 49ers coming to SoFi Stadium in Week 3. 

Cardinals: Rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. did his best to dispel rumors of his early demise after a Week 1 dud that saw him total just one catch for four yards. Harrison came out hot, totaling four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns on five targets in the first quarter of his team’s runaway win over the Rams — the first time the Cardinals defeated the Rams in Arizona since 2014. According to Next Gen Stats, Harrison’s max speed was 20 mph, which was also an area of concern after he’d reached a max speed of just 16.7 mph in Week 1. Bottom line, Harrison played like the No. 4 overall selection on Sunday. He was targeted a game-high eight times and finished with 32 yards after the catch. — Eric D. Williams

Seahawks: With the Seahawks off to a 2-0 start and leading the NFC West, quarterback Geno Smith has been the catalyst on offense for Seattle. The West Virginia product finished with a Week 2-high 327 passing yards in his team’s overtime win. Smith completed 75% of his passes to seven different receivers for a 103.1 passer rating. But more important than the statistics, Smith looks comfortable in new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense. Smith was effective in the short passing game against New England. According to Next Gen Stats, Smith completed 28 of 31 passes under 10 air yards for 201 yards.

Patriots: With quarterback Jacoby Brissett struggling to consistently create explosive plays, might New England soon turn to rookie quarterback Drake Maye? Brissett finished with just 145 passing yards and only one pass of 20-plus yards in his team’s overtime loss to the Seahawks. The Patriots averaged just 4.7 yards per play. “We definitely have to start pushing the ball down the field,” Patriots head coach Jarod Mayo said after the game. “We have to push the ball down the field.” — Eric D. Williams

Texans: The Texans have a three-headed monster at wide receiver, but Nico Collins looks like their No. 1 option. He’s logged more than 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games to start the season, including 135 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions in Sunday night’s win. Not only has he seemed to benefit from the addition of Stefon Diggs and the return of Tank Dell, but he also appears to have taken another step forward after a career season in 2023. Collins has been close to unstoppable on in-breaking routes in particular. It’s a reminder of the ridiculous talent Houston has at the offensive skill positions — and the variety of ways in which they can beat you. Last week, it was running back Joe Mixon rushing for 159 yards. The Texans are a legitimate challenger to the Chiefs in the AFC because they have a complete offense. 

Bears: The Bears are going to have to protect Caleb Williams better. He was sacked seven times Sunday night, and the Texans registered 11 quarterback hits overall. With its various pressure packages, Houston essentially gave Chicago’s future opponents a blueprint for how to get home on Williams. Now it’s up to play caller Shane Waldron and the rest of the Bears’ offensive staff to figure out how to adjust, so its hopeful franchise quarterback doesn’t take a beating. That’s a recipe for injury (and we know Chicago can’t afford that). Unfortunately for the Bears, the threat doesn’t get any better next week. The Colts, despite their run defense woes to start the season, have one of the deeper pass-rush units in the NFL. — Ben Arthur

The following writers contributed to this story: Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)

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