The NFL is back — and Week 2 apparently decided Week 1 wasn’t chaotic enough. P.s. I’ve drafted this prior to the Rams losing against the Giants tonight too! 😉
A week after offences went absolutely wild, the defences fought back. Chicago went from scoring 59 points to just three (insane right as ruined my bets and fantasy!), Ja’Marr Chase produced an early contender for Catch of the Year, Josh Allen continued doing ridiculous Josh Allen things and Patrick Mahomes rediscovered some of the old Kansas City magic. And what about Brock eh! MVP odds tumbling…
And that’s before we get to surprise 2-0 teams, huge injuries and the inevitable social-media overreactions.
If you’re relatively new to the NFL — or simply couldn’t stay up all night watching from the UK — we’ve done the hard work for you.
Here are the moments everyone was talking about after NFL Week 2.
🤯 THE CATCH: Ja’Marr Chase breaks the internet
Cincinnati Bengals 20-6 Houston Texans
We’ll start with this. Because… how did he catch it and keep his feet in-play?! Huge, huge play…
Ja’Marr Chase somehow hauled in a spectacular touchdown against Houston that immediately sparked comparisons with Odell Beckham Jr.’s legendary one-handed catch. Even NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt reckoned Chase’s effort was better than OBJ’s – vote needed on that one.
The reaction on social media was exactly what you’d expect: disbelief, slow-motion replays and people trying to work out how Chase managed to control his body and stay in bounds.
The Bengals are now 2-0 after beating Houston 20-6.
UK Rookie verdict: Catch of the Year contender already? BIG TIME.
😬 THE REALITY CHECK: Chicago go from 59 points… to THREE (What?!)
Minnesota Vikings 9-3 Chicago Bears
Remember last week?
Chicago scored 59 points. We got excited. Very excited. I packed my picks for week 2 around the Bears too! Seven days later…
Three points.
Minnesota’s defence completely shut down the Bears, holding them without a touchdown and forcing two turnovers in a miserable afternoon for Chicago’s offence.
To make matters considerably worse, Caleb Williams left the game in the fourth quarter with a right hamstring injury.
So after being one of the biggest stories of Week 1, Chicago have immediately provided one of the biggest stories of Week 2.
Welcome to the NFL.
UK Rookie verdict: Maybe we got slightly carried away last week. 😂 Gonna be a learning curve on the teams until later in the season!
👑 THE MVP: Josh Allen is still ridiculous
Buffalo Bills 41-31 Detroit Lions
Josh Allen.
That’s pretty much the section.
Buffalo’s superstar quarterback was at it again on Thursday Night Football as the Bills moved to 2-0 with a 41-31 victory over Detroit.
Allen threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns and added another 69 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Five touchdowns. No interceptions. Just another Josh Allen evening.
And James Cook wasn’t bad either, rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown as Buffalo piled up 446 yards of offence.
Bills chat gonna be serious for now, until we hit the playoffs and the usual happens…
UK Rookie verdict: The Bills look scary (for the time being).
🚑 THE BIG STORY: Jayden Daniels goes down
Dallas Cowboys 37-20 Washington Commanders
Unfortunately, one of Sunday’s biggest stories wasn’t a highlight.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow during the Commanders’ defeat in Dallas.
It’s particularly concerning because Daniels injured the same elbow last season. And Washington’s problems don’t stop there.
The Commanders are now 0-2.
For one of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks, everyone will be hoping this isn’t another lengthy absence.
UK Rookie verdict: Fingers crossed this isn’t as bad as it sounds.
🤠 THE STATEMENT: Dak and CeeDee light up Dallas
Dallas Cowboys 37-20 Washington Commanders
While Washington were worrying about Daniels, Dallas finally looked like the Dallas many people expected.
Dak Prescott completed 26 of 31 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns.
And CeeDee Lamb?
8 catches.
153 yards.
2 touchdowns.
Prescott’s final touchdown pass to Lamb also gave Dak the Cowboys’ franchise record for career touchdown passes.
After a disappointing Week 1, that’s more like it.
UK Rookie verdict: Cowboys fans can come back off the ledge.
⚜️ THE SURPRISE: Are the Saints actually good?
New Orleans Saints 24-17 Baltimore Ravens
This wasn’t in the script. Baltimore led 14-3.
At home.
Against New Orleans.
Surely that’s game over? Apparently not.
The Saints fought back to win 24-17, with Tyler Shough producing a gutsy fourth-quarter performance to complete the comeback. Suddenly New Orleans are 2-0.
We’re not saying book your Super Bowl tickets, Saints fans.
But…
👀
UK Rookie verdict: One of the NFL’s most interesting early-season surprises.
🏴☠️ THE DARK HORSE: Raiders move to 2-0
Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 Los Angeles Chargers
Here’s another sentence we weren’t necessarily expecting to write after two weeks:
The Las Vegas Raiders are 2-0.
And this wasn’t a lucky escape.
Las Vegas went into Los Angeles and beat the Chargers 26-14.
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns, Tre Tucker produced 119 receiving yards and the Raiders defence intercepted Justin Herbert twice.
It’s the Raiders’ first 2-0 start since 2021.
Time to start paying attention?
UK Rookie verdict: We’re not getting carried away. Yet. But our outright Superbowl pick at 150/1 is looking solid!! Let’s Go!!
🐦 THE JUGGERNAUT?: Seattle just keep winning
Seattle Seahawks 31-7 Arizona Cardinals
At what point do we stop calling this a good run?
Seattle demolished Arizona 31-7.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba went nuclear:
9 receptions.
155 yards.
3 touchdowns.
Including an 82-yard touchdown. But here’s the ridiculous bit.
Seattle have now won 12 consecutive games including the playoffs, setting a new franchise record.
Twelve. In a row. Looking solid again…
UK Rookie verdict: Maybe everyone should start taking Seattle and JSN VERY seriously again this season, especially in the NFC West.
🪄 THE THROWBACK: Mahomes + Kelce are back?
Kansas City Chiefs 33-30 Indianapolis Colts (OT)
This felt familiar. Close game and Prime time. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Kansas City somehow winning.
The Chiefs needed overtime to beat Indianapolis 33-30, but there were some extremely encouraging signs for Kansas City fans.
Mahomes threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns, while Kelce caught nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Remarkably, it was the first game since Week 7 of 2023 in which Mahomes passed for 300+ yards AND Kelce recorded 100+ receiving yards.
Kansas City are now 2-0.
Uh oh.
UK Rookie verdict: We’ve seen this movie before.
🐆 THE BOUNCE BACK: Carolina go from 59 conceded to 3
Carolina Panthers 34-3 Atlanta Falcons
Chicago weren’t the only team to produce an absurd Week 1-to-Week 2 turnaround.
Last week Carolina conceded 59 points.
This week? They allowed three.
The Panthers forced five Atlanta turnovers, while Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns.
Linebacker Devin Lloyd had a particularly ridiculous afternoon, contributing to four changes of possession and returning an interception for a touchdown.
NFL football makes absolutely no sense sometimes.
That’s part of the fun.
UK Rookie verdict: From disaster to domination in seven days.
🦅 THE COMEBACK KINGS: Hurts does it again
Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 Tennessee Titans
Philadelphia didn’t make this easy.
But Jalen Hurts apparently likes it that way.
The Eagles came from behind to beat Tennessee 24-20, giving Hurts his eighth fourth-quarter comeback since 2023, tied for the second-most in the NFL over that period.
Philadelphia move to 2-0. It wasn’t always pretty.
It rarely seems to matter.
UK Rookie verdict: Never count out Jalen Hurts.
👀 AND FINALLY… what happened to all those Week 1 points?
This might actually be the biggest overall story from NFL Week 2.
Week 1 was bonkers.
The average game produced 49.4 points.
Sunday of Week 2?
The 13 afternoon games averaged only 36.8.
Five defences — Minnesota, Chicago, Cincinnati, Carolina and New England — didn’t allow a single touchdown.
So what have we learned after two weeks?
Probably nothing. Buffalo look frightening. Seattle can’t stop winning.
The Saints and Raiders are suddenly interesting.
Kansas City look suspiciously like Kansas City again.
And apparently scoring 59 points one week tells us absolutely nothing about what you’re going to do the next.
The NFL is back.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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