The Super Bowl rematch was similar in some ways, and vastly different in others.
The similarities included head-scratching games by Travis Kelce and Andy Reid, the Chiefs having no ability to protect Patrick Mahomes and the final score, and Eagles 20–17 win. It was different in that this game was competitive, Philadelphia struggled to throw and nobody took home the Lombardi Trophy afterwards.
In Dallas, the Giants and Cowboys played an instant classic at AT&T Stadium, but it didn’t start out that way for New York and its backup left tackle. Eventually, Dallas prevailed on field goals of 64 and 46 yards from kicker Brandon Aubrey to force overtime and win it in the extra period.
Meanwhile, Ben Johnson was part of a few 50-point showings with the Lions over the years. On Sunday, he was an unwitting participant.
In Detroit, the Lions beat up on their former offensive coordinator in a 52–21 laugher over the Bears to even their record at 1–1 while Chicago fell to last place in the NFC North at 0–2.
In Cincinnati, the Bengals won a wild 31–27 game over the Jaguars, but trouble could be looming with Joe Burrow leaving in the second quarter with a toe injury.
Finally, the Bills rebounded after a rough Week 1 showing by their defense, only to shut down the Jets in resounding fashion.
But we start in Kansas City, where the Eagles handed Patrick Mahomes another loss.
Good: Eagles show what it is to be a champion
This section will be light on stats and long on unproven ideals. But it’s evident if you’ve watched the Eagles these first two weeks.
Philadelphia is 2–0 despite playing two games against teams in a desperate spot. In the opener against the Cowboys at home, the Eagles faced a team that had traded Micah Parsons only days prior. Dallas was left for dead nationally, giving it every reason to show up and fight with little to lose. Instead of being caught off-guard, Philadelphia won by pitching a second-half shutout, albeit with some help from CeeDee Lamb’s hands.
In Week 2, the Eagles got a Super Bowl rematch against the 0–1 Chiefs in their home opener. There was every reason to think Kansas City, even without receivers Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice, would go out and play its most inspired football. Although the Eagles did little offensively for much of the game, as evidenced by their 216 yards, including 94 through the air, the defense made the big play with an interception in the end zone while Jake Elliott drilled a pair of 50-plus-yard field goals.
It hasn’t been pretty for Philadelphia. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith aren’t clicking, Saquon Barkley has been somewhat held in check, and Jalen Hurts isn’t in rhythm.
And yet the Eagles are 2–0 and atop the NFC East, right where they belong.
Bad: Andy Reid and Travis Kelce are failing the Chiefs
Kansas City has long been defined by the quartet of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and Andy Reid. Thus far this season, two of them are failing the team.
While Reid has made some perplexing decisions, Kelce has been one of the team’s worst players in its 0–2 start. The future Hall of Fame tight end seems disinterested and over the hill, and it’s shown up in both losses.
In Week 1 against the Chargers, Kelce slammed into Xavier Worthy on a crossing route three plays into the game. Kelce was at the wrong depth and ended up dislocating Worthy’s shoulder and tearing his labrum. Later in the game, Kelce was running an in-breaker at the Los Angeles goal line and slowed down, turning an easy touchdown into an incompletion.
On Sunday, Kelce made the most significant error of the game. With the Chiefs trailing 13–10 and having second-and-goal at the 7-yard line, Kelce ran an arrow route and won inside. Mahomes delivered a perfect ball, until it bounced off Kelce’s hands for an interception. Essentially, game over.
As for Reid, the offense is limited without Rice or Worthy, but his game management has been a mess. On the first drive of the second half in a 10–10 tie, Reid gambled on fourth-and-1 at his own 35-yard line. The call was a modified halfback sweep to the plodding Kareem Hunt, who was tackled for no gain.
Later, with the Chiefs down 20–10 and only 7:09 remaining, Reid eschewed fourth-and-7 to punt the ball. While Philadelphia didn’t score on the ensuing drive, it ran precious minutes off the clock.
Down multiple stars, Kansas City needs its best from its best. That hasn’t happened.
Ugly: Broncos giving the game away to the Colts
If the Broncos end up missing the playoffs by a game, it won’t be hard to pinpoint the reason.
At Lucas Oil Stadium, the Broncos led 28–26 as Indianapolis lined up for a 60-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Spencer Schrader’s kick was wide right, but the Colts were given a reprieve thanks to a leverage call on Denver, moving the ball 15 yards closer while giving Schrader another chance.
Schrader didn’t miss, hitting the second game-winning, walk-off field goal of his career to beat Denver, 29–28.
For the Broncos, it’s a disappointing way to lose. Denver got 226 total yards and three touchdown passes from Bo Nix, and Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. The rushing attack produced 118 yards and a score on 4.9 yards per carry. That has to be a win against any opponent when factoring in the Broncos’ defense, let alone a team quarterbacked by Daniel Jones.
Instead, Denver fell to 1–1, as the defense was roasted for 473 yards and 7.1 yards per play. Jones threw for 316 yards on 34 attempts while Jonathan Taylor rushed for 165 yards. Still, none of it would have mattered if the Broncos hadn’t made a special teams error at the end, something which also happened to them in Week 10 last season when the Chiefs won, 16–14, after blocking a Wil Lutz field goal as time expired.
In the NFL, one play can change a season. The Broncos are hoping that error isn’t theirs.
Good: Giants show their offense can function and then some
Russell Wilson looked cooked in Week 1 against the Commanders. On Sunday, he cooked the Cowboys even in defeat.
Wilson and counterpart Dak Prescott put on a fireworks display at AT&T Stadium, with Wilson throwing for 455 yards and three touchdowns, including a go-ahead 48-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers with 25 seconds left. Amazingly, Prescott put Dallas in field goal range to set up Brandon Aubrey with a 64-yard field goal as regulation ended before leading the game-winning drive in overtime.
A week ago, Wilson completed 17-of-37 passes for 168 yards on 4.5 yards per attempt while also losing a fumble. Facing a Dallas defense which permitted only three points to the Eagles in the second half of their opening night matchup, Wilson lit up the sky with a quarterback rating of 123 but was ultimately undone by an overtime interception, leading the winning points.
Eventually, the Giants will turn the starting job over to first-round pick Jaxson Dart. He’s the future, and Wilson, magnificent as he was in Week 2, is the placeholder and mentor.
However, after six days in New York of having to listen about his job being in imminent jeopardy, Wilson can rest easy knowing he’s earned the starting nod for at least a little longer.
Good: Lions’ offense is back
Maybe the Lions were waiting for Ben Johnson to show up before they felt comfortable scoring points again. Whatever it was, it worked.
In a matchup between 0–1 teams at Ford Field, Detroit scorched their former offensive coordinator and the Bears, scoring 28 first-half points before ultimately winning 52–21. In that half, the Lions registered 274 yards of offense and 17 first downs, with Jared Goff throwing for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Goff ended the day with 334 yards and five touchdowns, three of them going to Amon–Ra St. Brown. On the ground, the Lions were limited to 2.1 yards per carry last week in the loss at Green Bay but exploded for 5.9 YPC with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery accounting for 151 rushing yards and two scores. Detroit racked up 511 yards and 25 first downs, scoring 24 points on their five second-half drives.
Also noteworthy, the Lions got key plays early from the defense, even though the unit surrendered 339 yards and 21 points. All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph picked off Caleb Williams on a diving effort in the second quarter, leading to a score. Earlier, fellow star safety Brian Branch forced a D’Andre Swift fumble at Detroit’s 32-yard line, taking away a scoring opportunity.
All told, though, the day was about the offense getting back on track after being held to six points before a garbage-time touchdown in Week 1. If this is the Lions team we’ll be getting going forward, Detroit will be the contender most expected it to be in the summer.
Bad: The Bears’ presnap penalties
It’s one thing to lose, but it’s another to beat yourselves. The Bears have been putting on a clinic in both categories.
In the loss at Detroit, Chicago committed a pair of presnap offensive penalties in the first half. The Bears were also repeatedly late breaking the huddle, oftentimes doing it with 10 seconds or fewer on the play clock. In one crucial instance, facing a fourth-and-inches at his own 36-yard line, trailing 14–7, Caleb Williams got the offense to the line of scrimmage with four seconds remaining before running a failed quarterback sneak.
Then, on the first play of the second half, the Bears were whistled for their third false start of the game. Chicago then punted after a three-and-out, and the rout was on.
Indeed, some of the issues can be attributed to a new system with a quarterback making his 19th NFL start. There are going to be errors. However, the presnap problems have been a recurring issue for Williams since last year, when Chicago had to scrap its cadence to make the system more manageable. Then, this summer, the Bears continuously took presnap penalties in practice.
Johnson had to know there were going to be growing pains, but they shouldn’t be as frequent. Last week, the Bears were penalized four times for presnap infractions in their 27–24 loss to the Vikings. They spent two first-half timeouts because they couldn’t get set up in a timely fashion.
The continued mistakes are unacceptable, whether they’re on Johnson, Williams or both.
Ugly: Steelers have problems galore
The good news? Pittsburgh is 1–1. The bad news? The Steelers aren’t playing well.
In a 31–17 loss to the Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh strung together a comedy of errors. The worst was rookie running back Kaleb Johnson allowing a kickoff to fall in the landing zone before rolling into the end zone. Instead of picking the ball up or downing it, Johnson ran off the field, allowing Seattle reserve running back George Holani to fall on the ball for the most embarrassing touchdown of the year.
Still, there are far bigger, longer-lasting problems. After dazzling with four touchdown passes in Week 1, Aaron Rodgers was 18-of-33 with two interceptions. More alarming is the defense, which has allowed 394 and 395 offensive yards over the first two games against offenses short on top-tier talent in the Seahawks and Jets. Overall, Pittsburgh has given up 31.5 points per game and still has games against the Ravens (twice), Bengals (twice), Bills, Lions, Packers and Vikings remaining.
If the defensive woes continue, Rodgers will need to play at an MVP level to keep Pittsburgh in contention.
Good: Bills defense bounced back against Jets
Last Sunday, the Bills enjoyed a miracle. However, part of the miracle was winning a game in which their defense allowed a league-worst 8.6 yards per play in Week 1.
Facing the Jets at MetLife Stadium, the Bills showed that might not be indicative of who they are in a 30–10 blowout win. Buffalo stifled New York in every facet, giving up only 54 net passing yards while notching four sacks. On the ground, the Jets got 49 yards from Justin Fields but saw Breece Hall carry 10 times for only 29 yards.
While the Jets aren’t going to be a prolific offense, holding a team to 100 total yards at the midway point of the fourth quarter is a statement. And after watching Baltimore roll up 40 points and 432 yards, including four runs of more than 30 yards, Buffalo needed to show this wasn’t going to be a weekly pattern. The Bills made such a statement, and now have the Dolphins coming to their building on Thursday night.
Of course, the playoffs in January will define Buffalo’s season. Over the past five years, the Bills’ postseason dreams have been thwarted by terrible defensive performances. In their five playoff defeats over that span, Buffalo gave up 33.2 points per game. Beating the Jets doesn’t mean things will be different in four months, but it’s a positive sign after a rough 2025 debut.
Bad: Bengals can’t block, and Joe Burrow is hurt again
Cincinnati has invested heavily in the offensive line during Joe Burrow’s career. Unfortunately, they’ve invested in the wrong players.
Joe Burrow was forced to leave Sunday’s game at home against the Jaguars with a toe injury, sustained while scrambling within the pocket before getting sacked in the second quarter. Between Burrow and backup Jake Browning, Cincinnati allowed three sacks and nine quarterback hits to a Jaguars team that totaled one sack in Week 1 against the Panthers’ porous front.
Since drafting Burrow with the No. 1 selection in 2020, Cincinnati general manager Duke Tobin has tried to fix the line. He spent a second-rounder on guard Jackson Carman and a fourth-round choice on tackle D’Ante Smith in 2021. The following year, he used another fourth-round selection on guard Cordell Volson. Last year, Tobin took right tackle Amarius Mims with the 18th pick. And in free agency, the Bengals signed left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., center Ted Karras and guard Alex Cappa to deals worth $117 million.
Today, Carman is a free agent, while Cappa signed with the Raiders after being released this offseason. Smith hasn’t been in the league since 2022. Volson is on Injured Reserve with a shoulder injury. While it’s impossible to judge Mims yet, Karras has been a nice signing (and got a deserved extension this summer), while Brown has been uneven throughout his time in Cincinnati. It’s not nearly good enough.
Over the past three years, the Bengals have allowed the 11th, seventh and 11th-most sacks in the league. For his career, Burrow has missed 14 games with an elbow injury and a torn ACL. Now, that number could climb.
Ugly: James Hudson not understanding the rules of football
With All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas sidelined for the second consecutive week with a foot injury, the Giants have turned the job over to reserve James Hudson.
Against the Cowboys, Hudson lasted one drive in which he was called for four penalties, including two personal fouls and a pair of false starts. He also allowed a sack, and after being notified he was sitting down, acted as follows:
James Hudson has been benched after being the first player this century to be penalized four times in one drive pic.twitter.com/0YKEU7NfRc
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) September 14, 2025
Hudson is in his fifth NFL season after being drafted in the fourth round by the Browns in 2021. He had 18 career starts, yet the veteran continued to take avoidable penalties. Amazingly, the Giants still managed a field goal after a 16-play, 60-yard jaunt.
Thomas was doubtful this week after being limited on Thursday and Friday. For New York’s sake, hopefully he’s back in action next Sunday night against the Chiefs.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Good, Bad and Ugly of NFL Week 2: Super Bowl Champs Take Down Broken Chiefs.
