Week 1 in the NFL provided a tough act to follow, with a frontrunner for game of the season in Primetime and many notably outstanding performances across the NFL earning players recognition in the MUT Team of the Week on Madden 26 for Week 1. That doesn’t mean there weren’t still some thrilling matchups on the field, and some standout athletes who made their mark and earned their own special cards for MUT players to pursue this week.
Here are five of the players on this week’s Team of the Week, along with the key plays that helped them make the cut, as well as one player on the outside looking in who really deserved the special attention of a Team of the Week spot.
James Cook Answers The Critics
While Josh Allen was rightfully atop the Week 1 MUT Team of the Week, there were criticisms of the Bills’ running game, which saw the team barely crack 100 yards, with 30 of those yards coming from Allen himself. If there were doubts about the running backs’ collective ability to contribute to the Bills’ offense to the extent required to finally get the team over the hump in the AFC in a season where the Chiefs appear more vulnerable than in quite some time, Cook offered a lot of reason for optimism in Buffalo.
Cook got just 11 touches on the ground, two fewer than against Baltimore last week, but took them for 78 yards, for over seven yards per carry. He wasn’t just efficient in terms of yards per touch, however, but also with scores, as two of his eleven runs went for touchdowns. To put a little icing on a stellar Week 2 showing for Cook, he added one catch in the receiving game, which he took for a 17-yard touchdown, making it a three-score day for this Team of the Week no-brainer.
Mac Jones Was Relevant Again
The story of Brock Purdy’s rise from Mr. Irrelevant to one of the most efficient and effective quarterbacks in the NFL has been one of the better feel-good turns of recent NFL seasons, but it’s far from common, even for top picks. Far more often, the jump to NFL football proves too much for young quarterbacks, even ones who show flashes of promise, like former Patriots first-round pick and starting quarterback Mac Jones.
With Jones now in San Francisco and Purdy forced to the sidelines, it was the first rounder’s chance to lead an offense once again, and he made the most of it against the New Orleans Saints. Jones looked like the player who had Bostonians thinking they’d found their next Tom Brady, as he threw for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Saints, with no interceptions, for a 113.1 Passer Rating. While it will take more than one good performance for Purdy to be looking over his shoulder at Jones, it’s reassuring to the 49ers, who will likely be without Purdy for at least another week, to know they’ve got a backup capable of coming in and putting on a performance like this.
Tucker Craft Makes His Case As Fantasy’s Top TE
It’s been a tough start to the year for the tight end position, with many of the big names and expected breakout players struggling to get much going as offenses have gone the other way with the ball in big situations. Through two weeks, the man leading the pack for the TEs has been Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft. Week 1 saw Craft receive just four targets from Jordan Love with two grabs for 16 yards, and only had his week saved from a production standpoint by one of those catches going for six.
Once again, Craft found the endzone in Week 2, but in a much more dynamic performance on Thursday night. The Packers called his number seven times this past week, with the South Dakota State alum hauling in six of them. He once again found the endzone, but with so much more usage, he saw his yardage go up by more than 100 as he hung 124 yards on a Washington defense that seemed unsure of how to stop him. He’ll face a Browns defense that gave up 41 points last week, so he may well get the chance to follow up his Team of the Week showing with a third straight game with a score.
Josh Makes The Panthers Sweat
Arriving at a moribund franchise as a Top-100 player from the reigning champions can provide you with some goodwill out of the gate, but also raises expectations, so it’s helpful to get off to a strong start in your new city. Josh Sweat ensured Cardinals fans didn’t have to wait long to see how he could help bring the franchise back to the upper tier of the league they have so rarely occupied, as he made a maximum impact in the Cardinals’ first defensive snap of Week 2.
Sweat broke through the Carolina line to put a hit on Panthers’ QB Bryce Young to force a fumble for a touchdown and turn a defensive possession into a 7-0 lead for the Cardinals. The play proved critical in the end, as Arizona held on to beat the Panthers by just five, 27-22, with the defensive score not just setting a positive tone for the Cardinals early but providing seven points that ultimately proved essential in Arizona moving to 2-0 on the year.
Brian Branch Brings The Lumber
There was a theme this week among defensive players selected for the Team of the Week, and that theme was separating opposing players from the football. With former Lions OC Ben Johnson in town, it was a hit from Branch on former Lions running back D’Andre Swift that set the tone, putting an emphatic end to a drive that could have seen the Bears tie things back up with a trip to the endzone.
Branch was an ever-present force for the Lions as they rolled over the Bears for a 52-21 victory. He racked up six tackles in total, including the thumping forced fumble, all of them solo. He picked up a pair of tackles in the backfield, including a sack on Bears signal caller Caleb Williams, as the Lions firmly established their superiority over the competitive North’s expected basement dwellers.
One They Missed: Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)
If you heard that the Team of the Week had not one, but two players named Robinson on it, you could be forgiven for assuming that Bijan had made the cut. The Falcons running back is on the short list for best running back on the planet, and after a quiet Week 1 on the ground, he showed why in the Falcons’ 22-6 victory over Minnesota. Robinson was a nightmare for the Falcons’ defense, popping off for 143 yards on 22 carries and an additional 25 yards through the air on three receptions. The good news for Robinson and Falcons fans is smart money says this won’t be the last time Robinson turns in a Team of the Week-worthy performance, so his time may still come later in the year.
The Full MUT Week One Team Of The Week
Here is the full list of athletes who made the MUT Team of the Week for Week 2:
89 OVR Tier
- Brian Branch (SS – DET)
- Tucker Craft (TE – GB)
88 OVR Tier
- James Cook (HB – BUF)
- Zach Harrison (DT – ATL)
- Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – NYG)
85 OVR Tier
- Dax Hill (CB – CIN)
- Mac Jones (QB – SF)
- Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)
- Hunter Renfrow (WR – CAR)
- Tavius Robinson (REDG – BAL)
- Rhamondre Stevenson (HB – NE)
- Josh Sweat (REDG – Ari)
