NFL Week 2 Recap: Second Verse, Same as First

A tide is turning, folks.

The overall main event of the second week of the 2025 season was the anticipated meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. For the Chiefs, this was not only their first game of the year on American soil, this was their home opener--against the team who clobbered them in Super Bowl LIX seven months prior. This was so heavily hyped; it was nationally televised--the lone game on the 4:25PM Eastern time slot. This was also the Chiefs' chance to tell the NFL world that the rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.

We saw two things. One, we saw an ugly game, and two, we may have seen a dynasty die.

Despite Jalen Hurts not doing too much, the Eagles won, 20-17, in Arrowhead, improving to 2-0 while the Chiefs dropped to 0-2. Let me repeat that. The Chiefs are 0-2. Now, 0-2 doesn't necessarily mean death, but it's still an uphill climb. This is KC's first 0-2 start with Patrick Mahomes (who turns 30 on Wednesday), and their first such start in 11 years. Also, Mahomes has lost three straight games now, dating back to Super Bowl LIX. Already, football fans are dancing on a grave that the Chiefs aren't in yet. But let's be clear: while the Chiefs aren't fully in the grave yet, they have one foot in it--and the other is on that banana peel.

Jalen Hurts became the second QB to defeat Mahomes three times in a row. As for the other one:

This man is cursed. Absolutely cursed. I guess it's a sad golden rule in the NFL: Joe Burrow is not allowed to have good things happen to him. Things were looking good; Burrow and Chase connected. Connected! And then... turf toe. Bad case. Very bad case. Surgery's required. Burrow's expected to miss at least three months. Two sounds were heard from Cincinnati. One, the sound of a season dying, and two, the sound of crying in agony. And why? Same reason why Burrow was injured twice before this one: the offensive line being incompetent. Jake Browning stepped in and won it for the Bengals against the Jaguars, but the season without Burrow is underway for Cincy.

Apparently, Giants @ Cowboys was the classic we didn't know we needed. What looked to be a simple game between the lower half of the NFC East that would be nothing but comedy relief, turned into quite the dramatic classic. It looked bad for the Cowboys, as they actually faced losing to the lowly Giants and being 0-2 across the board--overall, in conference play, and in division play. Dallas bounced back, but so do the Giants. Russell Wilson's long bomb to Malik Nabers gave NYG a three point lead very late, but Dak Prescott led a clutch drive that resulted in a 64-yard FG from Brandon Aubrey to force overtime--the first overtime of the 2025 season, and the first since the new OT rules that guaranteed both teams getting the ball were spread out through all games. From the way it looked, it looked like we'd see an old-school tie, but Dallas managed to intercept Russell Wilson (who had the game of his career), get in FG range, and Aubrey won it in the final seconds. 40-37 in Dallas' favor. Not enough to save their bacon overall, but it's something.

Regarding Aubrey, let's go to the fantasy numbers. Aubrey made two from the 40s (8 points), two from 50 or more (10 points), and four extra points (4 points). That's twenty-two fantasy points! Aubrey had nearly twice as many fantasy points as Jalen Hurts did. WOW!

Week 2 started with the beginning of Amazon Prime's fourth year of Thursday Night Football coverage, and it was the Packers hosting the Commanders in this one. The Packers were coming off a huge win just days ago over the rival Lions, and were looking for a good encore. We definitely delivered; a 27-18 victory to improve to 2-0--Jordan Love's first 2-0 start! Another first was achieved: this was the Packers' first victory on Amazon Prime. This Packers team looks GOOD! 2-0, with both wins coming against strong playoff teams from last year, and coming in less than a week! This is why a lot of people are saying we could really make a long run this year!

Among the many stories that popped up during Sunday's early window was the decaying of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were at home against the New England Patriots, a team they've usually bested even when the Pats were under the Brady/Belichick regime. Regarding this? It was just a showcase of Miami's continued decline. Tua was still making faulty passes, Tyreek Hill was given yet another reason to throw a tantrum demanding to be traded, and Mike McDonald's days as Miami's head coach are getting more and more numbered. A 33-27 loss to the Patriots definitely does not make things better in South Beach.

The rest of Sunday's early window saw the Lions, Ravens, and Bills win big, and in the case of the Lions, they put up 52 points on the Bears, who are coached by Detroit's former OC, Ben Johnson. The Seahawks also defeated the Steelers in the latter's home opener, and the remaining games in the late window saw the Cardinals narrowly escape the Panthers, while the Colts improved to 2-0 with a last second field goal over the Broncos. On Sunday Night Football, the Falcons took on the Vikings, and it was a game mostly dominated by field goals until Atlanta finally found the end zone late. The Falcons won, 22-6, over the Vikings, making this Packers fan happy. However, what didn't make me happy was the news that followed: rookie QB J.J. McCarthy will miss (at least) the next game due to injury. Oh man. Week 2 was a bad week for QBs.

We were treated to a Monday Night doubleheader which kicked of with the Houston Texans' home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and this game was closer than I expected. It was a battle between two teams who won their respective South divisions last year by default, but Houston was leading for quite a good bit. Then, with time winding down, Baker Mayfield led the Bucs down the field and Rachaad White put the cherry on top with a running TD with six seconds left in regulation. The Bucs won, 20-19 to improve to 2-0, while the Texans fell to 0-2 in what appears to be a more loaded AFC South. The second half of the doubleheader was an AFC West battle between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, and in contrast to the first game, I expected this one to be close, but the Bolts ran away with it, winning 20-9 to improve to 2-0. What a start for the Chargers!

So after two weeks, 10 teams are 2-0, and half of them did not make the playoffs last year. Since the 1990s, 64% of the teams who started 2-0 have reached the playoffs. Also, we have 10 teams who are 0-2, and two of those teams made the playoffs last year--with one of them being the Chiefs, the back-to-back-to-back defending conference champions. Since the merger, only about 10% of the teams who started 0-2 have made the playoffs. Those latter 10 teams will be in some must win situations in Week 3.

Speaking of Week 3, that will kick off with an AFC East battle between the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. On Sunday Night Football, the New York Giants will host the Kansas City Chiefs, and so many eyes will be on that game to see if KC gets win #1, or if they drop to 0-3 and end up completely screwed. Regarding Monday Night Football, it'll be a must-see clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions.

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