| Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com reports that this year teams who lose the coin toss in overtime are doing just fine: As the NFL has changed its overtime rules, one of the league’s priorities was de-emphasizing the coin toss. Sudden death overtime fell out of favor largely because of the big advantage it gave to the team winning the toss, and the NFL wanted an overtime format that wouldn’t make winning the coin toss important. This year, it seems to be working. There have been three overtime games this season, and all three times, the team that won the overtime coin toss lost the game. In Week 1, the Saints won the toss and chose to kick. The Lions scored a touchdown and extra point on the first possession, and the Saints then scored a touchdown on the second possession. The Saints went for two, didn’t convert, and lost 31-30. In Week 2, the Jets won the toss and chose to receive. Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he wanted to control the clock, but that didn’t happen: The Jets went three-and-out on the first possession, and the Packers quickly moved into field goal range and won 20-17. And on Sunday night in Week 2, the Colts won the toss and, despite having a captain who didn’t know the overtime rule, eventually got their choice to kick. Colts coach Shane Steichen said he wanted to kick because he didn’t want to give Patrick Mahomes four downs on the second possession. As it turned out, the Chiefs got a field goal on the first possession, the Colts tied with their own field goal on the second possession, and the Chiefs won 33-30 with another field goal on their third possession. The current overtime format was adopted last season, and there’s still no consensus among coaches about whether it’s better to kick or receive — as demonstrated by Glenn making a different decision than Steichen and Moore. As long as that’s the case, winning the coin toss doesn’t matter very much. And that’s as it should be |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOA further update on QB CALEB WILLIAMS who has a chance to play this Monday. Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is considered “week-to-week” with a right hamstring injury he sustained in a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, coach Ben Johnson said Monday afternoon. However, Johnson said he was not yet ruling Williams out for next Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles even though he does not expect the quarterback to practice this week. Earlier Monday, during an appearance on ESPN 1000, Johnson said he anticipated that Williams would be sidelined for “some time.” Johnson clarified later with reporters that the team is saying week-to-week to be safe. “He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here. We’ll see what that looks like. Here’s what I know. This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being. I said that last night, I’ll double down on that. He gets back — he has in the past — a lot faster than what people can anticipate and so I’m not putting a timeline on this. We’re going to say week-to-week. He’s going to attack this with everything that he knows,” Johnson said. Williams underwent an MRI on Monday morning to assess the severity of his hamstring injury. Johnson said the news the Bears received on Williams’ injury was “somewhat encouraging.” If Williams can’t play next Monday, backup Tyson Bagent will start. Bagent has been the Bears’ backup quarterback since signing with the team in 2023 as an undrafted free agent. The Division II product out of Shepherd University started four games during his rookie season but has seen only a handful of snaps in cleanup action since Williams was drafted in 2024. Bagent played 10 snaps on Sunday after the injury to Williams – 5-9 for 54 yards passing. |
| NFC EAST |
| NEW YORK GIANTSCompare and contrast – Bears QB CALEB WILLIAMS pulls his hamstring and is carted off the field never to be seen again. Giants QB JAXSON DART sustains a knee injury, walks off, tries to find his uniform to go back in, stands on sideline to the end of a blowout loss. Daniel Sanya of YahooSports.com noticed: Williams went down without contact during the Chicago Bears’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and was eventually carted to the locker room. The scene initially raised fears of a serious knee injury, including a possible ACL tear that could have ended his season. Dart suffered a left knee injury during the New York Giants’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was hit by Rams defenders Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart on a third-down play, with his left knee appearing to buckle as he went down. Jameis Winston replaced Dart before the Giants later ruled him out for the rest of the game. Dart wanted to return to Monday night’s game after getting hurt, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. However, the Giants’ medical staff would not clear him. Teammate Cam Skattebo confirmed Dart’s desire to get back on the field. “He told me he wanted to get back out there and the doctors kind of told him no,” Skattebo said after the game (h/t SNY Giants). Cameras also showed Dart on the sideline seemingly expressing his frustration over being unable to return to the game. “They wouldn’t let me come back out,” he appeared to say. On the contrary, Williams’ reaction to his injury led to concerns about a potential season-ending injury. But the Bears later determined that Williams suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain. The diagnosis led to widespread jokes and criticism, with fans and pundits accusing Williams of exaggerating the severity of his injury. Dart’s injury also looked painful when it happened. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that the Giants quarterback is believed to have a sprained MCL. This on some other Giants injuries New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers returned to Monday’s 28-6 loss to Los Angeles Rams after leaving with a shoulder injury. His was one of several injuries to notable Giants players on Monday in addition to quarterback Jaxson Dart’s. Starting left tackle Andrew Thomas and All-Pro pass rusher Brian Burns left the game late with injuries long after the outcome had been determined. Nabers: Shoulder is ‘OK’Nabers told reporters postgame that his shoulder popped out and that he’s scheduled to undergo X-rays. He also said that his shoulder is “OK.” “My shoulder’s OK,” Nabers said. “I’m gonna get an X-ray and see what’s going on. … “It popped out, and I just popped it back in.” Nabers had one catch for 1 yard prior to his injury. He didn’t record another catch after returning to the game with backup Jameis Winston at quarterback. His status moving forward is unclear, pending X-rays. Nabers in pain after failing to grab 1st-quarter passNabers came up clutching his right shoulder in pain after failing to grab a contested pass late in the first quarter. He left the game, and the Giants listed him as questionable with the shoulder injury. He continued to get work done on his shoulder by a Giants medical trainer on the ensuing Rams possession and was able to return to the field for New York’s next possession with his Giants facing a 14-0 deficit. Jaxson Dart believed to have sprained MCLThe injury to Nabers took place shortly after Dart left the game with a knee injury. Like Nabers, Dart was listed as questionable by the Giants, but he remained out of the game as Nabers returned. Per a postgame report, X-rays were negative, and Dart is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL. Winston took over at quarterback after Dart’s injury, and the Giants failed to score a touchdown against the Rams’ defense. Andrew Thomas, Brian Burns also injuredThe Giants then sustained two more notable injuries late in the game. Thomas left New York’s final possession with what the team announced as a groin injury. And Burns needed help off the field in the game’s final minutes after being injured on a tackle attempt. Burns confirmed to reporters postgame that his injury was diagnosed as a low-ankle sprain and “nothing serious.” When asked about Thomas’ injury, Harbaugh said “we’ll see about that” while declaring “none of these injuries are life-threatening.” He didn’t offer further details on Thomas’ diagnosis. |
| PHILADELPHIAWith TE DALLAS GOEDERT out for awhile, the Eagles have brought TE ZACH ERTZ back to the fold per Adam Schefter: @AdamSchefterThree-time Pro-Bowl tight end Zach Ertz, who played in Philadelphia from 2013-‘21 and helped the team win its first Super Bowl, is returning to the city and signing with the Eagles practice squad, per sources. The Eagles lost TE Dallas Goedert to a sprained MCL and now are turning to Ertz, who spent the past two seasons in Washington. Ertz had a total of 116 catches over the last two seasons with the Commanders – and 825 in his career.- – -Ben Solak of ESPN.com likes the look of the marriage between OC Sean Mannion and QB JALEN HURTS: I think … Jalen Hurts is settling into the Sean Mannion offenseAt a team level, I do not love what I’m seeing from the Eagles’ offense. The offensive line looks worse even than it did in 2025, and the running game is suffering as a result — fifth-lowest yards before contact per rush among all teams through two weeks. For the amount of money poured into that unit, that’s scary. Hopefully, guard Landon Dickerson comes back from his injury looking like he’s back to peak form, but we haven’t seen that form in a while; same for center/guard Cam Jurgens. I’m not holding my breath. But Hurts’ Week 2 performance against the Titans was about as good of a game a quarterback can have with a dead-in-the-water rushing attack. Hurts had nine third-down conversions in this game, the most single-game third-down conversions he has had. With no running game, Hurts averaged 7.9 yards to go on third down, well above his career average, and still got big gains in the air, converting three third-and-12 or longer downs (the most in a game in his career). Perhaps the most notable of these late conversions was the first one. Hurts hits an intermediate in-breaker to Dontayvion Wicks between the layers of the defense. This throw has been the golden goose of the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan offense and the bane of Hurts’ existence in the NFL. Since the 2021 season, only 7.3% of Hurts’ throws have been 10 to 22 yards downfield and between the numbers. Among 44 quarterbacks with at least 1,000 dropbacks, that ranks 43rd, above only Russell Wilson. One of the key objectives of the Mannion era in Philadelphia has been opening this area of the field. It’s just one play, but to see Hurts willingly trigger on a throw like this is a significant sign of growth. There are other objectives to Mannion’s offense: get under center more and run more play-action. These we will charitably call “works in progress.” Hurts had six snaps under center in play-action against the Titans after only two against the Commanders in Week 1, and that’s still lagging well behind the league’s ever-increasing usage of under-center dropbacks. He went 3-of-6 for 27 yards against Tennessee, not exactly gangbusters numbers. But there is evident comfort and intent. Hurts ripped a deep outbreaker to DeVonta Smith, who was so, so good Sunday, against leverage, and then was just a beat late on a huge corner route to Smith in the end zone. As Hurts gets faster and more comfortable in the offense, the hope is that he’ll eliminate some of these additional hitches and create more YAC opportunities by hitting throws before the sideline. The Eagles have yet to log a convincing win against two inferior opponents, and their overall team health has me pretty dubious. But what a refreshing change of pace from most seasons when the Eagles were a superteam, and we were debating how much credit Hurts deserves. He was, emphatically, one of the Eagles’ best individual players against the Titans and the reason Philadelphia won the game. And his contributions were far from perfect, too. With better timing, he could reach another level in this new-look offense. The Eagles (2-0) face the Bears (1-1) on “Monday Night Football” in Week 3 (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC), another light defensive test. There’s a real opportunity here for a confidence-building game in the passing attack before the Rams in Week 4. My overall expectations for the Eagles’ offense will remain tempered until I see the line and the running game return to form, but if Hurts can use his arm to guide them to wins through September and into October, they’ll have time to iron out their rushing issues. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINAAlbert Breer of SI.com notes that QB BRYCE YOUNG has made himself some money the last two weeks and looks on a course to make more: No, the Panthers aren’t 2-0, but Young has played well enough to get them there—and in a high-pressure situation. Carolina passed on signing the 25-year-old to a contract extension in the first offseason he was eligible for one, and that has typically been a precarious position for any young quarterback. From the 10 draft classes before Young’s (2013 to ’22), 13 first-round quarterbacks got blockbuster second contracts. Ten of them came after three years. Only Daniel Jones and Lamar Jackson played out the fourth year and then got a deal, while Jordan Love did a Band-Aid extension after his third year, and then signed a bigger deal after that. And yet, so far, so good. Young had passer ratings topping 110 in last week’s 59–37 loss to the Bears and this week’s 34–3 win over the Falcons; through two games, he has connected on 63% of his throws for 648 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. “It’s no surprise at all because of the games he’s had over the last couple of years, where when he puts the whole game plan together and has that understanding and ownership and the playcaller’s intent, we’ve had amazing performances,” Carolina coach Dave Canales told me postgame. “But it’s the consistency of how it’s showing up now. And then I think the biggest thing to talk about is his ownership of what we’re doing. “And what I’ve seen from him throughout this [summer] is a lot of conversations on the side with T-Mac [Tetairoa McMillan], with [Jalen] Coker, with Xavier [Legette]. Darren [Waller] shows up, Tommy [Tremble], the tight ends, the backs. It’s just becoming his because I see him fine-tuning what our concepts really are.” And the challenge that Canales says he has always laid out for his quarterbacks—“Hey, make sure you grab those guys on the side”—is one that Young has taken to heart. It showed up, Canales added, on both of Waller’s touchdowns on Sunday. Signed in mid-August, Young has been at work with his new tight end, and the two spent time with each other before and after offensive periods at practice last week. Young explained to Waller what leverage the Atlanta defense would deploy, and the two discussed how and when Waller would break it—which Canales said Waller was able to put to use Sunday. As for the contract … “Bryce has a lot of joy in his face, a lot of joy in the process, in our offense as we continue to grow it and evolve it,” Canales said. “And I see him really just enjoying this moment with his teammates and leading. And he’s done that the entire time, whether he was playing or not. He’s never backed away from standing in front, high-fiving the guys coming into the locker room or coming off the field into the tunnel. He’s right there in the front. He wants them to know, I’m here, we’re all working on this together. And he’s continuing to lead that way. “I have not seen a change in Bryce.” Even if, statistically anyway, there seems to be one happening with him. |
| TAMPA BAYBen Solak of ESPN.com thinks the early returns on QB BAKER MAYFIELD’s big contract are not good: I think … the Buccaneers are already regretting that Baker Mayfield dealMayfield has not played well through the first two games of the season. This does not mean he is a bad quarterback who is undeserving of a nice contract. Two game samples are, in a vacuum, barely above meaningless. (They’re just meaningful enough that you should keep reading this column.) But it would have been nice to see how this season played out, to see if this two-game trend continued, before signing an extension. Mayfield and the Buccaneers looked destined for a prove-it season before the Buccaneers “surprised” Mayfield with an eleventh-hour offer that clearly met his expectations. It is a three-year deal, as Mayfield wanted, though it’s really a two-year deal with a $55 million team option in 2029. Still, at $55 million per year, Mayfield is making Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence sort of money … Joe Burrow and Josh Allen sort of money. Mayfield’s play has been decidedly below that level to start the season. Through two weeks, Mayfield is 29th among 32 quarterbacks in EPA per dropback and 27th in success rate. Of course, two-game samples are useless, so let’s add last season. Since the start of 2025, Mayfield is 24th among 32 quarterbacks in EPA per dropback and 25th in success rate. But last season was a down year. Mayfield played through a strained knee that he suffered in Week 2 and endured shoulder pain (non-throwing side) after a big hit in Week 12. His 2025 offensive coordinator, Josh Grizzard, was fired at the end of the season. So, let’s throw in 2024 as well. Since the start of that season, Mayfield’s career year with offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Mayfield is 13th in EPA per dropback and 13th in success rate. There he is, the guy the Bucs paid. We just had to go back a couple of seasons to find him. But even including the 2024 season, we find some problems. A big part of Mayfield’s success in that season, and in the seasons to follow, is how well he played when pressured. His dropback success rate (34.9%) is eighth; his first-down/touchdown rate (29.7%) is third behind Burrow and Brock Purdy. But play under pressure tends not to be sticky. Pressured plays are either big wins (the passer beats the blitz with a deep throw) or disasters (the passer gets sacked), and that creates large swings in the outcome. Good play against pressure also relies heavily on athleticism. Mayfield has scrambled on 17.9% of his pressured dropbacks since the start of the 2024 season, second to Jayden Daniels. Mayfield’s numerous 2025 injuries reflect his toughness, but they also reflect his playstyle. He gets sacked a lot (22.8% pressure to sack ratio, eighth highest) and takes more hits on scrambles down the field. It is reasonable to expect Mayfield’s effectiveness against pressure to decline with age and accumulated hits; he’s 31 years old! I’d argue it already has. This season, Mayfield’s scramble rate has almost halved (9.2%) as the Buccaneers have prioritized throws behind the line of scrimmage, but his ability to escape is also underwhelming, leading to a 9.2% sack rate. Mayfield is aggressively climbing the pocket despite the fact that there’s plenty of room to stand and throw, and accordingly, he’s too late to get the ball to Godwin by the time he reaches a throwing platform. Watch safety Ronnie Hickman, meant to rob the middle of the field, burn right by Godwin and give Mayfield hot pursuit; Hickman knows the scouting report on the quarterback. As Mayfield tries to escape, Hickman hawks him down. Mayfield’s attempts breakdown has become worryingly polarized through two games of the Robinson offense. A harrowing 37.1% of Mayfield’s pass attempts are behind the line of scrimmage, more than all quarterbacks save for Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. But 16.1% of his throws go more than 20 yards downfield, as well; that’s fifth-highest in the league. Such a spray chart is unhealthy. It indicates a quarterback is uncomfortable testing coverage and either checks it down in front of all defenders or sails it deep beyond all defenders. Again, this is a small sample. Seven of these eight deep throws came in Week 2 against the Browns, and the lack of success had more to do with miscommunications than anything else. If you’re looking for a sunny side in the Buccaneers’ offense through two games it’s that clearing up those little mistakes should lead to big downfield connections. This is why the Buccaneers might regret that Mayfield deal. Not because his bad play through two games is written in stone, but because they could have collected a season’s worth of additional data to inform their contract decision, and at little cost. What was Mayfield going to demand if he had a good year? Maybe $60 million instead of $55 million? Actual guarantees in 2029? These are peanut problems compared with the larger issue: Mayfield is a late-career breakout who relies heavily on his athleticism and accordingly is on a shorter time horizon than most quarterbacks over 30. He also plays an inherently erratic style, and Robinson has had little success tamping that down through two weeks. I enjoy when Mayfield is at his best and look forward to seeing it again, but paying for peaks makes the valleys difficult to endure. The Buccaneers likely never had a better alternative than paying Mayfield a sizable veteran contract, but I sure would have liked to turn every stone before I consigned myself to that path. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSDT AARON DONALD had one impact play Monday night while playing 33 snaps. His reaction from Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: SoFi Stadium got a jolt of energy before Monday night’s game when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was the final defensive starter announced to the home crowd. Donald said the response from that crowd “kind of amped me up a little bit” as he ran onto the field for the first time since deciding to end the retirement that started after the 2023 season. Donald did not travel to Australia for the opener and took more time to ramp himself up for his return to game action. The result was three tackles and a tackle for loss while playing 33 of the team’s 58 defensive snaps. Donald said he would like to win “a little faster” when he’s blocked one-on-one and that he feels like everything will feel more natural with a little more playing time under his belt. “The game really wasn’t as fast as I thought,” Donald said, via the team’s website. “It was more of me calming myself down, overrunning stuff or just my feet not being in the ground how they supposed to be, not trusting my eyes, little stuff like that. But playing the game, when I held out in ’17, ’18 it was the same way when I came back, it took a couple games to get going. It’s a little different. I ain’t played in two years, so I gotta watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong, and just clean it up.” The plan was for the Rams to team Donald with Myles Garrett, but Garrett’s knee injury leaves that on hold for the time being so all involved will hope that the weeks to come find Donald recovering even more of the game that made him a three-time defensive player of the year.– – -It sounds like Coach Sean McVay is ready to accept as fact that the Rams were put behind the eight ball when they traveled late to Australia to meet the rested 49ers. Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic: Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay might never want to play in Australia again, but he has at least reached the point where he can poke fun at the travel strategy that garnered so much criticism after his team’s Week 1 loss to the rival San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn, and you know, sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that put you in a bad spot,” McVay said after the Rams’ 28-6 win against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football.” |
| SAN FRANCISCOPer Jeff Howe of The Athletic, people are singing the praises of QB BROCK PURDY: Brock Purdy isn’t the prototype, but a prototype is merely what someone thinks they’d like to see. Whatever the ideal height/weight/speed for a quarterback, just find one who’s playing like the San Francisco 49ers quarterback is playing right now. The 26-year-old has been absolutely masterful from one side of the world to the other over the past two weeks, showing again that even at his listed 6 feet 1, 220 pounds, he can be the 49ers’ greatest catalyst to success when healthy. “He is so smart, accurate and processes what he sees so quickly,” said a former NFL general manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity so he could talk openly. “He is so underrated because the physical skill set doesn’t stand out, but he plays the game at such a high level. It’s not just because of the talent around him. I don’t think he gets enough credit for the way he helps elevate and maximize those around him.” Purdy has the highest QBI in the league by a disproportionate margin, lending more context to a stat line that was impressive regardless. Naturally, the QBI will dip over time, but he has been off to a terrific start. Purdy has completed 80.4 percent of his passes for 492 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, and he’s added 59 rushing yards and a score. The Niners have blown out the Los Angeles Rams in Australia and the Miami Dolphins in America, thanks largely to Purdy’s ability to apply consistent pressure on the opposition. There could be caveats from the critics. Yeah, the Rams might have bungled their travel plans, and the Dolphins are recovering from an organizational teardown. But it’s not like this is an atypical showing from Purdy, who has been highly productive for most of his 47 career starts. Purdy has been ideal for coach Kyle Shanahan because of his ability to read the entire field and motor through his progressions. He’s highly accurate, especially on in-breaking routes to set up his physical receivers for catch-and-run opportunities. Case in point, he’s got a 69.3 expected completion percentage, per NFL Next Gen stats, the fourth-best figure in the NFL. “He can see the field,” a defensive coach said. “He can scramble with the best of them and create off schedule.” Purdy has been overlooked because it’s historically difficult for quarterbacks to shake the stigma of being a late-round pick. And with Shanahan’s sterling reputation as an offensive innovator, Purdy has been pigeonholed as the plug-and-play guy — and he actually was the plug-and-play guy after significantly heavier investments Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo had gone down with injuries. But Purdy has become so much more than that. Prototypes are just test cases. Purdy has been the real deal. |
| SEATTLEQB DREW LOCK has played admirably in the two opening Seahawks wins, but it looks like the return to action of QB SAM DARNOLD is near. Brady Henderson of ESPN.com: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is set to return to practice Wednesday after missing most of the team’s first two games because of a glute injury, coach Mike Macdonald said Monday. “Right now, the plan is for him to be out there in some capacity, and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald said. “How much, we’ll see from here to Wednesday on what that number is. But right now, that’s the goal.” Earlier Monday, on his Seattle Sports 710-AM radio show, Macdonald said “there is a chance” that Darnold will play this week against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Darnold went down on the fifth play of the Seahawks’ Sept. 9 opener and did not practice last week. After the Seahawks improved to 2-0 with a 31-7 win Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals, Macdonald said Darnold is ahead of schedule and that his timetable for returning has “shifted quite drastically” for the better. Since replacing Darnold, backup Drew Lock has completed nearly 73% of his passes while throwing four touchdown passes with zero turnovers. Lock’s Total QBR of 86.4 is fourth best among all quarterbacks through two weeks. Asked about Lock’s play, Macdonald indicated that it won’t factor into the team’s decision on whether Darnold starts Sunday, saying, “If Sam can play, he’s going to play.” In other Seahawks injury news, Macdonald said rookie running back Jadarian Price’s shoulder injury does not appear to be serious. The team’s first-round pick left late in the third quarter Sunday and did not return. “It’s something we’ll monitor throughout the week,” Macdonald said. “Shouldn’t be a long-term thing.” Price started each of the first two games while Zach Charbonnet — Seattle’s co-starter last season — continues to work his way back from February ACL surgery. Charbonnet has to miss at least the next two games while on the physically unable to perform list, but a new PUP rule this year would allow the Seahawks to open his 21-day practice window Wednesday. Macdonald said they are still working through that possibility. |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYIf RB KENNETH WALKER II has his way, he will have a ton of touches. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: Through two weeks, Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker looks like one of the true prizes of free agency. Walker currently leads the league in carries (47), rushing yards (290), touches (56), and yards from scrimmage (369). But that usage rate also comes with some concerns, particularly at that position. Rookie Emmett Johnson has spelled Walker a bit, and he’s been effective with 39 yards rushing and four receptions for 64 yards. His snaps are likely to increase as the year goes on. “Well, I think the way I look at it is … that’s part of the equation, but the other part is allowing Emmett to grow,” head coach Andy Reid said in his Monday video conference, via transcript from the team. “And so, I think Emmett will continue to get more snaps and then it’ll take a little bit of load, off Kenny, but he wants that ball. He wants a ball every play, Ken does, and he’s not asking to be relieved or anything else. “But I think as it goes on, you get a nice balance with those two in there and then it keeps them even more fresh as the season goes on.” After an overtime victory over the Colts on Sunday night, the Chiefs will face the Dolphins on the road in Week 3. Based on Miami’s results over the past two weeks, this upcoming game could be an opportunity to get Johnson more carries to spell Walker. |
| LAS VEGASA good start for the Raiders pass rush: @NFL_ResearcherHighest QB pressure rate in 2026, per @NextGenStats: 1. Raiders – 50.0%2. Vikings – 49.4%3. Packers – 45.6%4. Eagles – 45.2%5. Ravens – 43.8%– – -Comments from Coach Klint Kubiak on being 2-0. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: There might be a little something brewing with the Raiders. The club has started 2-0 for the first time since 2021. Klint Kubiak is the first head coach to begin his tenure with the franchise 2-0 since Bill Callahan back in 2002. But Kubiak isn’t putting too much stock in the team’s hot start. “I enjoy that our team is 2-0, our organization is 2-0,” Kubiak said in his Monday press conference, via transcript from the team. “No one’s made the playoffs going 2-0.” Still, when beginning a head coaching tenure, a hot start is particularly valuable. “I think it just reinforces the messages that we’ve been sending,” Kubiak said. “Our guys have been very coachable, and our guys want to win. Winning is important to this team, it’s important to this coaching staff. We also have very short memories and know that you can only win one at a time. “And so, we’re turning the page, and now we get to prepare to play a really good Saints team.” After a game at home and a game in Los Angeles with a favorable crowd, the Raiders will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints for what could be a sneaky good game in Week 3. In general, teams that start 2-0 make the playoffs nearly two-thirds of the time. But, most teams aren’t in the same division with powerhouses like Denver and Kansas City (but not the Chargers at the moment). |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERSThe 0-2 Chargers head into the meat of their schedule with a depleted tight end position. Noah Furtado of The Athletic: It’s time to call roll on the Los Angeles Chargers’ 2026 free-agent class. Starting center Tyler Biadasz? Out for the season. Starting left guard Kayode Awosika? Out. Starting defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson? Out. Top tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar? Injured reserve. General manager Joe Hortiz entered an offseason full of possibilities with more than $80 million in salary cap space. His dink-and-dunk strategy was supposed to insulate the Chargers with depth. Two weeks in, they instead find themselves bottomed out at multiple positions, with an 0-2 record. Njoku (fibula) and Kolar (forearm) were two of three tight ends on the active roster. Oronde Gadsden II, in his second NFL season, is the only tight end left for now. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said the Chargers were evaluating their options. They still have $30 million in salary cap space, according to Over the Cap. Awosika (fibula) was named the starting left guard before being subject to a Week 1 platoon with Trey Pipkins (knee), who did not play in Week 2 because of injury. Harbaugh said Awosika would miss an indefinite amount of time, which means barring a Pipkins return, the Chargers would be down to their third left guard on the depth chart, Trevor Penning, who is also the backup at right guard. Only three Hortiz free-agent signings are healthy: starting right guard Cole Strange, backup running back Keaton Mitchell and fullback Alec Ingold. Such attrition precedes a grueling stretch. The Chargers will be indefinitely without their prized center, two of their top tight ends, their left guard and one of their starting linebackers (Denzel Perryman on IR) for road trips against the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks in back-to-back weeks. Then the Denver Broncos visit, followed by a trip to the Kansas City Chiefs, home meetings with the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans after the bye, plus a primetime road game against the Baltimore Ravens. Count it. That’s five playoff teams from a season ago, and the two that missed the postseason (Chiefs and Ravens) are quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, with four MVP awards between them. Opening the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, teams that combined for six wins last season, seemed an ideal runway for quarterback Justin Herbert, his shiny new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, and first-time NFL defensive play-caller Chris O’Leary to gear up for the challenge ahead. It hasn’t gone to plan. Harbaugh quoted the cliché, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” when asked what he could say to help a disappointed locker room maintain belief after a surprisingly disjointed start. “That’s the general message,” he added. The third-year Chargers coach tried to focus on positives Monday, what he considered to be “much improvement” as his team was “so close” if not for losses “on the margins” versus the Raiders. Those losses? Numerous procedural penalties, six fumbles, a number of dropped passes and three passing touchdowns given up to the guy temporarily playing in front of No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. “Correcting — and improving — anything that you can improve with urgency,” Harbaugh said of his emphasis moving forward. “Call it improvement, plus urgent, plus belief in yourself and your teammates, equals sustainable growth.” |
| AFC NORTH |
| CINCINNATIIn the offseason, the Bengals defense appeared to be in a better place than usual. But Bengals fans have heard such talk before. But Ben Baby of ESPN.com thinks the Week 2 effort in Houston is a sign that Cincinnati may have the defense to contend. There was only one fitting way for the Cincinnati Bengals to close a 20-6 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday — with their defensive line putting Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud under pressure. Even though the outcome was a formality in the closing seconds, the pressure kept coming as the Texans tried to salvage a few more points. Stroud was sacked twice in the final three plays of the game, including a fourth-down attempt that punctuated the win and an important point about this Bengals team. For the past couple of seasons, Cincinnati’s defense was far off the pace for a would-be championship contender. What happened at Reliant Stadium on Sunday showed that is no longer the case. “Holding them to no touchdowns? That’s a pretty good statement,” Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II said. “Winning the game? That’s another great statement.” According to ESPN Research, Cincinnati allowed its fewest points in a road game since 2015, when the Bengals surrendered three points in a Week 3 win against the Cleveland Browns. And in doing so, the Bengals are off to a 2-0 start to the regular season for the second straight year. But things are vastly different compared to 2025. For starters, quarterback Joe Burrow is healthy. Cincinnati’s fast start last season was dampened by a turf toe injury that sidelined Burrow for nine games. Then there’s the defense. This offseason, Cincinnati improved that unit by using every major resource available, including trading the 10th overall pick to the New York Giants for Lawrence. He had one of the biggest plays on Sunday. With the game still scoreless, the Texans were facing a fourth-and-1 at the Cincinnati 18-yard line. Lawrence rifled through the line of scrimmage and tackled Texans running back David Montgomery for a 1-yard loss. Bengals defensive tackle Jonathan Allen explained why Lawrence has had such a big impact for Cincinnati’s defense. “On runs, you have to double him,” Allen said. “On passes, you have to chip him. You always have to know where he’s at. He just commands so much preparation, it frees up a lot of other guys.” That includes Allen, who finished with a sack and three tackles for loss. And Lawrence was far from alone in putting Stroud and the Texans’ offense under duress. The Bengals produced 27 quarterback pressures, their most since ESPN began tracking that category in 2009. And defensive coordinator Al Golden didn’t need to bring extra defenders to do that. Cincinnati blitzed on only 16.4% of Houston’s dropbacks. That performance validated what wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Cincinnati’s offense have been known for months. “I’ve been saying it since camp — our defense is really, really good,” said Chase, who had two receiving touchdowns in the win. “I can’t be more excited for them to show us more.” Through two weeks, Cincinnati’s defense has capitalized on big situations. In Week 1, the Bengals forced four turnovers in a victory against Tampa Bay. Against the Texans, Cincinnati stopped all four of Houston’s fourth-down attempts and yielded zero touchdowns in four red zone drives. For the past several years, Cincinnati has been known for Chase, Burrow and its offensive firepower. But this week, the Bengals were able to beat a perennial playoff contender despite a day when Burrow was sacked five times and the team had 267 total offensive yards. All offseason, Cincinnati’s star quarterback has talked repeatedly about championships. Whether he realized it or not, he did the same thing on Sunday by saying it feels like it did early in the 2021 season, when the Bengals reached the Super Bowl. “If you put points on the board,” Burrow said, “we’re going to win with our defense.” |
| CLEVELANDThe thought was that QB DESHAUN WATSON would head to the bench for Sundays home opener after two losing starts to start the season in Florida. But if that was the scheme, he foiled it Sunday. Zac Jackson of The Athletic: After a miserable showing in the season opener, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson delivered a bounce-back performance in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay. Watson finished 24-of-30 for 238 yards and guided two second-half touchdown drives after the Browns managed just 59 total yards in the first half. After trailing 16-6 early in the third quarter, Cleveland rallied to defeat Tampa Bay 23-19 after a weather delay of two hours and 12 minutes that began at the two-minute warning when the Bucs were driving for a potential winning score. “I’m happy for Deshaun,” Browns coach Todd Monken said Monday. “I expected improvement (from Week 1) and I expect continued improvement. There’s a lot of football left in him. He just hasn’t played in a while.” Watson missed all of last season while recovering from a twice-torn right Achilles tendon. The opener in Jacksonville was his first game in almost 22 months, and it fueled speculation that Monken might have made a quarterback change had Watson not pushed the Browns to victory in Week 2. Watson played in just 19 games over his first three seasons in Cleveland and was booed by the home crowd in an Aug. 22 preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Watson said after that game that he wasn’t sure he could handle the negativity, and though it remains unclear how he will be received Sunday when the Browns play their home opener versus Carolina, strong play should lead to a warmer reception. With an EPA per dropback of 0.20 on Sunday, per TruMedia, Watson had the 10th-best EPA per dropback among all quarterbacks in Week 2 ahead of Monday night’s game. That marks just the sixth time since 2023 that a Browns quarterback has posted a league-average (0.06) or better EPA per dropback in a game — and just the second time for Watson in Cleveland. His 121.9 passer rating was the fifth-best of the week ahead of Monday night. Watson averaged 9.9 yards per completion but had an average depth per target of just 3.6 yards and had only 20 percent of his attempts go to the first-down marker or further. But he kept the Browns moving and went 8-of-9 for 59 yards on the drive that ended with the winning touchdown pass to tight end Blake Whiteheart. “I thought Deshaun played his butt off,” Monken said. “I’m happy for all our guys. I’m happy for Deshaun and proud of all the work he did to get back and give himself the chance to get back out there and play.” The Browns have struggled to run the ball, but Watson picked up a pair of first downs in the second half with his legs — one on a designed run and one on a scramble on the winning drive. He finished as Cleveland’s leading rusher with 22 yards. |
| PITTSBURGHThe Steelers have three other candidates to start at QB besides AARON RODGERS, but Mike McCarthy re-affirms the Hall of Famer-in-waiting’s position. Jason Owens of YahooSports.com: Through two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the worst offenses in the NFL, ranking 30th out of 32 teams with 249.5 yards per game and 30th with 23 total points. Pittsburgh’s defense accounts for seven of those points thanks to a pick 6 by T.J. Watt in Week 1’s 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Pittsburgh’s offensive woes took center stage Sunday in a listless 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The Steelers managed just 235 yards on 3.5 yards per play. They advanced to the red zone once in the game’s final minutes and turned the ball over when they got there. Aaron Rodgers threw one interception and fumbled twice; one was recovered by the Patriots for a scoop-and-score touchdown that iced New England’s win. Rodgers was under pressure throughout the game and frequently resorted to check downs and short passes when he was able to get rid of the ball while averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. He was sacked four times and hit seven others. Pittsburgh’s running backs were repeatedly met by Patriots defenders at or near the line of scrimmage. McCarthy ‘committed’ to plan around RodgersOn Monday, head coach Mike McCarthy was asked frequently about Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles during his weekly news conference. Two topics came up repeatedly: Pittsburgh’s offensive line and Rodgers. McCarthy remained steadfast in his support of Rodgers and the value he believes the 42-year-old former four-time MVP brings to the team. “We have a quarterback that has an incredible wealth of experience,” McCarthy said. “And we’ve built this offense based on his experiences and to play to his strengths. He’s knows that, and I’m committed to it.” McCarthy instead pointed to Pittsburgh’s offensive line as the primary source of the Steelers’ offensive struggles. “We’re a protection-first unit, and that wasn’t the case yesterday,” McCarthy said. “Our quarterback was hit too much yesterday.” The offensive line struggles are realMcCarthy took some of the blame of the unit’s struggles due to his preseason strategy of rotating players in and out of spots on the offensive line. He believes that the line will improve with more reps together as the season progresses. “I think in hindsight you go back and you look: how many days did we line up with the same offensive line?” McCarthy said. “We worked a lot of different combinations. No excuses, but they need continuity. “They need reps, they need consistency. So the consistency will come through the common concepts.” In an ideal football world, an NFL unit isn’t going into Week 3 of the regular season without enough reps to have cohesion. Pittsburgh’s offensive line struggles are real and playing a significant impact on the unit’s slow start. Will McCarthy hold Rodgers accountable for poor play?But that doesn’t address the questions around Rodgers. At 42 years old with an Achilles tendon that’s been repaired, Rodgers isn’t remotely close to the form that led him to four MVPs and a Super Bowl title with the Green Bay Packers. He hasn’t been for years. Rodgers won that Super Bowl with McCarthy as his head coach, and the two have a relationship built on those objectively better times. For now, McCarthy remains firmly in Rodgers’ corner in his first year as Pittsburgh’s head coach. But as long as Pittsburgh’s offense remains toothless, McCarthy will continue to field questions about his starting quarterback. At some point, if this continues, pointing to the offensive line won’t be a satisfactory answer. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISWR ALEC PIERCE, who coulda been a contender, instead has another injury. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: As the Colts try to turn around a season that has started with two straight losses (and now nine in a row), they’ll be missing one of their highest-paid players, for multiple weeks. Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Pierce aggravated his heel injury during Sunday night’s loss to the Chiefs. Pierce had surgery on the heel in the offseason. Pierce will “attempt to rehab” the injury in lieu of surgery. He is expected to miss “several weeks.” If all goes well, Rapoport says, Pierce “could return midseason.” In the offseason, Pierce signed a four-year contract with a base value of $28.5 million per year — well below the market value of more than $42 million. He caught four passes for 61 yards in a 41-23 loss to the Ravens in Week 1, and one pass for 11 yards against the Chiefs in Week 2. The Colts, at 0-2, are in a three-way tie with the Texans and Titans in the AFC South. And this update – ESPN.com: Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce is expected to miss several weeks after aggravating a left heel injury in Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and the team moved quickly to address his absence, agreeing to a deal with veteran Darius Slayton. Pierce will attempt to rehab the injury rather than have surgery, sources said, with the hope that he could return midseason. Surgery is still on the table, but that will depend on the success of the rehab. It’s likely the wideout will be placed on injured reserve while he recovers– – -The Colts defense has given up a record amount of yards in the first two weeks. Evan Sidery had the scoop on Twitter: @esideryThe Colts’ defense now holds the NFL record for most yards allowed in the first two games of a season with a jaw-dropping 1,029. The 1976 Seahawks previously held the record allowing 884 total yards. |
