Overreactions to Week 2 of the 2026 NFL Season
Week 2 has passed, what are we overreacting to after 32 games of NFL football?
Just eight teams are undefeated and eight teams are yet to win a game. Are we allowed to panic yet?
The beginning of the season is so exciting because we truly have no idea what will transpire in the ensuing week, let alone 3 months from now.
Let's overreact to Week 2 of this NFL season.
Turn of the TV, Giants fans
I said this a week ago when positively reacting to the Giants offense, but I did not have high expections for New York this season. But I was excited to see their season play out with a new staff and a very respectable amount of young talent.
Unfortunately, the mainstay for this youthful intrigue may be out for the season. ESPN has reported that QB Jaxson Dart's knee injury, suffered on MNF, is "more severe than anticipated." Essentially, if Dart is forced to have surgery, it will end his season.
This is more than disappointing, as Dart showed more than flashes as a rookie. It wasn't just the highlight plays, it was certain intangibles that looked like an NFL QB. And those more than flashed in Week 1, and even on the opening drive of Week 2. New York had crafted an offense that allowed Dart to develop. The heavy formations, run first offense, bootleg throws, along with Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely as pass catchers, it was all there for Dart to take advantage of. And he was doing so.
Not only will the Giants be bad, it will not be fun nor interesting to watch. Jameis Winston is the backup QB, and his arm looked weak in Year 12.
The Cincinnati Bengals are Super Bowl contenders...
...with an elite defense?! The Bengals offense has been extremely underwhelming to me, outside of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins' performances in Week 2. The efficiency, both in dropback and run game, is below average.
But the Bengals are 2-0! Because of their defense!
Cincinnati's defense has legitimately been elite through two weeks. Yes, it's a small sample size. But look at what Houston did in their Week 1 matchup against Buffalo, another AFC contender! They dominated offensively. But Cincinnati absolutely stifled the Texans in Week 2.
And it all starts with Dexter Lawrence. He completely has changed the Bengals defense.
Not only does Lawrence wreck the run game on his own, but he frees up the rest of the defensive line.
DE Boye Mafe - 11 pressures, 17.5% pressure rate, 1.0 sack
DT Jonathan Allen - 10 pressures, 16.7% pressure rate, 2.0 sacks
DE Cashius Howell - 9 pressures, 20.5% pressure rate
DE Cedric Johnson - 6 pressures, 22.2% pressure rate, 2.0 sacks
Everybody is getting one-on-one matchups and they are dominating when they get the opportunity.
Again, it's early, but this method of defense is sustainable, as long as Lawrence is on the field.
I expect the Bengals offense to get going. It hasn't been great thus far, but there are no negative signs that they regress. Meaning the great offense we are accustomed to in Cincinnati is coming.
Baker Mayfield's $120m guaranteed contract is a disaster
Three years. One hundred and sixty-five million dollars. One hundred and twenty million dollars in total guarantees. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-2, with Baker playing poorly.
-0.30 EPA/dropback
Pressure to sack rate of 22.5%
4 turnovers
Earlier this offseason, I speculated the Buccaneers could use a mini organizational reset. Todd Bowles is on the hot seat, Mike Evans and Jamel Dean left, Lavonte David retired, and Baker Mayfield needed a new contract. It seemed as though this would be a season where Baker and Bowles needed playoff success to stick around. Instead, Tampa tied themselves to Mayfield for at least two more seasons.
After Week 1, you could convince yourself the Bucs would bounce back. Fumbling four times, including in the redzone, in a one score loss is rough, but that won't happen every week. An 0-1 start, but the errors seemed very solvable. Then Tampa comes out the next week and loses to the Cleveland Browns.
The Buccaneers have played so poorly to the point where I would be surprised if Bowles can keep his job through the season. The defense is bad. And with this thought already creeping through, the fact that you've tied yourself to a 31 year old QB with shoulder issues, who has had a bad start to the season, feels borderline franchise crippling.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a bad football team
A team that began the season 5th in Super Bowl odds, according to many books, is now 0-2. They have lost by a score of 26-14 to the Arizona Cardinals, and by a score of 26-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
And not a lot is going right.
I cannot express how high I was on this Chargers offense after hiring Mike McDaniel and getting both All-Pro tackles back healthy.
But it has all been bad.
Joe Alt allowed multiple pressures, had multiple penalties, including allowing a safety against Las Vegas. The interior offensive line is still one of the worst in the NFL. The Chargers can not pick up a blitz for the life of them.
The pass catching weapons are not good enough. Quinten Johnston still has drop issues. Tre Harris has not taken a leap. Their two TE additions, David Njoku and Charlie Kolar, were not playing well and are both on IR.
And the run game hasn't even popped with McDaniel. Omarion Hampton has two fumbles and doesn't have the agility to work in this wide zone scheme. And Keaton Mitchell only has 9 carries this season.
And while the conditions for Justin Herbert are still not ideal, this is the worst he has ever looked while dealing with pressure in his entire career. He had multiple fumbles against Las Vegas.
And that's just the offense!
The defense has not been awful, but it's just not consistent down to down. Too many miscommunications on the backend of the defense leading to big plays. And the offense is not providing the defense any support.
The season literally could not be off to a worst start for Los Angeles. And their schedule could not be more difficult. With the way the Chargers have looked through two weeks, it's hard to picture them being .500, let alone reaching the postseason.
Bryce Young is Carolina's franchise QB and the Panthers should extend him today
Well, it depends on the price. But Young may have finally arrived. This is shades of who we saw win the Heisman at Alabama.
Bryce Young's rookie season was bad, and he was benched early in Year 2, with Andy Dalton taking over. Dalton got into a freak car accident, forcing Young back into the lineup. From that point in 2024, Young showed lots of flashes, with a stretch of performances that showed why he was the 1st pick in the draft. But he still wasn't consistent, even within the same game.
I had high expectations in 2025, and while Young improved and Carolina made the postseason. But it was really just more of what we saw in 2024. Meaning 2026 would have to be the season where he made a real leap, not just showing flashes of his talent and ability to make NFL throws.
But what Bryce Young has done through two weeks has truly been great quarterback play. I would say this is easily the best two week stretch of his career. The processing and throws against zone coverage have been elite thus far.
It's hard to fake or fluke your way into the throws Young has made this season. Now, the defenses he has faced are a bit suspect, with Chicago and Atlanta. But this is borderline elite QB play. The ball placement and play extension has truly blossomed.
With the way Young is playing right now, the Panthers could legitimately repeat as NFC South champions. But this year it would be because of Bryce Young, not just with him as the QB.
The Minnesota Vikings have all but won the NFC North
Currently standing on top with an undefeated record, with both wins over division opponents, I am feeling good about my prediction for the Vikings to take the North. And they did it with Carson Wentz at QB.
Here is there competition:
Chicago - the Bears defense is as bad as I pictured and now Caleb Williams is dead. Obviously, Williams will be back soon, and the offense is fantastic. But it's not enough, in my opinion.
Detroit - the Lions defense has struggled, and the secondary is in bad shape, and is even more banged up. We'll see when, or if, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph return. In the meantime, how much of the heavy lifting can the offense do?
Green Bay - it took a miracle and bad clock management from the Jets for the Packers to get to 1-1. They are suffering from injuries and the offense might be in shambles.
Brian Flores once again has the Minnesota defense operating at a ridiculous level, blitzing at levels that we have never seen before. Dallas Turner has become one of the best edge defenders in the NFL with his freakish athleticism, and all levels of the Vikings defense operate in unison. Again, credit to Flores.
I anticipated a playoff season from Minnesota. They won 9 games last season with subpar QB play from three different guys. The offensive line was banged up and the run game was average. And they still won 9 games!
Kyler Murray is back from his concussion in Week 3. It's still a bit of a mystery of how good Murray can be, with one full season under his belt in the last 5 years. But I would be shocked if Murray cannot outplay Wentz, Brosmer, and McCarthy.
Just six overreactions for Week 2, perhaps I was not demonstrative enough today. You can always narrow in on one particular thing and blow it out of proportion. I felt as though these overreactions were fairly obvious, but it's good to break down the obvious!
We will have at least one more week of overreactions before replacing it with either a film breakdown or rankings article.
Let me know what else we should be overreacting to, or another topic you want me to cover. Follow my Twitter/X @GridironGoldM_ to reach out for ideas!
Stay tuned for more NFL and 49ers articles, news, and opinions!
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