NFL Week 2 Sunday takeaways: Packers are Jekyll and Hyde, Bengals have a defense, Chargers' season is over

One week of NFL football gives fans and the media something to talk about. Two weeks gives them just enough information to start believing that they might actually know something (they still don't, and that includes me).

Week 2 offered the first chance to see which opening-week performances were meaningful and which were complete mirages. Although, thanks to confirmation bias, nothing that happened probably changed anyone's opinion (including mine).

Below, you will find my biggest takeaway from each game on the Week 2 Sunday slate.

Takeaway: Don't sleep on the Panthers offense.

Carolina gave up 59 points to Chicago in Week 1, which overshadowed a solid offensive performance of their own. The Panthers scored 37 points and gained 478 yards of offense against the Bears. Of course, the defensive no-show made it all for naught. But after another 30+ point performance, suddenly it looks like Bryce Young's step forward in 2025 wasn't a fluke and he might be taking another step in 2026.

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Takeaway: The Saints are a really fun team to watch.

Last week, New Orleans nearly pulled off a massive upset of the Detroit Lions but fell just short. This week, they didn't let the opportunity slip away. More importantly, at least for general NFL fans, this team is fun. Tyler Shough, coming off a fan-voted Rookie of the Year season, doesn't look like a one-hit wonder. If Chris Olave can stay healthy, Saints-Panthers might be must-watch TV and that's not something I ever thought I'd type.

Takeaway: What a difference a week makes.

A week ago, pundits were declaring that the 2026 Chicago Bears offense might be one of the greatest of all time. That was.. premature. Now, there's nothing more important than the health of quarterback Caleb Williams, who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. But Chicago didn't look great even when Williams was in the game. Weather was a factor, of course, but the two teams that scored 98 points combined in Week 1 only mustered 12 in Week 2.

Takeaway: If the Bengals can win games like this, the rest of the NFL is in trouble.

In the Joe Burrow era, the Bengals have basically relied on their star quarterback to help them outscore opponents. This game was the opposite. In fact, Houston outgained Cincinnati by over 100 yards and had 10 more first downs. But the Bengals defense kept clamping down, forcing four turnovers on downs and only allowing two field goals. If Cincinnati's defense can almost singlehandedly win games, the Bengals are one of the best teams in the league.

Takeaway: The Steelers are not a fun team to watch.

Right now, Pittsburgh is like the anti-New Orleans. While the Saints have a young quarterback and a young receiver helping them move the ball up and down the field, the Steelers have an old quarterback whose career probably should have ended three years ago and an overpaid veteran receiver who can't catch anything. That's not a fun combination.

Takeaway: I honestly don't know what to even think about this game.

I was ready to declare that the Jets might actually be good, then they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Packers and I'm back on the "oh wait, they're still the Jets" train. Similarly, what even are the Packers? They had a huge lead last week against the Vikings, blew it, and looked dead in the water for three quarters against the Jets. I guess they're just this year's ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team. They look fantastic at times and utterly terrible at others.

Takeaway: The Eagles' record is perfect, but their play is anything but.

There are no moral victories in the NFL, so you'd much rather be 2-0 and playing bad than 0-2 with two heartbreaking losses despite great play. That said, I'm not sure how Eagles fans can feel great about this team right now. They barely scraped by the Commanders in Week 1 and then needed a last-second touchdown to avoid an upset against one of the worst teams in the NFL. The inconsistency that haunted the team last year is still present, and the Cowboys and Giants are both improved. The NFC East is no longer theirs to lose.

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Takeaway: The Bucs might just be bad.

Losing to Cincinnati in Week 1 wasn't exactly shame-inducing, but a home loss to the Cleveland Browns is exactly that. Tampa's defense made Deshaun Watson look like a competent NFL quarterback for the first time in like 5 years and the offense really couldn't do much. They might have entered the season as NFC South favorites, but it's clear right now that both the Saints and Panthers are better teams.

Takeaway: The Dolphins are the worst team in the NFL.

This won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who follows the league, but yeah, the Dolphins are terrible. The good news is that they are tanking properly and an 0-17 season isn't out of the question. The two other teams that could have staked a claim as the league's worst, the Titans and Browns, both showed up in Week 2 (and the Browns even won). Not only did the Dolphins lose, but they were run out of the building. They might be a historically bad team by the time the season ends.

Takeaway: Sean Payton is still overrated.

To be honest, I don't have much to say about this game. So, I decided to just remind everyone of my hottest NFL take. Sean Payton is a good NFL coach and he's treated like an elite one. He isn't, and the Broncos aren't that good. They'll be exposed in the next two weeks against the Rams and 49ers.

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Takeaway: The Chargers' season is over.

This might seem extreme, but I don't think it is. The Chargers have now lost games against the Cardinals and Raiders, not exactly world-beaters. Now, look at their upcoming schedule: at Buffalo, at Seattle, Denver, at Kansas City, at Los Angeles Rams, Houston, at Baltimore. It's possible the Chargers are going to be underdogs in each of their next seven games. I don't know how they recover at this point.

Takeaway: The Seahawks defense is very much the league's best.

There was a debate last year over whether it was the Seahawks or Broncos that featured the league's top unit but there's no such argument so far this year. Seattle held New England to 10 points in Week 1 and came up with a game-winning interception of Drake Maye. The Cardinals put up nearly 400 yards in Week 1 against the Chargers only to have the Seahawks hold them to 151 yards in Week 2. The NFC West is so stacked it almost seems unfair.

Takeaway: Injuries stink.

I was excited to see Jayden Daniels bounce back from an injury-plagued 2025 and return to his 2024 Rookie of the Year form. Then, right at the end of the first half, Daniels suffered another elbow injury and likely faces a lengthy absence. That stinks. For Dallas, it was a good response to the egg they laid in Week 1 against the Giants but the Daniels injury makes it hard to draw too many conclusions from this victory.

Takeaway: Is it possible for both teams to be happy?

Yes, the Colts lost and are now 0-2. Yes, I wrote earlier that teams would much rather be 2-0 playing poorly than 0-2 and playing well. But after getting blown out of their own building in Week 1 by the Ravens, this was a major step forward. And the good news is the Colts face the Texans, Commanders, Steelers, Titans and Vikings in their next 5 games, and all five of those games are winnable. For the Chiefs, what is there to say? They look great and poised to make another run at a Super Bowl.