16 things we learned: Week Two

Week 2 is in the books and the genuine contenders are already beginning to separate themselves from the pack, with plenty of storylines emerging as we get a genuine read on who might have what it takes to hoist the Lombardi trophy this season.

Preme Football have broken down the major storylines and talking points from each game into 16 simple paragraphs, so here are the main takeaways from the second week of the regular season.

1) Buffalo’s offense is the best in the NFL

It’s no surprise that Josh Allen looks well on his way to another MVP-calibre season, and his weapons are firing on all cylinders at the moment. The Bills backed up their 36 points in Houston by breaking 40 against Detroit, albeit against a Lions defense that offered minimal resistance. James Cook III has looked dangerous every time he’s been handed the ball and is as underrated a running back as any, due to his relatively low touchdown numbers that come as part of playing alongside the dual-threat in Allen. Dalton Kincaid had 95 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Keon Coleman stepped up in the absense of DJ Moore on Thursday, who remains questionable for this week’s game. Every chance to put up another 40+ points this week against an awful Chargers team.

2) Davante Adams may be the most underrated wide receiver of all-time

With Puka Nacua ruled out prior to kickoff and the Los Angeles Rams in need of a win to get their season rolling after a poor start in Australia, there was no one more likely to take control of the game than Adams, who did just that with 195 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, proving the decisive factor in an otherwise low-quality game. Adams has every chance to finish in the top 10 for receiving yards and top 4 for touchdowns by the time he retires, but by his own admission, has a gaping hole on his resume, being yet to claim the most important part – a Super Bowl ring. Having just fallen short on multiple occassions throughout his time in Green Bay, 2026 might just be his best chance yet to claim the ultimate prize and complete his legacy.

3) This must be Aaron Rodgers’ last season

Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense were hard to watch on Sunday. They managed just 3 points against New England, going 2-for-12 on 3rd down and turning the ball over twice as their soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback failed to inspire the team at all. As has been the case for over a decade now, the Steelers will be just good enough to defeat the league’s lower echelon of teams to accumulate 7-9 wins, but this is it for Rodgers. He’s worthy of a retirement tour of sorts, but their front office needs to have an eye on the future if they want to finally escape mediocity and put them in a position to be genuine contenders. Drew Allar’s preseason performances showed he’s worthy of being tried and tested if worst comes to worst and Rodgers needs to be benched.

4) Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 2,000 yards on his mind

2025’s breakout star and Offensive Player of the Year fell just short of the prestigious 2000-yard milestone but has begun this year’s campaign on fire, averaging 138.5 yards across the Seahawks’ first 2 games. Currently on track for 2354 yards, he’s done this without his starting quarterback Sam Darnold, though backup Drew Lock has fit into the role seamlessly and has given Mike MacDonald plenty of reassurance that there is no need to rush Darnold back from his glute injury. Seattle’s pursuit of another championship is no doubt paramount in the thoughts of Smith-Njigba, but you can’t blame him for expending brainpower on the idea of joining the illustrious club of 2000-yard receivers. After what CeeDee Lamb did to the Washington Commanders’ defense last week, another 150+ yards for ‘JSN’ might be a breeze this week.

5) The Chargers’ hiring of Mike McDaniel was overhyped

No new offensive or defensive coordinator’s hiring generated more attention than that of McDaniel in Los Angeles over the summer, with the former Miami Dolphins head coach instantly among the favourites for Assistant Coach of the Year. It was thought that his high-octane offensive style, which had major success at times throughout his tenure in Miami, would get the best out of Justin Herbert and take the team to the next level, putting them firmly in the conversation as one of the AFC’s best teams. After 2 weeks, and 2 games against modest opponents, the Chargers sit 29th in the NFL for points scored and have an 0-2 record, appearing to have only gone backwards from the team we’ve seen in recent years. With the hardest schedule in the league over the next 6 weeks, their season might be over before November.

6) The Bears will be hoping for no more rain during their games

There couldn’t have been much more of a contrast in climate across Chicago’s first 2 games. A sunny afternoon in Carolina, which saw the team put up 59 points, followed by testing conditions at Soldier Field, where they managed just a singular field goal. They were also met by a much more formidable defense in that of the Minnesota Vikings, who deserve credit in their own right, but it’s clear that Ben Johnson and his men will get the best out of themselves if they don’t need to brave the elements each week. It does raise concerns as to whether this team is built for the playoffs, where games are won in the trenches and on the back of defense, especially being in the middle of winter, but they have 15 weeks to worry about before that, and this week’s primetime clash against the Philadelphia Eagles suddenly shapes as massive.

7) No one expected Deshaun Watson’s strong response

After a disaster in Jacksonville to begin the season, there was genuine speculation surrounding how much of a leash Watson had before losing the starting job to Shedeur Sanders, who was far from flawless in his handful of rookie season starts, but showed his potential and has age on his side. With his back completely against the wall, the veteran quarterback had maybe his best outing as a member of the Cleveland Browns, inspiring the team to an unlikely victory in Tampa Bay and earning himself some job security for at least the short-term. While the team are a long way away from contending, he remains the best immediate option in the position, though it’s surely unlikely he’s still with the team beyond this season, which could open the door for Sanders towards the end of the season.

8) It’s always one step forward, 2 steps back for Baltimore

2025 was marred by a number of losses at home in games that the Ravens were favoured to win, falling to the Lions, Rams, Steelers and Bengals, despite holding leads against them all, at M&T Bank Stadium en route to missing the playoffs. Sunday’s game against the Saints couldn’t have started any better, leading 14-3 as Rashod Bateman found the end zone, giving fans every reason to believe they’d cruise to 2-0 after a dominant start to the year in Indianapolis. But yet again, it was a movie that’s been seen all too often in the past 12 months, as Baltimore showed a level complacency to give an inspired New Orleans team an avenue back into the game, with Tyler Shough putting a dagger through the home fans’ hearts by a matter of inches as he scored the game-winning touchdown. There’s no team more talented than the Ravens, but it’s hard to justify that they’ve gotten the best out of themselves in recent years.

9) Beating the 49ers is going to be very, very difficult this season

Do they ever actually have any weaknesses? Will they ever not be a good team? The 49ers have looked as good as anyone to begin the season, with a combined margin of 42 points across 2 blowout victories establishing themselves as well and truly in the hunt, as Kyle Shanahan seeks to add to his coaching resume the Super Bowl title that many think he deserves. Brock Purdy has put to bed any suggestions that he doesn’t belong among the league’s 10 best quarterbacks, while the timeless superstars in George Kittle, Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey and even Deebo Samuel Sr. look poised to have significant offensive impact throughout the year. Oh, and then there’s the defense, who have conceded just 20 points in the first 2 games. It’s hard not to be in awe of their ability to constantly be thereabouts come playoff time.

10) Pressure is foreign concept to Jalen Hurts

He’s far from perfect, the Eagles’ quarterback, but there’s no one across the league better at maintaining composure under pressure, even though it was self-inflicted in Tennessee on Sunday. Hurts threw a pair of interceptions on 3rd and long, with both coming in Titans territory to wipe potential points off the board, which eventually contributed to Philadelphia trailing with 2 minutes to play, leaving him no choice but to execute a flawless game-winning drive as his team escaped with a win. Nick Sirianni and the team’s coaching staff would be remiss to think this team is capable of repeating 2024’s success in its current form, but their quarterback has saved potentially the 2 best games of his career for the game’s biggest stage and might be able to replicate his heroics in this season’s playoffs if the team is good enough to get there.

11) Michael Penix Jr. will need to be Tom Brady for the Falcons to be competent

Although Cooper Rush is not remotely close to an NFL-level quarterback, Atlanta’s problems lie a lot deeper than the play from the man under centre at the moment, as Sunday saw what must’ve been close to an all-time low for the team as they fell to Carolina by 31 points. Atlanta’s defense was no better than its offense on the weekend, failing to put up a fight against the the talented, but still raw, Panthers offense, who have put together a couple of strong weeks. The return of Penix Jr. against Green Bay will help, but the jury is, at best, still out on whether his selection with 2024’s 8th overall pick has been justified as he enters his 3rd year. The hiring of Kevin Stefanski less than 2 weeks after his firing from Cleveland back in January raised eyebrows at the time, and his first fortnight in the job has been nothing short of a nightmare.

12) Patrick Mahomes is inevitable

It took every second of overtime for Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to stave off a valiant Indianapolic Colts team on Sunday night, but as soon as the Colts failed to take the lead before the 4th quarter elapsed, the feeling inside Arrowhead Stadium suggested the game was all but over, such is the confidence Chiefs Kingdom have in their quarterback. They’ve now won 8 consecutive overtime games and have earnt the title of the league’s most clutch team over the last decade. Mahomes himself was elite across the entire night, posting 382 passing yards and 3 touchdowns to go with the game-winning drive, showing no signs of slowing down so far in his return from the torn ACL that saw him miss the end of 2025. Last season might just have been a blessing in disguise, providing a refresh as they now surge back towards the top.

13) Sheer determination got the Broncos over the line

A pair of elite defenses met in Denver, though the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars were rightful favourites after a dominant opening week win. Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense were horrible in their first showing of the season, which meant that another sluggish start was bound to incite some negative feedback from the home crowd, and that it did. They scored just 3 points in the first 40 minutes of the game, but the thought of beginning the year with the dreaded 0-2 record seemed to be enough to incite a response from the team, scoring a pair of quick touchdowns in the final quarter to snatch a much-needed victory. Jaylen Waddle proved to be the degree of difference, something the Broncos lacked last season, hauling in 8 catches for 138 yards after an underwhelming team debut.

14) Despite the 0-2 record, CJ Stroud actually looks good

It’s hard to immediately justify this one when the Texans’ scoreline from the weekend read a 6-20 defeat at the hands of the Bengals, but the underlying statistics suggest Stroud looks to have taken a few steps forward from what we saw in 2024 and ’25. Stroud threw for 353 passing yards, made all the more impressive by his running back duo, Woody Marks and David Montgomery, posting a combined 18 rushing yards on 14 runs. Stroud would like back a few of the throws he made that led to Houston’s 0-for-4 red zone record, but if not for a pair of botched field goal operations, they would’ve been every chance to win a game that was defined by individual brilliance from Ja’Marr Chase. Houston’s upcoming schedule appears favourable, giving Stroud the change to get value for good individual performances by converting them into wins.

15) Concerns as to whether we will ever see the best of Jayden Daniels are officially legitimate

Daniels dislocated his left elbow for a 3rd time in under 12 months in Dallas on the weekend. 3 repetitions of an injury tend to be the threshold among social media doctors as cause for genuine doubt as to whether a player will ever truly get over it and return to full health, especially in the case of a dual-threat quarterback such as Daniels. After a brilliant rookie season put him on trajectory to quickly become one of the league’s best within a few years, there’s now striking comparisons with the ill-fated Robert Griffin III, whose would-have-been peak remains purely a figure of one’s imagination. Outside of perhaps a select group of LSU fans, the football world is rooting for Daniels to fulfill his potential and become the electrifying quarterback that most envision.

16) Geno Smith is relishing the role as a leader

Smith and the Jets would have been kicking themselves after falling short against the Packers in a game they looked likely to win for the most part, but the green shoots continue to grow, thanks to the leadership and solid play of their veteran quarterback. Smith’s brief tenure in Las Vegas was nothing short of a failure, which made it questionable as to whether he was the right man to help the Jets transition back towards relevance, but he’s repaid the faith considerably so far. With not much to lose as he rounds out his career, he’s shown a renewed freedom, which is going to continue getting the best out of the team’s young offensive weapons as they grow into superstars.

What was your biggest takeaway from the second week of regular season play?