I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for some of the team meetings held by the Detroit Lions in the run-up to Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
Dan Campbell's team were coming off a Week 1 loss at Green Bay in which they scored just one touchdown and 13 points. Were they capable of being as good on offense without departed offensive coordinator Ben Johnson? He was coming to town with his new team. Was Jared Goff a puppet quarterback who could only succeed with a coordinator like Johnson pulling his strings? Were the Lions going to be a shadow of their former selves in 2025?
This was a game that mattered to the offensive players on the Lions, but it really mattered to Campbell, Goff and new offensive coordinator, John Morton. And the results were spectacularly good for a Detroit team that resembled the free-scoring monster of a year ago.
Goff was pretty close to perfect (apart from his dad-like leap into the stands after a second half touchdown) as he threw for 334 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a stunning 52-21 victory. Eight different players caught passes and wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both went for more than 100 yards and found the endzone. St. Brown scored a hat-trick of touchdowns. Detroit also ran the ball for 177 yards and two scores after seriously struggling on the ground in Week 1.
In other words, that dangerous offense of recent NFL seasons – previously guided by Johnson – was back!
I think Dan Campbell was trying to get the feel-good spirit back into his team and, for that reason, he never took his foot off the gas. With eight minutes left in the game and leading 45-21, Detroit faced a fourth and goal at the Bears' four-yard line. And Campbell sent a message, not in a trashy way towards the Bears, but to his own team.
We're the Lions… we're going to be aggressive… we want to score touchdowns, not kick field goals. Taking knees was out of the question with that much time on the clock so Goff threw a touchdown strike to St. Brown. It sent a wave of euphoria through the Lions and will have the players feeling really good as they move forward.
Much has been made of the brain drain out of Detroit this offseason. But they still have their emotional and influential culture-setter at the helm in Campbell and they still have an offense loaded with playmaking talent.
Sunday was an emphatic reminder of that fact.
Who's Hot…
The Green Bay Packers… Staying in the NFC North, it's hard to ignore the start made by the Green Bay Packers this season. They have opened with back-to-back wins – and pretty comfortable ones at that – against genuine NFC playoff contenders in the Lions and the Washington Commanders. Jordan Love has yet to throw an interception in two games, solving a problem that haunted him far too often in 2024; Josh Jacobs is as reliable as ever in the backfield and Tucker Kraft is an emerging star at tight end. Defensively, it has not always been about Micah Parsons, which is really encouraging. Jayden Daniels never looked comfortable at Lambeau Field, but these Packers are also shutting down the run with vicious efficiency. Detroit and Washington combined for a total of 97 rushing yards in two games against the Packers. It's very early but, as it stands right now, I think Green Bay are the team to beat in the NFC.
Buffalo's offense… Sunday's 30-10 win over the New York Jets marked the 11th time in the past 12 regular season games that the Bills have scored at least 30 points. And Josh Allen was able to take a back seat one week after his 424-yard, four-touchdown heroics against Baltimore. Allen briefly left the game with a nose injury and ended up throwing for just 148 yards and no touchdowns. He rushed for 59 yards and no scores. But the Bills ground out an easy win with 43 rushes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. That is the sign of a really good team as Buffalo showed they can win in different ways and without leaning so heavily on Allen, who we have viewed in the past as the leader of a one-man team. The Bills took care of business and remain the top team in the AFC… for now!
Brandon Aubrey… What a game in Dallas as the Cowboys and Giants went toe to toe. Dak Prescott (361 yards and two touchdowns) thought he had thrown the winning TD pass to George Pickens with 52 seconds remaining. Russell Wilson (450 yards and three touchdowns) thought he had the game's winning moment after his 48-yard connection with the excellent Malik Nabers with 25 seconds left on the clock. But this game ended up being decided by the ever-so-relaxed swing of Brandon Aubrey's right leg. Dallas' kicker landed a 64-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime. And on the final play of the extra period – as the time ticked to double zeroes – Aubrey nailed the 46-yard kick that gave the Cowboys a stunning 40-37 victory. What is it with these kickers and all these 60-yard field goals? It definitely feels like kicks in the 60s are like the new 50s!
Who's Not…
The Miami Dolphins… Miami lost a heartbreaker at home to New England, falling 33-27 to drop to 0-2 on the season. And the way the Dolphins lost makes you wonder how things are going to pan out for this team the rest of the way. After a sluggish start, the Dolphins moved into 27-23 fourth quarter lead on Malik Washington's 74-yard punt return. Was that the moment to kick-start Miami's campaign? Such positive thoughts did not last long. On the ensuing kick-off, New England's Antonio Gibson took the ball 90 yards to the house. After a late field goal and an interception of Tua Tagovailoa, the Patriots escaped South Florida with a 33-27 win. And they left behind a team in disarray. Tyreek Hill is making public displays of frustration on the field, his quarterback is biting back at his WR in the media and head coach Mike McDaniel looks like stressed-out England football managers of the past who have aged before our very eyes. Next up for Miami is a visit to the AFC powerhouse Bills on Thursday night. A loss there and this campaign could tear apart at the seams for the Dolphins.
Kansas City's playmakers… Patrick Mahomes is 0-2 for the first time in his NFL career and the three-time Super Bowl champion has now lost three games in a row for the first time since he entered the league. But it's nowhere near all his fault! Mahomes continues to fight and scrap for every yard – putting his body on the line in the process – but it was not enough on Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles recorded a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl 59 re-match. Mahomes is not blameless as he didn't handle the Eagles' blitz very well at times. But, for the second week in a row, he led the Chiefs in rushing with seven carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. That's great, but should we not expect more from Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt? And Mahomes' interception early in the fourth quarter should have been a touchdown strike to Travis Kelce that put his team up 17-13. But Kelce failed to reel in the catch and bobbled it straight to Philadelphia's Andrew Mukuba. Ten plays later, Kansas City trailed 20-10 and were chasing the game. Mahomes had a late moment of explosiveness with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton, but those plays are too few and far between. One of the sport's most dynamic players has been forced into a game manager role. It's hard to quit on the genius of head coach Andy Reid and the determination of Mahomes, but there is not much else to like when it comes to the attack of this winless team.
The Fast Five…
- The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0. That's the good news. The bad news is that Joe Burrow went out of Sunday's 31-27 win over Jacksonville with turf toe and ligament damage that could sideline him for a prolonged period of time. The Bengals will wait nervously for more news on Monday. Jake Browning threw two touchdown passes (and three interceptions) in relief and marched Cincinnati 93 yards on 15 plays to score the game-winner himself from a yard out with just 18 seconds remaining. But stepping in as a substitute and starting week after week are two very different things.
- The Indianapolis Colts are 2-0 for the first time since 2009 and they won in dramatic fashion on Sunday as Spencer Shrader missed a 60-yard field goal as time expired, only for a penalty to be called on the Denver Broncos. Shrader did not miss from 45 as he handed his team a 29-28 victory. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 165 yards, but the star of the show was Daniel Jones, who threw for 316 yards and one touchdown. The journeyman who is on his third NFL team in nine months is vindicating Shane Steichen's summer decision to make him the starting quarterback of the Colts. He is not as flashy as Anthony Richardson, but Steichen wants someone more consistent he can coach and rely on.
- The San Francisco 49ers were without starting quarterback Brock Purdy on Sunday and replacement Mac Jones was working without tight end George Kittle and still-rehabbing receiver Brandon Aiyuk. But the Niners still have Kyle Shanahan at head coach and he brought the best out of Jones, who threw three touchdown passes in a 26-21 victory over the New Orleans Saints. This is not to belittle the achievements of Purdy in any way, but the Niners certainly seem to run an attack that is friendly on their quarterbacks. And that's why Jones – now on his third NFL team – was able to succeed.
- The Los Angeles Rams quietly moved to 2-0 on the season with Sunday's 33-19 win over the Tennessee Titans. All areas of this team are contributing right now. Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns; wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams both found the endzone; and the defense recorded five sacks. On that subject, the Titans need to find a way to protect rookie quarterback Cam Ward, who has been dropped 11 times in two games.
- JJ McCarthy struggled in his home debut for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football on the way to a 22-6 defeat against the Atlanta Falcons. It has been a pretty bumpy first two starts for McCarthy, apart from one excellent fourth quarter in a win over the Bears. Until he can prove himself to be the weekly answer – which is difficult to do at the moment behind a leaky line – I'm going to have my doubts about what is otherwise a playoff-calibre outfit.
Fact of the Week
The Baltimore Ravens moved the ball a different way in Sunday's 41-17 win over the Cleveland Browns. Lamar Jackson threw four touchdown passes and carried the ball just two times for 13 yards. That's his fewest carries in a start since facing Denver in Week 13 of the 2022 season. And Derrick Henry carried 11 times for just 23 yards – that was his fourth-fewest rushing yards in a game with at least 10 attempts in his storied career.
Final Thought…
It's going to take a few weeks for performances to level out, but I believe this league and this season is going to remain as unpredictable as ever in 2025. One week after the Giants failed to score an offensive touchdown and questions were asked about the future of Russell Wilson at QB, he goes out and throws for 450! Although he did also toss a bad interception in overtime. It's an example that you never quite know what you're going to get. Want another example? Coming into this season, we would all have felt there would be growing pains for the New York Jets under rookie head coach Aaron Glenn. But did we expect a lot of that pain to be felt on defense, where the Jets have been so good in recent years? New York have shipped 64 points in two games. Another reminder that while we like to talk and talk about the NFL over the course of the offseason, we don't really know what's going to happen until they start playing the games. And as a wild Week 2 reminded us all, that is when the fun truly begins.
