The Chiefs, Bengals and Josh Allen are looking frightening through two weeks of the 2026 NFL season. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have yet to convince anyone they belong in the conversation.
Here are my top and bottom evaluations from Week 2, broken down across team developments, offensive performances and overall quality.
Kenneth Walker’s integration into Kansas City’s offense has exceeded all expectations — and it should concern the rest of the league. Deeply.
In the Chiefs’ overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts, Walker recorded 178 scrimmage yards on 30 touches — 24 carries for 117 yards and six receptions for 61 yards. He was directly involved in five of the seven plays on the game-winning field goal drive, including two crucial first-down conversions. One came on the ground, the other through the air.
Heading into Monday Night Football, Walker led the entire league in carries (47), rushing yards (290), total touches (56) and scrimmage yards (369). According to Next Gen Stats, he has already forced 29 missed tackles through just two games.
The early years of the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City were defined by a potent passing attack. The Chiefs then evolved into a defense-first team. And now, while it is still very early, the league may be witnessing the emergence of a ground-heavy Chiefs identity — with Walker serving as the centerpiece. He is the most dynamic skill player in Mahomes’ supporting cast since Tyreek Hill, and the franchise’s most impactful running back since prime Jamaal Charles (2009-14).
For years, much speculation has centered on who will step into the Chiefs’ No. 1 receiver role following Hill’s departure. Rashee Rice has shown flashes, but he has not been on the field often enough to prove his reliability. With Walker commanding attention in the box, those one-on-one opportunities downfield are opening up for speedsters like Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton, both of whom possess the ability to stretch a defense to its limit.
The top two selections of the 2024 NFL Draft both suffered injuries within hours of each other on Sunday.
It began with Bears QB Caleb Williams, who sustained a hamstring injury during Chicago’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota and had to be carted off the sideline. Later in the day, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow — the same one he dislocated last season — in the second quarter of Washington’s 37-20 defeat to Dallas. He, too, was carted from the field. Both quarterbacks were quickly ruled out for the remainder of their respective games.
While Williams apparently escaped with nothing more serious, the NFL world remains anxious for updates on how long Daniels will be sidelined.
Commanders HC Dan Quinn shares an update on QB Jayden Daniels, recaps loss to the Cowboys
This might be premature, but the first question that comes to mind following Daniels’ latest injury concerns his upcoming contract negotiations. When he becomes eligible for an extension this offseason, the Commanders will need to weigh a long-term commitment — or at least one near the top of the quarterback market — against his repeated injury history. Daniels could argue that his health has been the key variable: the NFC Championship Game appearance during his rookie season proved his ceiling, and Washington’s struggles in his absence have been well documented.
The most practical path forward may be picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal next spring and revisiting the extension conversation after the 2027 season. That mirrors the approach C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans took this year.
The Bills offense erupted for 41 points in their Week 2 rout of the Detroit Lions, with Josh Allen accounting for five total touchdowns — three through the air and two on the ground. Buffalo converted 9 of 12 third-down attempts (75%) and piled up 446 yards of offense, distributing the production evenly between the passing and rushing games. The Bills scored touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions. It was a balanced, dominant display from a squad that leads the NFL in scoring through two weeks (pending Monday Night Football).
Allen is the driving force behind Buffalo’s offensive dominance, and he is arguably the best quarterback in the game right now. If his performance against the Lions — a team with a vulnerable defense — wasn’t convincing enough, consider that he put on virtually the same show in the season opener against the Texans, a team widely regarded as possessing the league’s top defense.
Through two games, Allen has amassed nine total touchdowns (five passing, four rushing) and a 125.8 passer rating. He is operating at an elite level under new head coach Joe Brady, who has served as Buffalo’s offensive playcaller since the middle of the 2023 season.
This is the version of Allen capable of carrying the Bills to the Super Bowl. With Brady implementing a fresh offensive philosophy and the addition of wide receiver DJ Moore, Buffalo may finally possess the complete package to reach the league’s ultimate goal.
Atlanta’s quarterback turmoil deepened in humiliating fashion during the Falcons’ 34-3 home defeat to Carolina.
Starting his second consecutive game in place of the injured Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, backup Cooper Rush lost a fumble on the Falcons’ very first play from scrimmage. He also threw two interceptions. The offensive display was so dismal that Atlanta fans began booing just six minutes into the contest.
And, if anything, it deteriorated further from there. Undrafted rookie Jack Strand received a standing ovation when he entered the game late in the third quarter, but his first career pass was returned for a pick-six. Strand also fumbled on Atlanta’s final drive.
The sole silver lining for the Falcons at this point is Penix’s reported return to practice on Thursday from last season’s torn ACL — though that is only because fans have yet to see what he looks like in 2026. The results may not improve from the quarterback chaos Atlanta has endured so far.
After all, it was Penix’s injury history and inconsistent play that prompted Atlanta to sign veteran Tagovailoa during the offseason. Tabdu’d been tabbed the starter heading into training camp because Penix had not been cleared for full practices until late August. Tagovailoa, who struggled throughout training camp and the preseason, has been sidelined for the first two games with an oblique injury sustained in Week 1 practice.
The Bengals’ offensive capabilities with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and company are well established — Chase’s spectacular touchdown catch over tight coverage against All-Pro Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is Exhibit A.
So what Cincinnati is demonstrating on defense this season is even more impressive.
Houston played without star receiver Nico Collins on Sunday, but the Bengals’ defensive performance was nonetheless striking. Cincinnati held the Texans to 0-for-4 on fourth down and shut them out inside the red zone, limiting them to just 60 yards on the ground at 3.3 yards per carry. The Bengals generated 27 pressures on 62 Houston dropbacks and did not allow a touchdown — their first such stretch since Week 3 of the 2022 season, per Next Gen Stats. In their season opener, they forced four turnovers against Tampa Bay.
The Bengals have a legitimate claim to being the NFL’s most intimidating team, given their ability to dominate on both sides of the ball.
The Dolphins are proving exactly as bad as many anticipated. They dropped to 0-2 with their 35-13 loss Sunday to San Francisco.
Miami surrendered touchdowns on the 49ers’ first five drives and did not reach the end zone until the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter, when Malik Willis connected with Ryan Miller on a 77-yard score in garbage time. It was a comprehensively one-sided defeat, with Miami having been outscored 62-26 through two games.
New Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley is searching for a scheme that can offset his team’s offensive struggles. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The only reason for optimism lies down the road. In Week 1, Miami featured the most snaps played by rookies across the league (439), according to Next Gen Stats.
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