5 things to look for in Week 2 of the NFL regular season
By Andy Scholes, CNN
(CNN) — Week 1 of the NFL season always brings out some great and massive overreactions from fans to their team’s results. But at the same time, the opening games can also be very revealing of how a team is shaping up heading into this season.
If you are a Cincinnati Bengals fan, I imagine you aren’t feeling too great. Carolina Panthers and New York Giants fans are also in a bad place.
Here are five things to watch heading into Week 2 of the NFL season.
Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins open Week 2 vs. the Bills
Being detained by police, handcuffed and forced to the ground didn’t slow down Tyreek Hill against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Miami Dolphins wide receiver still had seven catches for 130 yards and a touchdown – including a “handcuff” celebration.
It’s been anything but a normal week for the team as many of the players continue to process what happened on Sunday, including starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who on Tuesday said he became “emotional” while watching bodycam footage of Hill’s detainment.
Hill spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, admitting that he had some regrets about his actions during Sunday’s detainment but called for the officer who restrained him to be taken off the force.
The Dolphins, however, have a very quick turnaround as they open up Week 2 action on Thursday night at home against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a big AFC East showdown.
The 30-year-old wide receiver added in his Wednesday comments that he hasn’t struggled in preparation for Thursday’s game as he’s been able to separate football and his detainment.
“I’m not going to mix the two. I’m not going to take a knee. I’m not going to ask to defund the police. I’m not going to protest,” Hill told reporters. “I’m not going to do any of that when it comes to being inside of football because this is my therapy. Football is my therapy – this is how I get away from a lot of stuff. This is how I separate myself from past traumas in my life.”
Clash of the QB Titans: Burrow vs. Mahomes
The Bengals did not look great last week losing to the post-Belichick era New England Patriots – knocking thousands out of their eliminator pools – and now they have to go to Arrowhead Stadium to play Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Joe Burrow is actually one of the few quarterbacks with a winning record against Mahomes. He’s 3-1 all-time but Cincinnati lost the last matchup in the 2023 playoffs.
Burrow, however, has sparked panic among some Bengals fans on social media. The franchise QB missed the end of last season with a wrist injury and cameras caught the quarterback flexing his wrist during his subpar – for his standards – performance against the Patriots.
In particular, a moment Burrow appeared to be gingerly picking up a water bottle sparked speculation online about the nature of the injury, but the 27-year-old laughed off any injury concerns at a team press conference on Wednesday.
“I picked it up weird?” he asked the assembled journalists. “I don’t know. I drank water. Can’t say I have seen that or know what anyone is talking about.”
Burrow added: “It feels great, feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before, so it’s continuing to do better.”
The Bengals will be motivated to not go 0-2 in this one, but Mahomes, Travis Kelce and company took it personally when the Bengals called the Chiefs’ stadium “Burrowhead” a few years ago.
Never good to give the best QB in the game extra motivation. Plus, Taylor Swift will likely be there and the Chiefs are 10-3 overallwhen she shows up.
Will Tom Brady find his groove in the booth?
Tom Brady’s first game in the broadcast booth didn’t get rave reviews.
The joke on X, formerly known as Twitter, was that Brady is clearly not the GOAT of broadcasting, but who has ever become the greatest of something after one attempt? Brady needs reps. He has succeeded at everything he’s put his mind to – which includes winning a record seven Super Bowl rings – and there’s no reason to think this will be any different.
Brady and the FOX A-team are in Texas calling the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Feeling 22 on Sunday Night Football
It’s the battle of 22-year-old quarterbacks in Houston on Sunday Night Football.
Top overall pick Caleb Williams will play his very first road game with the Chicago Bears, taking on reigning offensive rookie of the year CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans.
Both teams got wins in Week 1 – Chicago made a comeback against the Tennessee Titans 24-17 and Houston eked out a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts – and both teams have huge expectations this season; some have the Texans winning it all, including me. Will Williams rebound after a rough Week 1 where he was bailed out by the defense?
He’ll need to if ‘Da Bears’ hope to match wits with the high-powered Texans offense.
Monday night’s Battle of the Birds
The Philadelphia Eagles are back from Brazil and will be on nine days of rest when they host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.
New Philly running back Saquon Barkley’s debut could not have gone better, racking up 132 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns in the win over the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo. Giants fans did not like seeing that.
The Falcons, on the other hand, are coming off a very disappointing 18-10 opening week loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
New addition quarterback Kirk Cousins was supposed to make the Falcons fly high, but instead they stuttered with just 226 yards of offense. That was fourth-worst in the league in Week 1 behind only the Bengals, Panthers and Bears.
It’s not a must-win game, but if the Falcons lose this one, they may be staring 0-3 in the face with Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 3.
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