Lions Are Just Fine Without Ben Johnson, and What Else We’re Learning in Week 2

The highlight of Week 2 was, of course, the Super Bowl rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs, and in the end, the reigning champs pulled out a three-point victory. But Sunday also brought us several other intriguing matchups, as Ben Johnson returned to Detroit, the Giants and Cowboys played a barn-burner in Big D and No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward threw his first NFL touchdown, one that has to be seen to be believed. 

We’ve got you covered across the league. FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the lessons we’re learning from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward. 

Eagles: Not surprisingly, a rookie made a key play on defense.

This was a grind of a game with no big leads, no long-distance plays and a single turnover, so you have to start there. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs were driving, well in range for a tying field goal and threatening to take the lead with a touchdown. The pass went from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce at the goal line, but it popped out of the tight end’s hands, and into the hands of rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, who returned it to the 41, setting up a touchdown for Philadelphia.

The Eagles have shown they have no hesitation to throwing rookies into the fire on defense, and Mukuba, the final pick of the second round, made his first splash play in the NFL a huge one, easily the turning point in the game for the reigning Super Bowl champs.

Chiefs: It’s early, but these don’t look like the same Chiefs.

It’s only two losses, both close and to strong opponents, but the Chiefs’ 0-2 start is only fanning the flames of offseason concerns that their dynastic run could be coming to an end. Five Super Bowls in six years with three championships is remarkable, but Sunday’s loss to the Eagles featured familiar faces unable to pull off the same late-game heroics. Patrick Mahomes got a touchdown late to cut the lead to three, but that deficit came after a goal-line pass bounced off Travis Kelce for a game-changing interception.

If last year’s Chiefs could win one-score games so consistently, this could be the next small step backward — able to play with the league’s best teams, but not win as often. As their receivers get healthy, the offense will improve, but the early results suggest these aren’t the same Chiefs in 2025. — Greg Auman

Bears: Forget the offense, what’s up with this Chicago defense?

We knew in May that Chicago was getting two difficult divisional games to start the season, but the outcomes have been startling. First, the Bears allowed three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Vikings to blow a double-digit lead, and now they give up at least 10 points in every quarter of a 42-21 loss to the Lions. Detroit averaged 8.8 yards per play over an entire game.

Chicago’s next two games should be more winnable, hosting the Cowboys and playing at the Raiders. But seeing the Lions go 6-for-7 in the red zone says a lot about how easy this game was for Detroit, and that’s concerning for Dennis Allen and his defense. 

Lions: Detroit has Ben waiting for this one.

Do you think Detroit was motivated to show it could still put up points without Ben Johnson calling plays? Their old OC came back to Detroit with the Bears, and the Lions went off – 52 points and more than 500 yards of total offense. Big game for new Lions OC John Morton, who got five touchdown passes and 334 yards from Jared Goff in a cakewalk of a win. Goff had as many touchdowns as incompletions midway through the fourth quarter. 

It’s the first career three-touchdown game for receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who’d had two in a game three times. If you were worried about Detroit without Johnson or without All-Pro center Frank Ragnow, who retired, this was a “hey, we’re still here” statement after a lackluster loss in the opener against the Packers. — Greg Auman

Giants: Russell Wilson can still play, so Jaxson Dart will have to wait. 

The Giants really don’t want to play Dart this early in his rookie season, as much as they love everything they’ve seen about him so far. They want and expect Wilson to play well and recharge their offense. On Sunday in Dallas, he did, staking a big claim to the starting job by completing 30 of 41 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns — including the 48-yard game-tying TD to Malik Nabers in the final minute. Wilson got a ton of production out of the Giants’ two best receivers: Nabers (9 catches, 167 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Wan’Dale Robinson (8 catches, 142 yards, one touchdown). 

Brian Daboll has always believed his offense would work if only he had a capable quarterback. And running a competent offense is the best way for Daboll to get enough wins to keep his job. Developing Dart, the Giants’ Quarterback of the Future, can definitely wait if Wilson is going to keep playing like this. — Ralph Vacchiano

Cowboys: Dallas’ D is a disaster without Micah Parsons. 

Yes, Jerry Jones believes he somehow made his team better by trading Parsons to Green Bay for DT Kenny Clark and a bunch of draft picks. But the evidence sure isn’t on his side. The Cowboys gave up a ridiculous 506 total yards to arguably one of the most offensively challenged teams in the league. And Russell Wilson, who was a miserable 17-of-37 for 168 yards against Washington one week earlier, looked like he turned back the clock 10 years against the Cowboys. He lit them up for 450 passing yards and three touchdowns. 

It’s great that the defense came up with an overtime interception that allowed the Cowboys to escape with a win. But that doesn’t erase the fact that Wilson just stood in the pocket all day and picked apart their secondary. It wasn’t all just the absence of injured CB DaRon Bland. It was their inability to get to the quarterback through one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Maybe Parsons could’ve helped with that. — Ralph Vacchiano

49ers: And here you thought Mac Jones was finished.

You remember Mac Jones, right? There was a major question mark for San Francisco with Brock Purdy sidelined, but Jones came up big against the Saints: 26-for-39 for 279 yards and three touchdowns. It’s his fifth career three-touchdown game, somehow, and for the 49ers to be 2-0 with the injuries they’ve dealt with — no George Kittle today either — is what they’ll need to stay in the mix of a tough NFC West race. 

Jones was 4-14 as a starter the past two seasons, but any win he can muster while Purdy is sidelined is a major help for San Francisco. The division could have three 2-0 teams, with Arizona up next for San Francisco in Week 3.

Saints: And here you thought Tyler Shough should be starting for the Saints.

Is there hope for the Saints’ offense after all? With an offensive mind like Kellen Moore in charge, New Orleans really should take a step forward this season, but did anyone think it would come from Spencer Rattler? He had four touchdown passes total in his first seven NFL starts – all losses – but he broke loose for three on Sunday against the 49ers, with scoring strikes to Juwan Johnson, Rashid Shaheed and Devaughn Vele. It wasn’t enough to keep New Orleans from opening the year 0-2, but it’s a rare glimpse of promise on that side of the ball. — Greg Auman

Seahawks: Kenneth Walker had himself a day — Zach Charbonnet did not.

Walker was the Seahawks’ most consistent and reliable player in a game where that was exactly what the Seahawks needed. Sam Darnold made big plays, but he threw a pair of interceptions. Charbonnet might have had the worst day of his career, with 12 carries for 11 yards. But Walker made magic anytime he touched the football, with 13 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. 

And that touchdown basically put the game away. On a third-down, the Seahawks gave Walker the ball to better their field position for a likely field-goal attempt. Instead, he took it to the house and extended the lead. That was on a drive that featured Charbonnet heavily. Darnold couldn’t close it. Neither could Charbonnet. So in stepped Walker.

Steelers: Yes, Kaleb Johnson messed up, but so did Aaron Rodgers.

Surely, there will be a lot made of Johnson’s mistake in the return game. The rookie running back touched a kick and, not realizing he touched it or not knowing the rules, Johnson let the Seahawks recover his muffed return for a go-ahead touchdown. 

It flipped the momentum of the game. But you know what else did? Rodgers’ first interception in the red zone when the game was tied 14-14. And you know what else did? Rodgers’ second interception with 1:19 left in the game. Rodgers then went to scream at Calvin Austin, the intended target on the play. We should expect rookies to make mistakes. We should not expect veterans to. Let’s focus on Rodgers (and, perhaps, Austin’s) errors. And let’s not turn Johnson into the scapegoat. — Henry McKenna

Browns: Dillon Gabriel will be Cleveland’s QB1 sooner rather than later.

At least for now, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t considering a quarterback change. But Joe Flacco had two turnovers (one interception, one lost fumble) in Sunday’s humiliating loss, when Cleveland scored fewer than 20 points for the second straight week to start the season. He’s up to four giveaways already in 2025. Nothing about his play to this point has indicated that offense will improve with him under center. This clearly isn’t the same Flacco that came off his couch for Cleveland to win comeback player of the year two years ago. 

The Browns appear destined to take a quarterback in the 2026 draft. But there’s an increasing chance in the next few weeks that Stefanski will have to make a change at passer, and Gabriel — as a third-round pick — will get the first nod over Shedeur Sanders, who was taken in the fifth round. 

Ravens: Baltimore might have the NFL’s deepest group of wide receivers.

We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Ravens have offensive success thanks to their rushing attack and tight end-led receiving game. But Sunday’s thrashing of the division rival Browns was a reminder that Lamar Jackson has his best cast of wide receiver talent since he entered the NFL. No. 1 option Zay Flowers (75 receiving yards) is back healthy and 33-year-old DeAndre Hopkins (64) is showing that he’s still got some juice left in the tank. 

In addition to Hopkins, Jackson had touchdown throws Sunday to Devontez Walker (2) and Tylan Wallace (1) — the first time since 2019 he’s thrown at least four touchdown passes to wide receivers, per ESPN research. Baltimore also has Rashod Bateman, who didn’t play well vs. Cleveland but he has proven to be one of the league’s top depth receivers. Moving forward, this means a more potent and complete offense around Jackson as the Ravens hope to come out on top in a loaded AFC. — Ben Arthur

Patriots: Despite Mike Vrabel’s first win in New England, there’s work to do.

In a game that saw four lead changes — including back-to-back returns for touchdowns in a 12-second span — the Patriots twice forced an explosive Miami offense to turn the ball over on downs late to hold onto a 33-27 victory, Vrabel’s first as head coach of New England. It was the Patriots’ first win in Miami since 2019. They also had a little bit of luck, as De’Von Achane was ruled out of bounds on what would have been a go-ahead touchdown run for the Dolphins. Second-year QB Drake Maye played well for New England, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots also totaled 122 yards on the ground and finished with five sacks defensively.

However, Vrabel has things to clean up. New England had nine accepted penalties in Week 1 and another 12 for 75 yards against the Dolphins. And Patriots kicker Andres Boreales missed two extra points and failed to land a kickoff in the landing zone, resulting in the Dolphins getting the ball at the 40-yard line for a potential game-winning drive. While Vrabel got the victory, there’s still plenty to work on for Week 3.

Dolphins: Offense improved, but still lacks trademark explosiveness.

Tyreek Hill had not had a 30-plus yard catch in over a year. He ended that streak with a 49-yard reception on his way to totaling six catches for 109 yards against New England. Still, the Dolphins did not look like the dangerous offense head coach Mike McDaniel created when he first arrived in South Beach four years ago. Miami finished with four plays of 20-plus yards after a slow start for Tua Tagovailoa and the offense. 

In Miami’s embarrassing, season-opening loss on the road to the Indianapolis Colts, the Dolphins managed just two plays of 20-plus yards. Miami is 8-11 since the start of last season under McDaniel. And things don’t get any easier for the Dolphins, as they hit the road to face the Buffalo Bills on a short week this Thursday. — Eric D. Williams

Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence is a good reminder of why “game manager” is a compliment.

Lawrence struggles with situational awareness. He struggles with interceptions. He struggles with consistency. And he really hasn’t gotten that much better as an NFL QB since he entered the league. I’ve been saying all that for a while, and this game was yet another reminder. 

It’s just hard to count on Lawrence to take control of a football game, even when he’s in a QB duel — if that’s what you’d call this — against Jake Browning. I’ve long been a proponent of using “game manager” as a compliment. I would not pay Lawrence that compliment.

Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase is quarterback-proof.

This performance was reminiscent of DeAndre Hopkins from his days playing with Brock Osweiler (or whatever Joe the Houston Texans played at QB any given week). Some receivers need their QB1 to play their best. And Chase isn’t one of them. In fact, he might be better when he’s with a backup, in part because he knows his team will need him more. Though Joe Burrow left with a toe injury in the second quarter, Chase finished with 14 catches for 165 yards and one touchdown. And let’s not get mixed up: It was Chase (not Browning) who led the offense. — Henry McKenna

Rams: Puka Nacua and Davante Adams will be the NFL’s top WR tandem. 

The Titans’ defense isn’t particularly good, and it didn’t have one of its better players Sunday due to injury (defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat), but Puka Nacua and Davante Adams were unstoppable in the Rams’ convincing victory. Both had touchdowns — Nacua on a 45-yard sweep on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter; Adams had a 16-yard TD catch in the final period — and combined for more than 240 scrimmage yards.

Opposing defenses will have a difficult time covering one of them, let alone both. And Nacua is still ascending as a third-year pro. The 32-year-old Adams clearly still has juice left in the tank. That firepower Matthew Stafford has on the outside is why the Rams should remain one of the NFC’s top teams in 2025.

Titans: Cam Ward will deliver jaw-dropping moments throughout his career.

Ward’s first career touchdown pass was absurd. In a scramble drill in the first quarter, he rolled to his right and delivered a nine-yard pass across his body to fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor in the end zone. It’s the kind of play that reminded everyone why he was the No. 1 pick — and why the Titans are bullish on his upside as a true franchise quarterback. The spectacular play came against a Rams team that was a game away from the NFC Championship Game last year. 

His promising performance overall came a week after he also flashed against a Broncos defense that had arguably the NFL’s best defensive front in 2024. Ward has given every indication at this point that he is the kind of quarterback the Titans need, but it will be on the franchise to make sure plays like his first career touchdown are more than moments and can lead to sustainable success. — Ben Arthur

Bills: James Cook can carry the Bills when Josh Allen can’t. 

For most of Josh Allen’s first seven years in Buffalo, the Bills have basically gone as far the MVP QB could carry them. He has been a force of nature, and far too often a one-man show. But maybe that’s about to change, because it sure looks like Cook has a shot to be the best complementary weapon Allen has had in his career — certainly the best running back he’s played with so far. 

Cook dazzled against the Jets on Sunday, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. That included a highlight-reel, 44-yard touchdown run that probably should’ve ended behind the line of scrimmage. If Cook can give the Bills a dominant rushing attack, it might be the missing ingredient they need to get to the top of the AFC.

Jets: Justin Fields can’t be trusted. 

It was just one week ago that it looked like the Jets might actually have something in Fields, when he passed nearly as well as he ran in a narrow loss to the Steelers. But that was the Good Fields. On Sunday, the Bad Fields returned and reminded everyone why his career has stalled. He is maddeningly inconsistent. As good as he looked in Week 1, that’s how terrible he looked in Week 2, going a dismal 3-of-11 for just 27 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion. His day was filled with a slew of throws that were too high or too far behind his target. He also held the ball too long on more than one occasion. 

Yes, he can still run (5 carries, 49 yards), but as promising as his arm is, it’s just unreliable. He’s going to have some very good days, as he showed last week. But when the Jets signed him, they signed up for a nauseating roller-coaster ride. — Ralph Vacchiano

Broncos: With all that Super Bowl talk, did the Broncos get ahead of themselves? 

Let’s rewind for a second: It felt almost like the Broncos overlooked the Titans last week. Denver eked out an eight-point win, in part because of mistakes by Tennessee. It wasn’t totally a win on Denver’s merit. So this week, the Broncos … looked a bit like they overlooked the Colts, too. It’s just that this time, the Broncos lost. This Denver team was talking about winning a Super Bowl. That might still be possible. But they need to think about next week, when they face the Chargers on the road.

Colts: Where the heck did this version of Daniel Jones come from? 

OK, yeah, I know he came from New York. And, yeah, I know Colts coach Shane Steichen came up through the ranks as an offensive coach. I also know that some folks thought Jones could be the next Sam Darnold or Geno Smith or Baker Mayfield. But … I wasn’t one of them. Were you? Don’t lie. Were you really? 

Jones has been excellent at the head of this Colts offense, making good use of rookie tight end Tyler Warren, possession veteran recevier Michael Pittman Jr. and attacking over the top with receivers Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. If he keeps this up, Jones could very well save Steichen and GM Chris Ballard’s jobs. — Henry McKenna

Panthers: Carolina needs others to elevate play around Bryce Young.

The third-year quarterback took a step in development last season, when he appeared to be on the road to maturing into a legitimate franchise quarterback. However, after Carolina traded his security blanket, Adam Thielen back, to the Minnesota Vikings, the Panthers didn’t do much to make the game easier for the Alabama product.

First-round pick Tateroia McMillan (6 catches, 100 receiving yards) makes plays, but it’s tough for a rookie to immediately serve as a team’s No. 1 receiver. Running back Chuba Hubbard, the team’s best player on offense, has been unable to generate yards consistently in the ground game. Defensively, the Panthers allow 26.5 points a contest and have generated just two turnovers through the first two games. For Young to have long-term success, the Panthers need more playmakers on offense and a defense that can take the ball away, allowing Carolina to play more complementary football.

Cardinals: Arizona remains unbeaten, but sloppy play will eventually haunt this team.

Credit the Cardinals for jumping out to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2021, when they made the playoffs. Arizona forced two turnovers, scored a defensive touchdown and held the Panthers to 49 yards on the ground. However, up 18 points midway through the third quarter and in control of the game, Arizona allowed the Panthers to get back into it. The comeback started with an ill-advised Kyler Murray interception and included the Panthers recovering a rare onside kick, giving them a chance to go on a game-winning drive.

Making matters worse, the Cardinals had three defensive penalties that extended that drive for Carolina. But graybeard Calias Campbell came to Arizona’s rescue, sacking Bryce Young to seal the victory. The 39-year-old defensive tackle finished with five combined tackles and two sacks. After wins over two of the worst teams in football, Arizona faces its toughest test this season on the road in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals will have to play cleaner football to get a win on the road against a tough NFC West foe. — Eric D. Williams

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!