NFL Teams Facing Biggest Questions in Week 2

Week 1 in the NFL is always an eye-opener. We make our best guesses as to which teams are good and which teams aren’t. But until there are games that actually matter, it’s only a guess. Week 1 confirms many of those guesses – the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are great, the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants are terrible – but it also raises new questions.

New York Jets (-4) at Tennessee Titans

Are the New York Jets really a playoff team? On paper, the roster looks stacked. But on the field, the offense looked pedestrian, and Aaron Rodgers looked immobile.

It was only one game, and it was against a great team. But New York lost to the 49ers, 32-19, and it should have been a bigger margin. San Francisco outgained the Jets on the ground, 180 to 68, and it was the 49ers who were missing their star running back.

At the Tennessee Titans, the Jets should win. But will they look good enough to justify their ranking as the sixth-most likely team to win the AFC (+900)? 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions (-7.5)

The Detroit Lions are who we thought they were – a legitimate Super Bowl contender. But we’re not sure just how good the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are. The favorites in the NFC South are the Atlanta Falcons (+160) and the New Orleans Saints (+180), even though the Buccaneers have won the division in each of the last three years.

Baker Mayfield was supposed to come back to earth this season, now that his quarterback whisperer is the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Instead, Mayfield led all NFL quarterbacks in Week 1 with four touchdown passes. He completed 80% of his passes to seven different receivers, and the Bucs looked great in beating the Washington Commanders, 37-20.

Are the Buccaneers good enough to win a fourth-straight division title?

Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)

The Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars both face questions heading into Week 2. For the Browns, it’s all about Deshaun Watson, and if he should remain their starting quarterback. He faces more accusations of sexual assault, and as a football player, he has become a liability.

Watson finished Week 1 with a success rate of 23.3%, which ranked dead last among 31 quarterbacks that played at least 25 snaps. His adjusted expected points added (EPA) per play was also last among NFL quarterbacks. How long before we see Jameis Winston?

For the Jaguars, it’s time to start finishing the games they should win – like in Week 1, when Jacksonville did almost everything needed to beat the Miami Dolphins, but still lost it in the end. Down the stretch last season, they let winnable games turn into losses against the Bengals, Browns, and Titans, and any one of those wins would have put them in the playoffs.

So far in 2024, it’s the same old story.

Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (-6)

At no point last Sunday did the Cincinnati Bengals look like the superior team against the New England Patriots. We think they are better, and loads better. We think they are a playoff team, and perhaps a Super Bowl team. But for the first 60 minutes of the season, they did not play like it.

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said this week that the Bengals are the “team to beat” in the AFC. No, they aren’t, unless he means they are the team that anyone can beat, including the lowly Patriots.

Two years ago, the Bengals went to the AFC Championship Game after starting 0-2. But 1-1, and with a win over the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, will put them back in the middle of the Super Bowl conversation.

Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5)

Is Kirk Cousins fully healthy? Is it even realistic to think that a 36-year-old coming off an Achilles tear can get back to “fully healthy?” Is this Philadelphia Eagles team going to be as good in North America as it looked in South America?

Before the season began, the Eagles were the third betting favorite to win the NFC, trailing the 49ers and Lions. After winning in impressive fashion in Brazil, they are second now, ahead of Detroit and paying +475.

Saquon Barkley was outstanding, and the team looked just as good as two years ago, when it went to the Super Bowl. But sometimes, results in international games can be deceiving. Repeat the performance in Philadelphia on Monday night, and we’re believers.

We were told to believe in this new Falcons offense. Finally, they added a good quarterback. They have a new play caller. They were going to lean on the weapons of Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. 

Instead, Robinson averaged just 3.8 yards per rush, London had just two catches for 15 yards, and Pitts was targeted just three times. Cousins finished the game with his lowest QBR since 2022.

The Falcons are still +160 favorites to win the NFC South. But that won’t last if they keep playing like this.