If you’re a fan of the “defending champions,” it’s been a rough start to the 2026 NFL season. Sunday’s first game was the highest-scoring first half, the first time a team has scored at least 24 points in a first half in more than 30 years, and the all-time highest scoring Week 1 game. The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers combined for 96 (!) points.
791 combined points in all 16 games The 2012 record has set a lot of points He scored in the first week of the season. It made for a hell of a show, but it posed as many questions as answers to predict performances. But the show goes on, and this week’s slate offers serious plot twists for many of the team’s second acts.
Our NFL staff made their picks for Week 2. Let’s go across the board and then look at the five games that had the most disagreement among the picks.
Week 2 NFL picks
Vikings in the bear
Selection of employees; 7-1 Bears
The Minnesota Vikings’ new era lasted all of 11 plays before Carson Wentz returned to center, and just as everyone predicted, the 33-year-old journeyman rallied from a 22-10 lead late in the third quarter to win 39-22 against the Green Bay Packers.
We all expected it, didn’t we? Considering he’s the only one riding in Minnesota this week, Chad Graf probably did. This is a guarantee of the best accurate temperature. That means the Vikes either beat the Bears with a recently-shocked Kyler Murray (who threw an unforgivable pick last week) at center — or Wentz putting together two improbable starts.
Chicago’s defense is a mess, but it’s a stretch to believe Wentz can repeat that level of excellence. Maybe that’s a vote of confidence in Brian Flores, the size of a truly psychotic blitz — on 78.3 percent of his pass plays, per Next Gen Stats — that won the day in Minnesota last week. And while Packers quarterback Jordan Love has done an impressive job, when a QB is loaded on 50 percent of his drops, it’s only a matter of time before things fall apart.
The big question is how willing Flores is to repeat his onslaught against the Bears, who became just the fourth team this decade to score 59 or more points in a game. Chicago has Caleb Williams, one of the league’s best in sacks and turnovers last season, and he has the arm to make any throw down the field out of shape. For all of Minnesota’s rushing success, the Vikings averaged 3.2 yards per receiver, something an offense led by Williams and Ben Johnson will certainly exploit.
The Bears are a much bigger threat on Earth than the Packers. Chicago has now tripled the number of times in franchise history before rushing for 280 or more yards in a game under Johnson three times – and 154 of those yards came rushing outside the tackle.
You, Mr. Graf, but Chicago is undefeated at home to Minnesota twice in two years.
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Austin Mock
Robbers on chargers
Selection of employees; 7-1 Battery chargers
You might think that Larry Holder is a moron to go with the Las Vegas Raiders, but what if he’s a dreamer? The Raiders opened up their all-around run creatively, looked surprisingly competent in the red zone, and Clint Kubiak showed more play-calling creativity than the team has seen in 10 years. Better yet, they weren’t gimmicky, which meant they were repeatable.
Add in how bad the Los Angeles Chargers looked in Week 1, and it’s hard to blame Larry for leaning toward optimism. But the Chargers are much better roster-wise — the Raiders are still underpowered in the passing game, and history has it that Mike McDaniel’s offense happens when reps add up. And while the Raiders have a better defense than a year ago, there are still too many question marks to believe the Dolphins can handle the Chargers the way they did.
I’ll say this to Larry’s Hail Mary: LA still has interior linebackers who regularly push into Justin Herbert’s lap, and Vegas flashed a pass rush that could work again this week. If the Chargers can’t get the best of their new-look offense at home this week, it could take the Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty long enough to make this closer than it should be.
Bengals in Texas
Selection of employees; 6-2 Texas
Opponents unite! Graff and Holder are like Thelma and Louise, who finally find a T-Bird and can ride off a cliff together.
It was great to see the Cincinnati Bengals show up in Week 1. And For the first time in recent memory, we have a passing NFL defense, but let’s take a look at the facts:
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost four fumbles.
- Those easy rebounds added up to +22.5 points saved and a +38.7% win chance for the Bengals.
- The final score was still 33-27.
The Bengals are off to a slow start — a fact reinforced by the fact that Joe Burrow’s 89.5 passer rating was the second-highest in Week 1 — but that’s the confidence of Chad and Larry on the road against Cincy. If you turn three fumbles into a 21-3 lead and need a fiery fourth quarter drive to survive a Bucs comeback, you haven’t exactly written the history of your defense.
The Houston Texans lost to the Buffalo Bills in a heartbreaker, but they still had plenty of first downs, third downs and fourth downs and were better than rushing Buffalo by a wide margin. Houston’s defense is light-years more dangerous than Tampa Bay’s and focuses on Cincinnati’s kryptonite: quick QB pressure and tight coverage in the secondary. At home, the techniques should be pure love.
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Jaguars at Broncos
Selection of employees; 6-2 Broncos
Lawrence, Chadwick, you guys are absolutely sick. Real maniacs. Two people who have never seen a popular opinion will never come back. And in this situation, the only two healthy people in the room can be.
Did anyone watch the Denver Broncos on Monday night? They seem to know football in real time. If you told me Bo Nick was drawing plays with his arm in his arms, I’d believe you. The Chiefs looked sloppy in the passing game and still outplayed the Broncos. The Jacksonville Jaguars offense, by contrast, looks smoother than silk-wrapped satin.
Trevor Lawrence averaged 10.5 air yards per attempt and still had a 69.2 success rate. A third of his passes went 15 or more yards, and most were perfect darts. Did you know he was the No. 1 quarterback in fantasy football since Week 9 of last season?
The Jags also rushed for 126 yards in Week 1, and while it’s tempting to point that out against Cleveland, it’s important to remember that the Browns still have talent on defense (without Myles Garrett).
Chad and Larry may be opposites, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. The Jags’ offense looks better than the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, their defense is capable, and the Broncos look lost.
Huge on the Rams
Selection of employees; 7-1 Ram
“The Rams Super Team (August 2026 – September 2026) is here.”
It causes jet lag He can’t It may have been hacked. Who knew?
Despite the terrible start to the season, it’s understandable why the best are flowing in one direction. Garrett is out for the next four weeks, but the Los Angeles Rams defense was still pretty good before he got there, even with Jared Quote. They also have Aaron Donald, and until he gets another confirmation, that person is still the most terrible thing on two legs (although it should be noted that the team has not officially confirmed the level for the week).
Their offensive line blew the ball away from the San Francisco 49ers early in last week’s game, which is good for what the Rams could do if they weren’t distracted from their international travel schedule.
But it seems that Steven Louis Goldstein is the only one who has definitely watched a New York Giants game.
Jackson Dart was the most controlled and efficient passer against Dallas, posting a 73 percent punt return success rate. Instead of leaning into it Uncle Rico Trends — who admittedly made some great plays — took small, measured bites all game for the second-year QB, who was always ready to take thanks to the scheme. He ran with purpose rather than abandon, and his designed runs were effective and reliable. The result was that the Dallas Cowboys touched the ball twice in the second half while the Giants went 9-for-11 on third downs.
The Rams are the better team on paper, but their offense still showed vulnerabilities in Australia on third-and-medium and third-and-long. New York was top-seven in the EPA last season in third-and-intermediate yards, and 10th in sacks on third-and-long. The Giants allowed the seventh-fewest yards before connecting on the run, so the Rams’ success up front will be an even tougher struggle.
If the Giants control the ball and force Matthew Stafford into third-down scrambles, the 7.5-point spread seems too generous, and Mr. Goldstein’s inbox will be full of excuses.
