Biggest Plays of Week 2

One play can change a game; one game can change a season. That's just as true in Week 2 as it is in Week 18, so there's no reason to only start caring about close wins and losses at the end of the year. If your team blows a lead or has a clutch, come-from-behind victory in September, that might end up being the difference between winning the division and being a wild card – or staying home entirely.

Week 2 can still be misleading. Through two weeks in 2024, the New Orleans Saints looked like the team to beat, with a +62 point differential and a 2-0 record. They'd finish 5-12, and everybody got fired. Last year, the Chicago Bears started 0-2 and got absolutely destroyed by Detroit in Week 2; they'd go on to finish 11-6 and make the postseason anyway. Especially in the modern age, where teams often won't play their starters at all in preseason, the first couple weeks can fool you as teams round into shape.

But losses still count! Contrary to popular belief, starting 0-2 isn't actually any worse than losing two games in a row anywhere during a season, but losing a game because your defense is rusty or your quarterback and receivers aren't on the same page can cost you in January.

So which Week 2 might come back to haunt/help people when all is said and done? Let's look back.

Green Bay Packers 20, New York Jets 17

The Packers, with a Punt Return Game?

Hey, it turns out, signing an actual punt returner helps your punt return game. Who knew?

In a game the Jets probably should have won – they had a 78% Post Game Win Expectancy, based on how things actually unfolded – it took a few special things for Green Bay to actually come out on top. One of those special things? Actual, dedicated special teams play from Skyy Moore, brought in for just this purpose. Moore had 208 yards on kickoffs and punts against the Jets, including this 63-yarder that set Green Bay up for the game-tying field goal. Two weeks in, Moore leads the NFL in punt return yards and yards per punt return – a small sample size, but an effective one so far. Last year, the Packers had the fifth-worst punt returns in the league as part of their 21st-ranked special teams. Now, they're winning games because of it. Oh, what a world.

Aaron Glenn, Certified Genius

It doesn't show up as one specific play, but Aaron Glenn had a shocking final two minutes of regulation, with the score tied.

The decision to go for this – 4th-and-1 from midfield – was the right call. Make it, and you have a chance to gain 10 more yards and kick a potential game-winning field goal; miss and you still have a chance to stop the opponent in regulation. With 1:23 left and a pair of time outs, there's a lot you could do – going for it had to be the call here, and credit Glenn for doing that.

The playcall is more questionable. Why are you running out of shotgun, changing it from need to move one yard to having to run six to pick up the first? If Geno Smith is too old to effectively sneak, then line someone else there and plow forwards. Admittedly, Breece Hall had been stuffed the play before, but I still like my chances on Hall on a short dive than trying Braelon Allen out of the shotgun – when the game's on the line, put your best player in a position to make a play.

But that, at least is debatable – Glenn is far from the only coach to line up in shotgun in a must-have short yardage situation, and maybe they were hoping the Packers would back off and respect the pass. What's more confusing is what happened after this. The Jets did get the stop they needed; Green Bay did not win in regulation. But rather than call one of their timeouts with 1:01 left and the Packers facing a 4th-and-5; Glenn let the Packers control the situation. That led to them running the clock down, taking a delay of game penalty, running the clock down even MORE, and getting a free Hail Mary shot out of things. Call the time out, and Green Bay almost assuredly punts it to you, and maybe you can make something happen with the last minute of the fourth quarter. Maybe that's just a draw play to see what happens and overtime anyway, but Glenn opted not to even give the Jets that change, and risk what happened in overtime.

What Happened in Overtime

What happened in overtime? The Jets go three-and-out, let Kaleb Johnson rip off a couple big runs, and then, on 2nd-and-7, Jordan Love hits Chris Brooks on a little checkdown – one that becomes a big gain after a bad tackle, and then a killer when Jarvis Brownlee slams Brooks to the ground out of bounds. The extra 15 yards put this one into field goal range, and the Packers win.

Look. I don't think this loss will ultimately be what keeps the Jets out of the playoffs; just look at them. But a 2-0 Jets team at least is worth raising an eyebrow at. And they had this one, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in the process. The Jets are not good enough to afford to lose games this way!

And speaking of teams which really can't afford to let winnable games go the wrong way...

Philadelphia Eagles 24, Tennessee Titans 20

A 14-Point Swing

It's rare a first-quarter play is big enough to make one of these lists, but a 14-point swing on a 90+ yard return will do that. The Eagles' first drive against Tennessee could hardly have gone worse, first with Saquon Barkley heading to the sideline with a stinger and then Jalen Hurts hitting Amani Hooker square in the chest, with Hooker finding a lane to the outside and nearly taking it all the way to paydirt. Hurts would bounce back from this – more on that in a moment – but this was an awful throw.

Tyjae Spears Doesn't Give Up

Not a lot of plays for 3rd-and-22. This really wasn't one of them, either – a little handoff to the outside, maybe getting a few extra yards for the field goal. Instead, Tyjae Spears rushes around the edge, the Titans pick up the miracle first down, and are in business to end this game on their terms.

Those terms, apparently, are Cam Ward taking a bad sack, two runs into the line which go nowhere but do waste Philadelphia's last two timeouts, and the field goal they would have kicked anyway. Ah. Nevertheless, the Eagles now have two minutes and no time outs to drive into range for a score – one defensive stop for Robert Saleh's men, and they get a hard-fought win! What are the odds Jalen Hurts leads a comeback?

Jalen Hurts Leads a Comeback

65 yards in nine plays, with Hurts hitting Dontayvion Wicks and DeVonta Smith for big gains. In fact, this was a LOT of Hurts to Smith, with Smith getting targeted on half of the plays on this drive, before Hurts found Darius Cooper for what ended up being the game-winner. This was Hurts' eighth fourth-quarter comeback since 2023, second-most in the league. This was not a pretty game, by any stretch of the imagination - he had second, fairly bad interception on the drive before this. But when the chips were down, Hurts looked comfortable and in control, and the Eagles are 2-0 as a result.

Minnesota Vikings 9, Chicago Bears 3

No Touchdown For You

Brian Flores' defense played great, but the Bears still probably 'should' have had more than three points. But Jalen Redmond makes a fantastic play here, punching the ball out of D'Andre Swift's hands as he races for what may have well been the game-winning touchdown; it's not like Minnesota was likely to get to double-digit points.

Full credit to the entire Vikings defensive line here, actually – Dominique Orange and Levi Drake Rodriguez just whip Chicago's offensive line from the word go, allowing Redmond to get into the backfield and pull off the Peanut Punch. In Soldier Field, no less!

Make That No Points, Period.

Isaiah Rodgers, crashing off the edge, coming in to block the game-tying field goal? Just part of a great game for him; he recovered a fumble, too. The Vikings offense has been...terrible this year, but that defense, man. To take a team that scored 59 points a week ago and limit them to three? I know some of that was against Tyson Bagent, but Caleb Williams a) played a bunch of the game, and b) is not worth 59 points by himself.

A hell of a game, and as a result, the Vikings are technically in first place in the conference at the moment. Thanks to the points scored/points allowed tiebreaker. Allowing just three points? Pretty good.

Las Vegas Raiders 26, Los Angeles Chargers 14

Hampton's Fumble Shuts Down the Chargers

The Chargers are 0-2 and now face the hardest remaining schedule in the league, according to DVOA.

...I still think the offense will eventually figure itself out, but maybe not before the hole they dig is too big to get out of. This offense just is not there at all. Justin Herbert does not look remotely comfortable, the timing is off everywhere, and Mike McDaniel has no answers early. Herbert may not be the Greatest Quarterback of All Time like Jim Harbaugh wants you to believe, but a Herbert-led offense should look better than this.

Cleveland Browns 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19

As Rare as a Lightning Strike

Cleveland...wins a football game? And deservedly, shutting the Buccaneers down most of the day? Huh.

This probably hurts the Bucs more than it helps the Browns, considering where we think both teams are going. We don't expect the NFC South to have a super-high win total, but still, you can't be losing games to the Browns and expecting to make the postseason. The Packers and Steelers managed to pull off that feat last year, so it's not impossible, but this is a game the Bucs surely had circled as a near-certain win.

At least, I did. This was my Survivor pick. Sassafrassa Buccaneers.