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<\/p>\nYou\u2019re not playing football until October, as Bill Belichick once said. With the modern preseason status quo, that\u2019s never been truer. NFL teams across the league are discovering who they are in real time, in games that count, and the week-to-week performances reflect the learning curve. Several teams have performed Jekyll and Hyde routines through two games, but certain early surprises have repeated enough that it could be time to take them at face value. Here\u2019s a look at some of the biggest about-faces, along with what seems to be holding true headed into Week 3.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s staff picks for all 16 games are at the bottom.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd01Whiplash\ud83d\udd01Russell Wilson, professional heaver<\/p>\n
At this point in his career, Wilson\u2019s primary value proposition at quarterback is his uncanny ability to conjure deep ball magic. After a truly uninspiring Week 1, where he finished 27th in air yards per attempt (5.7) and 30th in deep pass percentage, the 36-year-old unleashed a redemption performance in Week 2. A sampler platter:<\/p>\n
Wilson threw for 450 yards, tallying 12.7 air yards per attempt and leading all quarterbacks in deep throws. Eleven of his 41 passes went 20 or more yards in the air, which once again turned a presumed dud of a game into a thriller. Looking at the passing charts, it\u2019s pretty clear the Giants wanted to get as stylistically far away from their season opener as they could:<\/p>\n
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In the process, they may have found their best chance at competing this season.<\/p>\n
Oh no, we\u2019re the Jets again!\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York regressed in everything, everywhere, all at once. Justin Fields stockholders are in shambles, as not only was he knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, but the stat sheet barely indicates he was there at all. Three completions (only one to a wideout) on 11 attempts, 27 yards and a passer rating of 39.6. His EPA per dropback was -1.01. For anyone who doesn\u2019t know, \u201cEPA\u201d is Expected Points Added \u2014 meaning every time Fields dropped back to pass, the Jets lost a point off their predicted point total.<\/p>\n
Gang Green gave up 70 yards on missed tackles and managed only eight pressures on 30 Josh Allen dropbacks while taking 2.86 seconds for that pressure to arrive. Only six other teams took longer to pressure the quarterback, and the second-slowest among them were the Bills, which makes Fields\u2019 day look even worse. Breece Hall was very nearly outrushed by two QBs on his own team, outgaining backup Tyrod Taylor by a mere eight yards. In terms of \u201ccoming down to Earth,\u201d this was an extinction-level impact, and anyone who didn\u2019t day trade Jets players in fantasy better earmark Week 4 against the Dolphins as the next and perhaps final sell-high moment.<\/p>\n
Phew, we\u2019re still the Lions<\/p>\n
It turns out Ben Johnson was, in fact, what Detroit\u2019s offense was missing. Certainly, the return to form wasn\u2019t all fueled by revenge against their former coordinator \u2014 the Bears defense is injured, undermanned and most importantly NOT the Packers defense \u2014 but it sure felt like the Lions made it their business to show everyone the musicians make the orchestra, not the conductor:<\/p>\n
That was Detroit\u2019s playcall on fourth-and-goal, while they were up 45-21 with eight minutes to go. Yes, Dan Campbell likes to go for the throat on fourth down. In this case, though, the Bears didn\u2019t have anything resembling a throat remaining. That there was a message that the band plays on.<\/p>\n
The 52-point symphony eased everyone\u2019s concerns. The box score was tremendous, the fantasy stats and prop bet overs were delicious, but more important was the proof that the Lions could still get down like that. You can wave away a bad week when your opponent reveals a jack-in-the-box surprise elite defense, but then you need to put a bad defense on its back.<\/p>\n
Lions ball carriers posted an astounding 3.55 yards before contact per carry, and their passing game picked up 163 yards after the catch. Jared Goff was never sacked and was pressured just six times all afternoon. Their Week 3 opponent, Baltimore, has thus far been 20th in pressure rate and allowed the fifth-most yards after the catch. Detroit is a 32.5 points per game team through two weeks, which is almost exactly what they averaged in 2024 (33.2).<\/p>\n
\u27a1\ufe0fHolding Steady\u2b05\ufe0fJalen Hurts does not do in-between<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s always offseason talk about Philadelphia opening up the pass game and moving beyond their souped-up wildcat scheme, the league\u2019s defenses have yet to necessitate such a change from the defending champs. Jalen Hurts is free to do what he does best, which is demoralize teams with his legs, release a barrage of relentlessly effective short passes and uncork a deep ball once those first two things have lulled the defense into complacency:<\/p>\n
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Hurts has thrown 45 passes this season. Forty of those have traveled less than 10 yards in the air. The other five? More than 20 yards in the air. He has not thrown a single intermediate pass. Last season, he attempted 75, but three of his five interceptions came on those throws. Perhaps the Eagles took a look at ROI and decided if they\u2019re going to throw past the sticks, it might as well be for all the marbles. Given that the Eagles are 2-0 and never looked threatened in either win, don\u2019t expect that to suddenly change.<\/p>\n
Miami is lost\u00a0<\/p>\n
In defense of the Dolphins, the on-field product improved to reach minimum acceptable standards, but there\u2019s still a vast gulf between success and their present state. For example, take the fourth-quarter stretch that ultimately doomed their Week 2 effort. After De\u2019Von Achane had a long TD called off because he stepped out of bounds, Miami strung together a sequence of mistakes that good teams simply don\u2019t make when down three points in the final minutes. A delay of game, an incompletion, a false start, a short pass, a sack and an interception. Between the playcalling, lack of execution and absence of situational awareness, they hit dysfunction bingo. It\u2019s bad practice to react to early spreads, but Buffalo being favored by 12.5 at home seems conservative given that Miami\u2019s biggest achievement through two weeks has been being on time and in the correct city.<\/p>\n
Sir Daniel Stephen Jones III<\/p>\n