In Italian soccer, there is a commonly held belief that ‘August is a liar’. As undercooked players and newly formed teams build towards mid-season, spectacular results or terrible performances cannot be seen as a blueprint for future performance.

A similar train of thought has taken root in the NFL. September is often seen as an extension of preseason football. With fewer sessions in pads and stars rested ahead of ‘nut-crunching’ time, September action is often deemed sloppy by veteran stars and media personalities.

If Week 2 of the 2025 season was full of lies, they have to be some of the most beguiling untruths ever told. The early slate saw a titanic battle between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, other one-score games and exhilarating action. Later in the day, the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs was perhaps closer than expected, while J.J. McCarthy’s performance for the Vikings against Atlanta saw the young signalcaller come crashing back to earth after his late-game heroics in Week 1.

We cast our eye over the best action from Week 2, and take a look at the players, coaches and hangers-on that saw their stock fluctuate over a frenetic September Sunday.

***

WEEK 2 SCORES
(excl. Monday 15th Sept)

Thursday

Washington Commanders 18 @ Green Bay Packers 27

Sunday

New York Giants 37 @ Dallas Cowboys 40 OT

Seattle Seahawks 31 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 17

Los Angeles Rams 33 @ Tennessee Titans 19

Buffalo Bills 30 @ New York Jets 10

New England Patriots 33 @ Miami Dolphins 27

Jacksonville Jaguars 27 @ Cincinnati Bengals 31

San Francisco 49ers 26 @ New Orleans Saints 21

Cleveland Browns 17 @ Baltimore Ravens 41

Chicago Bears 21 @ Detroit Lions 52

Denver Broncos 28 @ Indianapolis Colts 29

Carolina Panthers 22 @ Arizona Cardinals 27

Philadelphia Eagles 20 @ Kansas City Chiefs 17

Atlanta Falcons 22 @ Minnesota Vikings 6

***

GAME OF THE WEEK

New York Giants 37 @ Dallas Cowboys 40 OT

Sunday’s matchup between two of the NFL’s ‘Tiffany’ franchises was the first to be played in the 1pm ET window since 2005. Perhaps the broadcasters were turned off by last season’s Week 4 match-up between the Cowboys and G-men, a primetime affair which generated just 35 points and 596 yards of total offense.

That effort was eclipsed in the fourth quarter alone on Sunday. The final 15 minutes of regulation were a blur of deep throws, spectacular catches, miraculous field goals and breathless back-and-forth action that saw four lead changes. That isn’t to say the first three quarters weren’t spectacular but, for brevity’s sake, we’ll have to limit our focus to the denouement.

The fourth quarter opened with a 44-yard field goal for Brandon Aubrey, extending the home side’s lead to 20-16. Russell Wilson marshalled the first of three go-ahead drives shortly after, hitting Wan’Dale Robinson deep down the field to set up a one-yard Cam Skattebo score, the first touchdown of the rookie back’s career.

Dak Prescott was far more methodical, taking six minutes to push the ball down the field. Again, the telling blow was landed on the ground, with Miles Sanders finding paydirt from four yards out. Wilson again replied, this time connecting with Robinson for a 32-yard score, but, when Prescott found George Pickens in the Giants endzone with just 52 seconds on the clock, it seemed Dallas had pipped their rivals.

Not so fast. A patented Wilson ‘moonball’ 48 yards to a stretching Malik Nabers sent the watching public’s blood pressure soaring. Nabers cut a frustrated figure during last week’s loss to the Commanders but, here, he was invigorated, logging a final stat-line of nine catches for 167 yards and two scores.

There was still time on the clock, however, and the Cowboys’ not-so-secret-weapon Aubrey was positioned for a 64-yard tying field goal, forcing the game to overtime. Both offenses struggled for consistency in the additional period. After three possessions apiece, former soccer player-cum-software-engineer-cum-superstar-kicker Aubrey nailed a 46-yard game winner in the dying embers.

The league’s broadcasting partners will be hoping these teams are sniffing around the postseason come Week 18, when they do battle again. If this game is anything to go by, it will be box office.

***

MVP OF THE WEEK

Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts)

Two MVPs from two weeks for Danny Dimes. Who would have thought?

The much-maligned signalcaller has led the Colts to their first 2-0 start since 2009, when a certain Peyton Manning led the franchise to the Super Bowl.

Down 28-20 at the end of the third quarter, Jones led his offense to three-straight field goal drives, sealing a come-from-behind victory that looked like it was slipping away from Indy. Granted, the home team were bailed out on a controversial leverage penalty which advanced Spencer Shrader from a 60-yard effort to a far more make-able shot from 45, but the rookie kicker still had to hold up his side of the bargain.

Jones’ clutch performance down the stretch followed a steady-handed display to the tune of 316 passing yards, a passing touchdown as well as a rushing score. Shane Steichen’s decision to start Jones over the erratic Anthony Richardson looks to have unlocked a Colts roster that has under-performed since the unexpected retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019.

***

Winner: Dan Campbell

The NFC North match-up between the Bears and Lions served as something of a referendum on Dan Campbell’s coaching chops. After losing Ben Johnson to the Bears and Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets — who also squirrelled away Johnson’s presumed successor Tanner Engstrand to Gang Green — Campbell needed a statement win over his former colleague.

Under the pencil of new OC John Morton, the Lions generated 511 yards of total offense, good for 8.8 yards per play. Detroit looked balanced and efficient. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 151 yards and two scores on 23 carries; Jared Goff was faultless in tossing five touchdowns, three of which were snaffled by Amon-Ra St.Brown. After a stilted offensive performance in Green Bay, the Lions have laid down a marker in the NFC North and to the wider conference. They are still a force to be reckoned with.

Loser: Travis Kelce

There is something deeply ironic about me, a jobbing freelance writer with little athletic prowess, calling Travis Kelce a ‘loser’. By every single metric, the future Hall-of-Famer is a winner, but it is time to call a spade a spade: Kelce is not the same force on the field.

Just this past week, he admitted fault in injuring team-mate Xavier Worthy when he was too shallow on a crossing route in the Chiefs opening week loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and, on Sunday, was filmed venting his frustration on the sideline in the Chiefs 20-17 home loss to the Eagles; a slow-motion shot capturing the future Mr Swift shouting “I’m tired of this sh*t” after another drop. In the third quarter, with the Chiefs in the red zone and trailing by just three points, Kelce dropped a surefire touchdown, parrying the ball into the hands of rookie safety Andrew Mukuba for a back-breaking interception.

With Rashee Rice’s suspension, Worthy’s layoff and Kelce’s diminishing powers, Patrick Mahomes seems to understand that he will need to operate in postseason mode for the entirety of the 2025 season. The three-time Super Bowl MVP made plays with his feet, and looked for deep connections to Tyquan Thornton on a regular basis; connecting on a 48-yard score moments after missing the receiver on an almost-identical playcall. The Chiefs are up against it at 0-2, the first time they have failed to win one of their first two games since Andy Reid’s first season at Arrowhead.

Winner: Tush Push truthers

It seems the NFL is essentially attempting to shadow ban the Eagles’ signature play. Multiple uncalled false starts, neutral zone infractions and questionable spots in the week’s marquee match-up spoke of a laissez-faire attitude to a problem play that Park Avenue would simply rather just go away.

NFL on Fox’s rules analyst, and former head of officiating for the Shield, Dean Blandino pretty much admitted the zebras are worn out with the Brotherly Shove. It appears after the owners failed to ban the play in the offseason, the new working theory is to make us all so apathetic towards the throng of bodies and Jalen Hurts’ one-yard gains that we eventually call for it to be axed.

Cards on the table, I’m an Eagles fan. Even I, someone that yearns for a 4th-and-1 on almost every drive, would be happy to see the play consigned to history. Only if it means I don’t have to listen to colour commentators erroneously compare the play to a ‘rugby scrum’ 15 times per broadcast.

Loser: Cincinnati Bengals

Has Joe Burrow come out on the wrong side of a Faustian deal with the devil? The quarterback was one of the few star players to appear regularly in the preseason in the hope he and the Bengals could reverse their early-season woes of the past few years.

Yes, the Bengals are 2-0, but at what cost? Burrow came up lame after a seemingly innocuous second quarter hit. Early signs point towards turf toe, an ailment that could sideline the Bengals’ main man for three months if he elects for surgery. Jake Browning managed to eke out a victory over the Jags by steadily feeding Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for the remainder of the day’s proceedings, but he represents a significant downgrade at the game’s most important position. The Bengals’ decision to invest heavily in their offensive triplets and defensive end Trey Hendrickson makes them vulnerable to injury. For once, they have a buffer after two weeks, but another agonising season could be on the cards if Burrow is sidelined for a meaningful period of time.

Winners: NFL RedZone viewers

The mood music around Scott Hanson’s high-octane multi-game viewership experience has been pretty negative to start the season. The inclusion of ads — granted just one minute in a seven-hour broadcast — is being held up as a further example of the ‘ensh*ttifcation’ of media in the modern world. A new frame around the screen brought light-hearted trolling on social media.

But. But. There is still no television product that can compare with a ‘Witching Hour’ that features four early window one-score games in the final quarter. Cowboys vs Giants. Bengals vs Jaguars. Dolphins vs Patriots. 49ers vs Saints. While those four games delivered wildly different quality of play from under center, they all delivered drama, beamed into the eyes of the ADHD generation desperate for dopamine. God bless Scott Hanson, and long live NFL Redzone.

Loser: J.J. McCarthy

Chris Collinsworth didn’t hold back in his appraisal of the Vikings’ offensive effort in a chastening 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The veteran commentator questioned Minnesota’s preparation for the game, openly criticising Kevin O’Connell’s unit and, aside from a rousing fourth quarter comeback against the Bears in Week 1, McCarthy has looked nothing short of terrible under center.

Some 21 of the team’s 33 points through two games were scored in those brilliant 15 minutes. His 20.6 QBR ranks him 32nd of the 33 quarterbacks that have qualified for the metric on the nascent season. Granted, McCarthy is working behind a creaking offensive line that saw center Ryan Kelly and left tackle Justin Skule leave Sunday’s game early due to concussions; the Vikings have felt pressure on 36.7 percent of their dropbacks, however McCarthy’s average time to throw (3.35 seconds) was the highest in the NFL in Week 2.

The second-year signal caller also threw uncatchable balls on 35 percent of his attempts yesterday. Those errant tosses were best exhibited by a terrible miss of a wide-open Jalen Nailor on a crucial 3rd-and-1 with the Vikings down nine in the third quarter. McCarthy’s brand as a ‘winner’ was enough to build buzz ahead of the draft last year, but the jury is out on whether the Michigan alum has the tools to excel at this level.

***

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Xavier Legette was targeted eight times for a total of -2 receiving yards in the Panthers 22-27 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. Per ESPN’s Ben Solak, it is just the second time in NFL history that a receiver has gone negative on eight or more targets. Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles clocked -6 yards on eight attempts in 2013.

• Christian McCaffrey joined Hall-of-Famers Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore as the only players in NFL history with at least 50 rushing and 30 receiving touchdowns in his career. CMC was one of the lone healthy offensive stars for a hollowed-out Niners offense, logging 55 yards on the ground as well as 52 yards and a score through the air.

• Ja’Marr Chase followed a quiet Week 1 with a typically explosive performance on Sunday. The latest Triple Crown winner finished with 14 grabs for 165 yards and a touchdown. It is the sixth game of his career with at least 10 catches, 160 yards and a score, tying him with Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce and Tyreek Hill for the second most in a career. Only Julio Jones, with seven, has more.

  ***

  Global fans give 100% so NFL Game Pass on DAZN gives it back. 100% NFL. 0% Compromise.

  Find out more at DAZN.com/NFL