NFL Game Recaps: Week 2, 2025

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Packers 27, Redskins 18

The final score of this game says it was a relatively close battle, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Packers dominated on both sides of the ball, so much so that when it was a 14-3 affair in the second quarter, Al Michaels said that this score felt as though the game was 28-0.

The Redskins were able to hang around for most of the evening – the score was 17-10 in the fourth quarter – because Green Bay didn’t convert in the red zone or really pick up chunks of yardage on the ground with Josh Jacobs. The Packers moved the ball with ease between the 20s with “No Cookie” Jordan Love being nearly flawless, however. The Redskins got to Love on a couple of occasions, but had no answer for him on most dropbacks. Love sliced through Washington’s hapless secondary with terrific precision despite losing Jayden Reed to an early shoulder injury.

Defensively, Green Bay was even more dominant. The Redskins had just nine first downs compared to Green Bay’s 22 in the first 50 minutes of the game. Jayden Daniels was constantly under siege, as his offensive line didn’t have a prayer of keeping Micah Parsons out of the backfield. As a result, other Green Bay pass rushers were able to tee off on Daniels as well with Parsons commanding so much attention.

This was an absolute beating. The Packers outgained the Redskins, 405-144, by the time they went up 24-10. The Redskins had a chance for a back-door cover at the end, but could barely move the ball on the final drive.

Bengals 31, Jaguars 27

The Bengals neglect their offensive line year after year, and that was prevalent in this game. Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury on a sack, but even before that, Burrow threw a backward pass when he was hit. The Jaguars scooped and scored a defensive touchdown, but the officials irresponsibly overturned an obvious call.

Nevertheless, the Jaguars looked like they would be in great shape despite Lawrence throwing an interception in the red zone, blowing an opportunity to put his team up 10-0. Burrow was knocked out of the game, after all, and the Jaguars would surely defeat a Jake Browning-led Cincinnati squad that can’t play any defense.

The Jaguars held a lead for most of this game even though the Jaguars continued their stupidity. Lawrence, for example, was penalized for throwing the ball four yards past the line of scrimmage. Lawrence and Liam Coen also had an interaction where Coen screamed at his quarterback, only for Lawrence to brush it off. Two plays later, Coen decided to go for it on a fourth-and-5 instead of going up six. On the play, Lawrence didn’t see an open Brian Thomas Jr. right away. Lawrence hit Thomas right on the numbers eventually, but Thomas dropped the ball.

The Jaguars still had the Bengals backed up, but Browning put together a brilliant drive. Browning drove the team down to the 1-yard line, but Cincinnati hurt itself with an offensive offside. Undaunted, the Bengals moved back to the 1-yard line in two plays, and Browning reached over the goal line on a sneak to win the game.

Lions 52, Bears 21

The Bears came into this game as near-touchdown underdogs, so they had enough of a hurdle to overcome in order to upset the Lions. They couldn’t put themselves into a worse situation by making dumb mistakes, but that’s exactly what they did in this game.

It started when the Bears were down 14-7. They reached field goal range, but D’Andre Swift fumbled against his former team. On the next drive, Chicago turned the ball over on downs when Caleb Williams failed to convert a sneak on fourth-and-1 on his own 37. The Lions could have pounced on these blunders and established a big lead, but they failed to do so. They didn’t score a single point off the Swift fumble, and they missed a field goal following the failed fourth down.

The Lions, however, finally capitalized on a Chicago mistake later in the second quarter. Williams panicked under pressure and heaved the ball up for grabs. He was picked, and on the ensuing drive, Jared Goff found Brock Wright for a touchdown to put his team up 21-7. The Lions went on to dominate the second half to win in a blowout.

Rams 33, Titans 19

Despite an early Rams touchdown in which Puka Nacua scored on a 45-yard end-around, it looked like the Titans were going to hang around and potentially pull the upset. Down 10-3, the Titans drove down the field at the end of the opening half. Cam Ward was rushed out of the pocket and heaved the ball way late across his body to the middle of the field. He’ll be picked when he tries this in the future, but the ball landed in his receiver’s hands. And following a field goal drive following a Matthew Stafford interception, the Titans led by three.

The Rams got their act together in the second half on both sides of the ball. They scored on two drives to open intermission. The teams matched field goals and then Stafford hit a backup tight end for a touchdown to go up 20-16.

That’s when the defense stepped up. Ward was strip-sacked and the Rams took over in the red zone. Stafford, who showed great chemistry with Davante Adams, hit the veteran receiver for a touchdown to put the Rams up two scores.

49ers 26, Saints 21

There was a huge negative sentiment with the 49ers entering this game. This is because Mac Jones was slated to start over the injured Brock Purdy. The 49ers were favored by only three points, yet the public was backing the home-underdog Saints.

This was a 9-7 affair prior to halftime, but Jones, who began the game 0-of-4, showed an ability to move the chains quickly down the field. He dumped off a pass to Christian McCaffrey, who scored a touchdown to put the team up by nine at intermission.

Jones, however, negated his great drive prior to the break by losing a fumble on a strip-sack. The Saints scored a touchdown on a short field to trim the margin to 16-14. Jones would have to rebound, and he did just that. He heaved a 42-yard bomb to Jauan Jennings to put the 49ers safely in front by 12.

The Saints, to their credit, put together a 61-yard touchdown drive and then had possession to potentially win the game. However, San Francisco’s defense forced a strip-sack of Spencer Rattler to end the game.

Bills 30, Jets 10

The Jets went toe to toe with the Steelers last week, so there was optimism – mainly from sharp bettors – who thought that they could contend with the Bills despite being near-touchdown underdogs. The Jets, however, wouldn’t cooperate because they shot themselves in the foot with multiple errors in the opening half, which put them in a huge hole.

The trouble began when the Jets got the Bills into a third-and-19, but were guilty of roughing the passer. This allowed the Bills to eventually score. Meanwhile, Justin Fields lost a fumble in his own territory. The Bills converted with another score.

The Jets couldn’t stop the Bills otherwise, with James Cook being a huge problem for them. New York has maintained a horrible run defense for years, and that was once again apparent in this game, as Cook burst for long runs, including a 44-yard scamper in which he broke ankles with a nasty jump cut, and then another jump cut with a hurdle to go the distance. This put the Bills up 20-3 at half.

Buffalo held its lead throughout the second half. The Jets, meanwhile, lost Justin Fields to a concussion to end his miserable day.

Seahawks 31, Steelers 17

The Seahawks scored a touchdown on the opening drive of this game and had a chance to go up two scores. They constantly crushed themselves with mistakes, however, turning a potential big lead into a touchdown deficit entering intermission.

Sam Darnold began the myriad of blunders with an interception on a telegraphed throw. Jalen Ramsey, the hero of last week’s game, snatched the ball with ease. The Seahawks went into Pittsburgh territory on two occasions immediately after that, but Jason Myers whiffed on two field goals. The Seahawks then eschewed a third Myers field goal attempt and went for it on fourth down at the Pittsburgh 29. Cameron Heyward deflected the ball, which bounced into the arms of Nick Herbig, who ran deep into Seattle territory. Aaron Rodgers capitalized with a touchdown pass to DK Metcalf to go up 14-7.

NFL games, however, last 60 minutes, and the final 30 minutes were a complete reversal of the first half. The Seahawks stopped shooting themselves in the foot, while the Steelers began to make the crucial errors. Aaron Rodgers threw an interception where the ball bounced off the hands of Calvin Austin. Later, Kaleb Johnson muffed a kickoff return but didn’t seem to realize it. The Seahawks recovered in the end zone for a very rare touchdown on a muffed kickoff return. Rodgers was later picked when trying to come back from a two-score deficit.

Ravens 41, Browns 17

Though the Ravens won this game in a blowout, this was a close affair for a while. Baltimore led just 10-3 at halftime and 20-10 through three quarters. The Ravens’ sole touchdown came after they blocked a punt.

Cleveland was doing a great job of limiting Baltimore’s offense. This was also apparent in the third quarter. The Ravens had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, yet the Browns had a massive goal-line stand to force a field goal. Curiously, the Ravens didn’t run the ball once with Derrick Henry in that sequence.

The final score may say that the Ravens eventually picked things up late in the game, but that’s not the case. Baltimore had just 242 net yards of offense, after all. What happened was that the defense dominated. The unit forced Joe Flacco into an interception. Cleveland’s defense nearly had another goal-line stand on the ensuing drive, but Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown on fourth down. A bit later, Flacco was strip-sacked, setting up another touchdown for the Ravens.

Cowboys 40, Giants 37
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Cowboys can be excited with their win over the crappy Giants, but their defense is a complete disaster to allow 37 points to Russell Wilson.

The Giants (0-2) and Cowboys (1-1) played an epic game in Week 2 with the lead going back-and-forth, a bunch of beautiful deep ball passes from Russell Wilson, and Brandon Aubrey with a historic field goal to force overtime. The Giants were 0-for-4 in the red zone until Cam Skattebo scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter, and ultimately, those missed opportunities in the red zone cost New York.

The Giants opened the game with a long drive that was extended by an explosion of penalties. Russell Wilson connected with Wan’Dale Robinson for a 51-yard gain to the two-yard line, but the third penalty on the drive on James Hudson moved the ball back to the 17. The fourth Hudson penalty helped produce a field goal from the 15-play drive. After a Cowboys punt, Wilson connected on a pair of passes to Malik Nabers for 41 yards, and that produced another field goal for New York.

Early in the second quarter, the Cowboys got moving with a 33-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb, but a sack from Kayvon Thibodeaux forced Dallas to settle for a field goal. The Giants responded with a chunk completion to Robinson, and then Wilson connected with Nabers for a 29-yard touchdown after he ran by Trevon Diggs, and the safety blew the deep coverage. New York took a 13-3 lead. Dallas responded with a drive that ended with Dak Prescott finding KaVontae Turpin in the end zone from 10 yards out to cut the Giants’ lead to 13-10 at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Abdul Carter pressured Prescott into a poor throw, and Drue Phillips picked off the pass near midfield. New York moved the ball to the Dallas 10, but a fourth-and-3 fell incomplete. Dallas took the lead on the ensuing drive when Javonte Williams took a run off the right tackle for a 30-yard touchdown to go up 17-13. The Giants quickly responded with Wilson finding Darius Slayton in blown coverage for 52 yards, and New York struggled in the red zone again to settle for a field goal.

Early in the fourth quarter, New York moved into Dallas territory and Skattebo (11-45-1) ripped off two runs for 25 yards and scored from a yard out to give the Giants a 23-20 lead. Prescott put Dallas in front midway through the fourth quarter with a drive using Lamb, and Miles Sanders charged into the end zone from four yards out to put Dallas up 27-23. Wilson put New York right back in front, lofting in a 32-yard touchdown to Robinson. Late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys put a drive together, moving inside the 10. Prescott hit George Pickens (5-68-1) in the front corner of the end zone to give the Cowboys a 34-30 lead. Wilson had 48 seconds to work with, and Wilson made an incredible throw to drop in a beautiful pass to Nabers in the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. That put the Giants up 37-34 with 25 seconds remaining. Prescott hit a few completions to cross the 50, and on the final play, Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal to force overtime.

After trading some possessions, Wilson threw a deep ball that was intercepted by Donovan Wilson. Prescott connected with Pickens for a chunk completion to cross midfield, and then Prescott ran for 17 to set up a chip shot field goal for Aubrey to win it.

Patriots 33, Dolphins 27
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I really thought those two Patriots missed extra points were going to come back to haunt us, but they did not matter at all. The punt return touchdown didn’t either. Why do teams still punt the ball into the field of play?

The 1-1 Patriots got their first win of the season as Drake Maye played well and they got big plays from each unit to escape South Florida with Mike Vrabel’s first win as New England head coach. In the beginning, it looked like Miami was going to get blown out for the second straight week. However, after falling behind, the Dolphins showed more grit this week to come back and they had the lead midway through the fourth quarter. But aside from missed extra points, New England played more mistake-free football, and that was the difference in dropping the Dolphins to 0-2.

The Patiots took the opening drive into Miami territory with Maye converting a fourth down close to midfield. A 22-yard connection to Austin Hooper cracked the top 10, and a short pass to Mack Hollins gave New England a quick 6-0 lead with a missed extra point. After a Miami punt, Maye kept moving the ball on the Dolphins’ defense and lofted in a beautiful 16-yard touchdown to Kayshon Boutte. Andy Borregales missed another extra point to keep it 12-0. Miami responded with a nice drive, spreading the ball around, and Tagovialoa connected with Jaylen Waddle (5-68-1) for an 18-yard touchdown. The Patriots answered with a field goal to make it 15-7, but in the two-minute drill, Tagovailoa moved the ball down the field and hit Devon Achane on the run, with the speedy back exploding down the middle of the field for a 29-yard touchdown. That cut the Patriots’ lead to 15-14 at the half.

To open the third quarter, Tyreek Hill (6-109) made a superb adjustment and caught a deep ball from Tagovailoa for a 47-yard gain, and that led to Miami getting a field goal for a 17-15 lead. Another field goal put Miami up by five entering the fourth quarter. Maye made a tremendous play to shake a sack from Jaelen Phillips and then throw a dart downfield. Rhamondre Stevenson made a superb hands catch and exploded down the field for a 56-yard gain. Maye used his feet to finish the drive and score from a few yards out, and Stevenson scored a two-point conversion to make it 23-20 entering the fourth quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Dolphins’ Malik Washington returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown to put Miami up 27-23. The lead didn’t last long as Antonio Gibson returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to put New England back up 30-27. Marte Mapu intercepted Tagovailoa late in the fourth quarter. Borregales hit a 53-yard field goal to make it 33-27 with just under two minutes remaining. Miami moved into New England territory, and Achane had a long touchdown catch, but he stepped out of bounds on the play. A few plays later, Milton Williams sacked Tagovailoa on a fourth down to clinch the win for New England.

Colts 29, Broncos 28

The Battle of the Horses is one of the most anticipated games of the year by some, and it did not disappoint. This was a back-and-forth affair where both teams had a chance to win. Ultimately, it came down to an inch on a missed kick and a crucial penalty.

The Colts, down 28-23, decided to go for it on fourth down near midfield. They failed on the play, allowing the Broncos to set up in favorable field position. They had a chance to extend the lead to eight points at the very least, but Bo Nix sailed a throw over his receiver’s head. The Colts picked off the pass, keeping the game alive.

On the ensuing drive, Jonathan Taylor broke free for a long run to set up a field goal. The Broncos struck back with a positive drive of their own, but stalled in Indianapolis territory. They tried a field goal to go up five again, but the kicker hit the right upright.

With one last chance, the Colts moved over midfield and set themselves up for the decisive kick. The field goal was wide right, but a hidden yellow flag ended Denver’s celebration. The Broncos were flagged for leverage, giving Spencer Shrader another chance. Shrader converted on his next try, giving the Colts the victory in the Battle of the Horses.

Cardinals 27, Panthers 22

The Cardinals absolutely dominated this game and were demolishing the Panthers. The final score may not say so, but that was the case. Arizona forced two turnovers from Bryce Young early in the game when it strip-sacked Young and scored a touchdown and then picked him off when he released the ball. The Cardinals turned these two Carolina giveaways to 10 points. Those were 10 of the 27 points Arizona scored before establishing a 27-3 lead.

Arizona was in cruise control up 24 points late in the third quarter. For the second week in a row, however, the Cardinals fell asleep at the wheel late in the game and nearly lost. The Panthers scored a touchdown and then Kyler Murray was intercepted in the red zone as he was hit. This gave the Panthers some life, and Bryce Young once again engineered a touchdown drive to trim the margin to 27-15.

The Cardinals would have milked the clock down to two minutes had they converted a first down on the ensuing drive while in a second-and-3, but a 3-yard loss and a horrible Murray pass gave the Panthers another possession. Arizona’s defense put Young into a fourth-and-16, but Young somehow converted to someone named Brycen Tremayne for 26 yards. It didn’t take the Panthers much longer to score a touchdown.

Carolina inexplicably stayed alive with a recovered onside kick and several Arizona defensive penalties. However, the Cardinals finally shut the door on a potential Carolina cover by pressuring Young and forcing some incompletions. The damage was done, however, as the Cardinals blew the cover as 6.5-point favorites.

Eagles 20, Chiefs 17

Patrick Mahomes was determined to do everything on his own in the opening half. He scrambled on many instances, which was the only way the Chiefs were able to move the chains. With such a limited receiver corps, Mahomes couldn’t generate anything aerially.

The Eagles couldn’t get much going offensively either, but had better success moving the ball with Saquon Barkley. They led just 13-10 in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs entered the red zone. Mahomes fired a pass to Travis Kelce, but the beleaguered tight end, who no longer seems to be concentrating on football, bobbled the ball, which landed into the arms of a Philadelphia defender for an interception.

Philadelphia took over and finally put together a successful, long drive. Jalen Hurts connected on a deep ball to DeVonta Smith and then scored on a tush push later on the drive to go up 20-10.

Mahomes had to be perfect on the next two drives to give his team a chance. Mahomes missed Tyquan Thornton for a deep bomb when Thornton was wide open, but he rebounded by heaving a long touchdown to the same player to trim the margin to three. Kansas City couldn’t recover the ensuing onside kick and then failed to get off the field, allowing the Eagles to once again beat the Chiefs in the rematch of Super Bowl LIX.

Falcons 22, Vikings 6

J.J. McCarthy had a fourth quarter to remember last week, but needed a brilliant performance in the final frame once again because his team trailed throughout. Atlanta moved the ball well in between the 20s, while its defense dominated Minnesota’s injury-plagued offensive line with five sacks in the opening half alone.

The Vikings did next to nothing offensively in the opening half, but Justin Jefferson’s 50-yard reception just prior to halftime gave the Vikings hope that McCarthy could lead a comeback following intermission. Instead, Minnesota’s second half was a complete disaster.

Things started poorly with T.J. Hockenson dropping a pass on third down. On the ensuing drive, McCarthy one-hopped a ball to a receiver on third down. He was then guilty of a fumble on a strip-sack. The fourth possession in the second half was ruined by McCarthy overthrowing a wide-open Jalen Nailor for a deep touchdown. And finally, McCarthy threw a pick on a deep shot.

As this self destruction was happening, the Falcons kept the ball out of Minnesota’s hands with a great game by the two running backs.

Buccaneers 20, Texans 19

The Buccaneers entered the game without their left tackle, Tristan Wirfs. It didn’t take them very long to lose their right tackle, Luke Goedeke, who was questionable entering the evening. With Houston’s elite pass rushers on the other side, the Buccaneers had a tall task in moving the ball consistently, but as we all soon discovered, Houston’s defense is just a paper tiger.

Of course, Houston’s offense also has its issues. The front line couldn’t block for C.J. Stroud or Nick Chubb at all. Stroud saw relentless pressure, while Chubb couldn’t get more than a yard on most plays. This included a pathetic attempt on a second-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Texans then failed to breach the end zone on the next two plays, turning the ball over on downs instead of taking a 17-14 lead.

The Texans were given two other chances because of their special teams. They blocked a punt, but managed only a field goal after that to trim the margin to 14-13. Jaylin Noel then had a great return, setting up a rare long Chubb run. Chubb rumbled into the end zone to put the Texans up 19-14.

With 2:04 remaining, the Buccaneers were down to their final chance, albeit a slim one without the two tackles. Houston’s defense should have been able to get a stop, but it didn’t have an answer for Mayfield, who had a great scramble on fourth down, and Bucky Irving, who picked up some big gains. Rachaad White slammed into the end zone at the end of the drive to give the Buccaneers the victory.

Chargers 20, Raiders 9

When the Raiders traded for Geno Smith, most people who have any sort of clue about football knew it was a horrible deal. Clueless ESPN analysts, particularly those who whine and complain about social justice issues, thought the Raiders made an amazing trade for what they called a “top-10 quarterback,” but this was a ridiculous sentiment. Smith had great metric numbers in the past, but most of his positive production came in garbage time or against poor opponents.

Smith was awful in this game. He threw an interception on his initial drive to set up a Chargers score. This was the first of three picks he fired in this game. Smith also missed numerous open receivers, including Brock Bowers for what would have been a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter. He didn’t see an open Dont’e Thornton on numerous occasions. He also took his time in the second half, letting the clock drain despite being down multiple scores.

Perhaps the Raiders would’ve had a chance to win had they gotten some stops, but they had no answer for Justin Herbert. The Charger quarterback was terrific in this game, shredding Las Vegas’ beleaguered secondary with ease. He also had some key scrambles, even leading his team in rushing.

While the Chargers improved to 2-0, there’s a dark cloud over this victory, which was a nasty-looking elbow injury that Khalil Mack suffered. The Chargers defense has been excellent through two weeks, but it’ll miss Mack if he’s out for a while.