The NFL made its return last week, and already, some teams have seen their Super Bowl dreams come to an end. But the first week does not tell the whole story of any time, and anything can happen between today and December.
Let’s have a look back at what happened in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season.
The Cowboys and Giants play out a Thriller!
Over the last two seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have fallen short of their usual standards and struggled in the NFC East. The New York Giants seem to be eternal stugglers (making my life even harder). Both teams had less-than-stellar starts to the season, with the Cowboys losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, while the Washington Commanders demolished the Giants. Usually, games between these teams are either one-sided affairs or nail-biting; it all depends on whether the Giants turn up.
Turn up is something that the Giants’ offense did on their first drive of the game. Needing a robust game after his disastrous debut last week, Russell Wilson was able to move the offense down to the edge of the Cowboys’ red zone. The drive stalled here, but Graham Gano made a 38-yard field goal to give them the early lead. This lead would be added to on their next drive, where Gano again successfully kicked a field goal after Wilson struggled in the red zone.
The Cowboys were able to get on the scoreboard a few drives later, thanks to a 51-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey. However, in response, the Giants showed that they were a contender in this game when Wilson found Malik Nabers for a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Dallas would immediately match this and find the endzone on their next drive. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott brought his offense down to the Giants’ 10-yard line, where he found KaVontae Turpin for the score.
At halftime, the Giants had a 13-10 lead in what was shaping up to be a very competitive match.
The Cowboys did not have the best start to the second half. On the second play of the opening drive to the half, Prescott’s pass was intercepted, handing possession to the Giants. Luckily, New York was unable to convert this into points, with Wilson failing a fourth-down conversion on the Cowboys’ 10-yard line. Dallas would be more successful on their next drive, when Javonte Williams scored a 30-yard rushing touchdown to give the Cowboys their first lead of the match.
In response to this, Gano would make another 33-yard field goal, meaning that coming into the fourth quarter, the Cowboys would be leading the Giants 17-16.
Dallas would extend this lead to open the final quarter after Aubrey kicked a 44-yard field goal. This lead would not last long, as new Giants running back Cam Skattebo was able to find the endzone for a one-yard rushing touchdown to bring the lead back to the Giants. It would flip back to Dallas on the following drive when Miles Sanders scored a four-yard rushing touchdown, but returned to New York after Wilson found Wan’Dale Robinson for a 32-yard touchdown pass.
With under a minute to play, the Cowboys would retake the lead after Prescott found George Pickens for a six-yard touchdown pass. This gave possession back to the Giants, who needed to score a touchdown to stay in the game.
That is what they were able to do, as Wilson found Nabers for a stunning 48-yard touchdown pass. This gave them a three-point advantage with 25 seconds left. This gave Dallas enough time for one quick drive into field goal territory.
We have to remember that the Cowboys have Brandon Aubrey on their roster, and he has been known to make kicks from very long distances when needed. This was one of those moments. With the game on the line, Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal to level the score 37-37 at the end of the fourth quarter. This high-scoring game was going to overtime.
Most of the overtime period was not great, with the first three drives ending in punts. Then, in typical Giants fashion, a mistake happened. With two minutes left in the OT period, Wilson’s deep pass was intercepted by the Cowboys. This meant that all Dallas needed was a field goal to win the game.
You can probably predict what happens from here. The Cowboys ran down the clock (and field) to set up a game-winning field goal from Aubrey as time ran out. Aubrey kicked a 46-yard field goal to give the Dallas Cowboys a 40-37 overtime victory over the New York Giants.
This was a very close game that really could have gone either way. This performance was definitely not something we had come to expect from the Giants, but Russell Wilson performed well when he needed to. In the end, he threw for 450 yards and still lost the game. If the Cowboys had not had Aubrey, they would have been easily defeated. But did the Giants ruin my weekend? As they failed, yes, and these kinds of losses are always the hardest.
Next week, the Cowboys face the Chicago Bears, while the Giants play their first home game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
And, on the subject of the Kansas City Chiefs.
A Super Bowl Rematch
Week 2 saw a rematch of the most recent Super Bowl. In that game, the Philadelphia Eagles easily defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs opened their season last week with a defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil, and there are today questions about whether this team could even make the playoffs. If they are going to keep their dynasty alive, a win tonight will go a very long way.
The game did not start well for either offense, as the first three drives of the game ended in punts. The Chiefs had an attempt to break the deadlock and open the scoring. However, Harrison Butker’s 58-yard field goal went wide right.
This mistake would be capitalized on by the Eagles. On the following drive, Saquon Barkley found the endzone for a 13-yard rushing touchdown to give them the lead. Butker would be successful on his next field goal attempt, making the kick from 56 yards away.
The Chiefs would take the lead on their next drive when Patrick Mahomes scrambled to the endzone for a 13-yard rushing touchdown. This lead would not last long, as on the stroke of halftime, Eagles’ kicker Jake Elliot cleared the uprights from 58 yards out.
This means that at halftime, the Eagles and Chiefs were tied at 10-10.
Philadelphia took the lead on their first drive of the second half, when Elliot kicked a 51-yard field goal. For the rest of the third quarter, nothing happened on offense, This shows the strength of the defenses of these teams, something that could very much set the teams apart.
Pat Mahomes made a mistake to open the fourth quarter. The Eagles picked off his short pass to Travis Kelce. This is something that Philadelphia can take full advantage of. On the following drive, Jalen Hurts was able to move the offense down to the one-yard line, where a tush pish was all they needed to find the endzone and give them a 10-point lead.
Kansas City would show near the end of the game that it still has it when it found Tyquan Thornton for a 49-yard touchdown pass. This was not enough, as the Philadelphia Eagles went on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-17.
This was another defensive performance from both teams, and after two games, neither looks like a real contender for the Super Bowl. The Eagles secure another win over the Chiefs and improve to a 2-0 record, which should help them in the NFC East. As for the Chiefs, this defeat means they fall to a 0-2 record. Their hopes of the playoffs are slipping away by the week.
Next week, the Eagles face the Los Angeles Rams, while the Chiefs face the Giants.
The Revival of Daniel Jones?
Last week, former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones made his debut for the Indianapolis Colts in their game against the Miami Dolphins. In that game, Jones played what could be described as the best of his career, leading the Colts to an easy win. Could he keep this form up against the Denver Broncos, who are also coming off an opening weekend win?
The Colts had the first possession of the game and scored the first points. The drive itself stalled at the Broncos’ 11-yard line, but kicker Spencer Shrader made a 29-yard field goal to give them the lead. This would not last long, as Broncos quarterback Bo Nix found M Mins for a 23-yard touchdown on their first drive of the game.
In response to this, the Colts would again find the uprights with a field goal from Shrader, with the lead returning to their possession on the next drive after Jones found the endzone for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
But just as the first time they took the lead, the Colts’ lead would be temporary. On the following Broncos drive, Nix would find Troy Franklin for a three-yard touchdown pass. This would be extended on their next drive, with Nix finding Adam Trautman this time for a two-yard touchdown pass.
Indianapolis was able to reduce this lead before halftime. On a drive that included a 44-yard pass to move them into the Broncos’ red zone, Jones would find Jonathan Taylor for a seven-yard touchdown pass. This meant that at halftime, the Broncos would have a 21-20 lead over the Colts.
Denver had the opening possession of the second half and would again use this to widen their lead. Nix moved his offense down into the Colts’ red zone before J.K. Dobbins found the endzone from five yards out to make it an eight-point lead. The eight points become five soon after, with Shrader making another field goal for the Colts, this time from 36 yards out.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we would see a critical mistake from the Broncos. On a drive that started on the 50-yard line, Nix and company were down at the Colts’ 28-yard line. Here, Nix’s deep pass was intercepted. The following drive saw the Colts head down the field until they stalled at the Broncos’ 10-yard line, where a 28-yard field goal from Shrader was the best they could do.
This still meant that the Broncos had the lead, and had a good opportunity to make the final drive hard for the Colts when Will Lutz was faced with a 42-yard field goal attempt. Lutz’s kick banger the uprights, meaning that all the Colts needed was a field goal to win the game. Could they do it?
Jones was able to move the Colts offense down to the Broncos’ 42-yard line, which set Shrader up with a 60-yard field goal attempt. The attempt was short. But there was a penalty against the Broncos on this play. This allowed the Colts to have another attempt at the kick, this time from a manageable 45 yards out. Shrader made this kick, meaning that the Indianapolis Colts had defeated the Denver Broncos 29-28.
This was a game that the Broncos should have won, but a simple and silly mistake at the worst possible time cost them the win. As for the Cots, they have not had to punt the ball away in either of their two wins to open the season (although they do struggle to convert fourth downs). As for Daniel Jones, he is the league leader in passing yards two games into the season. Russell Wilson is in second place—weird time for us Giants fans.
Next week, the Colts face the Tennessee Titans, while the Broncos play the Los Angeles Chargers.
What Happened in the Other Games?
The Washington Commanders faced the Green Bay Packers in a Thursday night football battle between two teams that had a good start to the season. The Packers would be the stronger team in this game, with Jordan Love throwing for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns in their 27-18 win.
The Cincinnati Bengals had an interesting game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Early in the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow left the game with a turf toe injury, something that is going to keep him out for most of the regular season. In his place, Jake Browning came into the game. On the final play of the game, Browning found the endzone to score the winning one-yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 31-27 win over the Jags.
The Detroit Lions recovered from their defeat to the Green Bay Packers with a thrashing of the Chicago Bears. The Lions quarterback, Jared Goff, threw five touchdowns in their 52-21 win.
The number one pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward, played his first home game for the Tennessee Titans against the Los Angeles Rams. Ward did not have the best game, and the Rams were by far the stronger team, recording a 33-19 win over them.
One of the main takeaways from week one of the regular season was the poor performance of the Miami Dolphins. This week, they hoped to prove that they are still competitive in their game against divisional rivals the New England Patriots. There was a performance improvement, but it was not enough. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw for three touchdowns in New England’s 33-27 win.
The San Francisco came into this game in the midst of an injury crisis. This week, quarterback Brock Purdy was ruled out, and former Patriots QB Mac Jones took the reins for the game against the New Orleans Saints, and did well. He threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a 26-21 win.
The Buffalo Bills faced the New York Jets in a game where every Bills fan had a scare when star quarterback Josh Allen was forced out of the game for a few plays. Turns out it was only for a nosebleed, and he came back quickly. The Bills would defeat the Jets 30-10.
We had a bizarre moment in the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks kicked off after scoring a field goal on the preceding drive. A Steelers player momentarily touched the ball as it fell into the end zone. This contact was ruled as a fumble, meaning the ball was live. George Holani then” recovered” the ball in the endzone for the Seahawks’ touchdown. In the end, Seattle would win the game 31-17.
The Baltimore Ravens faced the Cleveland Browns in what was a beatdown. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for four touchdowns in their 41-17 win.
The Arizona Cardinals are today 2-0 after their 27-22 win over the Carolina Panthers. A late sack from Calais Campbell was enough to secure a hard-fought victory.
This week’s Sunday Night Football game featured the Atlanta Falcons facing the Minnesota Vikings, marking a return to Minnesota for Kirk Cousins. He did not play. This game was also a rematch in terms of starting quarterbacks of the 2024 College Football National Championship game. This time, Michael Penix Jr was the victor, as his Falcons recorded a 22-6 win.
The game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans went down to the final play of the game. A two-yard rushing touchdown from Rachaad White gave the Buccs a 20-19 win over the Texans, keeping Tampa Bay undefeated, and they are already being seen as contenders for the NFC South.
Coming back from their win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil, the Los Angeles Chargers continued their good run of form in a convincing 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
That was week 2 of the 2025 NFL season. Next week, the Lions face the Ravens, while the undefeated Rams and Eagles meet. Can the Chiefs get their first win of the season against the New York Giants?
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