It was a week of wild finishes and some surprising results. There were prime time thrillers in Buffalo and Chicago, while a reigning conference champion fell short to a divisional rival in Brazil.
Of course, 16 teams are looking to avoid that dreaded 0-2 start. However, it is worth remembering that the Ravens, Broncos, and Rams all reached the playoffs after dropping their first two games a year ago.
Week 2 kicks off at Lambeau Field in a battle of 2024 playoff clubs. Speaking of which.
Here are 5 important numbers for NFL Week 2
10
Dating back to 2021, 14 teams now qualify for the NFL playoffs each year. Of course, every club in the league took the field in Week 1 last week. All told, 10 of the 14 teams that reached the postseason a year ago kicked off 2025 with a victory. The four that failed are all defending division champions, and each lost to a team that also qualified for the playoffs in 2024. The Chiefs came up short vs. the Chargers, the Lions fell at Green Bay, the Texans were edged by the Rams, and the Ravens squandered a big lead at Buffalo.
8
It’s a pretty amazing stretch and a complete turnaround for a team (and player) that had its issues with ball security for many years. In 2024, the Buffalo Bills tied the NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season (8), a feat first achieved by the Saints in 2019. The latter did it in 16 games, Sean MacDermott’s club in 17 contests. However, the Bills did not give up the ball in any of their three playoff games in ’24, nor in last week’s win over Baltimore. That’s just eight miscues in 21 contests dating back to the start of last season, all by 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen.
4
In his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 244 yards and four scores in the team’s 34-32 come-from-behind victory over the Jets. A season ago, Mike Tomlin’s club didn’t reach this mark in terms of aerial TDs until the team’s fifth game, all of those scores via Justin Fields (5 TDs). Meanwhile, Rodgers has picked up where he left off with the Jets. In his last 11 contests dating back to ‘24, he has thrown 22 touchdowns passes and been picked off only four times.
3
The NFL record for fewest takeaways in a season is owned by the 2018 San Francisco 49ers (7). There’s a three-way tie for the second-fewest, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are on that list twice, both in 2021 and 2024. In both of those seasons, the club forced a mere nine turnovers in 17 games. Talk about a reversal of fortune in the Week 1 win over the visiting Panthers? Liam Coen’s club picked of Carolina quarterback Bryce Young and recovered his lone fumble of the game. The Jaguars totaled just six interceptions in ’24.
7
It was a busy offseason for Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan. The team fielded the worst defense in the league in 2024, and were abysmal against the run. The team added veterans up front such as Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III, drafted Cam Jackson, and looked for Derrick Brown to bounce back after missing the final 16 games in 2024. In last Sunday’s 26-10 loss at Jacksonville, the Panthers allowed 200 yards rushing. It marked the seventh straight game an opponent has reached the 200-yard mark on the ground.