Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season kicked off Thursday night with an impressive win by the Bills over the Lions in the first regular-season game at Highmark Stadium. In the early window Sunday, last week's offensive explosion seemed like a thing of the distant past.
The Panthers forced five turnovers against the Falcons, while the Patriots solidified their win over the Steelers with a fumble return for a touchdown. In Baltimore, the Saints launched a late comeback for the second straight week -- but this time, they came out on top.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know for teams that played Sunday. Fantasy football analysts Matt Bowen and Tristan Cockcroft also have fantasy takeaways from each matchup. Let's get to it.
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NO-BAL | CAR-ATL | PIT-NE
Catch up on Thursday's game:
DET-BUF
New Orleans 24, Baltimore 17
Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap
Saints
How will the Saints fix their slow starts? The Saints put themselves into an early hole for the second week in a row, but it worked out this time with some second-half heroics. The slow starts on offense are becoming a pattern under coach Kellen Moore. According to ESPN Research, this is the Saints' fourth straight game without putting up points in the first quarter. It's their second-longest streak in the past 10 seasons and the longest since they went five straight games in 2021.
Trend to watch: According to ESPN Research, the Saints were 5-of-8 on third-and-long conversions (at least 7 yards) before scoring the go-ahead touchdown at the end of the game. The Saints might start slow, but they've already shown an ability in the past few weeks to make key conversions, particularly between Tyler Shough, Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele. -- Katherine Terrell
Next game: vs. Raiders (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Ravens
Why do the Ravens continue to lose leads in the fourth quarter? Baltimore thought it would change its fortune late in games by changing head coaches. But just like it did so many times under John Harbaugh, the Ravens failed to finish in the fourth quarter in Jesse Minter's second game. In Harbaugh's last five seasons with Baltimore, the Ravens lost an NFL-worst 14 games when leading through three quarters. Baltimore gave up two touchdown drives after entering the fourth quarter with a 17-9 lead Sunday. It will be debated whether Shough crossed the goal line on fourth-and-goal, but the Ravens had their chances to win. Quarterback Lamar Jackson's interception with 13 seconds left ended the game.
Trend to watch: With No. 1 target Zay Flowers out with a hamstring injury, Rashod Bateman stepped up to break out of a rut. He finished with seven catches for 88 yards, the fourth most of his career. This ended a streak of seven straight games of less than 50 yards receiving. Bateman also made a leaping 22-yard grab in the end zone, marking his first touchdown since Oct. 30, 2025. -- Jamison Hensley
Next game: vs. Cowboys (Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Fantasy football takeaway: Saints RB Travis Etienne Jr. might struggle to approach last season's 296 touches. A week after losing goal-line carries to Kendre Miller, Etienne was out-carried and out-touched by Alvin Kamara, while Tyler Shough handled the game-winning TD sneak. Consider Etienne a low-end RB2. -- Cockcroft
Carolina 34, Atlanta 3
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Panthers
Will the real Panthers defense please stand up? One week after giving up 59 points and 552 yards to the Bears, Carolina's defense suffocated the Cooper Rush-led Atlanta offense. In the first half, the Panthers' defenders produced two turnovers and limited RB Bijan Robinson to 47 rushing yards. The takeaways were key, as Atlanta still picked up 162 net yards before halftime. On his first defensive play in the NFL, 2026 fifth-round pick Zakee Wheatley forced a fumble on Rush. Later, LB Devin Lloyd deflected a pass that was intercepted by Bobby Okereke. Lloyd, in particular, was revelatory with nine tackles (two for loss), a sack, three pass breakups, two third-quarter interceptions and a defensive touchdown.
What to make of the QB performance: Bryce Young looked the part of a franchise QB on Sunday. He threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns before halftime, spreading the ball around to Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette and Darren Waller. Playing point guard against a porous defense, Young continued his Mercedes-Benz Stadium dominance in the Panthers' third consecutive win in Atlanta. -- Mike Kaye
Next game: at Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Falcons
Will the Falcons get some relief at quarterback in Week 3? Cooper Rush lost a fumble and threw an interception on the Falcons' first two drives. It was the first time the Falcons had two turnovers on back-to-back series to begin a game since 2007. Rush was later pulled for undrafted rookie Jack Strand, who threw a pick-six on his first attempt. ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Michael Penix Jr. could start in Week 3, but it wouldn't be ideal.
Key stat to know: Bijan Robinson surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards Sunday (72 yards) and is now tied for the second-fastest player to reach that mark (53 games) in NFL history, behind only Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. Robinson is tied with Josh Jacobs. Robinson is also now the fastest Falcons player to reach that total. -- Marc Raimondi
Next game: at Packers (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Fantasy football takeaway: Bryce Young scored 20-plus fantasy points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, making great use of his deep set of receivers. We're used to him showing signs late in the season, but his hot start now elevates him into the solid-streaming tier for fantasy. -- Cockcroft
New England 20, Pittsburgh 3
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Patriots
Are QB Drake Maye's lingering issues fixable? Maye's shaky decision-making and inaccuracy from the season opener carried over Sunday with a badly underthrown third-quarter interception. All four of Maye's interceptions this season have come on throws of 15-plus yards. He had four of those INTs all of last season. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has preached patience and repetition with the 24-year-old Maye, who has faced two of the NFL's better defenses to open the season (Seahawks and Steelers) and now looks ahead to road games against the Jaguars and Bills.
Key stat to know: Running back TreVeyon Henderson's 39-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter was his fifth one of 30-plus yards since the start of last season, which leads the NFL. Henderson missed the season opener with an ankle injury, and coach Mike Vrabel said the team would welcome his ability to create explosive plays, which showed up quickly Sunday. -- Mike Reiss
Next game: at Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Steelers
Is it time to make a change on the offensive line? The O-line failed to protect 42-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers or get push in the run game. Rodgers was sacked four times, including a strip sack returned for a game-sealing touchdown after Spencer Anderson was manhandled by Christian Barmore. Under pressure, Rodgers was 4-of-11 for 18 yards, with two sacks and two fumbles. The run game averaged 4.0 yards per carry a week after averaging 2.8. The Steelers could turn to veteran Brock Hoffman to replace Anderson at right guard, and they could replace tackle Dylan Cook with rookie Max Iheanachor if they wanted to.
Trend to watch: DK Metcalf picked up where he left off in Week 1 -- and not in a good way. He had four catches on nine targets for 27 yards, with at least two drops. Metcalf has eight catches on 19 targets for 67 yards this season. For most of the day, he struggled to get separation from top Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez. Metcalf added a pair of catches in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. -- Brooke Pryor
Next game: vs. Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Fantasy football takeaway: Maye is already halfway (four) to his entire 2025 interception total (eight). Repeating last season's stellar accuracy metrics was an unrealistic ask, but this much regression raises red flags ... especially with one of the league's toughest schedules in 2026. If you roster Maye, a start-worthy bench QB is now mandatory. -- Cockcroft