Sunday marked the first time the Cincinnati Bengals have started a season 2-0 since 2018. However, an injury to quarterback Joe Burrow snuffed out any potential excitement.
According to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury and head coach Zac Taylor confirmed on Monday that he will undergo surgery. As a result, the Bengals will be without their star signal caller for a minimum of three months with backup quarterback Jake Browning taking over the starting job. Cincinnati has been down this road before, most recently in 2023 when a wrist injury sidelined Burrow for a sizable portion of the season. Browning finished the season for the Bengals, with the team going 4-3 under his command. They also overcame the Jaguars on Sunday with Browning under center, though their win might have been in spite of his three-interception performance rather than because of it.
Ja’Marr Chase was not fazed by the loss of his quarterback, as the All-Pro wide receiver went off for 165 yards and a touchdown on 14 catches. Chase and fellow star wideout Tee Higgins, who caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, will be counted on even more going forward to lift Browning’s play as the team desperately tries to remain afloat until Burrow’s eventual return.
Shemar Stewart, the Bengals’ first-round pick in 2025, was also injured during Sunday’s game. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the athletic pass rusher “is believed to have avoided anything major,” and is currently “week-to-week.”
The Baltimore Ravens got back in the win column on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns to avoid consecutive 0-2 starts.
After a disastrous meltdown against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, Baltimore’s defense stood tall against the Browns’ offense. They consistently generated pressure on former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, leading to two sacks, an Nate Wiggins interception, and a Roquan Smith fumble return touchdown. Bad luck struck the unit once again, though, as they surrendered another improbable tipped-pass touchdown that cut into their lead. This time, a pass that should have been intercepted by cornerback Marlon Humphrey instead bounced off his hands into the waiting arms of Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman in the end zone. But rather than let the Browns build on that momentum, the Ravens answered with a 21-0 fourth quarter to close out the game.
The Browns defense backed up their talk about stopping running back Derrick Henry, limiting him to just 23 yards and zero touchdowns on 11 carries. They could not, however, slow down Lamar Jackson, who carved them up through the air by completing 19 of 29 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson’s stellar performance moved him ahead of Aaron Rodgers to become the all-time leader in passer rating at 102.65.
Third-year wide receiver Zay Flowers continued his hot start to the season as the driving force of Baltimore’s passing attack, leading the team with 7 catches for 75 yards. Veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins followed up his big play from Week 1 with a pair of them this week, one for 42 yards and the second for 23 yards and a touchdown. Second-year receiver Devontez Walker also made his presence known as well with a pair of scores, giving him three catches for three touchdowns in his young career.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
The Pittsburgh Steelers cooled off in Week 2 after an exciting Week 1 victory to kick off the Aaron Rodgers era, losing 31-17 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the form of a massive special teams blunder by Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson. With the Seahawks leading 17-14, Johnson allowed a kickoff to touch his hands and roll into the end zone while jogging away instead of recovering the now-live ball. Seattle players swarmed to the scene, recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to extend their lead to 24-14. The rookie third-rounder has yet to factor much in the offense behind running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, and such a blunder on special teams surely won’t help his standing with the coaches for the moment.
Rodgers followed up his four-touchdown debut with Pittsburgh with a lousy performance in the team’s home opener as he completed 18 of 33 passes for 203 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Newly-acquired and highly-paid wide receiver D.K. Metcalf was held in check for just 20 yards on three catches by the Seahawks’ defense, although he did score a touchdown. Warren led the team in receiving yards with 86 on four catches, with the majority of his yardage coming on a 65-yard reception.
The Browns fell to 0-2 to start the season with their 41-17 loss to the Ravens in Week 2.
Flacco’s return to Baltimore was not a warm welcome, as his former team harassed him all day while forcing two turnovers. Rookie third-round quarterback Dillon Gabriel entered the game with under five minutes to play in regulation as Cleveland trailed 41-10. Although it was against a Ravens’ defense resting several key starters at that point, Gabriel was able to engineer a touchdown drive where he hit rookie running back Dylan Sampson for an eight-yard score. With their season clearly going nowhere already, it could be only a matter of time before the Browns opt to see what they have in their pair of rookie quarterbacks between Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.
Rookie second-round running back Quinshon Judkins made his NFL debut on Sunday despite practicing only twice this week for the first time since mandatory minicamp in June. The 36th-overall pick led the team with 10 carries for 61 rushing yards with a highlight run of 31 yards. Judkins’ role should only increase going forward while Sampson remains a factor in the passing game.
Despite Cleveland’s defense successfully doing what few teams have and shutting down Henry and Baltimore’s vaunted rushing attack, the unit could only hold out for so long before Jackson found his rhythm through the air to the tune of four touchdown passes.