NFL Week 2 Recap: Biggest upsets, standout performances & best bets
The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens both walked into Week 2 of the NFL season as betting favourites off strong Week 1 showings – Chicago in a 96-point combined shootout with the Carolina Panthers – but both walked out with outright losses.
Meanwhile, New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough kept building on a strong Week 1 showing, piling up 662 passing yards through his first two games, the most by a Saints QB to start the year since Drew Brees in 2009.
NFL Week 2 biggest upsets
The Ravens’ 24-17 loss to the Saints was the week’s sharpest reversal on paper.
Baltimore opened as 8.5-point favourites off the back of strong Week 1 form and led 14-6 at halftime before New Orleans rallied.
A 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave, followed by a Travis Etienne Jr. two-point conversion, tied it at 17-17 with 09:42 to play. Shough later scored the go-ahead TD himself, a fourth-and-goal sneak from the one-yard line with 01:28 remaining.
Saints safety Julian Blackmon put it away with 13 seconds left, intercepting a deep pass from Lamar Jackson.
Chicago’s defeat carried more shock value given the context, and it came with a genuine scare attached.
A week after being part of that offensive explosion with Carolina, the Bears managed just three points against the Minnesota Vikings, who won 9-3 as 4.5-point underdogs.
QB Caleb Williams was carted off the field with a hamstring injury before the game ended on a walk-off sack, linebacker Dallas Turner bringing down backup QB Tyson Bagent on fourth down to seal it.
NFL Week 2 standout performances
Passing
After Matthew Stafford’s uncharacteristically quiet 155-yard outing in the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 1 loss in Melbourne, the quarterback position’s real story through two weeks has been Saints QB Shough.
He opened the season with 410 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime heartbreaker against the Detroit Lions, then followed it with 252 yards, a passing TD, and a rushing score in Sunday’s win over Baltimore – a two-week stretch that’s put him at the centre of New Orleans’ early-season fortunes.
Rushing & receiving
Jonathan Taylor has scored multiple rushing touchdowns in both of the Indianapolis Colts’ games so far – two against Baltimore in Week 1 and two more in the overtime thriller against the Kansas City Chiefs where he carried 24 times for 92 yards and added four catches for 40 yards, even in a losing effort.
Defensive & special teams
Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd delivered the week’s most complete defensive performance, a week after Carolina’s defense allowed 59 points against Chicago.
Against the Atlanta Falcons, he finished with nine tackles, a sack, three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions – the first off Cooper Rush directly, ending his day at QB, the second a deflected pick-six off backup Jack Strand’s very first NFL pass.
It made Lloyd just the third player in 20 seasons to record a sack, multiple interceptions, and a pick-six in the same game.
NFL Week 2 odds recap: Best bets, hits & misses
The pre-game odds didn’t hold up for everyone in Week 2. Both the Bears and the Ravens were heavily favoured picks across the board – and both lost outright.
The Dallas Cowboys were among the week’s most popular teams to back, and that pick cashed comfortably in their 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders.
Kansas City were correctly picked to win their overtime thriller against the Colts, but the spread was a different story – backers needed Kansas City to win by more than 6.5 points, and that margin came up short in overtime.
The Rams were similarly reliable at home, covering their -7.5 spread with plenty of room in a 28-6 rout of the New York Giants.
The totals told their own tale. Both of Sunday’s biggest upsets were defensive slogs that stayed under the set threshold – Bears-Vikings (47.5) finished at 12 combined points in a massive miss while Ravens-Saints (45.5) settled at 41. Rams-Giants (47.5) went under as well, at 34 combined points.
The higher-scoring games went the other way: Chiefs-Colts (46.5) blew past the total in overtime with 63 combined points, and Cowboys-Commanders (50.5) cleared it too, finishing at 57.
Individual props were similarly mixed. Shough’s passing yards prop (231.5) cleared easily on his 252-yard day, while Jackson’s passing prop (209.5) also hit the over despite Baltimore’s loss, with 235 yards through the air.
But Jackson’s rushing prop (39.5) came in under at 34 yards, as did Derrick Henry’s (92.5), who managed just 68 on a rare quiet day. Williams’ passing prop (230.5) also went well under at 138 yards, though that one carries an obvious asterisk given the injury that ended the Chicago QB’s game early.
NFL Week 3 preview
The Cowboys’ defensive performance is the number one thing to watch heading into Week 3, and not in a good way. Dallas has posted the fourth-worst defensive EPA per drive of any team in a single game since the start of the 2025 season, a number that makes them a legitimate fade candidate even off a win.
A few injuries are worth tracking on both sides of Sunday’s results. The Saints came away from their win banged up, with left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. (ankle) and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. (shoulder) both exiting during the game.
Baltimore, meanwhile, played Sunday without leading receiver Zay Flowers, who is sidelined by a hamstring injury; his practice reports this week should determine whether he’s back for Week 3, and Jackson’s passing numbers took a clear hit in his absence.
Quarterback injuries defined Sunday in many ways. Bears QB Williams’ hamstring injury will keep him out for at least this week, but head coach Ben Johnson said Monday the team believes he’s week-to-week rather than anything structural – Bagent will start in his place against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In Washington, X-rays taken after Sunday’s loss in Dallas showed no fracture on Commanders QB Jayden Daniels’ dislocated left elbow – the same one he dislocated in a game against the Seattle Seahawks last season – but head coach Dan Quinn confirmed the team won’t have a firmer timeline until Daniels has seen specialists late in the week. Marcus Mariota is expected to start in his place against the Seahawks in Week 3.
Monday night added one more name to that list. Giants QB Jaxson Dart left the Rams’ 28-6 win with a knee injury on the opening drive. He walked off under his own power but was officially ruled out after halftime, with Jameis Winston finishing the game in relief.
The first couple of weeks are done – see how the lines are shaping up for Week 3 on LeoVegas.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change