It’s week 2 of the new NFL season and Sunday will see a rematch of Super Bowl LIX, when the Chiefs travel to Philadelphia.
We also look at some of the other key games this weekend.
Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) v Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) on Sunday
The Kansas City Chiefs host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday evening. To end the 2024 season, the Eagles defeated the Chiefs, 40-22, as quarterback Jalen Hurts totalled 293 yards (221 passing, 72 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to earn Super Bowl MVP honours.
Hurts rushed for two touchdowns in the Eagles’ Week 1 victory over Dallas, his 16th career regular-season game with multiple rushing touchdowns, the most among quarterbacks in NFL history.
Kansas City was one of two teams, along with Buffalo, to go undefeated at home last season. Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018, Kansas City has the most home wins (45) and the highest home winning percentage (.776) in the NFL.
Mahomes enters Week 2 with 292 career touchdown passes, including the play-offs, and can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (293 touchdown passes) for the most touchdown passes by a player in his first nine seasons, including the postseason, in NFL history.
Chiefs-Eagles will mark the 11th rematch of a Super Bowl in the following season all-time and the fourth to occur within the first two weeks of that season. The Super Bowl winning team has won seven of the 10 previous rematches.
Washington (1-0) at Green Bay (1-0) on Thursday
Set to meet for the first time since the 2022 season, both Washington and Green Bay earned home victories in Week 1 after qualifying for the postseason last year. The Commanders can begin 2-0 for the third time in the past 15 seasons (2011 and 2023) while the Packers look to begin 2-0 for the first time since 2020.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, in 11 career road starts (including the postseason), has 20 touchdowns (15 passing, five rushing) and a 104.6 passer rating, including at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 100-or-higher in six of those road starts.
Green Bay defensive lineman Micah Parsons registered a sack in his Packers debut in Week 1. In eight career games against Washington, he has 10.5 sacks – including at least a half sack in seven of eight contests. Last season with Dallas, Parsons had two sacks in Week 12 and 2.5 sacks in Week 18 against the Commanders.
Jacksonville (1-0) at Cincinnati (1-0) on Sunday
Both Jacksonville and Cincinnati look to begin 2-0 for the first time since 2018.
Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne ranked second in the NFL with 156 scrimmage yards (143 rushing, 13 receiving) in Week 1, his third-career game with at least 150 scrimmage yards.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow passed for 2,338 yards (292.3 per game) and 23 touchdowns with a 116.9 rating in 8 home starts last season, including at least three touchdown passes and a passer rating of 110-or-higher in each of his final four home starts. In NFL history, only two players have had at least three touchdown passes and a passer rating of 110-or-higher in five consecutive home starts: Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (six consecutive games in 2014) and Aaron Rodgers (five in 2011).
Denver (1-0) at Indianapolis (1-0) on Sunday
Denver looks to begin 2-0 for the first time since 2021 while Indianapolis can start 2-0 for the first time since 2009. Last season in Week 15, the Broncos defeated the Colts, 31-13, in Denver.
After leading the NFL with 63 sacks last season, the Broncos defence recorded a league-high six sacks and allowed a league-low 133 total yards of offense in Week 1. It has been 26 seasons since a team recorded at least six sacks in each of its first two games of a season (Carolina and Seattle in 1998).
The Colts defeated Miami, 33-8, in Week 1, marking their first season-opening win since 2013. They scored on all seven of their offensive possessions, becoming the first team in at least 47 years (1978 season) to score on every offensive possession of a game.
Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) at Las Vegas (1-0) on Monday
The Los Angeles Chargers look to begin 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the third time since 1970 (2001-02, 1979-81) while Las Vegas can start 2-0 for the first time since 2021. The Chargers won both matchups against the Raiders last season (Weeks 1 and 18).
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns with a 131.7 rating in the team’s Week 1 win over Kansas City in Brazil, the only quarterback with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes on Kick-off Weekend
Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers recorded five receptions for 103 yards in the Raiders’ 20-13 victory over New England last week, his third career 100-yard game. Bowers has 1,297 receiving yards in 18 career games, the second-most by a tight end in his first 20 career games in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka (1,411 receiving yards).
