ClutchPoints
Week 1 of the NFL season is always sort of a feeling-out process, but teams start to show us who they really are in Week 2. This year, that came with plenty of dramatics and tight finishes at the end of some very entertaining, high-scoring games.
Who had an overtime classic between the Cowboys and the Giants on the cards? Not me, especially with Russell Wilson going for over 400 yards through the air. Colts-Broncos and Jaguars-Bengals both had some questionable calls that made a difference at the end of games.
While there were plenty of fireworks to be enamored by, there was also a lot of nitty gritty to dig into. Here are the five biggest winners from Week 2 of the 2025 campaign.
The biggest storyline when it comes to drama coming into Week 2 was the reunion between Ben Johnson and the Lions, as the new Bears head coach made his return to the Motor City on Sunday. It was far from a triumphant return for Johnson, as the Lions marched all over the Bears on their way to a 52-21 win that ended in some very brief, frosty handshakes.
The Lions clearly had a couple of points to prove to their old offensive coordinator, whom they felt betrayed by after he chose to stay in the NFC North. They pulled out one of Johnson’s old trick plays as an interception celebration during the game, and then Dan Campbell chose to twist the knife with a fourth-and-goal touchdown instead of kicking a field goal to get over the 50-point mark.
The Lions looked much more like the 2024 Lions in Week 2 than they did in Week 1. Jared Goff was back to operating on time in the pocket, Amon-Ra St. Brown was everywhere with three touchdowns, and Kerby Joseph and company were making big plays on defense.
This version of the Lions can get back into the playoffs and be a contender in the NFC, and it seems like they are starting to settle in without Johnson as the year gets going.
Baker Mayfield did the full Baker Mayfield on Monday night. There were chaotic scrambles, tight-window darts, a play where he appeared to be injured until he realized he had the opportunity to talk trash to C.J Gardner-Johnson, and a fumble that he forced on himself.
All of that is just part of the Baker Mayfield experience, as is the absolute gamer gene that allowed him to escape a muddy pocket on fourth-and-10 and lead the Bucs down the field for a game-winning touchdown to beat the Texans 20-19.
Mayfield has some flaws as a quarterback, but man is he an awesome football player. The stats from this game won’t blow anyone away, but he continues to come up big in the biggest moments, and this Tampa Bay team has taken on the identity of the toughness and grit that...
