FOX has a five-game slate on Sunday, headlined by a Super Bowl rematch. Here’s what you need to know.
Week 2 is upon us, and after some thrillers in the opening weekend of the NFL season, this has the makings of another good one, headlined by Tom Brady and crew calling America’s Game of the Week at the Super Bowl rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs in Kansas City.
Here’s what to look for in each FOX Sports game for Week 2.
New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. ET
How concerning are the Giants‘ offensive struggles? They scored a league-low six points last week in a loss to the Commanders, seven of their 15 running back carries failed to gain yardage, and Russell Wilson had a bottom-five week in passer rating, completion percentage and yards/attempt. Sunday was the seventh time since the start of 2023 the Giants scored six points or less — that’s the most of any NFL team in that span, and the Patriots (six) are the only other team with more than four such games.
Rookie Jaxson Dart is ready if Wilson struggles, but would they give him his first NFL snaps on the road like this? The next two games are against the Chiefs and Chargers, so we’ll guess Dart comes in Week 5 against the lowly Saints.
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Dallas has beaten New York eight times in a row, the longest active streak for any NFL team against any opponent, and it’s actually 15 of the last 16 over the last eight years. Treat those 16 games like a season, you can see the massive difference in quarterback play — the Cowboys, largely with Dak Prescott, have thrown for 4,276 yards against the Giants, with 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions. The Giants? Just 3,239 yards, with 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. Does that change Sunday?
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET
Ben Johnson goes back to Detroit. Of the six new head coaches who weren’t promoted within the same organization, he’s one of two who gets a shot at his previous team this season (Mike Vrabel’s Patriots face the Titans in Week 7).
If the Bears want cleaner play after 12 penalties in their opening loss to the Vikings, last year’s loss in Detroit is a good reminder of that. Chicago trailed 23-7 in the fourth, rallied on two Caleb Williams touchdowns and got to the Detroit 25-yard line late, only to get derailed by an illegal use of hands penalty and a sack to knock them out of field-goal range.
As for Johnson, four of the five first-time head coaches lost in Week 1 (Jacksonville’s Liam Coen was the lone winner) and even if the Bears lose again, a rough patch to start a head coaching career isn’t insurmountable. Detroit’s Dan Campbell, now regarded as one of the league’s top coaches, opened his head coaching career 0-10-1; Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor opened 0-11, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan opened 0-9, Atlanta’s Raheem Morris opened 0-7 and even Kansas City’s Andy Reid opened 0-4.
Ben Johnson (left) and Dan Campbell will be coaching on opposite sidelines on Sunday in Detroit. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET
If Brock Purdy misses the game with shoulder and toe injuries, what can you expect from Mac Jones? There are 32 quarterbacks to throw 500+ passes over the last two seasons, and he’s one of three with more interceptions than touchdowns, along with Sam Howell and Daniel Jones.
Jones won’t be able to throw to tight end George Kittle, who’s out at least four weeks, and San Francisco’s receiving corps is beat up, as well. That all shifts the burden to Christian McCaffrey, who had 69 yards rushing and 73 receiving in last week’s opening win.
Will the Saints defense be improved this season? Last year, New Orleans ranked 30th in total defense, 29th in scoring and gave up 4.92 yards per play, the second-highest average in the league. One small note that raises an eyebrow: new Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley was the 49ers’ assistant head coach last season, so he knows their personnel inside and out.
Spencer Rattler has a precarious hold on the Saints’ quarterback job, now 0-7 as a starter and no more than one touchdown pass in any of those starts. Rookie Tyler Shough, the team’s second-round pick, would be an easy switch at home if Rattler can’t get the passing game going.
Mac Jones is set to start an NFL game for his third team on Sunday when the 49ers face the Saints. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald knows Pittsburgh well from his Ravens days. Baltimore went 1-3 against the Steelers in his two years as the Ravens defensive coordinator in 2022-23, but his defenses held Pittsburgh to 17 fewer points in all four games.
New Seahawks QB Sam Darnold was oddly dependent on Jaxon Smith-Njigba last week, with 124 of his 150 passing yards going to him. That’s an 83% share of the yards. Darnold played with Justin Jefferson last season in Minnesota, but the All-Pro receiver never had more than 59% of Darnold’s passing yards in a game.
Aaron Rodgers had four touchdowns in his Steelers debut, beating his old Jets last week, making him the third-oldest quarterback to have a four-touchdown game; Tom Brady was older in 10 of his, and Drew Brees had one older. If Rodgers wins in Pittsburgh on Sunday, it’ll be the first time he’s won there in his NFL career, with losses there in 2009 and 2024. Rodgers is already the oldest Steelers quarterback to throw a touchdown, nearly two years older than Ben Roethlisberger in his final games.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET
If you’re the Chiefs, how do you avoid a buzz-saw like the second quarter of the Super Bowl, which saw the Eagles score 17 points to take a 24-0 halftime lead? Philadelphia did that despite an 11-play drive that ended with an interception, and Saquon Barkley getting held to 31 yards on 12 carries in the half. If you can get a lead and force the Eagles to play from behind, it takes them away from their strengths, but it’s easier said than done.
Philadelphia’s commitment to the run game is relentless. It had 621 carries last year, the most by any NFL team in 40 years. Adjust for a 17th game, there’s still only one team in the last 15 seasons with more carries per game.
Of course, that includes Jalen Hurts, who rushed for 70-plus yards in each of the Super Bowls against the Chiefs. Kansas City gave up the seventh-most rushing yards to quarterbacks last season, and Justin Herbert sealed the Chargers’ win last week with a 19-yard scramble on third-and-14.
And it’s almost a cool thing to be bad at, but Patrick Mahomes isn’t good in Super Bowl rematches the following season, which has happened twice in his career. The lowest passer rating of his NFL career came last season against the 49ers – 16-for-27 for 154 yards and two INTs, in a win – and the lowest yards-per-attempt rate in his career came in the 2023 rematch with the Eagles with 43 passes for 177 yards in a loss.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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