As a reminder to all, knee-jerk reactions are how I reacted to certain games almost immediately after they ended. These are not meant to be taken as predictions, hot takes, or any variations of the sort.
Now, let's go over some of the biggest knee-jerk reactions following Week 2!
Colts will start off 10-0
The Indianapolis Colts are now 2-0 after near-flawless performances the past two weeks and are, for now, one of the best teams in football. Did their win come from a last-second penalty from the Denver Broncos? Sure, but great teams win ball games. No other way around it. Everything is going right for them.
Daniel Jones is the first Colts QB to start 2-0 since Peyton Manning in 2009, while his 588 passing yards is the third-most by a Colts QB through the first two weeks of the season - led by none other than Manning and Johnny Unitas.
It's not just Jones, it's everyone else, too. Running back Jonathan Taylor is the league's leading rusher (236 yards). Safety Cam Bynum is tied for the league lead in interceptions (2). They have the second-best offence (445.5 ypg) behind the Buffalo Bills, the seventh-ranked pass defence, the 12th-ranked run defence, and have given up the 11th-fewest points.
Indy is also one of six teams to have yet to turn the ball over this season, joining the Packers, Bills, Eagles, Buccaneers, and Commanders.
Oh, and they also have the fourth-best scoring offence behind last year's top three (Ravens, Bills, Lions). So, how will they go 10-0? Just look at their schedule. Over the next eight weeks, here is who they will be facing: @ Titans, @ Rams, vs. Raiders, vs. Cardinals, @ Chargers, vs. Titans, @ Steelers, vs. Falcons.
Bears' season is over
Turns out teams need more than just a coach who can draw good plays to turn things around. Even after what some consider an A+ offseason, the Bears look absolutely abysmal with zero hope of turning things around.
They have given up more points (79) than any other team. In fact, no other team has let up more than 70 points this season after two weeks. Their offence is surprisingly middle-of-the-pack and have only committed three turnovers.
But after blowing a game to a J.J. McCarthy-led Vikings offence that was shut down by the Falcons this past week, and then giving up 52 points to Detroit, the Bears have given no reason for fans to hope for anything different.
The only saving grace is that they don't necessarily have the toughest schedule the next four weeks. They'll be facing the Cowboys, Raiders, Commanders, and Saints. So there's a chance to accumulate some wins in that stretch. But the window has all but shut on their season even after two games.
Eagles are barely scraping by
Yes, Jalen Hurts, you guys won the game against the Kansas City Chiefs. But how much longer is Philly's current pace going to hold before they really start to lose games?
Sure, they're 2-0. But when you stack their 2-0 up against the likes of the Bills, Colts, Packers, and Chargers, they definitely fall short.
If not for a forced fumble and key drops in Week 1, the Cowboys definitely could've won in their matchup. And the Chiefs were no different. Their next three games are against the Rams, Buccaneers, and Broncos - three teams that know how to put up points on the board.
Hurts barely eclipsed 100 passing yards against the Chiefs and is ranked 31st in the category, ahead of Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning, who managed to throw more than Hurts in barely just two quarters of play. Even their star wide receiver A.J. Brown didn't seem to be too excited following the team's Week 2 win, knowing how their offence has been.
Bengals ruined Joe Burrow
Sure, guys. Let's spend over a quarter of a billion dollars on two wide receivers instead of investing in protecting the guy who has to get them the ball. Once again, the Bengals have failed Joe Burrow, a quarterback who has Hall of Fame potential but will finish his career in the Hall of Very Good due to his deflated stats because of all his injuries.
He's now out for three months and their season is all but over. No disrespect to Browning, but there's no shot they make Wild Card, let alone with the AFC North, without Burrow - they couldn't even win it with him last season.
But Burrow has nobody to blame but the front office for failing to due the one thing an NFL team needs to do when they have a franchise quarterback - get him an offensive line.
Since 2020, the Bengals' offensive line hasn't ranked better than 27th in pass-block win rate. They're tied for the fourth-most sacks (4) and third-most quarterback hits (5). They have the third-worst run blocking grade (43.3) and tied for the ninth-worst pass blocking grade (54.6).
And, because of front office incompetence, Bengals fans' sanity weighs on the shoulders of Browning for the next three months.