NFL Week 2 Schedule 2026: Ranking All 16 Games From Worst to Best

The past week-plus across the NFL taught us plenty about what we may—and may not—be able to expect throughout the 2026 season.

Across all 16 Week 1 games, we saw a total of 791 total points scored (tied for the most in an opening slate in NFL history), four first-year head coaches lead their teams to victory, and both the 2025 NFL MVP winner Matthew Stafford and runner-up Drake Maye lay proverbial eggs in their teams’ losses.

MORE: NFL Week 2 Picks From the MMQB Staff

Will these turn into trends? Outliers? Who’s to say! We only have one slate of games to go off of. That is, until the Lions and Bills kick off the coming slate on Thursday night at Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium.

Here’s a snapshot preview of all 16 games for Week 2, ranked from the least to most watchable.

Ranking all 16 NFL Week 2 games from worst to best
Full Week 2 NFL schedule

Ranking all 16 NFL Week 2 games from worst to best

Bryce Young and the Panthers will take on the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

16. Panthers (0–1) at Falcons (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

The Panthers put up a respectable 37 points against the Bears last Sunday. Unfortunately, their defense allowed an abysmal 59. They’ll travel to Atlanta this weekend to face off against the Falcons, who’ll likely start quarterback Cooper Rush as Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa continue to deal with injuries. Carolina should be able to hold off allowing a 50-burger for a second week in a row.

15. Dolphins (0–1) at 49ers (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

Sunday’s matchup between the Dolphins and 49ers marks the third time they’ll meet since their blockbuster 2021 trade, which sent three first-round picks (and a third-rounder) to Miami in exchange for the No. 3 selection—which San Francisco used to draft quarterback Trey Lance. The two sides have split their matchups since. The 49ers come into this one fresh off a win over the Rams in Australia—though how fresh remains to be seen, given the travel and possible jet lag—while the Dolphins lost to the Raiders by two touchdowns in Las Vegas. Two teams on complete opposite ends of the NFL totem pole.

14. Raiders (1–0) at Chargers (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CBS

The Raiders showed last week that with Kirk Cousins and Ashton Jeanty in the backfield, they have the capability to light up the scoreboard. The Chargers, meanwhile, did the opposite with their measly 14-point showing in an upset loss to the Cardinals. Justin Herbert is 8–3 against Las Vegas in his career and 4–0 since Jim Harbaugh became his head coach in 2024. He’ll look to tally another victory over them and pull the Chargers out of their 0–1 hole before they hit the seven-game gantlet at the heart of their schedule.

13. Eagles (1–0) at Titans (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

The A.J. Brown–less Eagles saw quarterback Jalen Hurts throw three touchdowns en route to a 24-point showing against the Commanders. They’ll head to Nashville this Sunday to take on the Titans, who were outclassed by the Jets in Week 1.

12. Browns (0–1) at Buccaneers (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CBS

Despite a less-than-ideal showing in their season-opening defeats against the Jaguars, the Browns are sticking with Deshaun Watson at quarterback for at least another week. They’ll head to Tampa on Sunday to play the Buccaneers, who fell to 0–1 with a 33–27 loss to the Bengals that was far less competitive than the final score indicates. This is the second time Baker Mayfield will face Cleveland—the team that drafted him with the No. 1 pick in 2018 and shipped him out when they brought in Watson. He lost the first one, 26–24, while quarterbacking the Panthers in 2022.

11. Packers (0–1) at Jets (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

Fair or not, the Packers’ Week 1 meltdown at the hands of the Vikings has put Matt LaFleur’s job security under a microscope after another blown double-digit lead. He’ll have a chance to avenge the loss on Sunday when Green Bay heads east to face the 1–0 Jets at MetLife Stadium. The last time these two teams played was in 2022, when Aaron Rodgers led New York to a 22–10 win over his former team. The Packers have found success with Rodgers’s successor in Jordan Love, while the Jets are still searching for a franchise QB but have Geno Smith in place for 2026.

10. Commanders (0–1) at Cowboys (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

Two NFC East teams began the season 1–0, and they weren’t the Commanders or Cowboys. Instead, the division’s two basement dwellers will square off Sunday in Dallas, each looking to avoid an 0–2 start. This one features two rookie first-round picks (and former Ohio State teammates) in Washington linebacker Sonny Styles and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, as well as Dan Quinn taking on Dallas—where he served as defensive coordinator from 2021 to ’23—for a fifth time since taking over as Washington’s head coach. He’s 1–3 in the previous four matchups.

9. Steelers (1–0) at Patriots (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CBS

The Steelers opened the Mike McCarthy era with a victory over the Falcons that saw Aaron Rodgers play clean football, and their defense record four sacks and two interceptions. Their opponent in Week 2 is the Patriots, who have now lost two consecutive games to the Seahawks dating back to last season’s Super Bowl. New England faced Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Patrick Graham last season while he was with the Raiders, scoring just 13 points while Maye was sacked four times. Now, Graham and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels—who coached together in Las Vegas—will face off once again in an intriguing chess match.

8. Seahawks (1–0) at Cardinals (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

A game that initially looked to be a blowout candidate could suddenly become competitive thanks to Sam Darnold’s oblique injury and Arizona’s Week 1 upset victory over the Chargers. The Cardinals put up an impressive 26 points in Mike LaFleur’s debut as head coach while forcing two turnovers on defense. Seattle is officially on upset alert.

7. Saints (0–1) at Ravens (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CBS

The Ravens look like the real deal under Jesse Minter. So do the Saints, who nearly completed a 21-point comeback against the Lions before a failed two-point conversion in overtime dropped them to 0–1 to start the season. Kellen Moore will now trot his Tyler Shough–led offense into Baltimore against Minter’s defense for a duel between two young, play-calling head coaches.

6. Colts (0–1) at Chiefs (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBC

Patrick Mahomes returned from last season’s knee injury with a vengeance on Monday night, helping the Chiefs to a dominant 31–10 win over the Broncos. Kansas City will now welcome the Colts—who were bludgeoned by the Ravens in Week 1—to Arrowhead Stadium for Sunday Night Football. When these teams met last November, the Chiefs pulled off an 11-point fourth-quarter comeback and won by a field goal in overtime. This was shortly before both Mahomes and Daniel Jones saw their seasons shut down.

5. Giants (1–0) at Rams (0–1)

Date: Monday, Sept. 21
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ESPN/ABC

Only one team across the NFL failed to score at least 10 points in Week 1: the Rams, who built a superteam this offseason only to debut it with a 27–7 loss to the 49ers in Melbourne. They’ve now returned to the States, placed Myles Garrett on injured reserve and will get some extra rest before a Monday Night Football matchup against the Giants—who began their season 1–0 with a victory over the Cowboys in John Harbaugh’s first game as head coach in New York.

4. Vikings (1–0) at Bears (1–0)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Fox

The Vikings showed off some incredible resilience in their Week 1 win over the Packers, overcoming the loss of quarterback Kyler Murray to a concussion and a 12-point second-half deficit to take down Green Bay, 39–22. They’ll head to Chicago on Sunday to take on the Bears, who are fresh off a 59-point performance against the Panthers. Needless to say, all eyes will be on the showdown between Ben Johnson’s offense and Brian Flores’s defense.

3. Bengals (1–0) at Texans (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Reliant Stadium, Houston
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CBS

We’ve got ourselves a best-on-best matchup on Sunday afternoon in Houston, with the high-flying Bengals offense squaring off against the stout Texans defense. The subplot here, though, will be whether C.J. Stroud can put up enough points against a Cincinnati defense that forced four fumbles, and sacked Baker Mayfield four times, last Sunday.

2. Jaguars (1–0) at Broncos (0–1)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 20
Location: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver
Time: 4:05 p.m. ETW
here to watch: CBS

The Broncos were reminded of who has run the AFC West over the past decade, as the Chiefs made light work of them in their season opener in Kansas City. They’ll now return home in Week 2 for potentially an even tougher task, with the Jaguars heading to Denver coming off a win over the Browns in which quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes. The two sides most recently played in Week 16 last season, when Jacksonville broke Denver’s 11-game winning streak with a 34–20 victory at Mile High. This is a massive spot for the Broncos, who are looking to avoid falling into an 0–2 hole, while it would be a great win for the Jaguars, who are already a game up on everyone else in the AFC South.

1. Lions (1–0) at Bills (1–0)

Date: Thursday, Sept. 17
Location: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Both the Lions and Bills won their season-opening bouts against the Saints and Texans, respectively, in the final minutes. Now, two of the league’s top offenses—and perennial contenders each in search of their franchise’s first Super Bowl title—will square off on Thursday Night Football to officially open Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium. For what it’s worth, Josh Allen is 3–0 in his career against Jared Goff.

Full Week 2 NFL schedule

Josh Allen and the Bills will take on the Lions on Thursday night. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Who is playing on Thursday Night Football this week?

Home team	Away team	Time	Where to watch
Buffalo Bills	Detroit Lions	8:15 p.m. ET	Prime Video

Sunday, September 20

Home team	Away team	Time	Where to watch
Tennessee Titans	Philadelphia Eagles	1:00 p.m. ET	Fox
New England Patriots	Pittsburgh Steelers	1:00 p.m. ET	CBS
Chicago Bears	Minnesota Vikings	1:00 p.m. ET	Fox
Atlanta Falcons	Carolina Panthers	1:00 p.m. ET	Fox
New York Jets	Green Bay Packers	1:00 p.m. ET	Fox
Baltimore Ravens	New Orleans Saints	1:00 p.m. ET	CBS
Houston Texans	Cincinnati Bengals	1:00 p.m. ET	CBS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Cleveland Browns	1:00 p.m. ET	CBS
Denver Broncos	Jacksonville Jaguars	4:05 p.m. ET	CBS
Los Angeles Chargers	Las Vegas Raiders	4:05 p.m. ET	CBS
Arizona Cardinals	Seattle Seahawks	4:25 p.m. ET	Fox
San Francisco 49ers	Miami Dolphins	4:25 p.m. ET	Fox
Dallas Cowboys	Washington Commanders	4:25 p.m. ET	Fox

Who is playing on Sunday Night Football this week?

Home team	Away team	Time	Where to watch
Kansas City Chiefs	Indianapolis Colts	8:20 p.m. ET	NBC/Peacock

Who is playing on Monday Night Football this week?

Home team	Away team	Time	Where to watch
Los Angeles Rams	New York Giants	8:15 p.m. ET	ABC/ESPN

Add us as a preferred source on Google