EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt's hard to say that any week of an NFL season can feel seismic, especially when it's the second week of the campaign. But I believe we're going to look back on Week 2 and say it was extraordinarily impactful in deciding and decoding the NFC.Injuries to young quarterbacks were the biggest stories of the day, but we also saw several of the conference's top contenders reaffirm themselves with big victories, a couple of teams we're still not sure about squeak by and a preseason contender narrowly save itself from the 0-2 cliff. We even saw the NFC South get on the board with a pair of victories.Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show'Let's run through some of the results and events from Sunday that might really matter in the NFC's big picture and break down how they played out and how they impact the conference moving forward. I'll start in Dallas, where the Commanders are facing serious short- and long-term questions about what's next.Jump to:WSH and Daniels' injuryCHI and Williams' injuryNO and its big winGB and its near lossThree teams at the topWashington Commanders (0-2)Lost 37-20 to the CowboysSunday showed why organizations were both transfixed and terrified by the idea of drafting Jayden Daniels as their quarterback of the future. For most of the first half, Daniels was singlehandedly propelling the Commanders forward on offense. In addition to going 11-of-17 for 96 yards as a passer, he picked up five first downs with his legs, scrambling seven times for 69 yards. Having a QB capable of bailing the offense out and picking up explosive plays in the process gives the Commanders a floor that most other teams don't have on a weekly basis.And then, on the final play of the first half, we saw the other side of the coin. With the Commanders passing up a field goal attempt to try to score a touchdown with three seconds remaining, Daniels took the snap from under center and got caught up in the footwork of left guard Chris Paul. As Daniels fell to the ground, he tried to brace with his left elbow, only for it to visibly give way and dislocate. He somehow got up and threw an incomplete pass and then did not return after halftime in a game that got away from Washington after the break.The injury is likely to sideline Daniels for an extended period. He missed four games after dislocating the same elbow in Week 9 a year ago, then reaggravated the injury in Week 14 and did not return over the remainder of the season. Missing a month would be a season-altering injury for the Commanders, who are already 0-2 and about to face the defending champion Seahawks in their home opener next week. Marcus Mariota is a capable backup, but the veteran doesn't offer the same sort of explosiveness and calmness under pressure that Daniels exhibited during his remarkable rookie season.The excuses that factored into Daniels' injury last season also don't apply. A year ago, coach Dan Quinn took the blame for having him on the field late in a lopsided game. Unless you want to be particularly pedantic about the idea that the Commanders should have taken the points on one play on the road against one of the best offenses in football, Daniels was on the field in a situation where he belonged. This wasn't a risky play or a product of taking too many hits as a runner. Even among those six scrambles I mentioned earlier, he either ended the play by sliding or stepping out of bounds five times. This is early in the season without the sort of significant accumulation of hits that might wear Daniels down late in a campaign.In the past, it was easy to believe that he would stay healthy if he took fewer hits or if Quinn had him out of a noncompetitive game. The Commanders moved him out of the shotgun and the quarterback-read run game, putting him under center more often to try to keep him healthier. And yet, in a complete fluke, Daniels had his foot stepped on here.After a mostly healthy rookie season in 2024, Daniels will now have gone no more than three games without missing a start to injury since the beginning of the 2025 season. How do you rely on that QB as your franchise passer, even one as talented as Daniels? He'll be eligible for a contract extension after this season. Even if he returns after a month and stays healthy for the rest of the year, will the Commanders realistically be able to justify giving the face of their franchise the sort of contract his play deserves? Can you bet $60 million or more per year on that player if you can't count on him being on the field for most of the season, let alone all of it?The Commanders can pick up Daniels' fifth-year option and go year-to-year while holding onto the franchise tag, of course, but if there's any organization that knows the dangers of playing that game, it should be Washington. When it was under former owner Daniel Snyder, this same franchise picked up Robert Griffin's fifth-year option, then sat him during his fourth season to avoid triggering the injury guarantee on that option year. (This was before all fifth-year options were fully guaranteed at the time of signing.) Washington franchised Kirk Cousins twice, lost him in free agency for nothing and then spent years cycling through quarterbacks before eventually landing on Daniels, who looked to be their QB of the future.What's more concerning is that Daniels isn't the only issue. Star left tackle Laremy Tunsil is out for most of the year with a torn triceps. Guard Sam Cosmi, who was excellent in the opening-week loss to the Eagles, was hit by his own teammate and needed help walking off the field after an extended time down. And 31-year-old wideout Terry McLaurin, coming off a contract extension and a disappointing 2025 season, has four catches on 13 targets through two games. Even a defense that looked solid in Week 1 allowed the Cowboys to score 37 points on eight drives Sunday.And yet, as with so many teams through two weeks, the Commanders could point to a couple of moments and feel like they were close to being 2-0. A fourth-quarter comeback against the Eagles was scuppered by a successful Jalen Hurts scramble on third-and-18 and Washington's failed 2-point try on a shovel pass to John Bates. Against the Cowboys, the Commanders narrowly missed on what should have been a pair of long touchdown passes to McLaurin and Treylon Burks -- each on a drive that ended up producing zero points.Last season, a Commanders team with Super Bowl aspirations lost Daniels to an injury at the end of the game in Week 2 for a couple of weeks, kicking off what would be a wildly frustrating season. After an 0-2 start and another Daniels injury, it certainly feels like another one of those wasted years for Washington, if not something even more ominous.Chicago Bears (1-1)Lost 9-3 to the VikingsThe Bears, meanwhile, might be facing a slightly better scenario than the one they feared Sunday afternoon. One week after he led the Bears to a 59-point performance against the Panthers, quarterback Caleb Williams was struggling against a much more difficult opponent in Brian Flores' hyperaggressive Vikings defense. Battling the rain for most of the day, Williams and coach Ben Johnson finally found a way to create a big play against a Flores blitz look, faking a screen one way and slipping D'Andre Swift out the other for a 32-yard completion. After converting a fourth-and-1, the Bears were set up with a first-and-goal opportunity and a shot to take the lead midway through the final quarter.And then most of Chicago went silent. A scrambling Williams went down short of the goal line, clutched his hamstring and didn't get up. The 2024 first-overall pick (taken one spot before Daniels) had to be helped off the field, was carted to the locker room with his face concealed by a towel and did not return. The Bears finished that drive with a field goal attempt that was blocked, and while Tyson Bagent drove them into the red zone again on a one-minute drill, Dallas Turner overwhelmed Colston Loveland in pass protection to sack Bagent and end the game.I'll talk more about the Vikings' defense in a bit, but let's focus on the Bears' side of things first. At the time of writing, Williams' injury status remains unclear. The third-year pro was able to walk through the locker room after the game unassisted and reportedly was in "good spirits" after the defeat. It certainly doesn't sound like the 24-year-old is expecting to miss significant time, although his status for next week's game against the Eagles is still to be determined.Following a 59-point performance with a three-point one isn't going to feel great, of course. It might be reasonable to point out that the Bears are still averaging 31 points per game on offense, which would be the third-best rate in the NFL through two weeks. And just as some elements of what they did in Week 1 were unsustainably positive, there were things that took place in Week 2 that won't stick.The Bears were 4-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone during that victory over the Panthers. In Week 2, they went 0-for-3. Swift had a ball punched out at the 1-yard line for a lost fumble before the Vikings came up with the blocked field goal and game-ending turnover on downs I mentioned earlier. Very good offenses typically turn about 60% of their red zone trips into touchdowns, and through two games, the Bears are at 57%. They aren't as dominant as they looked in Week 1 or as hopeless as they looked in Week 2.While the Vikings are obviously one of the league's best defenses, the Bears also did them a few favors. Flores wants to spend all game in third-and-long on defense, where he can terrorize opposing pass protection units with punt block looks and either drop into coverage or send the house. Every defense gets better on third-and-long, but the Vikings are built to break offenses in those spots.Owing in part to a run game that posted a success rate of just 31% and an offense that committed nine penalties, the Bears faced third-and-7 or longer on eight different occasions against Minnesota. They converted just two of those opportunities. Williams had to escape an unblocked Turner to find Kalif Raymond to pick up the first on one, only for Swift to fumble on the next play. And that 32-yard screen pass to Swift converted a third-and-7 in the fourth quarter, only for the drive to stall out after Williams' injury. Those third-and-long situations were generally drive-enders for the Bears, and when they weren't, disaster struck inside the 10-yard line. It wasn't their day.Other defenses won't press the Bears quite as much as the Vikings, but there are real weaknesses. Garrett Bradbury is a downgrade on the retired Drew Dalman at center. Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet are sharing snaps at left tackle, but neither is even an average option on the blind side of Williams (or Bagent). Defenses are going to create potential overloads on that side of the line to try tipping Johnson's hand in pass protection.The young receiving corps also hasn't had the best start to the season. Loveland has one catch for 3 yards through two games, even while running a team-high 52 routes. Rookie tight end Sam Roush has struggled as a blocker and dropped two targets on Sunday, including a potential touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Receiver Luther Burden III has five catches, while the unlikely leading pass catcher through two games is Raymond.If Williams is only out for a week or two (or can even return for next weekend's game against the Eagles), Bears fans should still feel fine. The Vikings are a tough matchup for anybody, and the much-maligned Bears defense did a great job of keeping the offense in the game, holding Justin Jefferson & Co. out of the end zone. Week 2 was just a bit of a reality check on that dream of being the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.New Orleans Saints (1-1)Beat the Ravens 24-17The Saints certainly are not boring. Playing at a fast pace with fun playmakers, they were an enjoyable team to catch up on late last season after quarterback Tyler Shough settled into the starting role. And through two weeks, they've been one of the league's most entertaining teams, falling just short against the Lions on the road before beating the Ravens in Baltimore's seemingly annual September stinker of a performance.Am I being careful with my adjective choices? I am. I'm not sure if this is really a good team after two weeks. Some elements of its performance aren't really sustainable. The Saints converted two fourth downs to extend the game against Detroit last week, including a fourth-and-12 throw to rookie Bryce Lance for 15 yards. Coach Kellen Moore's offense followed that up by going 2-for-2 on fourth down again against Baltimore, with a pair of Shough sneaks moving the chains -- including the fourth-and-goal touchdown that gave the Saints the lead.That play was controversial for multiple reasons. While it was ruled a touchdown on the field, it didn't look like Shough made it into the end zone on replay. Of course, that was because Roquan Smith was attempting to rip Shough's face mask off, which would have been a penalty if spotted on the field but can't be called on review. If the review had been able to make both calls, the Saints probably would have been better off, given that they would have gotten a new set of downs and been able to run the clock out before kicking a chip-shot field goal to win the game. It also looked like the Saints might have gotten into the end zone with their plays on second and third down, only to be called short. So, I don't think Ravens fans can or should feel too aggrieved by the broader set of events.Shough was awful before the first play of the third quarter against the Lions. Since then, he has been brilliant, aided by some diving catches by Devaughn Vele. After throwing an interception to start the second half in Week 1, Shough is 67-of-86 (77.9%) for 727 yards (8.5 yards per attempt), five passing touchdowns, no picks and a rushing score. While the league as a whole has shifted under center, Moore has had his quarterback in the shotgun at the sixth-highest rate, running the sort of RPO-heavy scheme that might have been more in vogue a few years ago. It's working, which is what matters most.The second-year pro is doing this despite having an inconsistent run game. Saints backs are 29th in yards per carry and 22nd in success rate so far this season, and what was expected to be a Travis Etienne Jr.-led backfield has been much more of a committee. Etienne played just 58% of the snaps in Week 1, and while that might have been a necessity on a day when the fast-paced Saints ran 90 snaps in a game that went into overtime, Etienne was splitting carries with Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson throughout the contest.Against the Ravens, Etienne bobbled a pitch from Shough and lost 7 yards on the opening play of the second quarter. He didn't play for most of the next drive, and at one point, the returning Alvin Kamara had 10 touches to Etienne's two. That might have been a good idea if Kamara was productive, but those 10 touches produced a total of 17 yards. Saints backs eventually finished with 42 rushing yards on 18 carries, leaving Shough to shoulder the workload.If receiver Chris Olave is this team's superstar on offense, the breakthrough player on defense has been Chase Young. After a knee injury seemed to waylay Young's career in Washington and a brief stint with the 49ers didn't impress, Young eventually settled in New Orleans as a post-hype addition. He had a solid 2024 season in a situational role, but after a free agent market didn't develop for him in 2025, he re-signed with the Saints for three years and $51 million.Young missed the first five games of the 2025 season with a calf injury. Since then, he has been a superstar. The Ohio State product managed 10 sacks and 15 knockdowns in 12 games a year ago, quietly playing at a Pro Bowl level on an underrated Saints defense. While he didn't have a sack in the opener against the Lions, Young produced four quick pressures of Jared Goff. He added three more while taking Lamar Jackson down for 1.5 sacks on Sunday, helping slow down a pair of drives that were already deep in Saints territory.Since returning last season, Young ranks third among all edge rushers in pass rush win rate, trailing only Nik Bonitto and Abdul Carter. His 10.0% quick pressure rate since the start of 2025 is the best of any pass rusher in the league with 300 rush attempts or more over that span. At 27, Young should be in his peak seasons. The bar for great free agent signings in New Orleans is pretty high when you consider the impact Demario Davis had after joining the franchise, but re-signing Young has been a masterstroke from an oft-maligned Saints front office.Coming away with a split on the road against the Lions and Ravens would have been a cause for celebration for the Saints before the season, and they came awfully close to starting 2-0 against projected playoff teams. Now, four of their next six games are at home, plus a trip to Paris to play the Steelers at the Stade de France. The only downside has been losing second-year left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who was off to a rough start in 2026 before being carted off with an ankle injury against the Ravens.The NFC South looks ripe for the taking, and the Saints have been the best team in the division through two weeks.Green Bay Packers (1-1)Beat the Jets 20-17 in OTThe vibes aren't exactly as pleasant in Green Bay. After blowing yet another lead in the Week 1 loss to the Vikings, the Packers decided to switch things up in Week 2 and launch their own late-game comeback. Trailing the Jets 17-7 in the fourth quarter and facing a first-and-25 on their own side of the field with just under 10 minutes to go, the Packers suddenly sprung to life. They scored 10 points in five minutes to tie the game, and after the Jets were stopped on the opening drive of overtime, a pair of completions and an unnecessary roughness penalty set up a short field goal to win the game for Green Bay. What would have been a disastrous 0-2 start was thankfully averted for Matt LaFleur and his team.It may have been a Pyrrhic victory. The Packers are hurting badly, especially on offense. They came into the Jets game without running back Josh Jacobs -- who has been placed on the commissioner exempt list after pleading no contest to battery and criminal damage to property charges -- and tight end Luke Musgrave (out indefinitely with a neck injury). But the problems grew deeper against the Jets.Wide receiver Jayden Reed suffered a scary neck injury early in the game and was taken off on a board, although the veteran was thankfully able to move his extremities. Christian Watson briefly left the game after taking a big hit, although the oft-injured wideout returned and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter.The offensive line is the source of serious anxiety. One play after Reed suffered his injury, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele went down with a leg injury and was carted off in an air cast. Guard Aaron Banks, who has been in and out of the lineup with injuries since joining the Packers in free agency, missed the season-opening loss to the Vikings with a knee issue and left the win over the Jets in the second quarter after suffering a toe injury. He did not return ... and replacement Donovan Jennings was then sidelined by a hand injury.By the end of the game, the Packers were fielding one of the league's most inexperienced lines. Left tackle Jordan Morgan is starting his first full year on the blind side after filling in at four different spots in 2025. Center Sean Rhyan, the unit's veteran, made his 30th career start on Sunday. Right guard Jacob Monk had played 57 offensive snaps through two years before winning the starting job in camp.Bako-Bewele was replaced by 2025 second-rounder Anthony Belton, who started seven games as a rookie. Banks gave way to Jennings, who made his first career start last week. Jennings was then replaced by rookie Jager Burton, who was making his NFL debut. The Packers lean on youth and trust their ability to develop raw talent more than any other team, but this is about as inexperienced of an offensive line as you'll ever see a competitive team field by the end of Week 2. And given that Banks and Bako-Bewele both missed significant time with injuries last season, the Packers can't really be shocked by this, either.Perhaps unsurprisingly given the offensive line woes and the lack of an experienced back behind Jacobs, the Packers haven't been able to consistently run the ball. LaFleur has expanded the role of pass-protection specialist Chris Brooks and had him split time with MarShawn Lloyd and recent trade acquisition Kaleb Johnson, who led the team with eight carries against the Jets. The three-headed backfield is averaging 3.4 yards per carry and a 31.6% success rate on the ground. Those figures rank 27th and 29th, respectively, among NFL teams.LaFleur will have to decide whether he wants to just put the game on Jordan Love's shoulders. In 2024 and 2025, when each team had at least a 10% chance of winning the game, the Packers threw the ball 43.9% of the time on first-and-10, which was the fourth-heaviest run lean in the NFL. So far this year, the Packers are throwing the ball 37.8% of the time in those spots, which would be the sixth-heaviest run lean. Running the ball on first down is fine when it works, but the Packers are averaging minus-0.20 expected points added (EPA) per play on first-and-10, the worst mark in the league.It feels like the Packers are holding on for dear life until Micah Parsons gets back from his knee injury, hoping that he can spark some life in the team. I've worried about who might offer Parsons some support or fill in the pass rush while he's missing. On Sunday, that was Lukas Van Ness, the former first-round pick who has enjoyed flashy moments without ever stringing together a multimonth stretch of excellent play. He might have swung this game for the Packers, racking up 1.5 sacks, nine pressures and a game-high five quick pressures.With the Jets marching in the final two minutes, Van Ness tackled Breece Hall for a 1-yard gain on third-and-2, then burst behind the line to tackle Braelon Allen for no gain on fourth-and-1, stuffing the Jets when a first down would have given them a chance to get into range for a game-winning field goal. In his best game as a pro, Van Ness might have turned Green Bay's season around.San Francisco 49ers (2-0)Beat the Dolphins 35-13Minnesota Vikings (2-0)Beat the Bears 9-3Seattle Seahawks (2-0)Beat the Cardinals 31-7And then there are three 2-0 teams that have a claim at being the best in the conference through two weeks. I'm leaving out the 2-0 Eagles, who needed some late-game heroics from Jalen Hurts to beat the Titans in Nashville on Sunday after allowing Tyjae Spears to become the first running back to convert a third down with 20 or more yards to go for a first down without a penalty since 1996. We'll check in on them in a few weeks.The other three undefeateds through two games (the 1-0 Giants play Monday night) have all been more impressive. The 49ers unsurprisingly made quick work of the Dolphins on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on each of their first five possessions. The only reason the Niners didn't score more was time; the Dolphins ran nine-, 17- and 12-play drives in the first half, limiting Brock Purdy to just two possessions before the half. San Francisco became the first team to run just two drives in the first half since November 2024. At one point, the 49ers offense had scored five touchdowns and faced just four third downs all game.Stomping two teams to begin the season is always a good sign, especially when one of those teams was the preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl in the Rams, who the 49ers wore out in Melbourne. On the other hand, I feel strongly that the Dolphins are going to be one of the worst teams in the league. And if you believe that the Rams were really impacted by their decision to fly to Australia late and play the opener without overcoming the impact of traveling 16 hours or adjusting to a new time zone, well, the 49ers might not have played a very difficult slate of opponents to start 2026.Most great Kyle Shanahan offenses torture teams on first down, and this one is no exception. The 49ers are running the ball more than 66% of the time on first down when each team's win expectancy is over 10%, the NFL's highest rate. Those runs have averaged a robust 6.6 yards per carry. Purdy is then averaging more than 10 yards per attempt while using play-action.Rookie back Kaelon Black might prove to be a surprisingly important piece of the offense. The rare middle-round draftee to actually earn Shanahan's trust and make his way into the lineup early, Black has taken a meaningful share of the running back workload, playing nearly 38% of the offensive snaps and even taking more carries (21) than Christian McCaffrey (20).Black's ability to do that as a reasonably efficient runner is like an NBA team adding a solid enough scorer to its second unit to let it get the lead scorer a few extra minutes of rest per game. McCaffrey looks fresher than he did a year ago. He's averaging 4.6 yards per carry through two games, up from 3.9 per tote in 2025. A reduced workload should also prove to give McCaffrey a better shot of making it through the season, something he has managed three times in the past six years.Of course, given the 49ers' dramatic injury history and the rash of issues they faced before the season even started, projecting them to do well has mostly been a referendum on expecting key contributors to stay on the field. Through two games, they've mostly lost secondary options. Rookie wideout De'Zhaun Stribling, one of the team's star contributors in camp, is sidelined for 10 weeks after suffering an ankle injury against the Rams. Tight end Jake Tonges suffered a season-ending knee injury while leg-whipping Myles Garrett, leading to the unique case of a player being fined for the play that ended his season.On Sunday, the receiver injuries continued to pile up. Veteran Demarcus Robinson was carted off with an ankle injury and is expected to miss time with what might be a high-ankle sprain. Free agent addition Mike Evans left the game with a hip issue and didn't return, although that could be the product of the game being out of hand in the fourth quarter. Christian Kirk (calf) is still a couple of weeks away from being eligible to return from injured reserve, while Ricky Pearsall (knee) is out for the year. (Brandon Aiyuk is still technically part of the organization, but when asked about bringing him back amid the injuries at wide receiver, Shanahan's response was negative.)A path to the playoffs and the top seed for the 49ers simply involves many of those stars staying healthy. They've been one of the league's most-injured teams in four of the past five seasons. The exception was 2023, when a healthy 49ers squad made it to the Super Bowl. It makes sense that the Niners would probably be at their best early in the season, when so many of those players are still available and at their freshest.The Vikings and Seahawks have both rode their defenses to 2-0 starts, overcoming the loss of their starting QBs by the end of the first quarter in their respective openers in the process. I don't think anyone would be surprised just how well those two defenses are performing given their track record, but they've been two of the most impressive units to watch through two weeks.Let me start with the Vikings, who have Brian Flores breaking blitz scales. Through two weeks, Flores has blitzed on 73.6% of opposing dropbacks. If that sounds like a lot, well, consider that the second-placed Commanders have blitzed just under 45% of the time. Dan Quinn's defense is closer to the 29th-most frequent blitzing team than it is to the Vikings in first.The last time a team even came close to blitzing this often through the first two weeks of a season was 2009, when a Jets team with Darrelle Revis at cornerback and Rex Ryan calling plays blitzed just over 65% of the time. Flores was already blitzing more than anybody else in football by a considerable margin last year, and that was when he was sending extra pressure 46.8% of the time. He has now multiplied that rate by more than 50%.The Vikings create pressure and havoc with those blitzes, but they're actually more effective as a defense when they don't blitz. Opposing quarterbacks are 7-of-21 for just 89 yards when the Vikings send four men or fewer so far this season. And while that sounds like I'm suggesting Flores should blitz less often, the opposite is true. The threat of the blitz and the impact of guessing wrong by opposing offenses informs that excellent performance.Take the final snap of Sunday's game against the Bears. Before the snap, the Vikings show a pressure look with six men on the line of scrimmage and five defenders lined up at or near the goal line. This looks like a potential all-out pressure from the Vikings; Flores is perfectly happy to play Cover 0 and trust his defensive backs with the game on the line.The Bears respond, perhaps owing to Bagent's inexperience, with a very conservative approach. They keep seven men in for protection, ensuring that they won't be outnumbered by Vikings blitzers. That only leaves three receivers to run routes. The Bears also slide their protection to the right to account for Andrew Van Ginkel.At the snap, the Vikings drop out, leaving the Bears with seven blockers for four rushers. That might sound great, but Flores has the Bears receivers outnumbered on both sides of the field; the Vikings are three-over-two on one side and two-over-one to Luther Burden III on the right side. They have Eric Wilson and Blake Cashman left to spy or influence Bagent as a scrambler.And because the Bears chose to max protect and slide their protection toward Van Ginkel, Colston Loveland is left blocking Dallas Turner one-on-one. That's a disaster for two reasons. One is that Loveland, who might be Chicago's most impactful receiving threat on any given play, isn't running a route. The other is that Loveland can't block Turner, who muscled through for a sack to end the game.Turner's off to an eye-popping start, one I didn't see coming. While the 2024 first-round pick had eight sacks last season, most of those weren't quick victories against offensive linemen, with Turner cleaning up other defenders' pressures. His underlying metrics and pass-rush film weren't as impressive as those of Van Ginkel or now-departed edge Jonathan Greenard, who is yet to see the field with the Eagles as he deals with an injury.In 2026, though, Turner has been stuffing the stat sheet. Through two weeks, he leads all pass rushers with 20 quarterback pressures, 11 quarterback hits and 10 quick pressures. He has only three sacks, and those include a play where a Packers tight end blocked his own right tackle from getting out to block Turner and two sacks facing Bears tight ends on Sunday, but that's not Turner's fault.Does playing for Flores help? More than you might think. Turner leads the NFL with five unblocked pressures this year, and he had several shots at Williams in the backfield as an unblocked defender on Sunday and missed. Watching his pressures back on Sunday night, two were late that came when Williams scrambled to his side of the field after Turner hadn't really impacted the play. Three were completely unblocked. Turner's three best rushes came against tight ends.Flores does a great job of getting Turner those unblocked pressures and one-on-ones against guys who can't stop him. And given a chance to end the game, Turner delivered, which is all that matters in the long run. When you lead the league in pressures, as Turner does, you're doing something right. His underlying metrics are way up from where they were in 2025, and that's a boon for a Vikings defense that relies heavily on older players.I'm more skeptical of the offense, which couldn't manage a touchdown here against a Bears defense that looked hopeless in Week 1. Rainy conditions didn't help, but the Vikings haven't looked great on offense all season. Kyler Murray struggled in his brief stint before going down with a concussion, and while Carson Wentz and the offense scored five touchdowns in the win over the Packers, three of those came on short fields that started deep in Green Bay territory, including one that literally began on the 1-yard line.The tough part for coach Kevin O'Connell has to be figuring out who can bear a heavy workload. He clearly didn't want to lean on Wentz in the rain against the Bears, leaving the Vikings to drop back 23 times on offense. The objective was getting the ball out quickly, as 11 of Wentz's 20 pass attempts came within 2.5 seconds of the snap. Other would-be quick throws were sniffed out by the Bears, or those numbers would be even more lopsided. That's a logical plan given Wentz's propensity for getting into trouble as he holds the ball, but it limits how effective the Vikings can be throwing.Simultaneously, the Vikings are down one of their two lead backs in Jordan Mason and don't want to overwork veteran Aaron Jones Sr. The former Packers back had 23 carries Sunday and was briefly checked out for a knee issue before returning to the game. The secondary option behind Jones is DeeJay Dallas, who joined the team only three weeks ago. An injury to Jones would likely push the Vikings to shop for a veteran back in free agency, something they obviously would prefer to avoid doing in-season.The Seahawks, on the other hand, actually looked effective on both sides of the ball in their victory over the Cardinals on Sunday. The defense was unsurprisingly stellar, limiting Jacoby Brissett & Co. to 90 net yards, four first downs and no points on their final seven possessions of the game after a Trey McBride touchdown catch in the second quarter.Even while blitzing at the league's fourth-lowest rate, the Seahawks still managed a top-10 pressure rate in Week 2. When they got pressure on Brissett, the play was over: Brissett went 2-of-9 for 3 yards with an interception and two sacks when pressured Sunday. McBride had an Arizona-high eight catches, but they gained just 41 yards. And after the McBride touchdown, the Cardinals didn't advance past the Seattle 47-yard line the rest of the way. They were completely stifled.Perhaps as a result of the offseason turnover in the secondary, Mike Macdonald's leaning more heavily into zone coverage and attempting to take away big plays. The Seahawks are running zone on more than 75% of their defensive snaps this season, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL and up from 66% a year ago. They've played two high safeties on more than 71% of their snaps, which is the third-highest rate in the league and up from 55% in 2025. And unsurprisingly, they've forced everything underneath. The Seahawks are the only team in the NFL to allow zero plays of 25 yards or more through the first two games of the season. (To be technical, Josh Jobe was flagged for a 34-yard pass interference penalty, but even that one explosive play allowed would still tie the Seahawks with the Jets for the fewest.)In his first start of the season, Drew Lock was more than competent in Sam Darnold's absence, going 19-of-26 for 235 yards with three touchdown passes. He has had one plan, and it has been a good one: Target Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The league's reigning Offensive Player of the Year has been targeted on a whopping 44% of Seattle's pass attempts this season. No other player is above 37%, and JSN was at 36% during his incredible 2025 campaign.Smith-Njigba has four touchdowns through two games, and while he has done plenty of great work getting open, it helps when the defense makes mistakes, too. Budda Baker does a lot of great things with his instincts for the Cardinals, but he'll want the biggest play of the day back. Playing as a deep safety, Baker read Lock wanting to throw an out to the sideline, where Will Johnson would have been waiting for a pick-six. The cornerback didn't need help, but when Lock feigned beginning a throw underneath, Baker began to fly down. Instead, Smith-Njigba was running a double move and brought in one of the easier 82-yard touchdowns you'll ever see.Finding a steadier run game would be the one thing the Seahawks could do to move forward. The offense has been reticent to commit to Jadarian Price, and a midgame fumble didn't help matters for the rookie back, who eventually left the game with a chest injury in the fourth quarter. Instead, coordinator Brian Fleury focused the run game in Week 2 around Emanuel Wilson, who carried the ball 21 times for 92 yards. Those are solid numbers, but the Seahawks gave Wilson and George Holani all of the goal-line work with no luck, as the duo combined for six carries inside the 5-yard line without scoring, including three stuffs from the 1-yard line. That didn't matter against the Cardinals, but it will against stiffer competition.Is it too simple to just pick the defending champs as the conference's top team? The Seahawks have looked spectacular on defense, including that dramatic three-interception second half that helped beat the Patriots in Week 1. The 49ers have been dominant on offense, but I'm not sure what that means against the Dolphins. The Vikings still have serious questions at quarterback.I still think the Seahawks are the best team in the NFC. But ask again in a couple of weeks.
