As the offense stalled with quarterback Cooper Rush under center against the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons finally gave fans what they wanted. 

Late in the third quarter, Atlanta brought in undrafted Minnesota State Moorhead rookie quarterback Jack Strand for his first taste of NFL regular-season action. It didn’t start well.

Strand’s debut couldn’t have started any worse, but it was certainly unforgettable. On his first pass attempt, he was picked off by Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd for a quick pick-six.

With a pick-six on his first pass attempt, Strand joins elite company by becoming just the fourth quarterback since at least 1991 to throw an interception returned for a touchdown on his first professional pass.

The other three quarterbacks? Jameis Winston (2015), Sam Darnold (2018) and Brett Favre (1991). 

The silver lining? Both Favre and Darnold went on to win Super Bowls, while Winston has enjoyed a solid NFL career. So, the good news for Strand is that his career is not necessarily doomed.

Strand came in late in the second half after Rush failed to get the offense moving against the Panthers defense. He completed 8-of-15 passes for 59 yards and averaged just 3.9 yards per attempt, while throwing a historic pick-six.

Strand’s stint under center will likely be short-lived. While Tua Tagovailoa is sidelined by an oblique injury, 2024 No. 9 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. should be ready to go for Thursday night’s matchup against Green Bay.

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The Chicago Bears started Week 1 hot, scoring 59 points in their win over the Carolina Panthers. But what went wrong in their 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday?

Chicago fell to NFC North foe Minnesota in a defensive standoff, struggling to score through the rainy conditions as quarterback Caleb Williams also went down with a hamstring injury. The Bears went scoreless over the final three quarters, putting up just 297 yards of total offense. 

In a battle of respective masterminds, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores got the best of Bears head coach Ben Johnson. As a result, Johnson couldn’t do anything but tip his cap to Flores following Sunday’s game. 

“Early on, you could feel what he wanted to do. That’s what makes going against him so challenging,” Johnson said of Flores after the loss. “We gained momentum out of halftime and drove all the way down, but then gave it up with points in the bag. Facing a good defense like that, we have to capitalize on every single opportunity.”

So, just how drastically bad was the Bears’ offensive showing on Sunday? Well, compared to Week 1, it was one of the largest offensive scoring outputs for a team in back-to-back games in NFL history. 

Chicago’s 56-point difference is the third-largest difference in points scored in a team’s first two games of a season in NFL History, per FOX Sports Research. The largest difference in points in a team’s first two games of a season (in either direction) was 62 points by the 1973 Falcons (62-7 win then 31-0 loss).

Before today, the largest difference in points for the Bears in their first two games of a season (in either direction) was 34 points in 1940 (41-10 win then 21-7 loss).

Sunday also marked the second-fewest points scored by a team with Johnson as offensive coordinator or head coach. The Detroit Lions were shutout by the New England Patriots when Johnson was their offensive coordinator in 2022.

There were some other notable tidbits to emerge from the Bears’ loss. Sunday was the Vikings’ seventh straight road win at Soldier Field, tied for the second-longest road win streak at Soldier Field in NFL history. The Vikings are also the first team in NFL history to win four straight games (regular season and playoffs) with four different starting quarterbacks (Max Brosmer, J.J. McCarthy, Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz).

The Bears now turn to another home game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. 

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It appeared for a moment that the Washington Commanders had evened things up with the Dallas Cowboys in the third quarter of Sunday’s NFC East matchup. 

Quarterback Marcus Mariota connected with receiver Dyami Brown for what appeared to be an impressive 35-yard touchdown. The pass was ruled incomplete on the field, but on replay, it looked like Brown corralled the ball and stayed in play for a touchdown grab, leading the Commanders to challenge the call. 

However, after the play went under review, it was determined that Brown lost control of the ball and the ruling of an incomplete pass was upheld. 

FOX Sports’ rules analyst Dean Blandino disagreed with the call, though. 

“I believe what they are ruling is that they couldn’t determine if he had control when he hit the ground,” Blandino said. “To me, the left knee is in, he has control, slight movement is not a loss of control. That’s a touchdown in my opinion.”

Following the incompletion, the Commanders finished their six-play, 31-yard scoring drive with a field goal to narrow the Cowboys’ lead to 17-13.

Prior to the call being upheld, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels went down with an apparent elbow injury. Daniels was carted off the field and is being evaluated for further tests. Mariota under center to close out its NFC East matchup.

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The Cowboys got into the win column on Sunday, taking their home opener against the rival Commanders. 

The biggest story coming out of the game, though, was Washington’s Jayden Daniels suffering another injury setback. Health continues to define the early career of one of the NFL’s brightest young stars. 

Here are my takeaways:

1.

Daniels was in a groove, reminding the NFL world about how talented a quarterback he is.

After an impressive fourth quarter against the Eagles last week, he was giving the Cowboys all kinds of fits as a scrambler (seven carries for 69 yards). He was making sound decisions in the passing game, too (11-for-17 with 96 yards and a touchdown). He had found a groove in new coordinator David Blough’s offense. He was looking like the quarterback poised to finally build off his historic 2024 rookie season in a way he couldn’t last year, when he battled various injuries en route to missing 10 games. 

But then he suffered another setback.

Jayden Daniels reacts to suffering his elbow injury on Sunday against the Cowboys. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) –>

On the last play of the second quarter, he sustained a serious injury to his left elbow – the same one he dislocated and re-injured last season. He had a towel on his head as he was carted to the locker room and was quickly ruled out for the game. Judging by how it looked, it could be an extended absence.

It’s a devastating development for Daniels and Washington.

The franchise goes as far as Daniels takes them. When he was healthy as a rookie, they went to the NFC Championship Game. With him missing most of last season due to injury and playing in many games at less than 100%, they missed the playoffs.

We can’t speculate on the severity of Daniels’ injury at this time, but it’s a major hiccup in the Commanders’ hopes of contention.

2.

Dallas’ high-octane offense was quite comfortable against the Commanders, scoring 37 points and putting up 266 passing yards. But its running game went nowhere, producing 66 yards. The Cowboys had just 33 rushing yards more than 40 minutes into the game.

And the Cowboys’ running game wasn’t much better in their season opener against the Giants, either — 69 rushing yards on 18 carries (3.8 yards per rush attempt). The run blocking has not been good. In Week 1, Dallas lead running back Javonte Williams was contacted behind the line of scrimmage on half of his carries (6-of-12), according to Next Gen Stats.

The Cowboys can throw the ball against anyone, but there will come a time when they’ll have to be able to run the ball effectively. Not only will that prevent Dallas from being one-dimensional offensively, but it will also help it to control the clock in games.

Entering the season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said the offense’s motto will be “GOTI,” an acronym for the greatest offense there is. To live up to that standard, Dallas must figure out how to get the rushing attack going. 

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ passing offense thrived against the Commanders on Sunday with four TDs through the air. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images) –>

3.

Yes, Dallas’ defensive showing in its opener against the Giants was putrid — the worst of all the league’s defenses during opening week, according to some metrics. And Sunday, the Cowboys faced a Commanders’ offense that played without Daniels for the second half, perhaps inflating how good their defense looked.

But the Dallas defense made a ton of strides in Week 2.

Communication issues weren’t a glaring problem like they were in the opener. And over two weeks, we’ve learned that Dallas can make plays on the ball. It had a forced fumble that led to a takeaway against Washington, after registering four forced fumbles against the Giants in Week 1. An opportunistic defense is never out of the game, even if the consistency isn’t quite there.

Dallas clearly has a ton of talent to become consistent eventually — it’s just that there are so many new faces that are still learning to play with one another. In fact, players who did not log a single defensive snap for the Cowboys last season accounted for 59.5% of their defensive snaps in their season opener against the Giants, the highest rate league-wide.

You take all that into account, the Cowboys’ defense is headed in the right direction. 

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Jalen Hurts has a strong memory.

The Eagles quarterback made it clear to Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons that he remembered his remark about him following Philadelphia’s victory on Sunday.

“You started that s—, I had to finish it,” Hurts told Simmons when the Titans defensive tackle approached him during his postgame interview with FOX Sports’ Kristina Pink.

Earlier in the week, Simmons said that the Titans just “need to make Jalen Hurts be a QB” in order to beat the Eagles. Simmons’ comment made the rounds on social media as he took a perceived dig at Philadelphia’s quarterback. 

Hurts responded with some relatively impressive passes on Sunday, leading the Eagles to a game-winning touchdown drive in the final seconds to secure a 24-20 victory. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, but Hurts also had two interceptions. Hurts underthrew his receiver on the second interception, putting Philadelphia in a bad spot in the fourth quarter.

However, Hurts ultimately got the last laugh on Sunday, and he made that clear.

“I heard it,” Hurts said when asked about Simmons’ comment. 

In a follow-up, Hurts was asked if Simmons’ comment mattered.

“I heard it,” Hurts bluntly responded again. 

And when Hurts was asked if he liked how the team responded to that comment, he gave a similar remark.

“I’m happy we won,” Hurts said. 

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The Indianapolis Colts visit the Kansas City Chiefs in a Sunday night AFC matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. New users can use Kalshi promo code FOXSPORTS to trade $25 and get a $25 bonus while following the Colts vs. Chiefs matchup.

Kansas City enters the matchup after a strong Week 1 performance, with Kenneth Walker leading the ground game after rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes also threw two touchdown passes, while Travis Kelce had 71 receiving yards.

Daniel Jones looks to use his weapons like Alec Pierce and Jonathan Taylor to keep up with this Chiefs offense. The Colts are also looking to end their eight-game losing streak going back to last year.

New users can use Kalshi promo code FOXSPORTS to get a $25 bonus when they trade $25 on Colts vs. Chiefs. Sign up and get involved in the markets surrounding Sunday’s AFC matchup.

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How to Watch Colts vs. Chiefs

• When: Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 8:20 p.m. ET
• Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
• TV: NBC
• Stream: Peacock

Players To Watch

Kansas City’s ground game is the first thing to watch here, and Walker sits at the center of it. In Week 1, he powered the Chiefs with 23 carries for 173 yards and one rushing touchdown, then added three catches for 18 yards and a receiving score, matching a team that posted 220 rushing yards and 5.79 yards per attempt.

Indianapolis gave up 41 points in its opener and ranks 31st in points allowed per game. Walker getting downhill early can force the Colts to crowd the box and open the rest of the offense, letting Kansas City dictate tempo from the first quarter.

This game can hinge on whether Indianapolis slows Kansas City after selling out against the run, which puts Mahomes under the microscope next. He led the Chiefs in Week 1 with 184 passing yards and two touchdown passes as Kansas City still scored 31 points despite a modest 55.6 completion rate.

The Colts allowed 41 points in Week 1, while Kansas City comes in off a 31-10 win with a balanced attack that converted 52.9 percent on third down. Mahomes’ connection with Travis Kelce (71 yards on 3 catches, including a 59-yard gain) is the clearest way to punish a defense that leans too hard on Walker.

Indianapolis needs more from its passing game in this matchup, which makes Jones one of the biggest swing players on the field. In Week 1, he led the Colts with 166 passing yards and one touchdown, but the offense averaged only 149 passing yards and 251 total yards while converting just 30 percent of third downs.

Kansas City allowed only 10 points in Week 1, ranks second in points allowed per game, and posted 4 sacks with one interception. Jones getting the ball out on time and avoiding the mistakes that put Indianapolis behind schedule gives the Colts a chance to keep this from turning into a one-sided night.

Indianapolis needs an explosive element in the passing game, and Pierce is already showing signs of being that player. He led the Colts with 61 receiving yards in Week 1 and was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, looking set for this matchup on an offense that managed only 166 receiving yards and the longest completion of 25 yards in the opener.

Kansas City’s defense opened with four sacks, one interception, and only 10 points allowed, so sustained drives may be hard to come by. Pierce creating chunk plays gives Jones a way to challenge a defense that has looked tight and aggressive.

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The Washington Commanders couldn’t have asked for a worse way to end the first half than with what happened in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels was carted off the field after he suffered a gruesome injury to his left elbow on the final play of the first half. Daniels fumbled the snap and his arm awkwardly went in the wrong direction as he frantically tried to complete a pass from the 1-yard line. The pass fell incomplete, keeping the Cowboys’ lead at 17-10.

Daniels was in immediate pain, favoring his left arm and couldn’t leave the field without assistance. A couple of minutes later, the cart arrived and Daniels left the field.

The Commanders wound up losing 37-20, but there was more bad news surrounding Daniels after the game. He suffered a dislocated elbow, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said. 

Prior to the injury, Daniels was having one of his best performances in a while. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, adding 69 yards on the ground.

Daniels suffered a similar injury to the same elbow last year. He dislocated his elbow late in the 2025 season in a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. That was one of a few injuries that forced Daniels to miss 10 games in 2025, missing roughly a month due to the elbow ailment.

Marcus Mariota replaced Daniels at quarterback in the second half. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the loss. 

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When you make a throw that Tom Brady calls an “absolute piss missile,” you’re almost certainly going to win his LFG Player of the Game.

That was the case for Dak Prescott on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback completed 26 of 31 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in their 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. 

The throw that Prescott made that Brady called an “absolute piss missile” came on a 35-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb, dropping a deep pass through a tight window along the sideline. That throw was arguably Prescott’s most impressive of the day, helping Dallas move down the field on a drive to extend its lead back to three scores.

However, Prescott had a pair of more noteworthy passes on Sunday. He tied and later broke Tony Romo’s record for the most touchdown passes thrown by a player in Cowboys history. His 24-yard touchdown pass to Lamb that gave the Cowboys a 37-20 lead was 249th, surpassing Romo’s mark of 248. 

Prescott shared nothing but respect for Romo and some other iconic Cowboys quarterbacks, but he also acknowledged that he has more work to do — and he raised the bar for himself. 

“It’s a blessing,” Prescott told Brady. “Growing up, being a Cowboys fan and watching Tony [Romo] set the bar — and like you said, Troy [Aikman], Roger [Staubach] and some of the greats that have come before me — I’m honored. It’s something I don’t take lightly. Like I told you guys in the production meeting, I’m just getting started. There’s a lot of better things than records, and I think records are meant to be broken. 

“So, I’ll go and try to set this one high, which makes it harder for the next guy to break. But it’s a huge honor.”

That record-setting throw shows just how far Prescott has come since he entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2016. While Prescott had many people to thank for the achievement, though, there was one person who was top of mind for him on Sunday: his late mother, Peggy.

“I just know she would be proud,” Prescott said. “I know she’s looking down. I know she’s celebrating. I’m emotional just thinking about it. But it starts with her. I wouldn’t be the man I am, I wouldn’t have the confidence and I wouldn’t be resilient if it weren’t for everything she taught me and just everything God’s put me through. I’m super thankful for my Lord and Savior, always getting me through everything. Just trying to be the best version of myself each and every day and giving to the people and the world something to follow.”

Records aside, Sunday was a much-needed day for the Cowboys. Dallas looked unimpressive in its Week 1 loss to the New York Giants, and a loss to Washington would’ve put the Cowboys in a bad spot. Their next five games are also against teams that were projected to go at least .500 entering the season. 

So, when you add all of that together, Prescott was proud of how the Cowboys picked up a decisive victory on Sunday. 

“How resilient we are,” Prescott told Brady on what stood out about the Cowboys’ performance on Sunday. “We understood that we know who we are, but we had to go put it out there on display. We had to show the world and we just wanted to bounce back. 

“Obviously, we can’t start 0-2, and you can’t start 0-2 in the division. So, just getting back home, getting back in front of our home crowd and getting a win was huge for us and our confidence. We can use that as we go to Rio next week and play a good Ravens team.”

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As the Boston Red Sox celebrated an improbable postseason berth at Tropicana Field, with Champagne and beer flowing all around, the clubhouse soundtrack seemed appropriate.

“Stayin’ Alive.’’

“I think that pretty much says it all,’’ left fielder Roman Anthony said Sunday. “We pretty much stayed alive when nobody else thought we could. Now here we are.’’

The Red Sox were 32-46 and 15 1/2 games back in the AL East race on June 24. They have since gone 52-25 and will be in the playoffs.

The Red Sox lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays in their series finale, so couldn’t take care of things themselves. But about an hour after the game finished, the Houston Astros lost 4-2 to the Atlanta Braves, allowing the Red Sox to secure a wild-card spot.

Shortly after the Astros-Braves result went final, Red Sox players, coaches and staff members gathered near the Tropicana Field mound for a team photograph.

“I really don’t care how we got in, as long as we got in,’’ shortstop Trevor Story said.

Interim manager Chad Tracy was in place for much of the turnaround. Since being appointed on April 26 following the dismissal of Alex Cora, the Red Sox have gone 74-55.

“Look, we were not in a good spot,’’ Tracy said. “We were not playing good ball. But it shows you that if you stick to it, good things can happen. I couldn’t be more proud of this group.’’

First baseman Willson Contreras said he kept the faith, even when things trended downward, and the reward was sweet.

“It’s hard not to have some tears over this,’’ Contreras said. “It’s a great accomplishment, but I don’t want this team to stop here. I want to keep going. We have proven that you can get hot and overcome a lot of big odds.’’

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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The Atlanta Braves clinched their seventh NL East championship in nine years on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Astros, and celebrated with hugs and a team photo in championship hats and T-shirts.

Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer during a four-run sixth inning to give the Braves the lead. After Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth to clinch the title, the team ran onto the field to celebrate.

“This is what it’s all about,” Yastrzemski said of the celebration. “It’s so hard to win baseball games in general in the big leagues because everybody is so good. It’s obviously not the end goal, but these are the times that you need to celebrate because it’s hard to get here.”

Under first-year manager Walt Weiss, the Braves have rebounded after missing the playoffs last season with a disappointing 76-86 record and fourth-place finish in the division, snapping a streak of seven straight playoff appearances that included six consecutive NL East titles from 2018-23.

That run was highlighted by beating the Astros to win the 2021 World Series.

“I told these guys winning the division is really tough,” Weiss said. “I know it’s the first step, but it takes six months to do it. It takes everybody, and we used everybody. Virtually everyone that got an opportunity stepped up and helped us win games this year. Special group in that way. Very close group.”

Atlanta has won 24 division titles, tying the Dodgers for the most since the inception of the divisional format in 1969. Atlanta has won the NL East 19 times in 32 seasons.

“Just felt like they responded well to certain messages,” Weiss said. “I thought the way they competed was high-level stuff. I felt like the makeup of this team was really good. Coming off a tough year, I think a lot of it was getting them to believe that they were still really good.”

The Braves clinched a postseason berth on Friday night with a 6-2 win over the Astros but had a subdued celebration, with the team having a simple toast with bubbly as their focus was on the NL East crown.

The celebration on Sunday was less subdued with players dousing each other in beer and sparkling wine and cigar smoke in the air in the visitors’ clubhouse.

“This is first step of what we want to accomplish,” Mauricio Dubon said. “We are trying to enjoy this as much as we can. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s six months of preparation. I think Walt did a great job of bringing everybody together.”

Atlanta has the third-best record in the NL at 92-64. The top two teams in the league get a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Braves have won at least 90 games in five of the last eight seasons. The only teams with more 90-win seasons over that span are the Dodgers, who have eight, and the Yankees, with six.

“You just want to get in, and then you take your best shot,” Weiss said. “I feel like this series (versus Houston) we really took it to a different level. Now, we have to keep our foot on the gas. … You can’t ever let your guard down in this league because the game will embarrass you.”

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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