A healthy offense and a brand-new head coach could be the answer to a winning season for the New York Giants. But what about a shot at a Super Bowl?

Quarterback Jaxson Dart led the Giants to an impressive Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys, completing 23-of-29 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Next to Dart is head coach John Harbaugh, who brings 18 seasons of head-coaching experience to New York. 

After a 4-13 season in 2025, will the Giants’ revamp be enough to earn them a winning season, let alone a Super Bowl? FOX NFL Sunday’s Michael Strahan has confidence the Giants can achieve just that. 

“Giants are going to the Super Bowl. Every Giants fan out there, it was good to watch because you saw a clear game plan,” Strahan said on FOX NFL Sunday. “You also saw a better organized team. You saw a situation where every Giants fan sat there and held their breath and said, ‘When are they going to go down? When are they going to blow it?’ and they didn’t.”

The Giants moved on from former coach Brian Daboll – who now serves as the Titans’ offensive coordinator – in November 2025 after a 2-8 start to the season, and hired Harbaugh after his 18 seasons in Baltimore. The supporting cast continues with wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo – who both returned from injuries from last season – and tight end Isaiah Likely from the Ravens. 

For Strahan, the Giants’ Week 1 victory showed a lot of positives within the team, especially from Dart and Skattebo. 

“They controlled the ball when they needed to control the ball; they were the more physical team, the way (Cam) Skattebo ran the ball,” Strahan said. “The decisive decisions that (Jaxson) Dart made at quarterback, looking at his first read, ‘Oh, it’s not there,’ then turn and bam, hitting No. 2.”

Jaxson Dart celebrates after the Giants’ Week 1 win over the Cowboys. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

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Dart replaced former quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 3 last season as a rookie, and led New York to a 21-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, earning his spot as the Giants’ permanent starter. 

After finishing 28th in the league in yards allowed per game, the Giants reloaded on defense with first-rounders Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa. 

Strahan also believes that Harbaugh has a big impact on the mindset of his Giants team, in terms of how New York can succeed this season.

“I think Jim Harbaugh has brought accountability and confidence that this team can finish games. I have a feeling he’s taught this team that you play to win, you don’t play not to lose,” Strahan said.

More From NFL Week 2

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 Kylian Mbappé has dismissed talks of tensions with Ousmane Dembélé as the France teammates feature among the top contenders for the men’s Ballon d’Or.

With the winners to be announced at a ceremony in London on Oct. 26, clubs and players have been campaigning actively for the prestigious award.

During a recent interview with France Football, which organizes the trophy, Mbappé said he believes he can win it this year.

The Real Madrid striker also compared himself with Dembélé, who won the accolade last year. When told that 10 years ago only a few observers would have thought that Dembélé would win the Ballon d’Or before him, Mbappé replied:

“But he has always been seen as a talented player. I, on the other hand, have always been seen as the chosen one. I was at the top right away, from a very young age. He had a different journey, with injuries, but he has caught up really well!”

Mbappé’s comments reportedly created tensions between the pair. Both players were set to gather Monday for a France training camp ahead of upcoming Nations League matches, and Mbappé said their relationship remains unchanged.

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé led France to a semifinal finish in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Dustin Satloff – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

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“I’ve already spoken to him about it, and there’s no tension,” he told L’Équipe during an interview in connection with his role as an ambassador for the brand On. “He’s a friend. I don’t think there’s really any problem regarding that. I’m very relaxed about it.”

After claiming a second straight Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain last season, Dembélé has a chance to retain the Ballon d’Or.

Dembélé and Mbappé both played for France at the World Cup, where their team lost to eventual champion Spain in the semifinals. Although it’s difficult to win the accolade without a major trophy, Mbappé made history when he overtook Lionel Messi for the most all-time World Cup goals (22), in fewer games.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Joey Logano could make me (and others) eat their words about whether he could win a championship this year.

From eating words to Ryan Blaney eating some knuckles, it was a wild time at Bristol. 

And after three races, it seriously is time to wonder whether Denny Hamlin can recapture his mojo with the three-race intermediate-track swing that starts this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

Here are my contender rankings after three races of the 10-race Chase:

On The Verge (Alphabetical Order):

Chris Buescher (RFK Racing No. 17 Ford, -124 points behind leader): Buescher finished 13th at Bristol with one stage point. Any hope of winning a title is slipping away as he heads to a track where he has only one career top five.

William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet, -121): He had another respectable finish with a ninth at Bristol. But considering he is losing points with back-to-back top 10s, that isn’t a good sign. He has two top fives in Next Gen races at Kansas.

Austin Cindric (Team Penske 2 Ford, -116): It was an 11th-place finish at Bristol for Cindric. Much like everyone in this category, that wouldn’t be bad during the regular season but this isn’t good enough when fighting for a title. He has never had a top 10 at Kansas.

Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet, -117): It was a rare night for Elliott as he was totally off. He finished 23rd and earned no stage points. He’s likely all but eliminated from contention. But wait — he is the defending winner of the fall Kansas race in what was the best finish of the 2025 season.

Ryan Preece (RFK Racing No. 60 Ford, -124): Preece finished 10th with no stage points at Bristol and he’s now 14th in the standings. That’s not good enough considering that was one of his better tracks. And now he heads to a track where he has one career top 10.

Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevy, -134): Suarez has hopes to work his way into the top 10 in points (he’s now 32 points out of 10th). And that seems to be the reasonable goal after a 14th at Bristol and with Kansas being a place where he has a best of 10th in the Next Gen era.

Contender Rankings

10.

Hocevar finished third and had a 41-point day at Bristol. But he really shouldn’t be on this list since he has angered too many competitors. The post-race fight showed that much. But the rest of the pack after him has virtually no shot. It also doesn’t help that his best finish at Kansas came in April, but it was a 13th place.

9.

Wallace finished seventh at Bristol. He had a solid day and he lost just two points to the leader. And now there are three tracks in the Toyota wheelhouse coming up. He has back-to-back fifth-place finishes at Kansas, where he won the fall 2022 race at the track. He was in the mix to potentially win the Kansas race a year ago when he tangled with Denny Hamlin at the end of the race as they battled for the lead.

8.

Reddick salvaged an 18th-place finish on what appeared to be an awful day. The only reason he probably feels he has a shot is because he won at Kansas in the spring, so he will need a strong performance next week to get back in the mix. He has two wins at Kansas but has led only 26 laps in his last six Kansas starts.

7.

A broken toe link late in the race ruined a decent day for Briscoe, who finished 27th and lost 28 points to the leader. Briscoe is looking forward to Kansas, where he has finishes of fourth, fourth and third since joining Joe Gibbs Racing. He’ll need a top five to keep any hope for a title.

6.

A fifth-place finish and 47 points after leading 120 laps still probably has Gibbs wondering what could have been after the late battles relegated him to fifth. He did cut nine points off his deficit to the leader and if he keeps doing that, he’d be the champion. That’s a big if but it’s doable. He’ll need a career day at Kansas, where he has one top five in eight starts.

5.

The crash with Hocevar left Blaney with a 33rd-place finish and obviously irate. He lost 19 points to the leader. And even if that incident had the ability to light a fire underneath him, scratch that — Blaney always has that fire. He’s got a bit of a hill to climb and Kansas isn’t exactly a place where he thrives. He has led just seven laps there in the Next Gen era, although he does have two top fives. He was ninth in the spring.

4.

Logano has won three of the last nine races and his victory Saturday took him from 51 points out of the lead to just 16 points behind. But none of his wins came on intermediate tracks, and that’s where the next three races will be run. He has led just 14 laps at Kansas in the Next Gen era and has finishes of 21st and 20th in his last two starts there.

3.

Bell finished fourth at Bristol but lost eight points to Kyle Larson, the new leader. Larson finished second and earned more stage points. If Bell continues to finish in the top five — and add some stage points — he should be able to battle Hamlin and Larson to the end. Bell traditionally leads laps at Kanas. He has four Kansas poles in Next Gen era and he has led laps in each of the last nine races and has four top-five finishes.

2.

An eighth-place finish at Bristol finally has to have us wondering about Hamlin, who doesn’t have a top-five yet in The Chase (the eighth was his best in the three races). He has now seen his 25-point cushion wiped out, and he is a point behind Larson. The good news? He has led 290 laps in the last two Kansas races. He finished second a year ago after his tangle with Bubba Wallace ended up with a Chase Elliott win and then he was fourth in the spring. He has one win and three second places in Next Gen races at Kansas.                                                                                   

1.

The defending Cup champion took over the points lead with a second-place finish and 12 stage points at Bristol. He has all the momentum even if he doesn’t have the full-season performance, as he has finishes of fifth, first and second in the three Chase races. What about Kansas? It’s one of Larson’s best tracks. He has two wins and three seconds in Next Gen races at the track. He has led at least 60 laps in eight of the last 12 Kansas races.

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Christian McCaffrey put himself in some elite company with two short touchdown runs.

McCaffrey’s two 1-yard TDs in a 35-13 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday made him the fourth-fastest player in the Super Bowl era to reach 100 career touchdowns and the third player ever with at least 50 TDs with two franchises.

“It means a lot,” McCaffrey said. “It’s a blessing to be able to play this game and stuff like that is always cool. But it’s always about the team and showing up and doing your job.”

McCaffrey didn’t have to do a lot on Sunday, a day when Brock Purdy and the rest of the offense was clicking at such a high level that the Niners scored touchdowns on their first five drives.

McCaffrey started it with a 1-yard run in the first quarter and capped the scoring for San Francisco late in the third when he scored again from 1-yard out. He finished with 23 yards on 10 carries and four catches for 43 yards.

“CMC, he’s just the GOAT,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “GOATs do things like that. It’s just another day at the office for old Christian. But nobody works harder on their craft and is as dedicated to the game as Christian. Everything that he does, he’s earned it and he’s only going to continue to keep getting better.”

The scores gave him 64 rushing touchdowns and 36 receiving in 114 regular-season games for Carolina and San Francisco. Only LaDainian Tomlinson (89 games), Emmitt Smith (93) and Shaun Alexander (96) got to 100 TDs faster in the Super Bowl era.

McCaffrey, who has 50 touchdowns with both Carolina and San Francisco, joined Marshall Faulk and Randy Moss as the only players to score at least 50 TDs with two franchises.

“It’s kind of crazy to hear that,” McCaffrey said. “I watched all those guys growing up. Marshall Faulk was somebody that I’ve probably seen every single snap he’s played. I don’t take it for granted. Randy Moss I played with a ton of times with Madden growing up. Those are huge, huge honors.”

McCaffrey’s career is full of noteworthy accomplishments already. He became the third player ever with at least 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season in 2019 with Carolina, has earned first-team All-Pro honors in three seasons, and won the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 and Comeback Player of the Year in 2025.

“It’s crazy. I grew up watching him in high school and stuff when he was at Stanford and then the Panthers and then to be a teammate with him and be there when he scored his 100th touchdown was insane,” Purdy said. “It’s really cool to think about that. To be on his team and be a teammate with him and go and help him do what he wants to do with his career and just be there and feed him the ball and stuff, it’s an honor for me.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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Week 2 delivered, and we still have one game to go. Now, it’s nearly Week 3’s turn.

Here are the lines for every Week 3 matchup at bet365 Sportsbook as of Sept. 21. 

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Thursday, Sept. 24

   Falcons @ Packers

Spread: Packers -6.5
Moneyline: Packers -330, Falcons +265
O/U: 44.5

Sunday, Sept. 27

   Panthers @ Browns

Spread: Panthers -2.5
Moneyline: Panthers -150, Browns +125
O/U: 40.5

   Bengals @ Steelers

Spread: Bengals -3.5
Moneyline: Bengals -185, Steelers +155
O/U: 43.5

   Chargers @ Bills

Spread: Bills -7
Moneyline: Bills -340, Chargers +270
O/U: 49.5

   Patriots @ Jaguars

Spread: Jaguars -2.5
Moneyline: Jaguars -155, Patriots +130
O/U: 44.5

   Jets @ Lions

Spread: Lions -6.5
Moneyline: Lions -310, Jets +250
O/U: 47.5

   Texans @ Colts

Spread: Texans -2.5
Moneyline: Texans -155, Colts +130
O/U: 44.5

   Chiefs @ Dolphins

Spread: Chiefs -11.5
Moneyline: Chiefs -750, Dolphins +525
O/U: 44.5

   Seahawks @ Commanders

Spread: Seahawks -6.5
Moneyline: Seahawks -290, Commanders +235
O/U: 41.5

   Titans @ Giants

Spread: Giants -6.5
Moneyline: Giants -270, Titans +220
O/U: 43.5

   Cardinals @ 49ers

Spread: 49ers -8.5
Moneyline: 49ers -425, Cardinals +350
O/U: 47.5

   Vikings @ Buccaneers

Spread: Vikings -1.5
Moneyline: Vikings -130, Bucs +110
O/U: 43.5

   Ravens vs. Cowboys

Spread: Ravens -2.5
Moneyline: Ravens -155, Cowboys +130
O/U: 52.5

   Raiders @ Saints

Spread: Saints -3.5
Moneyline: Saints -170, Raiders +145
O/U: 44.5

   Rams @ Broncos

Spread: Rams -2.5
Moneyline: Rams -135, Broncos +115
O/U: 45.5

Monday, Sept. 28

   Eagles @ Bears

Spread: Eagles -3.5
Moneyline: Eagles -200, Bears +165
O/U: 43.5

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This is it. 

With one week remaining in the regular season, the National League playoff field looks nearly complete. The Brewers, Dodgers and Braves have already clinched their respective divisions, while the Cubs, Padres and Phillies are jockeying for wild-card seeding while hoping to hold off the Diamondbacks, who haven’t been eliminated yet but are four games back of the final wild-card spot. 

In the American League, meanwhile, much is yet to be determined. The Rays, Yankees and Red Sox are the only teams who have already clinched a spot in the playoffs. Tampa Bay can clinch the AL East as early as Tuesday. The other AL division races are much tighter. 

In the West, the Rangers lead the Astros by one game for the division lead. The Guardians also lead the White Sox by one game in the Central. 

As we wait to see how it all shakes out, our final regular season power rankings below include every team’s biggest surprise of the year. 

(Note: Only teams within five games of a playoff spot entering the final week of the season were included in our rankings.) 

Do they belong on this list? No. This is the most disappointing team in baseball. Technically, however, they’ve yet to be eliminated from the playoff race. They’re five games back in the AL West, though, so it won’t be long before this debacle ends. Cal Raleigh going from MVP contender last year to a below league-average hitter with the worst batting average in the sport was the biggest surprise (a terrific final month won’t change that), but it’s worth pointing out that the entire offensive operation was a disaster, and a talented rotation didn’t do nearly enough to make up for the lineup’s spiral. 

The biggest surprise is that Adley Rutschman is no longer on the team. But in terms of on-field production, Gunnar Henderson — who combined for 20.2 bWAR his last three seasons — being a league-average hitter in his age-25 season is the most shocking part of this discouraging season in Baltimore, especially coming off his standout World Baseball Classic. 

(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

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Things are starting to crumble in Toronto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Sunday’s game with back stiffness. Dylan Cease is getting an MRI on his shoulder. The Blue Jays dropped both of their series last week while fighting for a playoff spot. Not good. Guerrero finally went deep at the Rogers Centre, but he is currently sitting on nine home runs for the season in what has been the worst year of his career. He entered Sunday with the 12th-lowest slugging percentage among all qualified MLB hitters, which is almost incomprehensible. But it’s not just a lack of power hurting the reigning AL champs on offense. As a team, the Blue Jays went from having the highest on-base percentage in MLB last year to the fifth-lowest this year. 

(Photo by Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images)

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If I told you the Astros’ pitching fWAR leader this year was someone who pitched in Japan last season, you might assume it’s Tatsuya Imai, the guy who signed for three years and $54 million before the season. But if you’ve watched any Houston baseball this year, you know that’s not true. Instead, it’s a player who signed a minor-league contract before the season. Peter Lambert, who pitched for NPB’s Yakult Swallows last year, has thrown more innings than any Astros starter this season and provided a semblance of stability to a rotation that desperately needed it. 

The AL West-leading Rangers had one All-Star this year. Corey Seager? Nope. Jacob deGrom? Surprisingly, no. Wyatt Langford? Try again. It was Jacob Latz, who has 30 saves this year and has emerged as a key piece of an otherwise uninspiring Texas bullpen. Latz has the same WHIP as Jacob Misiorowski (0.81) and the same batting average against as Mason Miller (.144).

(Photo by Jessie Alcheh/Getty Images)

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Things have started to spiral in September, but the big surprise is that the White Sox — after losing more than 100 games each of the last three seasons — are in this position at all to contend for a division title. No one expected things to flip so quickly. Specifically, an offense that ranks sixth in MLB in home runs has been a major stunner (even taking into account the recent downturn). 

Nolan Arenado’s go-ahead grand slam Sunday helped keep the Diamondbacks’ hopes alive, as slim as they may be. FanGraphs currently gives them a 5.9% chance to make the playoffs. The biggest surprise is not their offense but their pitching staff, which was expected to be among the worst in the sport but instead ranks 12th in MLB in ERA. Specifically, rebound seasons from starters Eduardo Rodriguez (2.89 ERA) and Michael Soroka (3.45) stand out. 

It’s not nearly the same as last year’s extraordinary division comeback, but the Guardians are doing the Guardians thing. On Aug. 16, they were six games back in the AL Central. Now, they have a one-game lead entering the season’s final week. The good surprise? Parker Messick has the third-lowest ERA among all qualified AL starters and is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate who will likely also receive Cy Young votes. The bad surprise? The Guardians are doing all this despite Jose Ramirez being a below league-average hitter for the first time in more than a decade. (Worth noting: He has looked a lot better lately.) 

(Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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It was a bad week on the field for the Red Sox, who dropped series in Texas and Tampa Bay, but they also punched their ticket to the postseason. So, considering where they were early this year after firing their manager, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate. It’s not a surprise that the Red Sox have a good rotation; it is a surprise that the best pitcher of the bunch might already be rookie Payton Tolle, who leads all qualified Boston starters in strikeouts, fWAR, WHIP and expected ERA. 

Late last year, Zack Wheeler had a blood clot removed in his shoulder and then a rib removed during thoracic outlet decompression surgery. The procedures ended his 2025 season and threatened to derail the end of his sensational career. Instead, at 36 years old, he hasn’t missed a beat. Wheeler has bounced back to again be one of the best arms in baseball — all the more important now, with Jesus Luzardo’s shoulder giving the standout left-hander trouble at a bad time. 

(Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)

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What if I told you Shohei Ohtani had a .953 OPS as a hitter and a 1.79 ERA as a pitcher in the first half…and two months later wasn’t the MVP favorite? Pete Crow-Armstrong was obviously an immense talent already, but what he’s doing this year — and the way he has improved his plate discipline and selectiveness while only getting more powerful at the plate — is extraordinary. He’s producing one of the greatest seasons in Cubs history. 

What a late-season run. The Padres have won 14 of 16 games to not only put themselves in prime position to make the postseason but also to potentially host a wild-card series if they can outplay the Cubs and Phillies over the season’s final week. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are heating up, but neither has been the team’s best hitter this year (min. 300 plate appearances). In a career year, that honor belongs to Ty France, who leads the Padres in every slash-line category (.301/.366/.519). 

(Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)

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Entering this year, Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Hunter Brown, Jacob deGrom and Max Fried were among the top contenders for the American League Cy Young Award. And none of them will win it. Cam Schlittler was coming off an encouraging rookie season, but his swift development into the unquestioned ace of the Yankees’ staff has been the biggest surprise. Now, he’s the runaway favorite to earn MLB’s top pitching honor — and might even receive MVP votes. 

(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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The second-lowest ERA among qualified starters since the trade deadline belongs to the Braves’ Tyler Mahle, who is making Atlanta’s seemingly quiet deadline look a lot more impactful in retrospect. Mahle has a 1.28 in eight starts since the deadline and has gone at least six innings in seven of those outings. He doesn’t have the strikeout stuff you’d desire from a postseason standout, but right now he looks like the best option to start a Game 2 after Atlanta ace Chris Sale. 

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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The big surprise on the pitching staff this year was All-Star Justin Wrobleski, and the fact that he’ll be pitching out of the bullpen come October (barring a starting pitching catastrophe) is a reminder of the Dodgers’ embarrassment of riches on the staff. The big surprise on the offense is that both of the Dodgers’ corner outfielders — Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández — were below league-average hitters for most of the year. That’s no longer the case, though, as both are playing their best baseball at the right time. 

(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

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The Rays’ offense has the highest batting average in MLB, their starting rotation ranks third in ERA, and they’re trending toward winning their first division title in five years. Any of those facts would constitute a surprise for a team that was projected to finish with a losing record this year. But the biggest surprise of all might be 31-year-old closer Bryan Baker, who had a 4.06 ERA last year and is now an All-Star closer with the most saves in the sport. 

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

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They’ve already set a franchise record with 98 wins as they barrel toward their first ever 100-win season. That’s probably the team’s biggest surprise considering, yet again, they were overlooked and underestimated entering the year. Both the offense (hi, Jake Bauers) and the pitching staff have their fair share of surprises, but Jacob Misiorowski going from intriguing rookie to the best pitcher in baseball in just one season might stand out more than anything. 

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After pulling off a big road win in Chicago to improve to 2-0 on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings are set to get even more reinforcements this week.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that quarterback Kyler Murray is expected to clear concussion protocol early this week. Not only is he progressing well, but he is expected to start Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, O’Connell added.

In Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, Murray suffered a concussion on a hit to the head while sliding to give himself up on a first-quarter scramble. After remaining down for a few moments to be evaluated by medical staff, he was able to walk off the field under his own power.

After practicing in a limited capacity last week, Murray officially gets the green light. Since his injury, the Vikings have moved to 2-0 behind backup Carson Wentz, who stepped in to help seal the win over the Packers before leading Sunday’s victory against the Chicago Bears.

With Murray set to start, the Vikings’ offense takes a major step toward full strength. While running back Jordan Mason remains sidelined following thumb surgery, Murray’s return gives the Vikings their starting signal-caller back as they look to build on their strong start.

Not only is a healthy Murray returning for the Vikings, but the team is in prime position to make noise this season after starting 2-0 with two division wins already under their belt. 

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The Buffalo Bills’ offense couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Thursday night matchup until late in the first half, when one of their top players had to leave the game due to injury.

Wide receiver DJ Moore left Thursday’s game in the second quarter due to a shoulder injury and a stinger. He was initially ruled questionable to return, but was declared out for the rest of the game after halftime.

With the Bills facing a second-and-3 from the Lions’ 6-yard line, Josh Allen threw a pass to Moore in the end zone that the standout wide receiver appeared to grab.

However, Moore dropped the pass in the end zone and landed hard on his left shoulder. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but he was down for a bit as an injury timeout was called.

The Bills were able to score on the following play, though. Allen connected with tight end Dalton Kincaid to give them a 27-7 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first half.

As for Moore, he wasn’t a part of the Bills’ first-half scoring barrage. He didn’t log a catch prior to the injury and had a carry that went for a negative yard on an end-around.

Still, Moore has quickly proven to be a key part of Buffalo’s offense after it acquired him from the Chicago Bears in the offseason. He had five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Bills’ season-opening win over the Houston Texans.

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

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Josh Allen took over this game in the first quarter, and even with the Lions scoring a respectable amount of points, it was clear the Buffalo Bills QB would never let Detroit back in the game. 

If the Lions scored, Allen would respond with one of his own. Just for good measure. Just to show who was in control.

I didn’t expect a blowout, with both these teams looking like playoff candidates — and perhaps division winners. But that’s what we got, with the Bills humbling the Lions, 41-31, on Thursday night.

Here are my takeaways:

1.

We keep asking: Is it their year?

There’s reason to believe, now more than ever. This could be their year to make a Super Bowl run. And it’s about what’s new.

Josh Allen is the best player on the planet, but there were times when former Bills coach Sean McDermott seemed to be holding back the organization, whether it was with his conservative (and errant) game management or his sometimes unimaginative defense. So coach Joe Brady’s promotion (from offensive coordinator last year) seems to be marking a truly new era. His offense has been incredible, pulling off a great win in Houston last week and absolutely racking up huge numbers this week. But it wasn’t really the offense that was the big story this week. It was the defense, where coordinator Jim Leonhard has the unit humming — immediately. 

It’s hard sometimes for a defensive coordinator to come in and change a scheme on the players, who might’ve fit better in the previous scheme. That wasn’t the case here. The returners have been great. And the newcomers — edge Bradley Chubb, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and cornerback Dee Alford — have plugged holes from last year.

2.

This is a tough game to go around heaping praise on Detroit.

The Lions just didn’t have it on this particular night. Maybe it’s because they’re still a young roster, ranking as the 11th-youngest in the NFL. Maybe it’s that the offensive line needs a little time to mesh after replacing two of their starters. Maybe it’s that the secondary needs to mesh after also replacing two of their starters. But most likely, it’s all of that.

That’s a lot of work for coach Dan Campbell, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.

But I still like this core, with huge talents at premium positions: quarterback Jared Goff, receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, tight end Sam LaPorta, left tackle Penei Sewell and edge Aidan Hutchinson. That’s an incredible amount of talent.

The Lions have the talent to make a run, now it’s on head coach Dan Campbell to put it together. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

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It’s an issue that those guys didn’t show up in the ways they should have. But don’t count them out. They’ll fix this. (And maybe they’ll pick up the phone and give the Steelers a ring about cornerback Joey Porter Jr.)

3.

Josh Allen just scored five total touchdowns to add to the four total he scored last week. And if the season were to end at the end of this week, he’d almost definitely be the MVP. 

But we have plenty of football left to play. It’s going to get more interesting every week.

In Week 1, Lamar Jackson had two total touchdowns, 324 passing yards and 40 rushing yards in the Baltimore Ravens’ blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts.

And Caleb Williams looks dangerous — like a legitimate third contender. He scored four total touchdowns as part of the Bears’ 59 points scored last week in their victory over the Panthers.

It’s hard to count out Matthew Stafford, even with a dud in Week 1.

It’s hard to count out Joe Burrow, with a solid start — and a very favorable schedule.

Heck, it’s foolish to completely discount Patrick Mahomes.

This is going to be fun, folks. Buckle up. 

3 ½.   What’s Next

The Bills will host the Chargers in Week 3, and you have to think L.A. will be quaking heading into (new) Highmark Stadium. There’s nothing this offense can’t do, particularly after seeing Allen spreading the ball around to his deep crop of pass-catchers in Dalton Kincaid, Joshua Palmer, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and basically whoever else steps on the field. It’s never a good thing to lose DJ Moore to an injury, but this performance has to make them feel like they’ll be just fine if he misses time. We certainly know James Cook will produce. The Chargers might feel better about themselves if they can pull off a win over the Raiders on Sunday. But all those good vibes are gonna get negative real fast after taking a look at this box score — let alone the film.

The Lions host the Jets next week, and I’m not sure it’s as easy as beating up on Gang Green. I don’t want to pump them up too much for a win over the lowly Titans. But I’ll admit, quarterback Geno Smith looked poised last week. And yes, the Jets had weapons. They even looked like they had a half-decent offensive line. But the biggest issue is that Jets coach Aaron Glenn is a Lions defector. When a coordinator leaves for a coaching gig, he often causes problems in a matchup against his former team. So Glenn could give Campbell and Goff a real headache. I suspect the Lions will win. But not easily.

 

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Tom Brady doesn’t want to hear the excuses for the Los Angeles Rams from their season-opening loss against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. 

In the season-opening edition of #AskTom, Brady made it evident that he doesn’t care about the narrative that the Rams might have been jet-lagged from their last-minute flight to Australia before their 27-7 loss to the 49ers. 

“There was one thing I thought about during all that: How much garbage people were talking about the stupid travel,” Brady said. “You know what matters? Playing good football. I don’t give a s— if you show up five minutes before the game, an hour before the game, a week before the game — when you show up and you walk out on the field, complete the passes, make the blocks, make the tackles and play good football. There’s nothing more important than execution. 

“Yeah, all the things might set up better execution on game day — travel, food — but at the end of the day, go out there and play well. That’s how I settled the debate.”

The Rams didn’t arrive in Melbourne until just over 24 hours before kickoff, a move that was widely questioned in the lead-up to the season-opening matchup. The 49ers, meanwhile, made their way Down Under over a week before the game, getting acclimated before their dominant win. 

That was just one of a few things that Brady hit on in his mailbag. He also fielded a question on the Super Bowl LI call sheet he showed during the Week 1 broadcast of the Washington Commanders-Philadelphia Eagles game before explaining certain routes and offensive concepts.

Here’s the first full Ask Tom of the 2026 season. 

Q: Does terminology change from year-to-year, or do I have Josh McDaniels’ full playbook now?

Brady: You might have some words in the playbook, but you never know what Josh is cooking up. That Super Bowl call sheet was all dependent on who we had on the team, what our strengths were, going against who Atlanta had as their defenders and what we thought their weaknesses were. 

I thought the most important thing I was showing during that game is we worked really hard for two weeks to get all those plays segmented in the right places and, ultimately, Josh had to call them at the right time. There’s still a lot of in-game adjustments happening, but I just wanted the viewer to know that the process for putting calls in the call sheet is an arduous process. It’s all about continuous conversations by everybody, working to get all the calls in the right box so that when that situation comes up, it’s really easy for Josh to find it, queue what he wants to call and then relay it to me as quickly as possible. 

It’s not just a random set of plays. It’s not a playbook; it’s a call sheet. In the playbook, there’s maybe 1,500, 2,000 different calls you can make. We boiled that down to 100, 120. Out of those, maybe 65, 70 actually got called and there’s always a little bit of adjustments throughout the game to make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance to win during that day, too.

Q: Do you have to memorize the call sheet? If we wiped that, do you have to write that in yourself?

Brady: No, it’s literally impossible. There’s no way that could happen. There’s just way too much vernacular, so to speak, on those call sheets; they’re very detailed. You have to know every motion — it could be a Zip, Zap, Zat, Whack, Hat, Home, Condo — I’m really not [making up words]. It just sounds like [I’m making up words]. 

It’s called football speak, and it’s a language in itself. Listen, I was really s—ty at Spanish, French and all of that. I wasn’t bad at football. I knew my football language.

Tom Brady showed this call sheet from the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory on Sunday’s broadcast of Commanders-Eagles.

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Q: On the “Gronk & Jules” show, they said that you would tell them to commit if you’re going to run the wrong route. How would you know when that’s going to happen?

Brady: I think there were a couple of players — Jules and Gronk — who didn’t mind ad-libbing a little bit because, sometimes, let’s say you have an inside route called, but the defender jumps inside. I would never mind if, rather than pressing him inside, I would rather press him inside and work him a little bit to the outside to still find the open spot. There was no point in running to a covered area of the field. You don’t want to break into another guy’s zone, so to speak. 

What you really want to do is still find a soft spot, but that soft spot moves four or five yards in each direction. I think the one guy that I really look to in the NFL right now who has incredible feel, and has for a long time, is Travis Kelce. He and Patrick [Mahomes] have a great chemistry between the two of them. Travis is never going to run to a spot that’s covered. He’s always going to pull up a little bit short or run through that area to find the next open zone. That’s what great football players do. And that takes a lot of time to get to that place as well, between a quarterback and receiver. But when it works, it’s magic.

Q: Jules and Gronk were some of the best at that, that you played with?

Brady: They really were. I put Wes Welker in that mix. I put Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in that mix. I put James White in that mix. Kevin Faulk in that mix. They didn’t want to run into covered areas, and I don’t blame them, because if you’re running into covered areas, guess what I wasn’t doing? They were covered, I wasn’t throwing them the ball.

Travis Kelce is one of the best players at finding open spots in the field, according to Tom Brady. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

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Q: What’s your take on the 49ers-Rams travel debate? How did you handle long flights before games?

Brady: That’s a great question. It’s really top of mind, too. There was one thing I thought about during all that: How much garbage people were talking about the stupid travel. You know what matters? Playing good football. I don’t give a shit if you show up five minutes before the game, an hour before the game, a week before the game — when you show up and you walk out on the field, complete the passes, make the blocks, make the tackles and play good football. There’s nothing more important than execution. 

Yeah, all the things might set up better execution on game day — travel, food — at the end of the day, go out there and play well. That’s how I settled the debate.”

Q: You called one of Jalen Hurts’ completions in Week 1 a “Butterfly with sore legs.” You made my English teacher proud on Sunday. Can you tell us a little bit about your literary upbringing? 

Brady: I like to tip my cap to Mr. Ralph Stark, my sophomore English teacher at Junipero Serra High School. Thank you for all of the C-plus grades you gave me that helped me continue my athletic career. I wasn’t the best student; you know that. I was always pretty good on your quizzes. 

I had a lot of friends that helped me; they took the test in Period 2 when I had the test in Period 4 and they helped me with some of the answers. But I owe it to Mr. Stark and all my other English teachers that helped me through the Shakespearean period that I was really talented at as well.

 

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