An opening act that was chock-full of shocks – we’re looking at you Jets and Giants and, for very different reasons, Rams, Chargers and Packers – has given NFL Week 2 a completely different feel.
It’s probably why the slate is so wonky, with many of the best games set to play out simultaneously during Sunday’s early-afternoon window. You’ve got some tough choices to make (unless you give up entirely and go with RedZone), but whichever game you go with, the outlook looks promising.
Scroll down for our pick of the top five NFL Week 2 games – and who’s showing them.
Bengals vs Texans
- Sunday, 1pm ET, CBS/Paramount+ (US) | FREE on 5 (UK)
We stand to learn a lot from the Bengals’ early-window clash with the Texans – specifically if Cincinnati’s defense has gone from bad-to-good, and if Houston’s has somehow gone the other way. The Texans ranked No.1 in the NFL for yards allowed last season and the Bengals No.31 (of 32), but you wouldn’t have guessedit from their opening-day showings.
Packers vs Jets
- Sunday, 1pm ET, Fox/Fox One (US)
It took the Jets eight weeks to claim their first win last year. This time, they’ve done it straight out of the gate. No.2 pick David Bailey registered a sack on debut as New York embarrassed the Titans, while the Packers were all kinds of awful in a blowout by the Vikings, squandering a 12-point lead as just 21 of Jordan Love’s 42 passes found their target. Green Bay have now lost six straight games – but this would take the biscuit.
Vikings vs Bears
- Sunday, 1pm ET, Fox/Fox One (US) | FREE on 7Plus (AU) & TVNZ+ (NZ)
Bears coach Ben Johnson raised eyebrows in preseason by stating his aim to break the NFL scoring record, and Chicago duly kicked off with a monster 59-point showing. The Brian Flores-run Vikings defense will provide a sterner test. However, while Minnesota’s defense ranked at No.2 against the pass last season, it struggled to stop the run – and Williams, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 291 yards and six touchdowns on the ground last week.
Raiders vs Chargers
- Sunday, 4.05pm ET, CBS/Paramount+ (US)
Chargers fans definitely won’t want to miss this one, because they might not get a sniff of victory again until late November. The Bolts’ schedule from Week 3 to Week 10 is horrendous, but on the bright side there’s no possible way they could lose either of their first two fixtures… The Cardinals, who are projected to be at the very bottom of the pile come the end of the season, wiped the floor with them last weekend, and Justin Herbert was utterly lost in Mike McDaniel’s new-look offense.
Giants vs Rams
- Monday, 8.15pm ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN Unlimited (US)
The Rams were so bad in their opener they’ve gone from Super Bowl favorites to a potential bust in record time. The one saving grace from their atrocious showing in Melbourne is that they only flew out a day before the game, but with three tough fixtures set to follow this MNF meeting with the Giants, Sean McVay’s men need to get a W on the board. Unfortunately for them, Big Blue look transformed under new coach John Harbaugh.
Use a VPN to watch NFL Week 2 live streams
A VPN is a handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it’s back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual streaming services. One of our favourites is IPVanish – it does everything and comes with up to 83% off.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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