NFL Week 2: Scores across the league as Bengals, Panthers and Vikings take control
NFL Week 2 Sunday games largely turned into low-scoring, defense- and kicker-driven contests, while the Dallas Cowboys prepared for a key home game against Washington after an opening-week loss.
NFL Week 2 Sunday action unfolded across multiple stadiums at once, and according to The Guardian's live coverage, most games remained tight and relatively low-scoring at halftime — a contrast to the record-setting offensive explosion of Week 1 referenced in NFL.com's "NFL Pro Show" episode.
Halftime scores
Per the Guardian's live blog, halftime scores included: Carolina Panthers leading Atlanta Falcons 13-3, New Orleans Saints trailing Baltimore Ravens 6-14, Minnesota Vikings ahead of Chicago Bears 6-3, Cincinnati Bengals leading Houston Texans 7-3, New England Patriots up on Pittsburgh Steelers 10-3, Green Bay Packers tied with New York Jets 7-7, Tampa Bay Buccaneers leading Cleveland Browns 9-6, and Philadelphia Eagles ahead of Tennessee Titans 14-10.
Key plays
Cincinnati's offense stood out: quarterback Joe Burrow used a pump fake to free Tee Higgins for a 23-yard gain, then found Ja'Marr Chase deep for a 32-yard touchdown, with Chase getting his feet down inches inbounds in the corner of the end zone. Carolina also kept pushing, extending their lead to 20-3 over Atlanta on a Bryce Young touchdown pass to Dallas Waller after halftime. In Chicago, Minnesota's defense made a goal-line stop, with Isaiah Rodgers recovering a fumble by Bears running back DeAndre Swift right at the goal line.
Cowboys look for a bounce-back
According to the Dallas Cowboys' own website, the team hosted Washington at AT&T Stadium at 3:25 p.m. local time on Sunday, with both clubs entering at 0-1 after Week 1 losses. Dallas fell in its opener to the New York Giants, struggling with communication breakdowns on defense, including three separate defensive calls on a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown drive. New defensive coordinator Christian Parker and veteran defensive lineman Quinnen Williams both said the issue was execution rather than the new defensive scheme itself, expressing confidence the unit can correct course.
As the season progresses, it should become clearer which teams can sustain Week 1's scoring surge and which will see a more measured, defense-oriented style take hold.
