2024 NFL Week 2: How to watch Sunday’s games and the standout matchups
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Some teams are Super Bowl contenders, while some teams’ seasons are over; the first week of the NFL season is rife with overreaction from fans.
Week 1 signaled the return of regular season action after months away from the field, while also offering us a first opportunity to see some new (and old) faces in new places.
Week 2 began on Thursday night with the Buffalo Bills’ convincing 31-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins, where Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion after diving into a collision with Damar Hamlin.
Here’s what to watch out for in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season.
How to watch
Over the course of the NFL season, fans can tune in to watch games on TV through CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, ABC and NFL Network. Games will also be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK.
Streaming services NFL+, Sunday Ticket, DAZN, Peacock, Paramount+, ESPN+, Amazon Prime and Netflix will also all show games.
Buccaneers @ Lions – 1:00 p.m. ET
Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions got off to winning starts to the new campaign, and both enter Week 2 with plenty of reasons to be positive.
For the traveling Bucs, they continued their momentum from the end of the 2023 season – where they won five of their last six games in the regular season and shocked the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card game – with a convincing 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders. Quarterback Baker Mayfield seems to have maintained the new lease to life he obtained since moving down to Florida.
Mayfield has rejuvenated his NFL career since becoming a Buccaneer, going from a back-up in Carolina and Los Angeles to a 2023 Pro Bowler after leading Tampa Bay to the postseason.
The 29-year-old was rewarded in the offseason with a big-money, three-year contract extension, completing his journey from almost out of the league to a guaranteed starter.
And after throwing four touchdowns in the season opener, Mayfield sees Sunday’s game against the Lions – an NFC heavyweight and the team the Bucs lost to in the 2023 postseason – as a “measuring stick” game.
“Yeah, this is definitely one of those,” Mayfield told reporters on Wednesday. “I mean, every week you have to bring your best stuff. At this level, if you don’t show up you can get beat any given week. This is one of those – on the road with a team who was in the NFC Championship, where we aspire to be, so it’s one of those – you said it, measuring sticks to great competition (and) see how our guys handle it early on. You know, it’s a long season but we can learn a lot from this one.”
Detroit also got off to a winning start, needing overtime to finally put away a resilient Los Angeles Rams team.
And when it did put together its winning drive in overtime, it did so in the most ‘Dan Campbell’ fashion; their 70-yard, four-minute-41-second sequence came predominately on the ground and epitomized the rugged football the Lions head coach has become known for.
For a franchise which is so used to defeat, Detroit’s revival under Campbell has been something to behold. And after falling one game shy of last year’s Super Bowl, the Lions are looking to go one step further this time around.
Bengals @ Chiefs – 4:25 p.m. ET
Ever since the AFC Championship game in 2021, the fates of Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes have seemed connected.
On that occasion, it was Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals who traveled into Arrowhead and vanquished the Chiefs, planting the seeds for one of the AFC’s recent rivalries.
Although the Bengals QB holds the advantage in terms of wins over Mahomes – Burrow has a 3-1 record against the two-time NFL MVP – it is the Chiefs quarterback who has the advantage in terms of wider success.
While Burrow has dealt with injuries, Mahomes has blossomed into one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen. Last season’s Super Bowl victory was his third, while he also won his third Super Bowl MVP title too.
Week 2 will see the fifth edition of the pair’s rivalry renewed, but both enter with very different starts to the season.
The Chiefs began with a hard-fought 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, while the Bengals suffered a shock defeat at home to the New England Patriots.
Both showed signs of rustiness, but Kansas City showed their title-winning pedigree against the Ravens. Now, both will be hoping to show signs of improvement.
Burrow, in particular, will be hoping for a better outing, having thrown 21-of-29 for just 164 yards without a touchdown or an interception in the defeat to the Patriots.
And the Bengals signal-caller is expecting a much improved performance in Week 2.
“The more football you see throughout the season, the better you’re going to get,” Burrow said after Wednesday’s practice. “There starts to become trends here and there, and certain formations in certain looks about how deep the teams play you.
“It’s just that I learn a lot from my mistakes, learn a lot week-to-week, game-to-game and usually I’m able to apply that pretty well. So I’m excited about where we’re at, the practice we had today.”
It’s time to see if the Bengals can once again make KC’s stadium “Burrowhead” or if Mahomes and Co. move to 2-0 on the year.
Bears @ Texans – 8:20 p.m. ET
The Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans began the new season with victories and both have reasons to look forward to the rest of the season.
The Bears are beginning life with 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams at the helm. And although his Week 1 debut wasn’t pretty – going 14-of-29 on his throws for 93 yards and requiring a heroic effort from his defense and special teams to overcome a 17-point deficit against the Tennessee Titans – he started his NFL career with a win.
“Going into that game, it was a little weird for me because it was my first game and we didn’t really have anything on their D-coordinator,” Williams said afterwards. “But when I got out there, I was seeing it well. Missed a few passes, obviously, but going back and watching the film, I was in the right place when I was throwing the ball.
“I also had a few batted balls, but (I was) going to the right places, seeing it well, making some O-line adjustments and things like that, having good communication on the sideline with my teammates and coaches.”
The Texans, led by their own young, superstar quarterback CJ Stroud, also started on a high, beating their division rivals, the Indianapolis Colts, in a hard-fought affair.
The star of the show was arguably the team’s new running back, Joe Mixon, who was signed from the Bengals in the offseason and ran for 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries in his debut. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
“Every time he touches the ball, he’s making plays,” Texans wide receiver Nico Collins said about Mixon. “You know what type of athlete he is when he gets the ball in his hands. We have to keep pounding (and) keep blocking for him so he can shine.”
The two teams have differing aspirations on the year – the Texans are playoff contenders while Chicago is likely just looking to see improvements with a rookie quarterback – and this early season clash could offer an insight into if those two goals will be realistic.
Full Week 2 schedule
Thursday
Buffalo Bills 31-10 Miami Dolphins
Sunday
Las Vegas Raiders (0-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (0-1) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) @ Carolina Panthers (0-1) – 1:00 p.m. ET
New Orleans Saints (1-0) @ Dallas Cowboys (1-0) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) @ Detroit Lions (1-0) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts (0-1) @ Green Bay Packers (0-1) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns (0-1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) 1:00 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers (1-0) @ Minnesota Vikings (1-0) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks (1-0) @ New England Patriots (1-0) – 1:00 p.m. ET
New York Jets (0-1) @ Tennessee Titans (0-1) – 1:00 p.m. ET
New York Giants (0-1) @ Washington Commanders (0-1) – 1:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams (0-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (0-1) – 4:05 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) @ Denver Broncos (0-1) – 4:25 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) – 4:25 p.m. ET
Chicago Bears (1-0) @ Houston Texans (1-0) – 8:20 p.m. ET
Monday
Atlanta Falcons (0-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) – 8:15 p.m. ET
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