NFL Best And Worst: Chiefs Find Their Perfect Match While The Dolphins Are Overmatched

What do the Chiefs, Bengals and Josh Allen have in common? They look scary good right now. You know who’s not scaring anyone right now? The Dolphins. After the second week of NFL action in the 2026 season, I’m back with my best and worst superlatives, focusing on three categories: team developments, offensive performances and overall squad quality: The reigning Super Bowl MVP’s integration into the Chiefs’ offense is going as well as Kansas City could have possibly imagined, and the rest of the NFL should be concerned. Very concerned. Walker had 178 scrimmage yards on 30 touches in Kansas City’s overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night — 24 carries for 117 yards and six receptions for 61 yards. He had five touches on the team’s seven-play, game-winning field goal drive, including two first-down conversions (one on the ground, one as a pass-catcher). Ahead of Monday Night Football, the former Seahawk led the league in carries (47), rushing yards (290), touches (56) and scrimmage yards (369). He’s forced 29 missed tackles (!) through two weeks, according to Next Gen Stats. The start of the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City was defined by a prolific aerial attack. Then the Chiefs morphed into a defense-led team. And now, even though it’s still very early, we could be entering the ground-and-pound iteration of these Chiefs — with Walker as the focal point. He’s the most dynamic skill player they’ve had in Mahomes’ supporting cast since star receiver Tyreek Hill and the franchise’s best running back since prime Jamaal Charles (2009-14). For years, we’ve spent a lot of time wondering who’ll emerge as the Chiefs’ 1A receiver post-Hill. Rashee Rice has been that in flashes, but he hasn’t been on the field enough to show he’s dependable. With Walker, they may not need one. The attention he draws in the box opens up one-on-one opportunities downfield for speedsters like Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton, both of whom can take the top off of a defense. The top two picks of the 2024 NFL Draft suffered injuries within hours of each other on Sunday. First it was Bears QB Caleb Williams, sustaining a hamstring injury in Chicago’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota that required him to be carted to the locker room from the sideline. Then Commanders QB Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow — the same one he dislocated last season — in the second quarter of Washington’s 37-20 loss to Dallas. He was carted to the locker room as well. Both players were quickly ruled out. While Williams apparently avoided anything serious, the NFL world still awaits word on how long Daniels will be sidelined. This may be jumping the gun a bit, but what first comes to mind in the wake of Daniels’ latest injury is what contract negotiations could look like between the quarterback and the Commanders this offseason, when he becomes extension eligible for the first time. Even if he’s not out for the year, Daniels missing a significant amount of time for the second straight season could make Washington hesitant about giving him a long-term commitment — or at least one near the top of the quarterback market. Daniels’ argument would be what has happened when he’s been healthy — the NFC Championship Game appearance when he was a rookie, for example — and how Washington has struggled when he’s not on the field. The best-case scenario may be picking up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract in the spring, and revisiting the extension conversation after the 2027 season. That’s the approach that C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans have taken this year. The Bills erupted for 41 points in their Week 2 victory over the Detroit Lions, with Allen registering five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing). Buffalo went 9-of-12 (75%) on third down and had 446 yards of offense, including more than 200 through the air and the ground. The Bills scored six touchdowns on their first eight possessions. It was a balanced, dominant attack for Buffalo, which leads the NFL in scoring through two weeks (pending MNF). The Bills’ offense is unstoppable right now because of Allen, who’s the best quarterback on the planet at the moment. If you’re not impressed by what he did against the Lions, who have a shaky defense, he did essentially the same thing in Buffalo’s season opener against the Texans, who have arguably the best defense in the NFL. Allen has nine total touchdowns (five passing, four rushing) and a 125.8 passer rating through two games. He’s in a flow state with new head coach Joe Brady, who’s been Buffalo’s offensive playcaller since midway through 2023. This is the version of Allen that can get the Bills to the mountaintop. And with Brady bringing a fresh approach as head coach, plus the addition of wide receiver DJ Moore, Buffalo may finally have what it needs to reach the Super Bowl. The Falcons’ quarterback hell took another turn in Atlanta’s embarrassing 34-3 home loss to Carolina. Making his second straight start with Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa inactive due to injuries, backup Cooper Rush lost a fumble on the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage. He also threw two interceptions. It was so bad for the Falcons offensively that their fans were booing six minutes into the game. And believe it or not, it kept getting worse. Undrafted rookie quarterback Jack Strand got an ovation when he checked into the game late in the third quarter, but his first career pass resulted in a pick-six. Strand also lost a fumble on Atlanta’s final drive. The only reason for hope for the Falcons right now is Penix’s reported Thursday return from last season’s torn ACL, and that’s just because we haven’t seen what he looks like in 2026. The results may not be any better than what Atlanta has gotten at the quarterback position to this point. After all, it was Penix’s health concerns and inconsistent play that led to the offseason signing of veteran QB Tagovailoa, who had been given the starting job entering the season because Penix hadn’t been cleared for full practices until late August. Tagovailoa, who struggled in training camp and the preseason, has been sidelined the first two games because of an oblique injury suffered in practice in Week 1. We know what the Bengals are capable of offensively with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase & Co. — Chase’s spectacular touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone against tight coverage from All-Pro Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is Exhibit A. So this is really a testament to what Cincinnati is showing us on defense. The Texans on Sunday played without their top weapon in star receiver Nico Collins, but what the Bengals accomplished defensively was still very impressive. Cincinnati held Houston to 0-for-4 on fourth down and in the red zone, and kept the Texans to just 60 yards on 3.3 yards per carry. The Bengals generated 27 pressures on 62 Texans’ dropbacks and didn’t allow a touchdown for the first time since Week 3 of the 2022 season, according to Next Gen Stats. In its season opener, Cincinnati forced four turnovers against Tampa Bay. The Bengals have an argument as the NFL’s scariest team right now, given their ability to dominate on both sides of the ball. The Dolphins are turning out to be just as bad as we all thought. They dropped to 0-2 with their 35-13 loss Sunday to the 49ers. Miami gave up touchdowns on San Francisco’s first five drives, and the Dolphins didn’t reach the end zone until the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter, when quarterback Malik Willis connected with wide receiver Ryan Miller for a 77-yard touchdown in garbage time. It was a truly complete loss by Miami, which has been outscored 62-26 through two games. The only hope for the Dolphins comes in looking toward 2027, when they could secure the quarterback of the future through the draft and see growth from their young players. In Week 1, Miami had the most snaps played by rookies across the league (439), according to Next Gen Stats.

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