NFL Heat Index Week 2: Brandon Aubrey Lifts Cowboys; Ben Johnson’s Bears Ice Cold

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

Several teams with lofty expectations to start the season, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins, already face an uphill climb to reach the playoffs.

Since 1990, only 12.2% of the teams that started 0-2 have reached the postseason. Still, no one around the league is counting out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs after losing the Super Bowl LIX rematch to the Philadelphia Eagles. Kansas City will try to get a win on the road against the New York Giants in Week 3.

Meanwhile, the Bears under new head coach Ben Johnson were drubbed by his former team, the Detroit Lions, and now have a league-worst minus-34 point differential. Chicago hosts the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX).

The Cardinals, Bengals, Colts and 49ers have all started 2-0, making it a second straight season at least four teams that missed the playoffs the previous year enter Week 3 undefeated. 

Let’s take a closer look at who’s hot and who’s cold from Week 2. 

WHO’S HOT

The All-Pro and UFL alum continued to show why he’s the most clutch kicker in football.

Aubrey drilled a 64-yard field goal with no time remaining to send the Cowboys’ home contest against the Giants into overtime. He then nailed a 46-yard field goal with no time remaining in the extra period for a 40-37 Dallas victory. 

Aubrey became the first player to convert a game-tying field goal with no time remaining in regulation and a game-winning field goal with no time remaining in overtime in the same game. His 64-yard field goal is the third-longest in league history, trailing only Justin Tucker’s 66-yarder and Aubrey’s own 65-yard field goal. 

He now has four career field goals of 60-plus yards, tied with Brett Maher for the most in NFL history. 

Maybe Goff doesn’t need Sean McVay or Ben Johnson to put up big numbers.

The Lions quarterback passed for 334 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in his team’s 52-21 win over his former OC Johnson and the Bears. 

The win gives Goff five starts in which his team has scored at least 50 points, tying him in that category with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning for the fourth-most since 1950. The others are Tom Brady (eight), Drew Brees (six) and Len Dawson (six). 

Jared Goff torched the Bears for 334 passing yards and five touchdowns with no picks or sacks. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Jones is following in the footsteps of Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as the next quarterback reclamation project to revive his career at a new stop. 

Jones threw for 316 yards with two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a 29-28 comeback win over the Denver Broncos. Jones is currently second in the league in passing yards (588) and sixth in passer rating (111.1).

The Colts are the first team in NFL history to score on their first 10 offensive possessions of a season and became the first team in the Super Bowl era to not punt in either of their first two games of the year. 

Mr. Unlimited quelled talk of being replaced by rookie Jaxson Dart by throwing for 450 yards and three touchdowns in New York’s late-game loss to the Cowboys, although he did throw an interception in overtime that led to the Dallas victory. 

Wilson is the sixth player in NFL history with at least 400 passing yards and three touchdown passes with three different teams, joining Kirk Cousins, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Warren Moon, Carson Palmer and Vinny Testaverde. 

Per Next Gen Stats, Wilson completed seven of 11 deep passes (pass attempts of 20-or-more yards) for 264 yards and three touchdowns with an interception against the Cowboys, the most deep passing yards by any quarterback in a game since at least 2016. 

The 39-year-old defensive lineman saved Arizona from blowing a 27-3 lead in the third quarter. A series of miscues, including allowing the Carolina Panthers to recover an onside kick, led to a potential game-winning drive by Bryce Young at the end of the game.

However, Campbell sacked Young to end the game. On the day he eclipsed Larry Fitzgerald on the franchise’s all-time games played list at 263, Campbell finished with five combined tackles and two sacks. He now has 112.5 career sacks, No. 37 on the all-time list and third among active players behind Von Miller (130) and Cameron Jordan (123).

WHO’S COLD

Johnson made a poor decision when he mishandled the ball on a kick return late in the game and failed to recognize the ball was live.

As Johnson walked toward the sidelines, players on the Seattle Seahawks kickoff team raced after the loose ball, with George Holani recovering it in the back of the end zone for the score and a 24-14 lead with 12:46 left in the game. 

“It was just poor judgment by a young player,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said.

Asked if they worked on that situation in practice, Tomlin said: “Every day of our lives.” 

Pittsburgh players supported Johnson in the locker room afterward, but it will be interesting to see if Tomlin puts him back to return kicks this week. 

Kelce has made countless clutch catches for Kansas City and is headed to Canton. But on Sunday, his drop near the end zone in the fourth quarter that Philadelphia safety Andrew Mukuba picked off changed the momentum of the Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles. 

With Kansas City on the verge of at least tying the game or taking the lead, the Eagles turned the miscue into points on Jalen Hurts’ 1-yard touchdown and went on to win 20-17. 

It’s Kansas City’s first 0-2 start since 2014, the only year Andy Reid has not made the playoffs as Chiefs coach. 

“If I can put it on his body and not so far out in front of him,” Patrick Mahomes told reporters, “then he can catch it, take the hit and get in the end zone.”

READ MORE: ‘Frustrated’ Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes Search For Answers After First 0-2 Start

Ben Johnson, Head Coach, Bears 

Johnson heard the boos at Ford Field upon his return to Detroit, where he was a star offensive coordinator. Then he felt the pain delivered by the players he used to coach, as the Lions produced an onslaught of offensive firepower to bury the Bears 52-21.

“We knew coming into this game that this is personal,” Lions defensive back Brian Branch told reporters. “Really all the games are personal, but this one, we felt like we’ve been betrayed, from the staff to the players.

“And we love Ben, we still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind, but yeah, it was time to get out there.”

With his Bears sitting at 0-2, Johnson is finding out things are much different when you move one chair over from OC to head coach. 

Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit started with boos and ended with a Lions thrashing of his Bears. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)

Maybe Sam Darnold was better than we thought. McCarthy looked good for one quarter in leading Minnesota to a comeback win over Chicago in Week 1. He looked awful in a loss to the Falcons at home in Week 2, leading the Vikings to just two field goals.

Overall, the numbers aren’t great. McCarthy has completed 58.5% of passes for 301 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s been sacked nine times, posting a 52.6 passer rating. McCarthy will reportedly miss Week 3 with a sprained ankle.

Meanwhile, in his first two weeks with the Seahawks, Darnold has completed 68% of his passes for 445 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions for an 88.8 passer rating. He led Seattle to a win over the Steelers on the road on Sunday. 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more