NFL Week 2: Bengals dominate, Bears struggle following Caleb Williams injury

The second week of the NFL season always delivers clarity. It is where the takeaways from Week 1 are put to the test. Season-opening results either become trends or one-time occurrences, for better or worse.

In the Cincinnati Bengals ' case, it was for the better. The defensive improvements they showed in their first game carried over into an overwhelming performance against the Houston Texans in which they surrendered just six points on the road.

For the Chicago Bears , however, it was for the worse. They scored 56 fewer points in Week 2 than they did seven days prior, and they lost their quarterback in the process.

Those teams are among the biggest winners and losers from the second week of the campaign. Below are the others that came out on top and the ones that left a lot to be desired.

Winner: Bengals

The hope for the Bengals entering the year was that their retooled defense would inch closer to the level of their elite offense. Through two weeks, everything appears to be coming together for what might be a dark-horse Super Bowl contender.

Nearly all of the new faces on the defense delivered impact plays in Week 1, and Dexter Lawrence  announced his arrival in Week 2. His stout play on a fourth-and-inches situation turned the Texans over on downs, which marked the only time the Bengals took the ball away from the home team in a 20-6 win at Reliant Stadium. The rest of the defensive front was formidable, too, as it got home on C.J. Stroud for five sacks, including two in the final three plays.

The best part of Cincinnati's defensive renaissance through two games is that it has not come at the cost of the offense. Ja'Marr Chase bounced back on Sunday from a quiet season opener with two touchdowns. The first was an early contender for the NFL's Catch of the Year .

Loser: Bears

Regression was always going to come for the Bears' offense. It would have been impossible to keep pace with the 59 points they racked up in Week 1. They fell harder back to Earth than anyone could have expected, though, and the 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings did more than just bring their metrics back to more fathomable levels. It also cost them their quarterback.

Caleb Williams departed from the loss in a crucial spot when he sustained a non-contact hamstring injury. The elusive quarterback extended a play near the goal line with a chance to give the Bears a fourth-quarter lead. He pulled up mid-run, fell to the ground in pain and was carted into the locker room. Backup Tyson Bagent had chances to cash in with touchdowns on both of his drives in relief, but could not get the Bears into the end zone.

Any time Williams misses will be costly, considering how comfortable and uber-effective he has been in Ben Johnson's offense through one season and two games.

Winner: Fourth-quarter Tyler Shough

There might not be a more clutch player in the NFL through two games than Tyler Shough . The New Orleans Saints would, of course, prefer to avoid slow starts. But they have a quarterback capable of bailing them out. He did so in Week 1 when he helped score 30 points in the second half and overtime in a loss to the Detroit Lions , and in Week 2, his fourth-quarter heroics led to the Saints' first win of the year.

New Orleans trailed the Baltimore Ravens by eight points entering the final period. Shough then connected with Chris Olave on a 21-yard touchdown pass, and later in the quarter, he and the offense converted two third-down and two fourth-down conversions before finding the end zone on a go-ahead quarterback sneak.

It is still early in the year, but Shough has the looks of the NFL's next second-year quarterback to break out as a star. A manageable schedule in the weeks ahead will give him an opportunity to stack more wins on top of this 24-17 victory over the Super Bowl-hopeful Ravens.

Loser: Cooper Rush and the Falcons offense

For as poorly as the Atlanta Falcons played in their season-opening loss, it was hard to picture the offense regressing in Week 2. That the unit managed a measly three points in a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Panthers was indicative of its unenviable quarterback situation. With Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr . still unavailable, Cooper Rush lined up for his second start to begin the year, and it went even worse than his first.

Rush fumbled on his first snap, threw an interception later in the first quarter and orchestrated a turnover on downs to conclude the opening period. After another interception and two more quarters of offensive ineptitude, Atlanta inserted undrafted rookie Jack Strand into the contest. That experiment did not pan out, either, as he tossed a pick-six on his first professional regular-season pass.

Unless one of Tagovailoa and Penix oversees a more effective offense once healthy, Atlanta will be in play for one of the top picks in the 2027 draft and could use it to find its next signal-caller.

Loser: Aaron Rodgers

Very little about the Pittsburgh Steelers ' offense in the first year of the Mike McCarthy era warrants celebration. The group has a total of 23 points to its name through two games and managed only three of them in Sunday's 17-point loss to the New England Patriots . The deficiencies go beyond just the quarterback position, but Aaron Rodgers is as much of the problem as anyone.

Rodgers took four sacks in Week 2, and one of them was disastrous, as he coughed up the ball and watched as Elijah Ponder returned it for a backbreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter. That was Rodgers' second turnover and one of two fumbles. He also threw an interception.

Last week, the defense won the game for Pittsburgh. This week, it kept the Steelers within striking distance for most of the afternoon. Rodgers just did not do enough to capitalize on the opportunity against the Patriots.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-2-winners-losers-bengals-bears/)._