The first week of the NFL always has good storylines that emerge, as is the case with the majority of the season. The pressure is on to win, and win early, which 16 teams were unable to do in Week 1.
That pressure carries on into Week 2, with some players and coaches under more pressure than others. Whether its past performance, a poor track record, juts just a bad opening week in general, the heat is on for these players and coaches to correct the mistakes fast.
An 0-2 start is almost a death wish for an NFL season. Teams that have started 0-2 have just an 11.5% chance of making the playoffs since the playoff format expanded to 12 teams in 1990, so the pressure is on to win for the teams that lost in Week 1.
For these five players/coaches, there could be more at stake. These are five players/coaches that need a strong performance in Week 2 if they want things to stay the status quo.
Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
Can things get any worse for Jones in New York? The former first-round pick already had massive pressure on him heading into the season, then puts up one of the worst performances of his career in the season opener. Jones finished with an anemic 52.4% completion rate in a Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He averaged 4.4 yards per attempt with zero touchdowns and two interceptions and a 44.3 rating, causing Giants fans to leave by the third quarter.
Since the start of last season, Jones has thrown more touchdown passes to the other team (3) than he has to his own team (2). Jones is 1-7 with two pass touchdowns in his last eight starts after he had two passing touchdowns in a 2022 Wild Card win at the Vikings (the Giants have been outscored 249-81 in those eight games).
The Giants simply aren't competitive with Jones, yet he has a chance to save his job against a team he's actually had success against (Washington Commanders). Not only does Jones need a win (5-1-1 against Washington in career), he needs to play well in order to halt the quarterback talk for at least one more week. The Commanders do have the worst defense in the NFL since the start of last season
This could be Jones' last chance.
Robert Saleh (New York Jets)
Saleh finally has a quarterback he can win games with, along with a roster that's good enough to end the Jets long playoff drought. The Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was very concerning, since the Jets didn't look anything close to a Super Bowl contender.
Saleh, known as a defensive coach, saw the Jets defense miss a league-high 18 tackles in Week 1 and give up 180 rushing yards. Not to mention the Jets are 2-8 in September under Saleh in 3-17 in the month over the last seven seasons, playing behind the 8-ball every year as they chase a playoff berth.
Aaron Rodgers doesn't have a 300-yard game since Week 14 of the 2021 season (23 straight games) and has gone seven games without throwing multiple touchdown passes. Nathaniel Hackett is still the offensive coordinator, which also does not help Saleh's case of staying in New York.
The Jets play the Tennessee Titans on the road this week. They need a win, probably more than any of the 0-1 teams around the league. Saleh was already under pressure heading into the seaosn, and that seat is getting warmer.
Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
Cousins looked like a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a ruptured Achilles in his Falcons debut, completing 61.5% of his passes for 155 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions (59.0 rating) in a Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Falcons averaged just 1.00 points per possession (28th in NFL) and 22.0 yards per possession (25th in NFL) in Cousins' first start, getting similar quarterback play to what Atlanta experienced since Matt Ryan was traded.
The Falcons elected not to play Cousins in the preseason, which certainly hurt Cousins' performance. They had 141 yards on their nine non-touchdown possessions combined in Week 1, which Cousins and the offense have to correct.
Cousins gets time to work out the kinks in the offense for a few weeks, but the Falcons should be better with a quarterback they gave $180 million guaranteed. There's also Michael Penix waiting for an opportunity to unseat Cousins.
Cousins needs a good performance to erase some doubts about the signing.
Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
Young was supposed to be better in Carolina's new offense under Dave Canales, with Week 1 being the first opportunity for the former No.1 overall pick to showcase his skills. Instead, Young had just as poor of a performance as last season -- if not worse.
Throwing an interception on his first pass attempt, Young finished 13 of 30 for 161 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions (32.8 rating). The Panthers aren't a good team, but Young isn't helping them win games.
Carolina is 2-15 in Young's starts and averaging just 12.9 points per game. Young is averaging 5.5 yards per attempt and his 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 career games. The Panthers have led a total of 10 seconds combined over their last nine games.
The pressure is on Young to play well, but he needs to show any signs of improvement in Week 2. The red flags are already out.
Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals)
The Bengals have not been strong starters under Taylor, and the Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots further proved that point. Cincinnati scored just 10 points on eight possessions, and zero on its first five. The Bengals have started 0-2 in each of the last two seasons, yet have finished with a winning record in each of them.
Cincinnati has proven it can right the ship, but will have a very tough challenge in the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. An 0-2 start in a grueling AFC ended up dooming the Bengals last season -- and led to a Joe Burrow season-ending injury. If Burrow is on the mend again, can Cincinnati recover?
The Bengals have lost six straight games in Weeks 1 and 2, and their offense has typically looked stale to start the year. A loss in Week 2 could make Taylor's seat hot, even if it doesn't have to be.
