The 2026/27 National Football League (NFL) season is off with a bang, and only after two weeks the league’s landscape is taking shape. There are eight teams with 2-0 records, eight with 0-2 records, and the other 16 at 1-1, making for a very balanced playfield entering Week 3.

And while it may be too early to make any playoff reference, since the American Football League (AFL) and NFL merger in 1970, only 11 per cent of 0-2 teams have gone on to make the postseason. Therefore, the Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, and Miami Dolphins are already fighting an uphill battle. Plus, a few teams are already having to renavigate their season, following the loss of their young quarterbacks last weekend, including a gruesome injury to the Commanders’ signal caller.

The starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams, is reportedly unavailable this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles due to a hamstring injury, while the New York Giants will not have Jaxson Dart under centre against the Titans on Sunday, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, due to a severe left knee damage, suffered against the Los Angeles Rams last weekend. However, most significant was the injury to Washington’s Jayden Daniels, who will be out for an extended period after dislocating an elbow in a very unfortunate incident in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Nearing the end of the first half, as Daniels took a snap, he tripped over the foot of his right guard, used his non-throwing to cushion his fall, while trying to complete a pass to the running back, and gruesomely dislocated his elbow. He suffered the same injury in Week 9 last season and was able to return in Week 14 but reaggravated the same injury a few weeks later. The Commanders were 3-7 with Daniels out of the line-up and went 2-6 down the stretch after his injury a season ago, and with a brutal schedule ahead, Washington’s season appears to be done and dusted. They welcome the defending Super Bowl champion, the Seattle Seahawks, this weekend, followed by the unperforming Colts in London, home against the Giants, a road game against the San Francisco 49ers, home against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams, then visit the Giants before returning home against the Cincinnati Bengals. That is not to say the Commanders can’t win any of these games, especially against the Giants, but it’s hard to make an argument for them, for the most part.

Another team that may be in panic mode is the Chargers, who were touted by JustBet as the most likely winner in Week 1, but lost to the Arizona Cardinals, then lost to the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend. Quarterback (QB) Justin Herbert appeared tired and frustrated, and the self-inflicted wounds are very noticeable, including the six fumbles the Chargers had last Sunday, and were very lucky to recover five of them. The Chargers are already in the thick of things, visiting the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, then visiting the Seahawks, welcoming the Denver Broncos, visiting the Kansas City Chiefs, then the Los Angeles Rams, and hosting the Houston Texans in the space of six weeks. The Chargers entered this season with legitimate playoff aspirations, but there is a very real possibility that they will lose seven or eight games before Halloween rolls around, putting their playoff aspirations in serious jeopardy.

This weekend promises a smorgasbord of gridiron action, and none more so than the Sunday night encounter between the JustBet-favoured Rams against the Broncos, in Empower Field at Mile High, Denver. Both teams enter the contest with a 1-1 record, the Rams dropping their first game against the 49ers in Australia, 7-27, before rallying against a Dart-less New York team, 28-6 on Monday, while the Broncos succumbed to the Chiefs in their first game, 10-31, but gathered themselves last weekend to overcome the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-13.

The Rams and Broncos last met in Week 16 of the 2022 season on Christmas Day, a 51-14 win for the Rams at SoFi Stadium, and the last five matchup resulted in losses for the Broncos, but both teams are a lot different from four years ago. The quarterbacks have found their groove, with the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (482 passing yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs) with slightly better numbers than his counterpart, Bo Nix (419 passing yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), but there is not a lot separating them.

The separation between the teams appears in their total offensive and defensive ratings so far this season. The Rams are sixth in total offence (385.5 yards per game), sixth in rushing offence (142.5 YPG), 10th in passing offence (243 YPG), 22nd in scoring offence (17.5 points per game), and they will face a 17th-ranked Broncos defence (330 yards per game), 29th in rushing defence (157.5 YPG), eighth in passing defence (172.5 YPG), 13th in scoring defence (22 points per game). Conversely, the Broncos are 25th in total offence (284 yards per game), 27th in rushing offence (82.5 YPG), 20th in passing offence (201.5 YPG), tied for 26th in scoring offence (15 points per game), and they are up against the seventh-ranked Rams defence (280.5 yards per game), 19th in rushing defence (113 YPG), seventh in passing defence (167.5 YPG), and tied for eighth in scoring defence (16.5 points per game).

The numbers look daunting for the Broncos, but they are playing in the altitude of Denver, and if the offence can click, like it did in the second half against the Jaguars, with a great balance of run and pass, they have a very good chance to win, but they need to commit to the run and keep Stafford on the sideline as much as possible. On the other hand, the Rams’ passing attack, without Puca Nacua, was frightening against the Giants, as Davante Adams turned back the clock to fill the highlight reel. The Rams should win, but this promises to be worth the price of admission. Are you ready for some football?

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