NFL Week 2 Winners and Losers: Deshaun Watson has his best moment for Browns in win, likely keeps job for another week

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) had a good second half against Tampa Bay. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)AP Photo/Jason BehnkenThe Cleveland Browns waited a long time for some positive vibes on Deshaun Watson. Then they waited some more.

style="text-align: left;">The Browns, led by two Watson touchdown passes in the second half, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-19. They clinched the win after a delay for lightning that lasted about two hours. For Watson, it was worth the wait.

style="text-align: left;">Sunday was likely his greatest moment with the Browns, not that there are many to choose from. It also probably saved his job for at least another week.

style="text-align: left;">The consensus thought was that Watson would get the first two games to start for the Browns, and after he struggled, he'd be replaced before Cleveland's fans could boo him relentlessly in the home opener. Watson could, of course, keep his job with a good performance. He needed it going into the game.

style="text-align: left;">Watson wasn't good in the opener. He threw a bad interception right away in that game. The only time the Browns scored a touchdown was late in the game when they trailed by 31. Watson made a tone-deaf comment during the week that he thought the media expected him to throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns every week. That wasn't exactly true. Competence was a reasonable expectation, though.

style="text-align: left;">The first half Sunday wasn't a fantastic start, either. In the first half against a Buccaneers defense that isn't exactly great, the Browns had 59 yards on 25 plays. Watson wasn't making any horrific mistakes, but he wasn't making much happen, either. It seemed like he was two quarters from definitely losing his job. When Watson did make a nice throw in the third quarter, he didn't get much help, as his throw to Denzel Boston in the end zone was juggled and dropped.

style="text-align: left;">Boston helped him later, taking a short catch, breaking through three tackles and going for a 55-yard touchdown and a tie game. That started a rally for the Browns, and Watson. It’s possible the rest of the game was be the difference in him starting another game or more, or being benched.

Rookie Denzel Boston goes 55 yards for the TD!

CLEvsTB on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/nmkRtJNhIv

— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026The Buccaneers took the lead after the Boston touchdown, but Watson led a go-ahead drive. He hit Blake Whiteheart on a 17-yard touchdown for a 23-19 lead.

17 yards for the lead!!#CLEvsTB on CBS pic.twitter.com/b2NFLdaKzO

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 20, 2026Then there was a twist. The Buccaneers were at the Browns' 28-yard line at the two-minute warning when the weather caused some chaos. The game was suspended due to lightning. The late afternoon games were already at halftime or in the second half, and the Browns and Buccaneers waited in the locker room for an important final two minutes. It had some extra importance for Watson.

style="text-align: left;">The game resumed at 6:10 p.m. Eastern, with the rain still pouring down. The Buccaneers quickly picked up a first down, but were then pushed back 10 yards due to a holding penalty. Ted Hurst III had a catchable pass in the end zone after that but he couldn’t bring it in. Baker Mayfield threw incomplete on fourth down, and the Browns had the win.

style="text-align: left;">The Browns needed the win, and nobody more than Watson. He threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns, and led the team with 22 yards rushing. There haven’t been many positive moments like that for him in Cleveland. Since his trade from the Houston Texans, he has mostly been awful. His contract has been called one of the worst in NFL history, and the trade for him has been called one of the worst in NFL history. He got a bit of redemption on Sunday.

style="text-align: left;">Watson presumably will keep his job for another week. We’ll see what reaction Browns fans have for him.

style="text-align: left;">Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 2 of the NFL season:

WINNERSBrian Flores: One of these days, Flores might get another shot to be a head coach.

style="text-align: left;">The Chicago Bears put up 59 points last week, and though rain was a factor Sunday, so was Flores' defense. The Bears did practically nothing on offense in a 9-3 loss to the Vikings. It was a painful day for Chicago in many ways, as the Bears saw Caleb Williams get carted off due to an injury. But that mishap came late in the fourth quarter, so it's not like that was the main reason the Bears' offense wasn't good. It could have a huge impact on Chicago's season, though.

style="text-align: left;">The Bears were driving when Williams was injured and were about to tie the game on a short field goal, but it was blocked. In the final seconds, with the Bears at Minnesota's 12-yard line, Williams' replacement, Tyson Bagent, was sacked, and the Vikings improved to 2-0.

style="text-align: left;">Minnesota's offense with Carson Wentz at quarterback wasn't very good, but it didn't matter much. Flores, who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and could have that working against him as he seeks another head-coaching job, is having another great season coordinating the Vikings' defense. That will lead to more head-coaching interviews. Perhaps a team will actually hire him this time.

style="text-align: left;">Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough: Like last week, the New Orleans Saints started slowly and then rallied. This time, they finished the job.

style="text-align: left;">The Saints fell short in overtime at Detroit last week, when a two-point conversion was incomplete. On Sunday, they pulled off a big upset, beating the Baltimore Ravens 24-17. Shough brought the team back from a 17-9 deficit in the second half and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak in the final two minutes. The Saints picked off Lamar Jackson after that and had the win. Shough had 252 yards and a touchdown passing and 23 yards and the game-winning touchdown rushing.

Tyler Shough sneaks it in for the lead!

NOvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/1hkVCDfSDB

— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026Moore, the Saints' second-year head coach, and Shough were each impressive last season, as they got hot in the second half after Shough took over as the starting quarterback. The Saints had two tough road games to start this season. They came out of it 1-1 and were one play from a 2-0 start. The Saints are already showing their good finish to last season wasn't a fluke.

style="text-align: left;">Ja'Marr Chase and the Bengals' defense: Chase was quiet in Week 1 with two catches for 12 yards. Everyone knew that wouldn't continue.

style="text-align: left;">Chase had two touchdowns Sunday in a 20-6 win over the Houston Texans. Those were the only touchdowns of the game. The first TD was a magnificent play that only a few receivers could make, as Chase twisted his body and hauled in a pass for the score as he tumbled to the ground.

style="text-align: left;">A big part of the win was the Bengals' defense, which is showing it is much improved last season. The biggest difference is defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, acquired in an offseason trade with the Giants for the 10th overall pick of the draft. Lawrence had a dominant day, and made one of the biggest plays of the game when he single-handedly beat a block and stopped David Montgomery cold on a fourth-and-inches run in the second quarter.

What a PLAY by Dexter Lawrence 😤

CINvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/3id7d6fHTP

— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026The Bengals' offense is going to be good. Chase is a great player and Joe Burrow can get him the ball. Cincinnati's defense has been a question. It looks a lot better so far, and Lawrence has a lot to do with that. It caught a break facing a Texans team without its top receiver Nico Collins, but holding the Texans out of the end zone was a great sign going forward.

style="text-align: left;">Jalen Hurts: The Philadelphia Eagles won't be thrilled to barely beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The offense still has some issues to work out.

style="text-align: left;">But a loss would have been much worse, and Hurts wouldn't let that happen.

style="text-align: left;">The Titans took a 20-17 lead with 1:56 left, giving Hurts one last chance to save what would have been a bad loss. Hurts moved the Eagles downfield and hit Darius Cooper for a 3-yard touchdown with nine seconds left, and Philadelphia won 24-20. Cooper had nine catches and no touchdowns in his NFL career before Sunday. He has a pretty good highlight on his resume now. Hurts completed 6-of-8 passes on the final drive for 61 yards.

JALEN HURTS TO DARIUS COOPER!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/YEiErrM55A

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 20, 2026The Eagles saw Saquon Barkley limited due to a shoulder stinger he suffered early. He had nine rushing yards on just four carries. Hurts wasn't great as most of the offensive load fell on his shoulders. He threw two interceptions that almost cost the Eagles the game; the Titans got 10 points off those picks. But Hurts was good when he had to be. The Eagles are 2-0 with two last-minute wins against teams they were big favorites to beat, but being undefeated will help quiet at least some of the noise.

LOSERSAaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers were probably lucky to be facing the Falcons in Week 1.

style="text-align: left;">Last week, the Steelers squeezed out a home win over a bad Falcons team. It wasn't an impressive performance. Had they been playing someone better, it probably would have been a loss. Sunday seemed like a more accurate representation of this season's Steelers. The New England Patriots beat the Steelers 20-3. It was a pretty easy day for the Patriots.

style="text-align: left;">Aaron Rodgers in particular had a rough game. When he fumbled on a sack and the Patriots returned it for a touchdown, the score was 20-3 and the Pittsburgh offense wasn't coming back from that. Rodgers was 23 of 39 for 187 yards. For some reason the Steelers are building a pass-heavy attack around Rodgers, and it's not working so far.

STRIP SACK SCOOP & SCORE‼️

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/8iXt4tlZS4

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 20, 2026Watching the Steelers the first two weeks is a reminder that their offseason plan was to settle on bringing back a quarterback who will be 43 years old in December. Pittsburgh's offense has looked bad through two weeks and they've yet to play a great defense. It might not get much better this season.

style="text-align: left;">Kevin Stefanski: When Stefanski took the Atlanta Falcons job, it looked like a roster that was in decent shape other than a shaky quarterback situation. That should have been familiar from Stefanski's time with the Browns.

style="text-align: left;">It turned out the quarterback situation in Atlanta was a complete debacle, which isn't too different than Stefanski's time with the Browns. On each of the Falcons' first two possessions Sunday, Cooper Rush turned the ball over. First it was a fumble, then an interception. After another interception, the Falcons put in undrafted rookie Jack Strand. The fans were chanting for the undrafted rookie and gave him an ovation when he came in, which speaks to the state of the team right now. Strand immediately threw a pick-6 to linebacker Devin Lloyd on a deflected pass. The Falcons are unwatchable right now on offense, and lost 34-3 to the Carolina Panthers. Bryce Young continued a strong start to the season with 287 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Darren Waller.

55 gets us six 🔥 🚨

📺 FOX#CARvsATLpic.twitter.com/dOEVAA29CI

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 20, 2026It has to be some bad deja vu for Stefanski. At some point the Falcons will get Michael Penix Jr. back and while he'll be unquestionably better than Rush, he's probably not a savior either. The Falcons are an ugly 0-2 and unless Penix is much improved from last season when he returns there's not a lot of hope. That's not what Stefanski was hoping for.

style="text-align: left;">Aaron Glenn: The New York Jets were on the verge of a 2-0 start to the season. But they couldn't finish.

style="text-align: left;">Glenn came into the season on the hot seat, and losses like Sunday won't work in his favor. The Packers came back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and won 20-17 in overtime after New York's offense failed to do anything on its first possession. The Jets had plenty of opportunities to win and let it get away.

style="text-align: left;">The Jets led 17-7 early in the fourth quarter but the Packers got back in the game. Christian Watson caught a 3-yard touchdown and a field goal after that tied the game. The Packers couldn't take advantage when the Jets were stopped on fourth down near midfield and the game went to overtime. That drive included Glenn not calling a timeout to conserve time with the Packers facing fourth-and-five at the Jets' 45. The Packers bluffed, took a delay of game and punted with 21 seconds left. Had the Jets taken a timeout and the Packers still punted, they would have had about 50 seconds and a timeout, needing a field goal to win in regulation.

style="text-align: left;">On the first possession of overtime, Jets quarterback Geno Smith took a sack and that led to a punt. An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Jets on Green Bay's first drive practically gave the Packers the win. Matthew Golden picked up 14 yards and Trey Smack came on for the game-winning field goal. It was a big escape for the Packers, who were in danger of going 0-2. It was a tough loss for the Jets and Glenn, who needs a good season to save his job.