Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called it “ridiculous” to think he might miss Sunday’s game in Houston because of back tightness and he is active for the Week 2 matchup with the Texans.
Burrow’s health became a talking point this week when he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he returned to full practice on Friday. The Bengals still listed him as questionable for the team’s first road game of the season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Burrow felt normal while going through Friday’s practice, but was very sore earlier in the week. The Texans pass rush could exacerbate that soreness if they’re able to get to Burrow early in Sunday’s game.
Bengals at Texans
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OL Connor Lew, DL BJ Hill, DL Landon Robinson, QB Josh Johnson, OL Myles Hinton
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, WR Nico Collins, LB Jake Hummel, CB Collin Wright, G Ed Ingram, OT Nate Thomas, DE Jadeveon Clowney
Panthers at Falcons
Panthers: LB Pat Jones, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, CB Chau Smith-Wade, LB Tyrel Dodson, OT Albert Reese, DT Bobby Brown
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcolm DeWalt, OL Ethan Onianwa
Saints at Ravens
Saints: RB Kendre Miler, QB Zach Wilson, DB Decamerion Richardson, LB Isaiah Stalbird, DL Christen Miller, OL Mason Murphy, DL John Ridgeway
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Zay Flowers, G Andrew Vorhees, OT Gerad Lichtenhan, LB Teddye Buchanan, DL Nnamdi Madubuike
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DB Jakobe Thomas, OL Nick Samac, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Bears: QB Case Keenum, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden
Steelers at Patriots
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, G Gennings Dunker, DT Kevin Jobity, DT Gabriel Rubio
Patriots: CB Carlton Davis, OT Dametrious Crownover, OT Walter Rouse, TE Tanner Arkin, DL Leonard Taylor, QB Behren Morton
Packers at Jets
Packers: CB Benjamin St-Juste, OL John Williams, OL Travis Glover, DT Warren Brinson, DT Javon Hargrave
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, K Blake Grupe, RB Kene Nwangwu, LB Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace
Browns at Buccaneers
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Buccaneers: CB Ayden Garnes, CB Jacob Parrish, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart, DL Elijah Simmons
Eagles at Titans
Eagles: QB Tanner McKee, QB Cole Payton, WR Elijah Moore, LB Jonathan Greenard, G Micah Morris
Titans: CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB James Williams, OL Atonio Mafi, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
Packers Clips
The Falcons have been waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
The waiting may be over.
ESPN reports that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. “is nearing a return” and “could” make his 2026 debut on Thursday night, when the Falcons travel to Lambeau Field for a Week 3 contest.
During NFL Network’s GameDay morning, Steve Wyche reported that Falcons president of football Matt Ryan said Penix is “getting close,” but he declined to put a timetable on his return.
The team has had some muted frustrations about Penix’s unwillingness to play. But he’s not yet comfortable exposing his surgically repaired left knee to contact.
Without Penix, and with Tua Tagovailoa out due to an oblique injury, Cooper Rush started in Week 1, and he’ll start in Week 2.
Through two seasons, Penix has 14 regular-season appearances and 12 starts, with four wins. After starting last season 3-2, Penix has lost four straight starts.
For now, the Falcons and Rush will face the Panthers, who won the division on the final Sunday of the 2025 season when Kirk Cousins led Atlanta to a win over the Saints.
The first week of the 2026 season featured three fouls that will count toward possible suspensions.
Bills defensive back Sam Franklin was fined $9,425 for a blindside block, Packers defensive back Evan Williams was fined $7,087 for a hit on a defenseless player, and Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson was fined $17,911 for a hip-drop tackle.
Under a new rule adopted for this year, players who pick up three fouls for five specific player safety rules will be suspended. The three fouls above all qualify under the rule as well as fouls for horse-collar tackles and launching. The suspension would come into effect for three violations of the same rule.
Players can appeal the fines and any player that ends the season with one violation of a rule will get 50 percent of the fine paid back to them.
Packers linebacker Lukas Van Ness was involved in the Week 1 play that ended with Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray suffering a concussion, but the only fine for a hit on a quarterback from that game stemmed from a different play.
The NFL announced that Van Ness was fined $17,911 for a hit to the head of Carson Wentz, who replaced Murray in the first quarter. Van Ness was not flagged for the contact he made to Wentz’s head while the quarterback was delivering a pass in the third quarter of the game.
Van Ness made contact with Murray’s head as the Vikings quarterback made his way down at the end of a run, but Packers defensive back Javon Bullard was penalized for delivering a bigger blow to Murray on the play.
Van Ness also wound up in concussion protocol this week, but he cleared it on Saturday and is in line to play against the Jets this Sunday.
When the Packers face the Jets on Sunday, they won’t have defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The veteran lineman was downgraded from questionable to out on Saturday afternoon, as the Packers prepared to make the trip to New Jersey.
Hargrave has both a knee injury and a concussion. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, and he did not practice on Thursday or Friday.
The defensive starter participated in 30 snaps during the Week 1 loss at Minnesota.
Hargrave joined the Packers in free agency, after playing for the Vikings in 2025. A third-round pick of the Steelers in 2016, he has also played for the Eagles and 49ers.
The Packers also removed defensive end Lukas Van Ness from the injury report, after he cleared the concussion protocol. He had been limited in practice all week, and he was listed as questionable on Friday.
The Jets will be missing a handful of players as they try to open a season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2015, but they hope linebacker Will McDonald won’t be one of them.
McDonald is listed as questionable to face the Packers due to an ankle injury. McDonald was added to the injury report on Thursday and he was listed as a limited practice participant for the second straight day on Friday.
The Jets called safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin) week-to-week after his Week 1 injury, which foreshadowed Friday’s news that he’s been officially ruled out. They’ll also be without wide receiver Omar Cooper (ankle), linebacker Joseph Ossai (foot), and running back Kene Nwangwu (back).
Second-round pick D’Angelo Ponds is set to make his NFL debut. The cornerback has no injury designation after missing Week 1 with a calf injury.
The Packers, like half the league after Week 1, are 0-1. But their loss to Minnesota extends a bigger problem.
Green Bay has now lost six games in a row, including playoffs. A loss to the Jets on Sunday would match the team’s longest losing streak of the Super Bowl era.
They’ve lost seven in a row five times. This would be the first since 1990-91, the final two years before the dawn of the Favre era.
The Packers also are trying to avoid an 0-2 start. That last happened to Green Bay in 2006. In fact, the Packers are the only team in the entire league to avoid an 0-2 start since 2007.
Should the Packers beat the Jets? Yes. If it doesn’t happen, nerves will be frayed for the home opener next Thursday night against the Falcons.
A week after the judge presiding over the criminal case involving Packers running back Josh Jacobs signed an order temporarily sealing the evidence (including a video of the altercation that prompted a misdemeanor battery charge), the judge declined to sign an order that would have sealed the evidence permanently.
Via Fox 11, the judge rejected a proposed order on procedural grounds, concluding it was in an “improper format.”
A hearing on the issue has been set for next Thursday. At that point, the judge could decide to grant the request, made by the victim’s lawyer, to permanently seal the evidence.
The NFL wants to see the video, as part of the effort to determine the proper discipline to be imposed on Jacobs under the Personal Conduct Policy. The league’s inability to get access to the video underscores the flaws in its in-house justice system.
The NFL doesn’t have the power that a court of law possesses. It can’t compel witnesses to cooperate. It can’t subpoena records. It possibly will be stymied by a court order blocking access to important evidence.
The league should nevertheless attempt to secure the ability to review the video, subject to the requirement of a protective order. It’s possible to balance the victim’s privacy rights with the NFL’s desire to ensure that it has the ability to effectively and accurately assess a proper penalty on Jacobs.
Jacobs remains on paid leave while the NFL considers the proper suspension to be imposed.
The Jets added a key defensive contributor to their injury report on Thursday.
Linebacker Will McDonald was listed as a limited practice participant due to an ankle injury. McDonald had a sack in last Sunday’s win over the Titans and had 18.5 sacks over the last two seasons.
Wide receiver Omar Cooper (ankle), safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), running back Kene Nwangwu (back), and linebacker Joseph Ossai (foot) remained out of practice. All four players are called week-to-week, which suggests they’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Packers.
Rookie cornerback D’Angelo Ponds (calf) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood (knee) moved up to full participation. Ponds did not play in Tennessee, so this Sunday’s game would be his NFL debut. Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee (shoulder) and defensive lineman David Onyemata (rest) were also full participants.
Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick did not practice on Monday and his outlook for Sunday’s game against the Packers doesn’t look too good.
Head coach Aaron Glenn called Fitzpatrick week-to-week as a result of the groin injury that knocked him out during the first half of last Sunday’s 23-10 win over the Titans. The team won’t issue injury designations until Friday, but that framing suggests there’s little chance he’ll be on the field before Week 3.
That’s also the case for wide receiver Omar Cooper, who did not practice due to an ankle injury. Linebacker Joseph Ossai (foot), running back Kene Nwangwu (back), and defensive lineman David Onyemata (rest) were the other Jets out of practice.
Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds (calf) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood (knee) were listed as limited participants. Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee (shoulder) was a full participant.
