People in and around the game have long joked that NFL stands for “Not for Long.”

And it’s true. It’s so true.

That’s really evident right now with Week 2 of the regular season finally in the books following the Atlanta Falcons’ stunning — and exciting — 22-21 comeback victory over the Eagles at Philadelphia on Monday Night Football.

JALEN HURTS INTERCEPTION. FALCONS WIN
pic.twitter.com/DI5RFauquP

— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) September 17, 2024

In one fell swoop, everything in the league flipped in that the teams and fanbases that were having a party after Opening Weekend are mostly now having a wake, while those who staged a wake last week are mostly partying now. That’s the very it is in the NFL throughout the season, but especially at the start.

For instance, in the AFC North, the Browns, who seemed to have a laissez-faire attitude in being non-competitive in a 33-17 loss at home to the Dallas Cowboys a week and a half ago, were tough as nails physically, and mentally, in defeating the host Jacksonville Jaguars 18-13 last Sunday,

The Baltimore Ravens lost on the road in the opener to the team they always lose to, the Kansas City Chiefs, so that was hardly a surprise, but it was indeed a shock when they then fell to the Las Vegas Raiders at home.

So, the Ravens, who for some inexplicable reason everybody wants to canonize and make excuses for, for 52 weeks throughout the calendar year, every year, are now 0-2, as are the Cincinnati Bengals, who, while having in Joe Burrow the best quarterback in football not named Patrick Mahomes, still found a way to lose in ugly fashion to the New England Patriots at home in the opener before losing to the Chiefs last Sunday.

The leader in the division at 2-0 is a surprise in that it’s Pittsburgh. How the Steelers are doing it is even more surprising. They have scored exactly one touchdown this year. In a league where lots of points are scored, that’s almost unfathomble. They are making up for that by relying on a longtime organizational strength stretching back 50 years, playing extraordinary defense.

Now, considering all that, then, in a league in which what should happen hardly ever happens, especially early in the season, I am amazed that so many people still bet on these games.

Steve King