Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Week 2 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2026 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Josh Allen (Bills)

Week 2 kicked off with Allen putting together one of the vintage stat sheet-stuffing performances that has made him the most coveted fantasy quarterback in the league over last few seasons. The Bills signalcaller lit up the Lions limp defense from the opening whistle until they took their foot off the gas early in the 4th quarter once a victory was guaranteed, throwing for 248 YDS and 3 TD's and rushing for 69 YDS and 2 TD's on 14 carries. Through 2 games, Allen looks like he's going to be in the thick of the MVP race once again and could very well be in line to win the league's top honor for the 2nd time in the last 3 years. He gets handed the gift of playing a Chargers team that has looked like complete shit out of the gate and could be on the verge of full-blown implosion in Week 3.

Honorable Mentions: Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Jared Goff (Lions)

Biggest Loser: Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)

After playing lights out in the opener against the Browns, Lawrence crashed back to Earth in a big way in Week 2 with a pretty poor performance (189 YDS/0 TD's/1 INT, 2 CAR/6 YDS) against a Broncos defense that returned to form after a horrid showing against the Chiefs in Week 1. Lawrence will be on the QB1/QB2 borderline for their Week 3 matchup with the Patriots. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Drake Maye (Patriots), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Jonathan Taylor (Colts)

While Taylor wasn't consistently effective against the Chiefs on Sunday night, he was once again the focal point of the Colts offense and made enough plays to be a top-tier RB1 play by turning his 24 carries into 92 YDS and 2 TD's. As an added bonus, he also managed to be more involved with the passing game than usual-hauling in 4 receptions for 40 YDS. Taylor could be in line for tougher sledding this week when the Colts take on a Texans defense that has been very good against the run so far. 

Honorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs), Christian McCaffery (49ers), James Cook III (Bills)

Biggest Loser: David Montgomery (Texans)

After an impressive debut against the Bills, Montgomery completely flopped in his second game with the Texans. The veteran RB was a complete afterthought as the Bengals dismantled Houston's offense on their home field. securing just 8 touches (6 carries, 2 receptions) for 24 YDS. What made this performance particularly alarming is that Montgomery got out snapped and out touched by Woody Marks, although the second year back also didn't fare well (40 scrimmage YDS on 10 touches) against this suddenly excellent Bengals defense. Montgomery should be able to bounce back against a Colts defense that has gotten killed by the rush in both games this season.

Dishonorable Mentions: Jeremiyah Love (Cardinals), Travis Etienne (Saints), Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots)

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks)

JSN casually annihilated an overmatched Cardinals defense on Sunday, securing 9 receptions for 155 YDS and 3 TD's. The reigning Offense Player of the Year is off to another incredible start and will look to keep rolling against a Commanders defense that CeeDee Lamb torched this past week. 

Honorable Mentions: Davante Adams (Rams), CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys), Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions)

Biggest Loser: Malik Nabers (Giants)

Nabers' much anticipated return to action in 2026 produced another dud as he struggled to deal with a physical Rams secondary that was hellbent on proving their embarrassing Week 1 loss to the 49ers in Melbourne was mostly a product of jet lag and a completely out of rhythm Jameis Winston. He ended up catching just 1-of-4 targets for 1 YD in what was a really horrendous MNF loss for the Giants that erased all of the excitement that was surrounding them after their nice Week 1 win over the Cowboys.  About the only positive that stemmed from this game was that Nabers shook off a shoulder injury that looked serious when it initially happened and returned to action after missing only one drive. With Winston locked in as the starter for the next 4-6 weeks while Jaxson Dart is sidelined with what is believed to be an MCL sprain, Nabers will be facing an uphill battle to return to weekly fantasy relevance. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Luther Burden III (Bears), Ladd McConkey (Chargers), DK Metcalf (Steelers)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)

Sunday night produced a host of horrific sights for the people that believed the Chiefs reign of terror was finally over after their below average 2025 campaign as not only did Patrick Mahomes look like his old self, but the nearly 37-year-old Kelce turned back the clock with a vintage dominant performance as the Chiefs clear top receiving threat (9/101/1) in an OT win over the Colts. Kelce is now firmly back on the weekly TE1 radar and could be in line for another big day against the Dolphins sorry ass defense in Week 3.

Honorable Mentions: Dalton Schultz (Texans), Dalton Kincaid (Bills), Jake Ferguson (Cowboys)

Biggest Loser: Colston Loveland (Bears)

Good news, Loveland made his first catch of the season against the Vikings. Bad news, it was the only reception he made on the day, and it was for 3 YDS. It's been an alarmingly slow start to 2026 for Loveland as he's only managed 5 targets and the aforementioned lone reception through 2 games. With Tyson Bagnet presumably starting for at least a game or two while Caleb Williams recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered on Sunday, Loveland might not be able to imminently turn things around. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Tucker Kraft (Packers), Kyle Pitts (Falcons), Brenton Strange (Jaguars)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Patriots

On a day where the Patriots offense didn't look all that great overall, the defense showed up in a big way and allowed them to cruise to a 20-3 victory over the Steelers. Zak Kuhr's group made life miserable for the Steelers offensive line, running backs and ancient QB, registering 4 sacks, an INT and a fumble recovery TD from Elijah Ponder that came off a strip sack by Christan Barmore. The current number 1 scoring defense in the NFL has a date with the Jaguars this week. 

Honorable Mentions: Vikings, Rams, Seahawks

Biggest Loser: Buccaneers

Typically, streaming a defense against the Browns is a surefire way to secure a lot of fantasy points. This week, that plan backfired spectacularly as the Buccaneers got embarrassed by a Browns offense that could barely even move the ball until garbage time against the Jaguars in Week 1. While it was bad enough that the Buccaneers logged 2 sacks and 0 takeaways and surrendered 23 points in the loss, the most embarrassing aspect of their performance was allowing the league's premier washed up sex pest Deshaun Watson to have his best game (24/30, 238 YDS and 2 TD's, 6 carries for 23 yards) in years. There's no danger of anyone hanging onto the Bucs D/ST heading into this week and anybody that got burned by them here will probably think twice before electing to play them as a streaming option later in the season. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Ravens, Eagles, Jaguars

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