Final NFL 2025 Week 2 Observations...With Dolphins Angles

Maybe the biggest story around the NFL in Week 2 was the rash of injuries to starting quarterbacks, and it just so happens a lot of them are future Miami Dolphins 2025 opponents.

The most significant, of course, was the toe injury that might end up sidelining Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow for the rest of the season with an initial timeline calling for a three-month recovery.

The Dolphins face the Bengals in a Sunday night game at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 16, so under a best-case scenario for Cincinnati, Burrow would be available either in his first game back or maybe his second.

For now, the Bengals are going to roll with backup Jake Browning.

Burrow was injured when he was sacked during Cincinnati's come-from-behind victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Then there's Washington Commanders young star Jaylen Daniels, who sustained a knee injury in the Thursday night game against the Green Bay Packers and now is a question mark for the team's Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Dolphins will face Washington in Madrid, Spain, in Week 11, and Daniels' injury doesn't look like a multi-week deal, but his playing style makes him more susceptible to injuries.

More immediately, the Dolphins' Week 4 game against the New York Jets also could be impacted by a quarterback injury with Justin Fields in the concussion protocol after he was banged up in the team's 30-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Jets likely will be turning to veteran Tyrod Taylor for the Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Josh Allen also was banged up in that Bills-Jets game Sunday when a hit left him with a bloody nose, but he was back on the field after missing two plays and will be in the starting left for the Dolphins-Buffalo game

CHARGERS GETTING DEFENSIVE

When it comes to the L.A. Chargers, a lot of Dolphins fans are fixated on QB Justin Herbert, which makes perfect sense in a lot of ways considering he was selected immediately after Tua Tagovailoa in the 2020 NFL draft and those two always will be compared because of that.

But looking ahead to the Week 6 Dolphins-Chargers matchup, it just might be the Chargers defense that's the biggest cause for concern.

While Herbert had a good outing Monday night, the defense was suffocating in the team's 20-9 victory at Las Vegas.

And it's noteworthy that the Chargers' two starting interior defensive linemen in the game happened to be two players who were with the Dolphins in 2024, Da'Shawn Hand and Teair Tart.

The Chargers also had a prominent player injured in the game with veteran pass rusher Khalil Mack leaving the game in the first half with an elbow injury, but the extent of the injury and Mack's outlook for Week 6 wasn't immediately known.

STATE OF THE STEELERS

Because of the magnitude of the Dolphins-Pittsburgh Steelers during the summer, we're going to be keeping tabs on Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith and how they're doing with their new team.

Ramsey recorded his first interception of the season in the first half, though he later was beat one-on-one for a 45-yard completion from Sam Darnold to Jaxson Smith-Njigba that set up the final score in the Seattle Seahawks' 31-17 victory at Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Smith's production in the passing game again was very modest, with four catches for 27 yards with a long of only 10 yards. In the first two games, Smith had nine catches for 42 yards, an average of 4.7 yards.

Smith continues to be part of a pretty even three-man rotation at tight end with the Steelers with Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.

THE FORMER DOLPHINS REPORT

-- Running back Raheem Mostert was a healthy scratch for the Las Vegas Raiders for the second time in two games.

-- In case you missed this, guard Robert Hunt is expected to miss considerable time, maybe the rest of the 2025 season, after sustaining a torn biceps in the Carolina Panthers' 27-22 loss against the Arizona Cardinals.

-- Speaking of the Cardinals, venerable defensive lineman Calais Campbell had two sacks Sunday, including the game-clinching play on fourth-and-15 after Carolina had recovered an onside kick.

THE MIAMI DOLPHINS ON SI POWER RANKINGS

How we ranked the 32 NFL teams (because everybody is doing it) based on record, quality of wins, and talent.

1. Buffalo Bills (2-0)



2. Green Bay Packers (2-0)



3. Philadelphia Eagles (2-0)



4. Los Angeles Chargers (2-0)



5. Baltimore Ravens (1-1)



6. Los Angeles Rams (2-0)



7. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2)



8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)



9. Detroit Lions (1-1)



10. Cincinnati Bengals (2-0)



11. Indianapolis Colts (2-0)



12. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)



13. Denver Broncos (1-1)



14. Washington Commanders (1-1)



15. Atlanta Falcons (1-1)



16. Arizona Cardinals (2-0)



17. Seattle Seahawks (1-1)



18. Minnesota Vikings (1-1)



19. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)



20. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)



21. Las Vegas Raiders (1-1)



22. Houston Texans (0-2)



23. New England Patriots (1-1)



24. Dallas Cowboys (1-1)



25. New York Jets (0-2)



26. Chicago Bears (0-2)



27. Cleveland Browns (0-2)



28. New York Giants (0-2)



29. Carolina Panthers (0-2)


30. Miami Dolphins (0-2)



31. Tennessee Titans (0-2)



32. New Orleans Saints (0-2)

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