The NFL Numbers Game Week 2: The Stats You Need to Know
Fantasy 101

The NFL Numbers Game Week 2: The Stats You Need to Know

By Lou Brunson · September 21, 2026

Two weeks down, and suddenly we're starting to see some things take shape.

Jahmyr Gibbs is getting WR2-level targets. Kenneth Walker is getting an absurd workload. Aaron Rodgers is somehow throwing the ball less efficiently than Cam Ward. And somewhere in Atlanta, Kyle Pitts is wondering why he bothered getting dressed.

a man in a suit and tie stands in a room

Meanwhile, rookies are making their cases, veterans are hanging onto their jobs, and a few offenses are giving us some very interesting answers, even if they aren't necessarily the answers we expected.

That's what The NFL Numbers Game is all about. We're digging through snap counts, targets, routes, air yards, and all the other little numbers hiding underneath the box scores to figure out what's actually happening on the field.

Week 2 is in the books. Let's see what the numbers have to say.

The NFL Numbers Game Week 2: The Stats You Need to Know

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Gibbs And Take

Jahmyr Gibbs is effectively a WR2 in Detroit with 13 targets in two games, tied with Jameson Williams. After Williams led the team in Air Yards Week 1 with 128, he only managed 38 in Week 2 and is now sitting at a 16.9% target share on the young season.

The Prince That Was Promised

Don't look now, but Dalton Kincaid is leading Buffalo in routes run over the first two games with 46. D.J. Moore is in 4th, but he only ran 9 before leaving with an injury in Week 2, which led to Keon Coleman leading the Bills with 26 routes run in Week 2. 

Young, Wild and Free

Of passers with at least 25 dropbacks, Bryce Young is 4th in the NFL in Deep Pass Percentage with a 15.1% completion percentage. On top of that, the Panthers are throwing the ball 63.9% of the time, good for 5th in the NFL.

The Pitts of Despair

Kyle Pitts has as many targets (4) as Austin Hooper, despite playing more snaps (50% compared to 34.7%) and running more routes (38 to 24). To add insult to injury, Pitts is dead last on the team with a -9.0 Yards After Catch Over Expected, while Austin Hooper sits at +4.

Blink And You'll Miss Him

Everyone's favorite preseason sleeper RB, Demond Claiborne, could only manage 2 snaps (3.9%) in Week 2 with Jordan Mason now on IR. He did a lot with those 2 snaps, running a route and earning a target for…2 yards. Meanwhile, Aaron Jones played 80.4% of snaps, even returning after briefly receiving medical attention during the game. 

Full House

Tyson Bagent dropped back 9 times with 1 spike to stop the clock in Week 2 against Minnesota. In those 9 dropbacks, he targeted Luther Burden 4 times, which accounts for ⅓ of Burden's targets in the short season. Bagent's Air Yards/Attempt sits at 9.3 compared to Caleb Williams' 7.4, but keep in mind Chicago was in full "push the ball down the field" mode when Bagent came in.

Week 1 darling Kalif Raymond turned into a screen merchant in Week 2, going from 7.0 Air Yards/Target in the first game to 0.9 AY/Tgt. While the driving rain dampened him, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden managed 11.3 and 11.4 AY/Tgt in Week 2 despite the rain. Colston Loveland got much better in Week 2 compared to Week 1. He had 50% more targets and, technically, infinitely more production.

That is to say, he earned 3 targets and had a single catch for 3 yards in Week 2 after earning 2 targets and not registering a single catch in Week 1. He was equaled in receptions by fellow Chicago TE Sam Roush. 

Don't Tank The Ship

Saquon Barkley was in and out of Week 2 with a stinger, playing only 10 of the 76 offensive snaps. Will Shipley clocked in with 58.2% while Tank Bigsby managed 33.3%. Shipley earned 7 carries and 2 targets during his work, while Bigsby carried the ball 13 times and earned 2 targets on only 7 routes compared to Shipley's 24 routes run.

All That Money, Nowhere to Go

Cam Ward has now failed to hit 200 yards passing in either game this season despite using a top-5 pick on WR Carnell Tate and spending $70 million on free agent Wan'Dale Robinson. Ward is dead last in Deep Throw Percentage with a 1.9% completion percentage. I didn't even include a minimum; he's still last. 

The Deep State

Aaron Rodgers has 408 yards passing despite dropping back 86 times through two games. That works out to 2nd worst among QBs who have dropped back at least 20 times, with only Jayden Daniels coming in behind him. Yes, even behind Cam Ward. Despite this, Rodgers has an 11.4% Deep Throw Percentage, good for 12th overall.

Maye Day, Maye Day

After leading the NFL in 2025 with 8.93 yards/passing attempt, Drake Maye has 7.02 YPA through 2 games in 2026. 

In a post-A.J. Brown world, Hunter Henry led all pass catchers with 5 targets, while Romeo Doubs was the only other pass catcher to exceed 2 targets. 

Abandon Hope, Ye Who Enter

Chris Brooks led Green Bay RBs in Week 2 with a 44% snap share, while Marshawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson each earned 28%. Johnson "led" the backfield with 8 carries while Lloyd chipped in with 6 and Brooks had 4. Johnson didn't earn a target, while both Lloyd and Brooks earned 2.

Air Supply

Adonai Mitchell led the Jets in Week 2 with 12 targets and now sits one ahead of Garrett Wilson, 15 to 14 through two weeks. Mitchell is dominating Air Yards, however, with 237 (15.8/target) through two games, while Wilson is 2nd on the team with 151 (10.8/target).

Browns Are Gonna Brown

I said we weren't going to talk about Cleveland again, but they earned it, much to my chagrin.

Denzel Boston now has 2 TDs through 2 games and is tied for the team lead with 11 targets. He's also doing a ton of work after the catch, with +41 Yards After Catch Over Expected, 39 of which came in Week 2. 

With the absence of Dylan Sampson, Quinshon Judkins ran 12 routes and even earned 5 targets, catching all of them. 

Baker Ran Out Of Flour

Baker Mayfield has failed to reach 225 passing yards in either game despite dropping back 36 times in Week 1 and 40 in Week 2. That's an arbitrary bar, but it's still not a particularly high one. On the young season, he's at 4.74 passing yards/dropback, good for 4th worst among QBs with at least 20 dropbacks. 

Le-Vele-d Up

Devaughn Vele now has two games where he's played at least 90% of the snaps, earned at least 7 targets with at least 63 Air Yards. He's leading the team in non-QB snaps played and is 2nd only to Chris Olave in receiving stats. 

Deep Purple

Rashod Bateman stepped up in Zay Flowers' absence to earn a team-leading 9 targets in Week 2 after earning only a single target in Week 1. While he had a healthy 13.1 Air Yards/Target in Week 2, the Ravens WRs are averaging an absurd 15.4 Air Yards/Target on the young season so far. For comparison, the Saints don't have a single WR averaging over 15 for the season.

Against All Odds

Despite running the fewest routes of any Bengal offensive player in Week 2 (4), Erick All earned 3 targets. That was good for fourth on the team in Week 2 behind usual suspects Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown. All also out-snapped Mike Gesicki in Week 2 (24 to 21) after barely trailing him in Week 1 (20 to 21).

Houston, We May Have a Running Problem

Through two games, C.J. Stroud is leading all QBs in the NFL with 104 dropbacks. Conversely, RBs David Montgomery and Woody Marks have combined for only 43 carries over two games. By comparison, four RBs have more than 43 carries.

Hello? Is This Thing On?

Through two weeks, Jakobi Meyers leads the Jaguars WRs in percentage of snaps played with 76.6%. He's managed to turn those snaps into a likewise team-leading 48 routes run. However, he's earned 3 targets. That's 1 more than backup TE Quintin Morris.

Why Snap Counts Don't Matter

After Sean Payton promised more work for Jaylen Waddle in Week 2, Waddle was on the field for 59.3% of plays, good for 3rd among Denver WRs. Of course, Waddle led the team with a 32.2% target share in Week 2 after only a 10.7% target share in Week 1. Oh, and Pat Bryant, Week 1 darling? He was 2nd in snaps and earned a single target in Week 2.

One Man, One Mission

Through two games pending MNF, Ashton Jeanty is 3rd in the NFL in carries with 44, and has added 13 targets and 10 receptions to go with them. Over the same time frame, Mike Washington has carried the ball 10 times and added a single target. 

Friendly Fire

Ladd McConkey had only a 45.2% snap share in Week 2, although he tied for 2nd on the team with a 71.0% route participation rate. 

We might not be writing much about the Chargers going forward if they're going to play defense on themselves. That's Oronde Gadsden knocking down a pass intended for Brenen Thompson, in case it's hard to make out.

Sharing Is Caring

The passing game was remarkably flat once Marcus Mariota took over after halftime. Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown both earned 4 targets, Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams each earned 3, and Rachaad White chipped in with 2. Despite dropping back 6 fewer times than Jayden Daniels, Mariota generated more passing output - 111 yards to Daniels' 96.

Not So Fergalicious

For the second straight game, WR3 Ryan Flournoy out-targeted TE Jake Ferguson. 4 targets to 2 in Week 1, then 6 targets to 4 in Week 2. Ferguson's saving grace is he's tied for the team lead with CeeDee Lamb for targets when the team is inside the 20 with 3.

The Price Might Be Right

The most consistent RB for Seattle so far? Jadarian Price, who carried the ball 10 times in Week 1 and 13 times in Week 2, logging exactly 52 yards in each game. The fly in the ointment is that Emanuel Wilson carried the ball 21 times in Week 2. He didn't get his first carry until just under 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. This may be a true "hot hand" situation as time goes on.

Stop Trying To Make Fetch Happen

Through two games, we have a winner for the Arizona WR we prefer, and it's not Marvin Harrison Jr. After finishing 5th on the team in targets in Week 1 with 3, MHJ earned only a single target in Week 2, despite running the third-most routes (34) on the team. That's 1 target behind noted pass-catching RB (/sarcasm) Tyler Allgeier in Week 2.

Age Before Beauty

After a Week 1 target share of 25.9%, Caleb Douglas fell to a 13.0% target share (3 targets) in Week 2 despite running 21 routes, which was tied for the team lead. For the second game in a row, Malik Washington led the Miami WRs in targets, collecting 5 in Week 2 after earning 8 in Week 1. 

The Times They Are A-Changin'

After playing 83.1% of snaps in 2025, Christian McCaffrey is averaging 54.9% of snaps so far in 2026.

While Kaelon Black's snap rate fell from 43.8% to 30.6% from Week 1 to Week 2, Black still carried the ball 7 times in Week 2 compared to 10 times for CMC. Black had just two carries before midway through the third quarter, when San Francisco was already up 21-6.

Jonathan Taylor Might Be A Terminator

After playing "only" 88.2% of snaps in Week 1, Jonathan Taylor logged 95.2% of snaps in Week 2. In addition to his 24 carries - he's currently 4th in the NFL in carries through two games with 43 - he's effectively their WR3 as well. Taylor is 4th on the team in targets with 8 (Josh Downs leads with 13), is tied for 3rd in receptions, and is 3rd in receiving yards. 

But Kenneth Walker is John Connor

Through two weeks, Kenneth Walker is tied with Travis Kelce for team lead in targets at 16. That ties Walker for 14th…in the entire NFL, pending MNF. Walker also leads all RBs in the NFL with 47 rushing attempts. That's a 476-touch pace for a 17-game season, for those tracking at home.

FIN:

This is just the second week of the season, and players are settling into what they currently are. But no matter what they are, we'll be here to show you how the numbers fall out of the game. 

Lou Brunson serves as a Senior Analyst and designer of the Two Rivers, GUTS, and Injury Response Protocol projection systems used across Optimus Fantasy.

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