Five Wide: 2026 Week Two
By Thomas Willoughby
In my Madden NFL 27 review, I introduced you to Thomas Willoughby, a Quarterback out of Rice University drafted in the 5th round of the 2026 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. After getting cut by Miami in pre-season, he landed in Arizona as a back up, where he battled against Jacoby Brissett. At the end of year 1, he wasn named the full time starter, impressing when stepping in.
Season 2 was up and down, and the Cardinals missed the playoffs thanks to poor offensive line play, and even worse quarterbacking. He was throwing more than a pick a game at one point. Year 3 needed to come together, and it did.
The 2028 Cardinals landed a wild card playoff spot with a 10-7 record. And they were incredible. Wins in Tampa Bay and Green Bay set up a home NFC Championship game against the Giants, which they won 28-24 to set up a date with the Patriots in Las Vegas for a shot at the Super Bowl.
And, I’m delighted to announce, that they WON. 21-15. Now, they were 21-0 up at half time. And Thomas Willoughby was horrendous, throwing 3 interceptions and 0 touchdowns. But he made the throws that mattered, and landed Arizona it’s first Lombardi.
With that, here’s what you actually came for:
Grass isn't Gang Greener
You know in football (football football, not American football) when a player makes a transfer to a new club for a huge sum that just doesn’t work out? Think Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea, or Fernando Torres to Chelsea, or Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea. Those big swings where they’re spending a large amount (relative to inflation) to strengthen a need, while also getting one over a rival? They happen in American sports too, but “blockbuster” trades don’t seem to happen as frequently as huge transfers. Maybe because, when it goes wrong, it can go really wrong, and the team building implications in the NFL stretched beyond a price tag.
Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Sadly you are now the new face of failed blockbuster trades.
That isn’t to say Gardner isn’t good, or good at Indianapolis. Far from it. Since joining the Colts from the New York Jets, Gardner’s individual numbers have been pretty decent. The guy simply never gets targeted, so his interceptions number is always pretty low. Across his 6 games for the Colts, he’s logged 5 passes deflections (one fewer than the 6 he managed across 7 games for the Jets last season), though is still to register an interception (because he never gets targeted). He’s clearly a very good player, and, when the opportunity to trade for him opened up, the Colts were right to take the swing. They were, after all, 7-2, and one of the best teams in the league. Win now was on the agenda.
Since trading Adonai Mitchell and two first round picks for Gardner, the Colts have gone 1-9, and missed the playoffs in 2025. Granted, Daniel Jones’ injuries played a far bigger role in those losses than Gardner did. When he left New York, the Jets had a record of 1-7. He did not play in that victory. In fact, Over the past two seasons, the only game Sauce Gardner has won is a 31-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons. In Berlin.
All this is to say that the last time Sauce Gardner won in the United States of America was December 15th 2024, when the Jets beat the Jaguars 32-25. 646 days ago, at the time of publishing. I’m not saying the trade was a bad one, but there has to be some part of him ruing the day Indianapolis picked up the phone and called the office of Darren Mougey.
Dead Zone
Please spare a thought for the Atlanta Falcon in your life (that person is me). Those boys are so bad that they’ve managed to once again write themselves into the bad history books, joining a collection of teams holding an umbrella you simply do not want to be under. For only the fourth time since 1978, the Atlanta Falcons have failed to register a single trip to the red zone. The last team to achieve that? The 2008 St. Louis Rams. Esteemed company indeed.
Now, look, there are circumstances that heavily influence this particular stat for the Falcons. Their current starting QB is Cooper Rush, who was signed halfway through training camp to battle for the right to hold a clipboard, against UDFA Jack Strand. One he won. The Falcons actual starting QB, Michael Penix, is still coming back from an ACL tear, and the player they named QB1 ahead of week one, Tua Tagovailoa, suffered an “oblique” injury like 4 days before the trip to Pittsburgh. In short; they are literally at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to scraping something together under center. Not many team will find offensive success under those circumstances.
But my God, surely someone out there is capable of getting the ball to Pitts, London, and Robinson enough to make it that far? They’ve come close to reaching the red zone. They’ve smelt it once or twice. Came very close to tickling it on Sunday in a blow-out home defeat to the Carolina Panthers. But the 20 yard line eludes them. They don’t even get the luxury of Sunday afternoons to figure themselves out; the Falcons’ next three games are all prime time fixtures (Thursday Night @ Packers, Monday Night @ Saints, Sunday Night vs Ravens). Michael Penix Jr has been named as the starting QB for week 3, so that run might end soon.
The 2008 Rams finished 2-14. Unless Penix plays rust-free, it’s not inconceivable that the 2026 Falcons finish around that sort of record.
Double the Todd, Double the History
We did enjoy a dose of good history this weekend, with Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium playing host to one of the leagues more curious ground-breakers. The Buccaneers hosted the Browns in, what many will remember as, a watershed moment for coaching in the NFL. That particular week two fixture represents the first time EVER that two teams coached by a man named Todd have faced each other. The glass ceiling has been smashed. A new dawn for Todd’s has broken.
Not content with Todd and Todd getting all the glory, Mother Nature herself stepped in to take a crack at setting an NFL record of her own. With around 2 minutes of the fourth quarter to play, and the Browns surprisingly leading 23-19, horrendous and aggressive lightning storms began around the Tampa Bay area, resulting in the game to be delayed until the storms passed. And pass, they did not.
Well into the late window, we got word that the game was about to restart, 2 hours and 13 minutes later. She did it. The record for the longest individual weather delay had been reset, surpassing a 2 hours and 2 minute delay in a game between the Titans and the Dolphins in 2018. The Browns managed to hold on to clinch the victory, and history enjoyers the world over promptly celebrated this history fixture. We may never see anything like this again.
No One Else
Do we like C.J. Stroud? I think we like C.J. Stroud. He had a rookie season to die for, but took a step back in years 2 and 3, suffering through a frankly ugly postseason campaign last season. He’s playing quite well this year, mind, don’t let the Texans’ 0-2 record make you think that he’s responsible for that for even a second. He’s doing everything right now.
I’m not even joking, he is literally the Texans’ offense. Stroud threw for 353 yards vs the Bengals on Sunday, and avoided being intercepted…but not one of his receivers could haul in a touchdown. Stroud led the Texans on the ground, rushing for 29 yards. Their designated first back, David Montgomery, managed only 10. Last week, the Texans suffered a 36-31 defeat to the Bills. Stroud managed 274 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. He’s clearly playing well!
The Texans face the Colts, Cowboys, and Titans over their next three fixtures. You feel like they’ve got to win 2 of those 3 in order to feel good about progressing this season. Stroud is clearly going to play well in those games, I feel good in predicting that. It’s time for the people around him to step up and cash in on those yards.
Kitwatch 2026: Part II
Two of the New Uniforms Five, as the media have dubbed them, got to give their other new uniforms a spin. Both the the Falcons and the Rams rolled out some new threads; the Falcons in their new red primaries, and the Rams in their yellow alternates. I still like the Falcons’ effort, though I think I’d like it better if they won in it. For the Rams, it’s a little bright. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s against the Giants’ all whites but it made for a slightly uncomfortable viewing experience, for me. I’d like to see them again, with a bit more to contrast against the oppositions colours.
The Arizona Cardinals wasted no time reintroducing us to their Rivalries jersey from last season. It’s still bad! The jersey itself is an off-white, and it has weird splodges that makes it look like a tortilla. I’m 90% certain I said that last season, but that’s how anti that thing I am. I did appreciate the North Macedonia representation on the end zone art, however.
The Dallas Cowboys gave their alternate jersey its first spin of the season. All white with blue shoulders on the jersey. It’s a pretty nice look, honestly, and I can see why the fans love it too. Just how the Cowboys managed to make white, a colour every single team wears, their colour is beyond me, but fair play. That new Washington home jersey is pretty nice, still.
The Ravens may have recycled last weeks jersey, but they paired it with a purple helmet to at least change things up a little but. I actually think this works quite well against the all-white jersey/pants combo. That’s a look far nicer than their play deserved.
FeatureD Image Credit: Getty Images
Thomas Willoughby
NFL ANALYST
THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER
