Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken have the day off.
It may seem like the height of frivolity to write about sports on a day that both marks the anniversary of a savage attack against our nation, as well as being but one day removed from Charlie Kirk‘s assassination. Actually, it is. When one lives in a world where blaming murder victims for their own death because their skin is the wrong color or their ideology sits on the wrong side of the scale, who wins or loses a professional sporting event quickly becomes an outlier.
Yet it is precisely at such moments when sports do matter. We are flesh and blood, needing reminders of life‘s continuance when it seems that life itself has come to a tragic halt. Humanity‘s interconnectivity contains both the light and the shadow of life. No one cancels a child‘s birthday party because a funeral procession passes nearby. Life and time continue regardless of our desires, depending on the moment, to freeze it and remain forever enraptured in its delight or immediately discard its crushing anguish. It is ofttimes cruel in its placement, but the reminder is ever in front of us that our time on earth is not eternal. Eternity awaits elsewhere. Life here is an unknown. As such, we should seize the opportunities to enjoy same and luxuriate in them to the full. We should never discount grief, but we will not always grieve. In short, we are human, and as such need a diversion to remind us that the sun will indeed come up tomorrow.
With that, a look at some of the more intriguing matchups in week number two of the 2025-2026 NFL schedule.
Washington Redskins Football Team Commanders at Green Bay Packers — Washington was the feel-good story of last year‘s NFL season, as rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led a team no one predicted would do anything positive to the NFL championship game. This year will be more difficult as no one will take them for granted. On the other side of the ball, the Packers looked fearsome in taking down the Detroit Lions during opening week, and with Micah Parsons on the mend, they offer no signs of letting up. Still, the Commanders are an excellent team. While labeling this an NFC championship game preview is way premature, calling this a playoff preview is no stretch of the imagination.
Los Angeles Rams at Tennessee Titans — No, I am not highlighting this game because I‘m a Rams fan. Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, in his debut last week against a solid Denver Broncos defense, showed that even with a less-than-stellar supporting cast, he has the ability to make plays. His task gets no easier this week against the Rams, so it will be interesting to see how he fares. Los Angeles‘ offense last week looked like a bunch of guys who had previously not played together, which was, in fact, the case. They should be much closer to being in sync this week, assisted by facing a defense that will never be mistaken for the 1985 Chicago Bears. Still, a game worth watching as the cagey veteran Matthew Stafford squares off against the confident kid Ward.
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs — When we last saw these two teams on the same field, the Eagles were pass-rushing Patrick Mahomes ragged en route to a Super Bowl victory. The Chiefs spent much of their offseason bolstering their offensive line in an effort to prevent this from happening again. The success of these efforts remains undetermined following an opening week loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but in front of their frenzied home crowd, things may turn a bit for the better. Still, the Eagles have those lovely shiny new rings for a reason, making this a game well worth watching.
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