The early Arch Manning chase is already taking shape, and the latest NFL Week 2 results pushed the Houston Texans to the front of the pack.
Houston sits atop the updated odds at Polymarket Football after another rough start, falling to 0-2 for the second straight year. The Texans were beaten 20-6 by the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, and the situation is now pointing toward a possible 0-3 opening for the second consecutive season.
The Colts are right behind them after their own painful finish. Indianapolis dropped a 33-30 overtime game to the Kansas City Chiefs, keeping them firmly in the mix for the top spot in the 2026 NFL Draft race.
Tennessee and Tampa Bay are next in line, with Atlanta, Washington, the LA Chargers, and Miami not far behind. All four of those teams are also sitting at 0-2 after two weeks, which keeps the board crowded near the top.
While the NFL’s bottom feeders are sorting themselves out, Manning keeps doing exactly what has made him the projected No. 1 pick. He has Texas off to a 3-0 start, and his latest outing was another clean showing: 164 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 30-6 win over UTSA.
That performance only adds to what he already did in 2025, when he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns. The hype around him has been massive for a while, and the family name is part of that. Manning is the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, both two-time Super Bowl winners, and the grandson of Archie Manning, who played in the NFL and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
For now, the draft race belongs to the teams losing early and often. Manning, meanwhile, keeps stacking wins in Austin, which is exactly why the sweepstakes around him are going to stay front and center all season long.
In Other News...
Texans' Ugly Start Has One Chance To Change Everything Fast
The Texans opening stretch has been rough in more ways than one, with an 0-2 start and a growing injury list making the first two weeks feel heavier than just two losses. Even so, the AFC South has hardly separated itself, with the division sitting at a combined 1-7, which leaves Houston still tied for second place and very much within reach of the race it wants to control.
Indianapolis comes to town in Week 3, and for Houston, that matchup suddenly carries an outsized amount of weight. A win would not fix everything after the ugly start, but it would give the Texans a much-needed foothold in the division and a chance to stop early-season damage from turning into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Upgrades Already Look Tested By The Same Early Alarms
The Texans first two weeks have already put a spotlight on the kinds of problems they spent the offseason trying to fix. An 0-2 start, their third in four years, has come with the familiar frustrations of a rushed offense that cannot get traction, red zone trips that stall out and a defense that has too often given up explosive plays. Losses to the Bills and Bengals have made those issues impossible to ignore, especially for a team that expected to look more stable out of the gate.
For Houston, the concern is not just the record but how quickly the same early alarms are ringing again. The roster upgrades were supposed to help the Texans play cleaner and more complete football, yet the opening stretch has instead raised the same questions about whether the rushing attack can set a tone, whether scoring opportunities will turn into points and whether the defense can stop bleeding big gains. Until those areas start to look different, the season will keep feeling too much like the ones that came before it. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face An Early AFC South Test That Could Define This Start
The Texans are heading into Week 3 with an early divisional test that already feels bigger than the calendar suggests. Both Houston and Indianapolis are still looking for their first win, and for DeMeco Ryans, the matchup starts with the same place so many AFC South games do: controlling the run game and forcing a team to operate on Houstons terms.
Jonathan Taylor is the obvious focal point for the Colts, and the Texans will lean on a defense that has been strong against the run through two games, sitting sixth in rushing yards allowed. If Houston can keep Taylor in check, it would go a long way toward steadying a start that has yet to find its first breakthrough and could shape how the division race looks before September even closes. [Read more 🡒]