We are only two weeks into the NFL regular season, but don’t tell that to the fans of the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings. They have reason to be excited and might be thinking playoffs already.
So maybe it’s a bit early for that, but you get the idea. There is reason for hope.
After two games, those five teams are a combined 10-0, all with a piece of first place in their respective divisions. Three of the four — the Saints, the Bucs and the Vikings — are coming off victories against the league’s supposed big dogs, two of them on the road.
The Saints might be the most impressive and surprising of them all. They’ve dominated two games and went to Dallas and beat up on the Cowboys on Sunday in impressive fashion in a 44-19 drubbing. Derek Carr has been outstanding so far and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has transformed the offense.
The Bucs went to Detroit and beat the Lions, 20-16, in a game where a banged-up defense was able to limit Detroit’s offense to a meager showing for them on their home field. Baker Mayfield did enough on offense with some gutsy plays and tough runs.
The Vikings beat the 49ers, who were six days removed from dominating the Jets last Monday night. Minnesota did so with big plays from Justin Jefferson and some impressive pressure on defense.
Seattle won at New England in overtime, which might not be as big a victory in terms of opponent, but it wasn’t easy. Plus, any time a team from the West Coast can go across the country and win an early game on the East Coast, that matters.
As for the Steelers, they have allowed one touchdown in two games and Justin Fields is playing well enough to keep the offense out of trouble. That’s going to be the Steelers formula going forward.
So here we are two weeks in, and all five of those teams are in the top 10 of my Power Rankings.
Who saw this coming? I certainly didn’t.
The Bucs were my pick to win the NFC South, but I didn’t think the other four would be in the playoffs. New Orleans may be the biggest surprise so far.
The other remaining 2-0 teams are the top-ranked Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills (No. 2), the Houston Texans (No. 3), and the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 9). We expected several of those clubs to be undefeated after two weeks, but the others are somewhat of a surprise.
Some words of caution, though: It’s just two weeks and we know how things can change quickly in this league. Just when you think you know, you really don’t.
| 1 | Chiefs | They found a way against the Bengals, but hardly looked impressive in doing so. The passing game was off. That’s not what we expect from Patrick Mahomes. | — | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Bills | Winning at Miami the way they did was impressive. The defense came up big in that game, while the offense with James Cook continued to run the football. | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 3 | Texans | Even on a night when the offense wasn’t clicking, the defense came up big against the Bears. That pressure up front was the difference in the game. | 2 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Buccaneers | Winning at Detroit with a depleted roster speaks volumes about this team. The defense, despite being down a bunch of guys, did a nice job against a good Lions offense. They are for real. | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 5 | Vikings | Sam Darnold is making plays, Brian Flores is doing a great job with the defense and Justin Jefferson is a game-wrecker. Combine that with Kevin O’Connell as head coach, and that’s why they are 2-0. | 13 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Saints | The first-team offense has scored on 15 of 15 possessions this season. That’s domination. After surprising the Cowboys on the road, they face a tough one this week with the Eagles. | 19 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Seahawks | New head coach Mike Macdonald is off to a 2-0 start. That wasn’t easy or pretty in beating the Pats in overtime, but that’s a good road victory. | 13 | 2-0-0 |
| 8 | 49ers | Losing a road game after a Monday night game isn’t too hard to understand, but they had too many defensive lapses against the Vikings. Not having Christian McCaffrey for a month and Deebo Samuel missing time won’t help the offense, either. | 6 | 1-1-0 |
| 9 | Chargers | At 2-0, Jim Harbaugh has this team playing a physical brand of football. They better keep it that way with a trip to face the Steelers this week. | 2 | 2-0-0 |
| 10 | Steelers | At 2-0, it looks like Justin Fields is in as the starter now. You couldn’t possibly sit him down for Russell Wilson. The defense has given up one touchdown in two games. Impressive. | 2 | 2-0-0 |
| 11 | Lions | The offense didn’t do enough against Tampa Bay, which is why they are now 1-1. Jared Goff threw for 300 yards, but never looked in sync. | 7 | 1-1-0 |
| 12 | Packers | That was a big-time victory with a backup quarterback in Malik Willis playing against the Colts. The defense came up big in that one — and they needed it. The run game impressed, too. | 3 | 1-1-0 |
| 13 | Cowboys | That showing against the Saints was a horrible look for this group. They were dominated in all facets of the game. Now they face a tough one against a Ravens team hungry for a victory. | 7 | 1-1-0 |
| 14 | Raiders | Winning on the road against a good Ravens team is a big deal for this young group. Gardner Minshew owns Baltimore the past two seasons. | 16 | 1-1-0 |
| 15 | Ravens | Who saw them at 0-2 after two weeks? Losing to the Chiefs is one thing, but losing to the Raiders at home is another. The offensive line is an issue. | 8 | 0-2-0 |
| 16 | Bears | At 1-1, they still haven’t done enough on offense. Caleb Williams has just been OK. He shows flashes, but not enough consistency. | 2 | 1-1-0 |
| 17 | Falcons | That late-game drive by Kirk Cousins to win it against the Eagles Monday night might be what saves their season. The run game was good all night long, which will be their calling card. | 5 | 1-1-0 |
| 18 | Eagles | That was a big-time choke late by the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni. Why did he throw it late? Then they let Kirk Cousins go the distance in just under a minute for the game-winner? | 10 | 1-1-0 |
| 19 | Browns | That was a big-time victory at Jacksonville. The defense came up big in that one. Deshaun Watson was also better than the week before. | 2 | 1-1-0 |
| 20 | Jets | They come off their two-game road trip at 1-1 after beating the Titans. The defense made some big plays, but still has flaws. The offense still isn’t clicking yet in the passing game. | 7 | 1-1-0 |
| 21 | Cardinals | Kyler Murray is off to an impressive start. He was outstanding against the Rams. Marvin Harrison Jr. also showed off his talent. They will be a fun combination to watch. | 6 | 1-1-0 |
| 22 | Bengals | They are 0-2 after losing a tough one at Kansas City, but they showed better than they did in Week 1. They will be fine. | 6 | 0-2-0 |
| 23 | Dolphins | With Tua Tagovailoa having the concussion issues, this team is in big trouble if he is out for any length of time or maybe even the season. It’s Skylar Thompson time now. | 13 | 1-1-0 |
| 24 | Jaguars | They have major issues heading to playing the Bills on the road. They are staring 0-3 in the face, which would put heat on this coaching staff. | 7 | 0-2-0 |
| 25 | Rams | At 0-2, with a ton of injuries, their season is off to a shaky start. It will be a challenge for Sean McVay to get this thing turned around. | 6 | 0-2-0 |
| 26 | Patriots | They are 1-1 with an overtime loss to the Seahawks this past week. They are far ahead of what many expected of them this season, which is a good look for Jerod Mayo. | 2 | 1-1-0 |
| 27 | Colts | Anthony Richardson has to be better than what he showed against the Packers. The run defense has been a major issue in two games as they open 0-2. | 4 | 0-2-0 |
| 28 | Titans | Will Levis has to quit making stupid decisions at key moments. It’s OK to take a sack. He’s cost them the chance to win two games. | 2 | 0-2-0 |
| 29 | Commanders | It wasn’t pretty against the Giants, but they found a way to get their first victory. Jayden Daniels is going to be a star. | 1 | 1-1-0 |
| 30 | Broncos | They aren’t scoring enough with Bo Nix, but patience is going to be needed. The end-zone pick against the Steelers was terrible. | 1 | 0-2-0 |
| 31 | Giants | Seeing their kicker injured and out cost them a chance to beat the Commanders. They were better. At least they have a star in waiting in Malik Nabers. | — | 0-2-0 |
| 32 | Panthers | They hope benching Bryce Young for Andy Dalton can liven up things. It won’t be any worse. But what does that mean for Young? | — | 0-2-0 |
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Author: Pete Prisco
September 17, 2024 | 6:36 am
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