The "This is not going to plan" Duo
11.) New York Jets = 30-58
10.) Carolina Panthers = 47-65
These two are just very bad teams, made worse in Carolina's case with the injury to McCaffery. Quickly on 'Lina - how long before someone asks around regret for letting Cam go? The Panthers run defense is so porous it will hard for them to come close to keeping up without McCafferry to spell some time and give the defense relief. As for the Jets - well they make the Panthers rush defense look good. That was embarrassing. The offense is embarrassing. Them continuing to employ Adam Gase, a man who unreletingly failed upwards, is embarrassing than anything else.
The "We have something here" Uno
9.) Cincinnati Bengals = 43-51
The defense is not good. AJ Green looks like he's finally aged (can't blame him the mess he's been through). But they have something in Joe Burrow. He was great on Thursday - throwing 60 times without ever losing focus or tiring. He wasn't perfect. No rookie is, but he looked in command of an offense, was able to come back after a slow start and keep them very much in the game. An empty Cleveland arena is not going to be the most challenging of environments, but so far he's been very competent in both games.
The "Injuries suck, Pt. 1" Duo
8.) Denver Broncos = 35-42
7.) New York Giants = 29-43
Injuries were the story of yesterday (aside from maybe the story of the host of great games). Both of these teams are really feeling it. The Broncos lost Drew Lock for six weeks, and star WR Cortland Sutton for the year (one of the many, many ACL tears). Somehow they still came within shouting distance of beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh - but you have to think they'll struggle in the immediate future. For the Giants, I still lik the team - no shame is losing by ten yards in Chicago. I still think Daniel Jones is a fine QB. But losing Saquon just sucks - forget what it means for Jones and the Giants, but losing such a fantastic, dynamic player is just painful.
The "This is really not going according to plan" Duo
6.) Minnesota Vikings = 45-71
5.) Detroit Lions = 44-69
Remember all those people riding the Lions bandwagon before the season. Ultimately, however much we think Stafford may have turned a corner, and the offensive weapons could be great, it won't overcome the fact that Matt Patricia is just a disaster at head coach. An abject disaster. I'm loathe to blame the Lions too much for firing Jim Caldwell (who had back-to-back 9-7 seasons), because no one thought he was great. But Patricia is very, very obviously not the answer. For the Vikings, they went from having a horrible offseason to becoming a last minute sleeper - apparently getting Yannick Ngokwaue doesn't fix all your problems. The OL is a disaster and the offense is totally toothless without Diggs.
The "Just play Tua already" Uno
4.) Miami Dolphins = 39-52
Seriously, just play him. The Dolphins aren't that bad. The 10-point loss to New England looks a bit better in retrospect, adn they played the Bills tough, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is fairly aimless option when you have a rookie QB you would like to start playing. Tua should be given his chance this year.
The "Sometimes we can't let go" Trio
3.) Houston Texans = 36-67
2.) Philadelphia Eagles = 36-64
2.) Philadelphia Eagles = 36-64
1.) Atlanta Falcons = 64-78
So all these three teams have been bad - granted Atlanta is a onside kick recovery away from 1-1. But those first two have been very bad. Maybe it's the Bayes in me to not immediatley disavow teams I thought would be good. The Eagles are tough to read because their defense has been surprisingly putried (and yes, I know Wentz has been very hit or miss also). The OL got a lot better with Lane Johnson back which should help. No one is running away with that division likely. For the Texans before we pour sand on them, let's remember they had to play the Chiefs and Ravens, and didn't embarrass themselves in either game. Yes, they are a class below those two, but so are most teams.
Ranking the 1-1 Teams
The "Aww, that's Cute" Trio
10.) Jacksonville Jaguars = 57-53
9.) Cleveland Browns = 41-68
8.) Washington Redskins = 42-47
I'll give the Jags credit, that Minshew offense might have some lasting power. His chemistry with some of the receivers is quite good. I don't buy it over the long term, especially if they have any pace of injuries. For the Browns, good win, but struggling to beat Joe Burrow on the road is not enough to make me consider them fixed. It was great to see Mayfield stick to the pocket for once however. The Redskins have a great defense - amazing how quick Ron Rivera has turned that into a potentially dominant pass rush. That offense is just not there yet - I like some of what Haskins is doing and he admittedly has zero to work with.
The "Herbert-Time" Uno
7.) Los Angeles Chargers = 36-36
I don't really watch college football outside of the biggest games, so I had never watched Justin Herbert. All I know is he is someone who probably gets drafted higher in 2019 than he did this year. But maybe those guys that slip a bit are generally just as good as people thought, just we get more time to pick them apart. Herbert was great in this, a game he found out he was starting just a few minutes before it started. He was poised, showed little of the accuracy concerns that hounded him in the pre-draft season. The defense is still quite good, and with Herbert and a soft middle of the AFC, they might just have enough for a run.
The "Oh yeah, it's the Super Bowl Loser curse" Uno
6.) San Francisco 49ers = 51-37
The Garoppolo injury isn't as bad as feared, so in a sense maybe there is some hope here, but losing Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas in teh same game, along with Raheem Mostert for some period of time, after already losing a winnable first game against Arizona, is not a good start. The run offense is still great, and the team is deep enough to tread water for a while. In that division though, treading water may not be enough. Suddenly, saying the 49ers will finish last is not just reasonable, it might be the most likely outcome.
The "They're lucky the NFC South is not deep" Duo
5.) New Orleans Saints = 58-57
4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers = 54-51
Two weeks in, it seems clear that the Saints have as many troubles as the Bucs. Brees looks shot - or at least they're playcalling like that is the case. Rarely is he even looking downfield - though when he does it looks fine. If anything, Brees's accuracy is more disturbing, missing routine throws. For Brady, lets just say I'm not surprised people have already set the bar low enough that a 23-35 day with less than 10 ypc, with 1-1 TD-INT against a bad defense is seen like a great result. Either way, what should in theory still help these two teams are their defenses. The Bucs coverage is still messy, but hte pass rush and rush defense are both continuing off of strong seasons in 2019. For the Saints, they'll need to hope that performance against Oakland says more about the quality of the Raiders offense vs. the quality of their own defense. Coverage issues may return to being a serious concern in New Orleans.
The "Turning Point or more of the same" Uno
3.) Dallas Cowboys = 57-59
I have no idea still how the Cowboys won that game. I do know their offense was great - when it wasn't fumbling - and it should remain great. But we only have to go back to Week 1 to see an offense that was less than the sum of its parts - a hallmark of the Garrett era. In Week 2 they were basically as good as the sum. The pass pro needs Collins and Smith back asap, but the receiver group is special. The defense is still average but seems to be nicely settling in to a 20-27 points allowed a week groove (this being 39 largely due to short fields). Given the state of the NFC East they're the clear favorites two weeks in, but I can't get over the feeling they're always a bit less than the sum of the parts.
The "It ain't Manning/Brady or even Luck/Brady, but...." Duo
2.) Indianapolis Colts = 48-38
1.) New England Patriots = 51-46
Oh the Colts and Pats, like old times. Let's start with the Colts who dominated a pass offense in a way that shouldn't be possible in 2020. Deforest Buckner was a monster. Leonard remains a monster. The secondary was OK, but losing Hooker will hurt. Rivers arm looks fine but I wonder if Reich will remain gun-shy after the interception-o-rama in Week 1 kept this team from a clean 2-0 start. For the Pats, well, we all thought the defense was going to regress - lucky for them, the offense is better. That's right, so far the 2020 Cam-led Pats offense looks outright better than teh 2019 Brady version did. Cam looks sharp, throwing with a zip that is reminiscent of 2017-18. Edelman is getting unleashed in ways he never did with Brady (not a bad thing, just a different thing). The defense probably will not have a game that bad, and while Cam may not have a game that good, I expect we'll see a willingness to just let him unleash in a way eh didn't do at all in Week 1.
Ranking the 2-0 Teams
The "Maybe start building up that bandwagon boyz" Trio
11.) Arizona Cardinals = 54-35
10.) Chicago Bears = 44-38
9.) Tennessee Titans = 49-44
The Cardinals fast start is fun, but I still worry they're a bit too Kyler run and Hopkins dependent. The defense has been better than I expected but how much of that is a off 49ers team and the Washington group? The Bears are in a similar vein, coming a drop by the Lions and a missed Goal-to-Go by the Giants from being 0-2. Trubisky has been decent, but how much of that shine is the record. For the Titans, the positives are Tannehill continuing to be composed and accurate - developing a slightly better rapport with Corey Davis - but that defense is extremely high variance which could hurt them, especially if Henry continues to slip in form.
The "Honestly, they're good but there's a lot of good 2-0 teams this year" Duo
8.) Las Vegas Raiders = 68-54
7.) Buffalo Bills = 58-45
The Raiders and Bills are swimming in the success of their QBs that have had to answer questions. What helps the Bills more is their defense is great - not yet ready to change that view with one meh performance in Miami. For the Raiders, the defense is garbage (Clelin Ferrell is no better in Year 2, but surprising to see Maxx Crosby so quiet so far), but I trust Carr and the offense more than Allen and the Bills. It would be good for Carr to start developing a better rapport with his receivers so they're not dependent on 16 targets a game for Darren Waller. For the Bills, the offense with Diggs has been a revelation. Their ceiling is far higher if this level is remotely what he will be doing the rest of the season. Just want a few more weeks to see it.
The "Whole is less than the sum of its parts" Uno
6.) Pittsburgh Steelers = 52-37
The Steelers have been impressive play-to-play, but surprisingly good-not-great in an overall sense. Tons of sacks, a dominant running defense, Roethlisberger doing his things. Tons of WRs running wild. All of that great. But then again they were a goal-line pick from having a thorny game against the Giants, and one drive away from losing to the Broncos. It matters that they didn't lose (bank the wins) and it matters that they were able to on a down-by-down basis dominate, but this was not a 2-0 start devoid of potential issues.
The "Sign me the eff up for NFC West 2020" Duo
5.) Seattle Seahawks = 73-55
4.) Los Angeles Rams = 57-36
The Rams in the Jeff Fisher days were constant annoyances for the Seahawks, consistently able to pressure Wilson, pull off some special teams BS, and steal a game here or there. Then in 2017-18, the Rams were just a lot better than Seattle. It flipped last year. The Seahawks in the Carroll era had their run-ins with the Cardinals (2015) and 49ers (2012-2013, 2019), so it would be nice to have both of these two at their best at the same time. Wilson has been incredible - you have to figure that cools off a bit. Will be interesting to see them against teams with better pass rushes. For the Rams, seeing the Goff/McVay offense resemble 2017-18 again is so much fun. The defense under Brandon Staley has been great so far. It seems we all overreacted a bit to a 9-7 'down' season.
The "Sleeping Giant has awoken" Uno
3.) Green Bay Packers = 85-55
43 in Week 1. 42 in Week 2. It was Aaron Rodgers with a destroyer of worlds performance in Week 1, and now Aaron Jones with a masterpiece in Week 2. The Packers defense has been surprisngly leaky, but that offense has been incredible through two weeks. They will slow down - and Rodgers still has a bit of panicky throwing into the ground in him every now and then, but the Packers are looking like a fully locked in team, and doing well adjusting even better to Matt Lafleur's offense in year 2.
2.) Baltimore Ravens = 71-22
1.) Kansas City Chiefs = 57-40
It's almost annoying that these two have to play so soon. It would have been nicer if we could get a good 10-1 v 10-1 type matchup, but man o man give me Lamar v. Mahomes. The Ravens have been incredibly dominant through two games. Even a slow offensive day for them is Lamar going for 2 TDs at nearly 9 ypa. The OL didn't look great, so that is one weakness for the Chiefs to attack. For the Chiefs, they overcame a slow start but I think Anthony Lynn and the Chargers just have a pretty good read on that offense. Mahomes was still absurd late in the game, and for now since they haven't yet lost, the Champs stay the Champs.
Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games
16.) San Francisco 49ers (1-1) @ New York Giants (0-2) (1:00 - FOX)
15.) Detroit Lions (0-2) @ Arizona Cardinals (2-0) (4:25 - FOX)
14.) New York Jets (0-2) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-1) (1:00 - CBS)
13.) Carolina Panthers (0-2) @ Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) (4:05 - CBS)
12.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) @ Denver Broncos (0-2) (4:25 - FOX)
10.) Chicago Bears (2-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-2) (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1:00 - CBS)
8.) Houston Texans (0-2) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) (1:00 - CBS)
7.) Miami Dolphins (0-2) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) (TNF - NFLN)
6.) Washington Football Team (1-1) @ Cleveland Browns (1-1) (1:00 - FOX)
5.) Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) @ New England Patriots (1-1) (1:00 - CBS)
5.) Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) @ New England Patriots (1-1) (1:00 - CBS)
4.) Dallas Cowboys (1-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (2-0) (4:25 - FOX)
3.) Los Angeles Rams (2-0) @ Buffalo Bills (2-0) (1:00 - FOX)
2.) Green Bay Packers (2-0) @ New Orleans Saints (1-1) (SNF - NBC)
1.) Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) @ Baltimore Ravens (2-0) (MNF - ESPN)
