10. Los Angeles Rams (11)
Most people will probably look at the Rams’ win over the Titans and think that it should’ve been more dominant. However, we might need to somewhat recalibrate expectations for Tennessee, and that would then make LA’s body of work a bit more impressive, especially on the road.
Adding Davante Adams to this offense already appears to be an upgrade, and the defense may not be perfect — especially in the secondary — but they create enough havoc to accomplish what they need to. Frankly, even I might still be discounting the Rams too much.
9. Arizona Cardinals (10)
There might not be a more frustrating good team to watch play bad teams than the Cardinals. Multiple times throughout Sunday, Arizona had a chance to put a nail in the coffin against the struggling Panthers — and they didn’t. That gave Carolina a legitimate shot at overtaking the Cards, which to Arizona’s credit, they didn’t allow to happen.
Frankly, I’m not sure if it’s conservative coaching decisions, a mental block from the players, or what, but the Cardinals need to get over this hurdle sooner rather than later. The upside of this team is tremendous and, despite my criticism, they are 2-0. But we need to see them not suffer self-inflicted wounds in spots like this.
8. Washington Commanders (6)
If there had been some more impressive performances from this range of teams, I’d have been inclined to drop the Commanders further than this. The final score from Thursday looked much closer than that game felt, and you came out of that game with Jayden Daniels at least mildly banged up.
Washington seems to have taken a slight step back with the book now out on Kliff Kingsbury and Daniels, as well as the defense not operating at peak capacity. To be clear, I still think that’s a good team once they get rolling and make some adjustments. However, it’s not been the prettiest of starts to the year.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8)
Despite nearly getting completely boned by a flag that was seemingly wrongfully picked up, the Texans left Baker Mayfield entirely too much time, and the Buccaneers were able to overcome giving up the lead late to eke out a win over the Texans and move to 2-0 on the season. This offense continues to be dangerous despite their offensive line woes, and the defense has been solid against two equally solid units thus far.
Winning these early games was a crucial task for the Bucs, though. With Tristan Wirfs out, they need to be able to not fall too far behind. Starting out with two victories is obviously the best-case scenario in that regard, and there’s no reason to believe at this point that Tampa Bay isn’t already trending toward yet another division crown.
6. Detroit Lions (15)
It turns out, the Packers might just be that good — or maybe the Bears are really bad. The truth might actually be in the middle when it comes to explaining the two polar opposite performances from the Lions so far this season. Sunday’s beatdown of Chicago and former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson looked a lot like the Detroit teams of the past couple of years, though.
Whenever Jared Goff and the running back tandem are working off one another in the way they were in Week 2, it’s a beautiful thing to watch, and one that’s near impossible to stop. Reports of the Lions’ demise may have, indeed, been way too premature.