First of all, let’s start with some honorable mentions; Those being the Steelers, Chargers and Seahawks. All three have looked great so far, but with questionable competition, I decided to leave them off the list for now.
10: Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are hard to rank as they played two teams that are very weird to gauge, being Cleveland who is up and down with an iffy quarterback room, and the Saints who no one really knows what’s going on. Dallas has a lot to prove and that starts this week when they take on the winless Ravens and Lamar Jackson at home.
9: New Orleans Saints: The Saints have won both games so far by the final score of 47-10 over Carolina and 44-19 over Dallas. Those scores are dominant, but this team is not getting much respect. Derek Carr has done just what has been asked of him in throwing 5 touchdowns and just 1 interception so far in 2024. Further Alvin Kamara seems like a revived person accounting for 5 touchdowns in just two games. Now they have a big test as they welcome the Eagles to the Caesars Superdome.
8: Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia lost their week two tilt against Atlanta in the final seconds after a Saquon Barkley drop that essentially would have iced the game for them. Despite the loss, the Eagles beat Green Bay in week one, albeit on a soccer field with terrible footing so I disregard that game. It will be interesting to see how they do this week as they take on the red-hot Saints.
7: Detroit Lions: Detroit got beat by Tampa Bay 20-16 last Sunday, in large part to Jared Goff having an awful game. This week is likely just an outlier for Detroit, who has returned to relevance under a new coaching regime led by Dan Campbell. I still feel the Lions are a solid playoff team and will bounce back from the tough loss at home. They now look ahead to a matchup with the Cardinals in week three who have looked solid to start.
6: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What can I say, it has been the Baker Mayfield show to start the year in Tampa. =After two games, Mayfield has completed 36/49 passes for 474 yd 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Bucs got a big upset win over the Detroit Lions 20-16 as a touchdown underdog to gain some respect around the league and is a big reason for their placement on this list. Next up is the lowly Broncos at home as they look to continue their hot start.
5: San Francisco 49ers: Well, the cats out of the bag and there is no hiding it anymore, because Christian McCaffrey is injured. McCaffrey has an achilles injury and will miss at least 6 weeks. Jordan Mason replaced the injured RB and has amassed 247 yds rushing in 2 games. However, the 49ers made costly mistakes in week two’s loss to Minnesota, and found themselves playing from behind all game, which is not their style as they are a very run heavy team. Now they have a matchup with the division rival Rams on the schedule.
4: Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings didn’t have many believers after Kirk Cousins left for seemingly greater pastures in Atlanta. Minnesota then spent their first pick, the 10th overall in the 2024 draft, on quarterback J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan, who was set to be the man this year before he tore his meniscus in the preseason. That left Minnesota with no choice but to start journeyman Sam Darnold, a 7-year veteran on his 4th to be their starting quarterback. Darnold has the Vikings off to a 2-0 start including an upset win over the 49ers this past weekend, leading to a high placement in my rankings. Now they have a home date with the Texans this weekend.
3: Houston Texans: Quarterback C.J. Stroud is picking up right where he left off after his amazing rookie season last year with fine numbers to start the 2024 season. Joe Mixon has revitalized his career after coming over from Cincinnati, and Nico Collins is currently leading the league in receiving yds with 252. Now they gear up for a great showdown with Minnesota.
2: Buffalo Bills: The Bills have been hit hard by the injury bug early on, losing starters Matt Milano, Taron Johnson, and Terrel Bernard on defense. Despite this, Buffalo seems to always have that next man up mentality. Despite many saying this team would be as good as Allen is, they’ve proven otherwise, especially against Miami, winning with a strong defense and good ground game. Next up they play Jacksonville at home on Monday night.
1: Kansas City Chiefs: The Super Bowl Champs remain atop the power 10 poll after narrowly pulling off a victory over the Bengals on a last second field goal from Harrison Butker. However, Kansas City will being going forward without starting running back Isiah Pacheco for 6-8 weeks as he will undergo surgery this week on a fractured right fibula. The top team has a date with Atlanta next Sunday night, as they look to retain their spot atop the list.