1. Los Angeles Rams– This was as complete of a win as they come last Monday night in Oakland. They spoiled Jon Gruden’s return to the sidelines and they were just the better team in their opener. Their offense did exactly what I expected them to do and that was establishing Gurley, getting Cooks the ball down the field and after struggling some in the first half, the defense got it together. Just wait until they become accustomed to playing with one another as the weeks go along and typing this just made me fear for any offense that has to face them moving forward.
2. Philadelphia Eagles– You talk about winning ugly, that’s exactly what they did last Thursday night against the Falcons. The offense had a tough time moving the ball down the field at times, but the defense came through as they did many times in 2017. Heading into that game, I was curious as to how the Eagles were going to look defensively especially after losing some key pieces from their title team. To be honest, they look like a quicker unit now than they did last year and that’s scary to process. When the offense picks it up, this is still a challenging team and they will be heavily discussed once again as a favorite to repeat.
3. Minnesota Vikings– That was an impressive win last week against the 49ers and they gave Jimmy G his first career loss as a starting quarterback. Kirk Cousins did just enough to lead them to the victory in week one and the defense did the rest. It shouldn’t be a shocker that the Vikings have one of the better defenses in the league and this has everything to do with Mike Zimmer and his defensive background. Remember, he was the Bengals defensive coordinator before he became a head coach. Now, let’s see how they plan to play Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers today.
4. New England Patriots– So much to be concerned about with their offense, right? No Edelman, they traded Cooks and decided not to bring back Amendola. Does it really matter? As long as that quarterback is under center and Belichick inserts who’s the best fit for the football team, they will continue to win football games, period. The defense played well enough to win and they really limited Deshaun Watson’s mobility. In typical Belichick fashion, it’s onto Jacksonville.
5. Green Bay Packers– That was as gutsy of a win as they come last Sunday night. I know many of you probably thought that the Packers were done for with the way the Bears dominated them in the first half of that game and Aaron Rodgers went down with the knee injury. His performance in the second half can be remembered like Emmitt Smith’s infamous shoulder game or even Michael Jordan’s flu game and he led his team back basically on one knee. Football is a game of adjustments and the Packers made the necessary ones to get themselves back into the game. Big game today against the Vikings.
