1. Arizona Cardinals: I didn’t expect to see what they did last week against the Los Angeles Rams. They didn’t just beat the Rams, they bullied them. I saw Kyler Murray take the game over from the pocket and with his legs and Kliff Kingsbury matured as a head coach. The Cardinals are the lone undefeated team remaining right now and they’re on top of the NFC West. Things are slowly but surely coming together for them. After one divisional showdown, they’ll meet the San Francisco 49ers today in the desert. Is 5-0 on the horizon today?
2. Buffalo Bills: I’m loving what I’m seeing from them. Week one is in the rearview mirror and this has been the team that many have picked to be a contender in the league. Josh Allen is making those crazy throws from the pocket and on the move, the running game woke up and most importantly, the defense is playing well as a team. Two shutouts have been pitched by the defense. One against Miami and the other against the Houston Texans. Tonight is a big game for them because with a win, they can be two games up on the Kansas City Chiefs.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It was a week full of emotions. For the first time ever, Tom Brady played at Gillette Stadium as a visitor. The Buccaneers had to grind that win out on the road with controlling the clock and playing defense. Tom didn’t throw a touchdown in this much anticipated game, however, he led Tampa down the field and put them in perfect position to kick the go ahead field goal. The Bucs bounced back after dropping the ball in Los Angeles the week before. The NFC South looks to be a two-team race with them and the Carolina Panthers.
4. Green Bay Packers: They’ve been on a roll. Three straight wins and last week was the most complete of them all. The offense was able to push the ball down the field on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the defense was aggressive and quick to pursue the football. Aaron Rodgers has thrown 420 career touchdown passes which has him tied with another all-time great in Dan Marino. The only thing that concerns me is if their defense will be able to hold up throughout the year. They do this where they play in spurts early on and come back down to reality.
5. Baltimore Ravens: This is the best team in the AFC North right now. Lamar Jackson wants to take things over with his arm and he seems to be more comfortable as the weeks go on. The Ravens bread and butter will forever be their running game. That’s always going to be their identity. Sunday in Denver was their most complete win of the year. I can admit I was concerned about the defense early on because of all those injuries to key guys in the secondary. They’ve been turning it around on that side of the ball too. Monday Night Football awaits them next.
