Detroit could very easily be 4-0 if not for a controversial finish in their game against the Atlanta Falcons. As it stands, they’re off to a 3-1 start with wins over the New York Giants and division rival Minnesota Vikings. They’ve shown competence on all sides of the ball, though not necessarily at the same time; Matthew Stafford has been key in a few victories, while their defense has been quite impressive against New York and Minnesota. They look like a well-rounded, dangerous team.
For better or worse, the Packers look to have a lot of the same issues they had last year. Aaron Rodgers can keep them in any game, their defense will struggle against high-quality offenses, and they’ll win enough games to be a factor in the playoff race. Their loss to the Atlanta Falcons raised some serious red flags, but a win over the Seattle Seahawks looks nice on paper. They’ve also dealt with an unreal number of injuries — David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga, Ty Montgomery, Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson and Mike Daniels — are among the top players who have missed time or are currently injured, yet they’ve still won games. Green Bay’s next two games — at Dallas and at Minnesota — will tell us a lot about them.
Houston Texans — B-
If you’d have said the Texans would get a B- after what happened to them against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the season’s opening weekend, you’d have looked nuts. Houston promptly turned to Deshaun Watson at quarterback, and the team has gone 2-1 since then, with the lone loss coming late on against the New England Patriots away from home. Still, that loss against Jacksonville hurts them in a big way, and they may end up destined for the realm of .500 teams when all is said and done.
Stand-in quarterback Jacoby Brissett has shown moments of competence. Still, with Andrew Luck sidelined, this simply isn’t a good football team. They’ve been blown out twice — both the Rams and Seahawks put 46 points on their lackluster defense — and they’ve been very poor on both sides of the ball. It’s probably long past time for Jim Irsay to really blow up this organization and start over with a rebuilding process.
The Jags are a very tough team to get a handle on. On one hand, they have some impressive wins — they wiped out the Texans in Houston and obliterated the Baltimore Ravens. On the other hand, this team just lost to the lowly New York Jets, so it’s certainly not all smooth sailing for the Jaguars. Blake Bortles remains as inconsistent as ever at the quarterback position. But the good news is the defense in which they’ve invested so heavily has mostly played well. Overall, they look better than many expected them to, but they have not yet reached contender status until they can play well more consistently.
Kansas City Chiefs — A+
Unbeaten, and they’ve looked very solid in the process, though the Washington Redskins gave them quite the battle Monday night. Rookie Kareem Hunt looks like a steal of the draft, Travis Kelce continues to produce, and having Justin Houston healthy makes all the difference for the defense. The organization is looking very smart for standing by quarterback Alex Smith, though he still has to prove his mettle in the playoffs. The good news for Kansas City is it looks increasingly likely that he’ll have the chance, as the Chiefs may well be on their way to another AFC West title.
Los Angeles Chargers — D-
The Chargers have been embarrassing on and off the field. They’re winless, though they haven’t been getting blown out — three of their four losses have been by a field goal or less, which saves them from a failing grade. The StubHub Center has turned into a haven for visiting teams, as the Eagles could tell you. Even though the Chargers haven’t been getting blown off the field, there’s a strange feeling about this team, and they just don’t seem comfortable in L.A. They’re certainly not playing well enough to impress any potential fans.
The Rams are progressing much faster than expected. Their one loss, to the Washington Redskins, came by only a touchdown. In their other games, they’ve blown out the Indianapolis Colts and rode their high-powered offense to dramatic wins over the San Francisco 49ers and, most impressively of all, the Dallas Cowboys. Their defense is still a work in progress, but Jared Goff looks like the real deal, and coach Sean McVay looks like a winning hire in the early going.
Miami Dolphins — D
The optimism of their win over the Los Angeles Chargers has evaporated quickly, as the Dolphins have scored just six points — one touchdown — in their last eight quarters of action. That includes a listless performance against the lowly New York Jets and a shutout against the New Orleans Saints. Jay Cutler, whom the Dolphins recruited out of retirement after Ryan Tannehill’s season-ending injury, has just two touchdown passes. That’s a huge black eye for a coach in Adam Gase, who was considered a quarterback guru when he took the position.
Minnesota Vikings — C-
As it often seems to be the case, the Vikings have found themselves a bit unsettled at the quarterback position. Teddy Bridgewater isn’t ready to return, stand-in Sam Bradford has been sidelined with a nagging knee injury, and Case Keenum has vacillated between good and bad under center for the team. They sit at 2-2 and still have a chance to make a postseason run, but the Vikings have done little to stand out from the rest of the pack so far. The one strong point of the team remains the defense under Mike Zimmer, which is eighth in points allowed this season.
New England Patriots — C
What we do know about the Patriots: Tom Brady is as good as ever, the offense is very dangerous, and they’ll be a factor in every game. We also now know that their defense is, at least to this point, extremely porous. Only Brady’s heroics have kept them from a 1-3 start as they came back against the Houston Texans to escape with a win there. They were not so lucky against the Carolina Panthers, and Alex Smith’s Kansas City Chiefs basically steamrolled them. Bill Belichick will not and should not be happy, and the Pats have a lot of work to do to return to elite status. The good news is they have plenty of time to start plugging their holes on the defensive side of the ball.
