12. Chicago Bears
The Bears are one of those teams that I don't think I can fully "commit" to this season one week or another. They have the classic feel of a team that's going to zig whenever I zag. If I project them to be bad on a given week, they're going to come out and have an awesome game. If I say they're going to be great, they're going to have a clunker.
Caleb Williams was a little rusty off-script against the Lions. And I don't mean when the play breaks down. When he was operating the opening script, he was effective. But when the Bears got into the flow of the game and had to adjust to what Brian Flores was throwing at them, Williams struggled. It's not going to be an overnight fix with Ben Johnson.
11. Atlanta Falcons
We saw some encouraging signs from the Falcons in Week 1, and some not-so-encouraging signs as well. On the plus side, and this cannot be ignored, Michael Penix Jr. orchestrated what could have been a game-winning drive for his team against the reigning NFC South champs.
Penix clearly has ice in his veins and is capable of leading this team where they want to go. The defense in Atlanta is another question. They let the Bucs march right down the field at the end of the game, and have to figure out a way to show a little more resistance. That pass rush was a major issue last year. Young guys need to grow up fast.
10. Arizona Cardinals
I like the Arizona Cardinals quite a bit, so their placement here is indicative more of the depth in the NFC than it is the quality of this Cardinals team.
I was a little underwhelmed by their Week 1 performance, but it did include a lot of what could end up making this team special. We saw the connection between Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. take that next step. We saw the value of a player like Will Johnson on this defense.
We saw some of the greatest hits, yet the Cardinals still struggled a bit. They were held to just three points in the second half. They've got a fun opportunity to take advantage of a bad Panthers defense in Week 2.
9. Detroit Lions
This is as much as I can give the Detroit Lions right now. They got absolutely run out of the building by their division rival Packers on Sunday. Bullied. Shoved in a locker. The Lions had been in a championship window the past few seasons, and it felt like they got that window slammed shut against the team who is about to take over the division.
We'll see how they bounce back in Week 2. This is by no means a funeral for the Lions, but a harsh indicator of how the team looked without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn in Week 1, something we feared all throughout the offseason.