8. Dallas Cowboys
You've got to give the Cowboys credit, even in defeat. The Cowboys played the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles extremely tough -- on their home field, no less -- and made it a close game.
And more than that, the Cowboys might have outplayed the Eagles straight up if it weren't for CeeDee Lamb dropping passes we're used to him catching. Lamb was allegedly at the facility on his off day catching passes from the jugs machine. True or not, the Cowboys got a vintage performance in Week 1 from Dak Prescott, and if he's playing that well, this team is going to be a threat.
7. San Francisco 49ers
We all knew the San Francisco 49ers were going to be a work in progress to open this season. The 49ers lost so many players this offseason, they are borderline unrecognizable from the teams we've seen competing for a Super Bowl in recent years.
And with George Kittle landing on short-term IR, they're going to have even more ground to make up.
Sure, the 49ers have a lot of injuries to deal with, but they still have the top-end talent to be a playoff team and win 10 or 11 games, even in a brutally tough division. Robert Saleh had his young defense playing very well against the Seahawks in Week 1.
6. Los Angeles Rams
If Matthew Stafford is healthy, this Los Angeles Rams team is merely scratching the surface of what they're capable of doing this coming season. We saw them allow just nine points against the Houston Texans, and if the defense is playing that lights out, they will be a force.
We saw the Rams score just 14 points in Week 1, and part of that could be it was Matthew Stafford's first real action of the year. Obviously, Stafford has done this for a really long time, and when the connection between he and Davante Adams heats up? Look out for this offense.
5. Minnesota Vikings
You've got to tip your cap to Kevin O'Connell. There are a lot of receipts out there of people talking about the Vikings making a huge mistake with JJ McCarthy after he threw a pick-six against the Bears and had struggled nearly the entire game. But something flipped with McCarthy in the 4th quarter.
You would never know he struggled earlier in the game as he was dropping dime after dime, completely locked in against Chicago in a clutch performance. If McCarthy can build on that, he's going to be in great shape. Kevin O'Connell is a top two or three coach in the NFL right now.