8. Washington Commanders
After a strong showing in Week 1 against the New York Giants, the Commanders got blown away on a short week by the Green Bay Packers.
While we don't want to hold that one against them too much, it was also pretty revealing of this team's current struggles and a stark reminder of the fact that they were well ahead of schedule last year. There's still a lot of work to be done for this team. How they bounce back in Week 3 at home against the Raiders will tell us what kind of team this is.
7. Seattle Seahawks
I was really down on the Seahawks after the offseason they had, and then even more so after Week 1. But in Week 2, a road victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks showed me something.
This team is very capable of doing some damage this year and competing in the extremely tough NFC West. The defense the Seahawks have is underrated, and if the offense continues to get the type of balance we saw against Pittsburgh, this team is going to be tough into January.
6. San Francisco 49ers
I don't know how the injury situations for the 49ers will impact this team over the long haul, but they looked like they might be able to weather the storm as of Sunday's win against the Saints.
The 49ers have started this season 2-0 with back-to-back road games and an injury to their starting quarterback. Mac Jones looked pretty solid against the Saints, so we'll see how he does going up against teams now that there's film of him running Kyle Shanahan's offense. The pieces are there for the 49ers to be a competitive outfit in the NFC and they could make noise even when they're not at full strength.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Two weeks in a row, the Buccaneers have pulled off some Jack Sparrow-level escapes when they've been at the end of a walk down the proverbial plank. Two weeks into the season, we've seen two clutch drives from Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense to get to 2-0.
Now playing a home game against the Jets in Week 3, the Bucs have a chance to really get out ahead of everyone else in the division with a strong 3-0 start to the season. They look like they'll be a factor all throughout the year in the NFC.