20. Washington Commanders
Last week: 24th
I'm going to reserve any sweeping judgments on the Washington Commanders until we see more of the team, but the way they fought back against the Eagles in Week 1 was pretty exciting.
No fans of the team are going to accept moral victories, but seeing the way rookie Antonio Williams got involved in the passing game, Stefon Diggs making a big play (and a bone-headed mistake after), as well as top pick Sonny Styles flying around the field and making plays...the positives were there.
Jayden Daniels made some nice plays in the midst of shaking off some rust. He had two touchdown passes late in the game after really struggling to get anything going consistently through the air against Vic Fangio's defense. And ultimately, they came just a two-point conversion away from tying it.
The big plays given up to the Eagles were a problem, and not the most encouraging after finishing dead last in yards allowed last season, but the Commanders' arrow might be pointing up after Week 1.
19. New Orleans Saints
Last week: 22nd
After starting the game down 21-0, the New Orleans Saints came storming back to tie it up against the Lions in Week 1 and take it to overtime. And they came a two-point conversion away from winning the game.
Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough obviously made some rough mistakes early in this game, throwing a couple of interceptions, but he really hit a stride in the second half and finished with over 400 yards passing.
The Saints have a lot more weapons offensively than people may have realized coming into this season. Even though the Lions have had their struggles defensively, especially in the secondary, the Saints were able to get so many different guys involved: Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Travis Etienne, Kendre Miller, and even rookie Bryce Lance got in the mix.
I'm still feeling really good about this Saints team. They were the most impressive NFC South team in Week 1, even though the entire division lost.
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