18. Chicago Bears
Although it was the debut of #1 overall pick Caleb Williams in Chicago this weekend, it was the Bears’ defense that overcame a bit of a slow start to absolutely dominate the Tennessee Titans and a seemingly hapless Will Levis in the second half of their game this weekend.
The Bears put the clamps on in the second half and their elite secondary made plays while the pass rush had some game-changing hits on Levis as well as pressure that caused one of the most ill-advised plays of the week. Levis tried to chuck the ball like a shortstop starting a double play from about 15 yards away from his receiver, and Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson took it back for six points.
The excitement over Caleb Williams is justifiable, but the Bears’ defense might be the reason to be hyped about this team right now.
17. Los Angeles Chargers
JK Dobbins was running like he was back at Ohio State in the Chargers’ Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Sorry Jim Harbaugh, but your first win after returning to the NFL storyline is going to have to take a back seat for the time being. The Chargers brought in former Ravens 2nd-round pick JK Dobbins this offseason and nobody thought much of it. The Chargers also added Gus Edwards to the mix and even after letting Austin Ekeler walk in free agency, the idea that Dobbins would play this well wasn’t on anyone’s radar, in all reality.
Dobbins ran for 135 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and given all of the injuries he’s suffered in the NFL, that’s just great to see.
The Chargers didn’t need much out of Justin Herbert in this game against the Raiders and they didn’t really need it. They handled the Raiders 22-10 and didn’t trail for most of the second half. Even though the game was close for most of the four quarters, the Chargers won the turnover battle with zero giveaways compared to three for the Raiders.