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Which of the seven 2-0 NFL teams are for real?
Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Which of the seven 2-0 NFL teams are for real?


David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Bengals 

Given little respect coming into the season, Cincinnati’s suddenly a player in an AFC North that may no longer have a home-field advantage contender like it did in 2017. The Steelers’ turmoil opens the door to a rival wearing its home uniform for its first playoff game.

Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s overhauled playbook vexed Baltimore’s defense in Week 2. A.J. Green dominated undersized Ravens slot corner, Tavon Young, for two of his three touchdowns, and Andy Dalton fired four TD passes (a year after he opened last season with four picks at home against the Ravens). This is easily Dalton’s best start since 2015, when he was sporting an 8-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio after Week 4 and finished his season with a career-best 106.2 passer rating. For a quarterback who posted the No. 20 and No. 25 Total QBR figures the past two years, this is a nice development. Joe Mixon (4.7 yards per carry) will miss the next couple of games but thus far looks much better than he did as a rookie (3.5 YPC).

Cincy’s defense hasn’t been great yet but did enough to allow Dalton to mount a big lead in Week 2, and the Bengals boast upper-echelon talent on their defensive line and the emerging William Jackson III at corner. There’s an opening here for Cincinnati. Upcoming games at Carolina and Atlanta will paint a better picture of what this Bengals season could be.

Legitimacy level: Perhaps the least discussed NFL franchise, the Bengals should have your attention as a sleeper.


Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Broncos

This is a familiar position for the Broncos, who have started 2-0 in each of the past five years and in eight of the past 12. This record hasn’t correlated much with legitimacy. In 2007, ’08, ’09, 2016 and ’17, the Broncos missed the playoffs after starting 2-0. So some believer-beware exists here.

These Broncos do have a more diverse offense than the fool’s-gold units Trevor Siemian led the past two Septembers. Denver’s auxiliary-playmaker situation’s been virtually nonexistent since 2014, but the likes of Phillip Lindsay, Courtland Sutton and Jake Butt are giving Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas support. (Even their WR5, rookie UDFA Tim Patrick, made a game-saving catch in Week 2, an unimaginable sequence in recent years). Case Keenum hasn’t been consistent, with four interceptions already, but he’s delivered in back-to-back fourth quarters. A more competent quarterback raises the Broncos’ floor as they attempt to not squander a 2-0 start for a change.

The Broncos’ deviation from their No-Fly Zone-era press coverage cost them on Derek Carr’s 29-of-32 day, and they miss Aqib Talib. Although the Broncos only beat the Seahawks and Raiders, they're deeper than the 2017 iteration that went 2-0 a year ago en route to 5-11. Still, it makes sense Las Vegas, which has the Ravens favored by five Sunday, isn’t buying in yet.

Legitimacy level: Promising signs exist on both sides of the ball, but Denver has a lot to prove.


Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars preyed on a vulnerable Patriots team — albeit one that may still be the AFC’s No. 1 seed come January after facing a friendly looking schedule — in 97-degree heat. It’s hard to proclaim a team with Blake Bortles at quarterback a conference favorite, but it looked like it in Week 2. 

Jacksonville benefited from the historic health its defense collectively enjoyed last season. That’s unlikely to recur. But in muzzling arguably this era's best quarterback and undisputed best tight end, the Jags’ defense remains fantastic when its first-string personnel are out there. Tom Brady threw only four passes to Rob Gronkowski, whom Tashaun Gipson led the way in minimizing and completed two for 15 yards. (This was the Brady-Gronk duo's worst day together since October 2011.) An underwhelming receiving corps couldn’t beat the Jalen Ramsey-A.J. Bouye pair enough when it counted, either. There aren’t a lot of avenues available to best this Jaguars defense.

Keelan Cole is a breakout candidate, but Bortles’ receiving corps may not be collectively strong. But the Jags don’t need their quarterback to be as good as he was Sunday to win the AFC. The maligned (putting it mildly) QB showing that kind of day's possible enhances this team’s outlook.

Legitimacy level: As other AFC South teams face big questions, the Jags are a surefire threat.


Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs

For more than 30 years, the Chiefs refused to build around a homegrown quarterback prospect. Going from the good (and rarely great) QB play of ex-49ers and other veterans to the first two weeks of Patrick Mahomes makes for an unbelievable transition thus far. The Chiefs’ second-year phenom is dealing, throwing a through-two-games record 10 touchdown passes and showcasing his rare arm talent in myriad ways. 

The Chiefs' 40 points per game lead the NFL. They've also allowed 65 more yards per game (508.0) than anyone else. This setup reminds of their early-2000s outfits, when a cutting-edge offense shredded teams while Kansas City’s defenses couldn’t hold up. The Dick Vermeil era produced one playoff berth. These Chiefs have a higher-ceiling quarterback and better wide receivers; their offensive line is well off the Will Shields-led group’s level and Travis Kelce isn’t quite Tony Gonzalez. The 2018 defense looks similar to the worst from that era.

Ben Roethlisberger minced through K.C.'s zone looks, and JuJu Smith-Schuster won the battle with top Chiefs corner Kendall Fuller. The injury-prone Justin Houston-Dee Ford tandem has yet to show much yet. Eric Berry’s return will help, but Andy Reid’s machine-gun offense may have to save its defense this season. 

Kansas City’s Marcus Peters trade — for an underwhelming return — looks less defensible now. Instead of the Chiefs preparing to be a dangerous operation in 2019 and beyond, as it looked at the time of the trade, Mahomes (and the NFL's best skill-position armada) showing this already has them posing a threat to anyone in the AFC. 

Legitimacy level: Undoubtedly a contender, but the defense could wreck this dream sequence.


Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Rams

Feasting on what looks like the softest docket of the 2-0 teams, the Rams are the scariest nonetheless. The Talib, Peters and Ndamukong Suh additions bolster a defense that was a top-10 DVOA unit last year. The Rams didn’t allow the Cardinals to reach midfield until their final drive Sunday and exited Week 2 as the NFL’s lone team with a top-five DVOA offense and defense

The Rams are on a 57-0 run since their shaky first half in Oakland. Brandin Cooks, as most expected, is an upgrade from Watkins and complements Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods well. The viability of Los Angeles’ edge rushers isn’t certain yet, but offensive lines having to deal with Suh and Aaron Donald will help enhance that young group’s capabilities. Peters and Talib rate as two of Pro Football Focus’ top 12 corners and are perfect for Wade Phillips’ style. Don’t sleep on the youngest member of the Rams’ secondary. Second-year safety John Johnson (INT, three pass defections) can play, too. 

This defensive talent supporting Sean McVay’s offense — which vaulted from one of this century’s worst units (262.7 yards per game) under Rob Boras in 2016 into the top 10 last season — is frightening. They still have a first-place schedule to play, but the Rams are dialed in and have a number of ways to beat teams.

Legitimacy level: Yes


Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Dolphins

McVay and Kyle Shanahan's arrivals as the young head coaches of the moment obscured Adam Gase’s status as one of the game’s top offensive minds, but the Dolphins are 2-0 despite entering the year tied for Vegas’ longest Super Bowl odds. The innovator who accelerated Peyton Manning 2.0’s rise in Denver and gave Jay Cutler a final stretch of relevance (2015 Bears Cutler, not the 2017 Fins version) helped get the Dolphins past the Titans and Jets as underdogs. 

Ryan Tannehill has sustained two severe knee injuries since December 2016, and he's now dealing with a sprained ankle. Without Jarvis Landry, Gase is putting Albert Wilson’s versatility to good use to go with the underrated Kenny Stills (123 air yards, two TDs). Gase has minimized Tannehill’s involvement thus far; he’s 28th in pass attempts with 51. Miami’s defense is without its most talented player from the past three years (Suh) but leads the NFL in DVOA through two games. Miami’s five INTs are more than halfway to its 2017 total (nine).

Without Landry, Suh, Mike Pouncey and now Josh Sitton, Miami's road will be tough. This is the most under-the-radar 2-0 team, but with the Raiders up next, Gase’s bunch could be 3-0 going into New England.

Legitimacy level: It remains hard to buy the Dolphins just yet; their trip to Foxborough will be telling.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Chiefs, only testing the extremes to a slightly lesser degree. The Buccaneers enter Week 3 with the No. 2 DVOA offense and the No. 31 defense in the view of Football Outsiders, which places Tampa Bay 16th overall. Overshadowed by Ryan Fitzpatrick’s wardrobe and stunning performance: the Bucs, in beating the Saints and Eagles, appear to have the best wins of the 2-0 septet. In a division that’s rotated between the Saints, Falcons and Panthers since the Bucs’ 2007 crown, this is a fascinating development.

Fitzpatrick (78.7 percent completion rate, 13.4 yards per attempt) is putting up unsustainable numbers, and his start seems flukier than Mahomes’. Perhaps offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s play-calling is demonstrably better than Dirk Koetter’s, because world-beating Fitz numbers didn't happen during his 2017 relief cameo. Tampa Bay is loaded at its pass-catching spots. DeSean Jackson leads the NFL in receiving, and while not injured in 2017, is making a fun bid for Comeback Player of the Year. Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard scream future cornerstones, and Mike Evans is also good.

The Peyton Barber-led rushing attack ranks 27th through two games, and despite the Bucs boasting the No. 2 rush defense so far – due largely to the leads Fitzpatrick and Co. amassed – they rank 31st in total defense after a dreadful 2017. Tampa’s secondary’s been tested by early injuries, though.

It doesn’t look like Jameis Winston will get his job back in Week 4, but Fitzpatrick has proved mostly inconsistent when given extended opportunities in the past. That will be an issue soon. But this is the best set of weapons Fitz has enjoyed in his 14-year career.

Legitimacy level: In a stacked division, this is a tough sell — "Fitzmagic’s" return notwithstanding.

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