Philadelphia Eagles: Patience, but keep a hand over the panic button. The offense actually looked passable against the Atlanta Falcons on opening night, but looked absolutely dreadful last week against the Dallas Cowboys last week. DeMarco Murray has been irrelevant this season so far, and they need a running game to take the pressure off Sam Bradford. The good news is the defense played really well against the Cowboys and only allowed six points in the second half to the Falcons, so there is some reason for optimism on that side. The good news is the NFC east is still very much up for grabs with Dallas having to play the next two months without Tony Romo. They face a tough New York Jets defense this week, and they better find a way to block that Jets front, because if they don’t they will meet the same fate the Indianapolis Colts did on Monday Night.
Detroit Lions: Panic. After two games they’re already two games behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC north. They’re 0-1 in the division with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings. While they do have a home opener to look forward to, they are facing the Denver Broncos. The Lions can win, because if they don’t they’ll be behind the 8-ball already. There have been some questions about whether Matthew Stafford can go in that game, and if not they are going be hard pressed to avoid an 0-3 start. They should have beaten the San Diego Chargers in week one, they had a 21-3 lead and let the Bolts score 30 unanswered points before scoring a touchdown to bring it within five points. They better be concerned for that defense without Ndamukong Suh in the middle.
Chicago Bears: Panic. It’s not like this team had very high hopes heading into 2015, but so far they have been atrocious on the defensive side of the ball. In week one, sure they were going against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but allowing 48 points to the Arizona Cardinals is not okay (even though not all those points were scored by the offense). Now Jay Cutler is bound to miss some time, which could be a blessing considering his erratic play. Matt Forte is also listed as questionable against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday, but expect him to play. Still, in Seattle it won't be anywhere close to enough to challenge the Seahawks. John Fox was brought in as a defensive guy, but the fact they can’t stop anyone is particularly concerning.
New Orleans Saints: Panic. Yes, Drew Brees says he will play on Sunday, but be tempted not to believe it. Their offense just doesn’t look the same without Jimmy Graham there. Brandin Cooks is a great player in the making, but he alone doesn’t cause the matchup nightmares that Graham did. The defense has not played well so far, being taken apart by both Carson Palmer and Jameis Winston. This team is going to have to score a lot of points, and Brees has turned the ball over too much to be conducive to winning. Part of the problem is they have no balance on offense, as they are averaging just 79 rushing yards per game. C.J. Spiller has not made much of an impact on the ground so far this year. The defense may be one the mend as Jairus Byrd and Keenan Lewis might be back soon, but they are already on the ropes. A loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday might end their season before it begins.
Seattle Seahawks: Patience. Kam Chancellor is finally back! If they would have had him, they would be at least 1-1 and potentially 2-0 right now. He was the catalyst of that defense, and they missed him so much over the first two games. Offensively they have been just fine with Marshawn Lynch carrying the load and Russell Wilson playing well. But they have to find a way to get Jimmy Graham more involved in the offense. They also get to play in front of their home fans this week as they host the Bears. They should be able to win that and get back on track playing good football.
Baltimore Ravens: Patience, but keep a hand over the panic button. They play the Cincinnati Bengals at home this Sunday, their home opener. If they lose that game, panic. But they lost two road games the first two weeks against teams on the other side of the country. The funny part is after shutting down Peyton Manning and the Broncos, they allowed Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders to score 37 points against them and come back to score the game winning touchdown. But their biggest loss so far is undoubtedly Terrell Suggs, who went down for the season in week one. He was their leader on defense and without him they lose their edge on that side of the ball. They still have talent, but they will need leadership on that side to climb out of the hole they’re in in the rugged AFC north.
Indianapolis Colts: Patience. Yes, the offense has not looked good so far. Andrew Luck has not been able to keep the ball. But they were facing two of the best defenses in the entire league. They still have considerable holes on the offensive line, but let’s not forget they started 0-2 last year as well. They can still come back and win the AFC south, which is co-led by the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars at 1-1 (whom the Colts will face the next two weeks). However, this writer wonders if the tension between Chuck Pagano and management is starting to boil over onto the field, but we’ll find out soon enough on that one.
Houston Texans: Patience. Much like the Colts, they are only one game out in the AFC south and they are going to get Arian Foster back soon. They still have a talented defense, but they do also have a quarterback controversy brewing. Brian Hoyer looked absolutely horrid against the Kansas City Chiefs in game one, and Ryan Mallett made some plays but has been erratic since taking over. If they keep losing, will Mallett stay in the starting lineup or will they potentially look to make a trade for someone else to come in and take the job? There is talent on this team, but there are also a lot of questions left to answer.