The box score whispers that Vikings receiver Brandon Powell caught only two passes for 16 yards vs. the 49ers. But the context and magnitude of those catches screams loud and clear.
The Minnesota Star Tribune spoke to Brandon Powell a little more than a year ago when he was a perpetual NFL roster bubble guy who hated early September because it usually meant he was unpacking his belongings in a new NFL city after being let go somewhere else.
Powell had changed teams six times in six seasons, never by his choice. His goal, he said then, was to put down roots deep
We are only two weeks into the 2024 NFL regular season, but don’t tell that to the fans of the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings. They have reason to be excited and might be thinking playoffs already.
So maybe it’s a bit early for that, but you get the idea. There is reason for hope.
After two games, those five teams are a combined 10-0, all with a piece of first place in their respective divisions. Three of the four — the Saints, the Bucs and the Vikings — are coming off victories against the league’s supposed big dogs, two of them on the road.
The Saints might be the most impressive and surprising of them all. They’ve dominated two games and went to Dallas and beat up on the Cowboys on Sunday in impressive fashion in a 44-19 drubbing. Derek Carr has been outstanding so far and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has transformed the offense.
The Bucs went to Detroit and beat the Lions, 20-16, in a game where a banged-up defense was able to limit Detroit’s offense to a meager showing for them on their home field. Baker Mayfield did enough on offense with some gutsy plays and tough runs.
The Vikings beat the 49ers, who were six days removed from dominating the Jets last Monday night. Minnesota did so with big plays from Justin Jefferson and some impressive pressure on defense.
Seattle won at New England in overtime, which might not be as big a victory in terms of opponent, but it wasn’t easy. Plus, any time a team from the West Coast can go across the country and win an early game on the East Coast, that matters.
As for the Steelers, they have allowed one touchdown in two games and Justin Fields is playing well enough to keep the offense out of trouble. That’s going to be the Steelers formula going forward.
So here we are two weeks in, and all five of those teams are in the top 10 of my Power Rankings.
Who saw this coming? I certainly didn’t.
The Bucs were my pick to win the NFC South, but I didn’t think the other four would be in the playoffs. New Orleans may be the biggest surprise so far.
The other remaining 2-0 teams are the top-ranked Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills (No. 2), the Houston Texans (No. 3), and the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 9). We expected several of those clubs to be undefeated after two weeks, but the others are somewhat of a surprise.
Some words of caution, though: It’s just two weeks and we know how things can change quickly in this league. Just when you think you know, you really don’t.
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