Bandwagon jumping has such a negative connotation, but we don't subscribe to that. It's fun to root for unexpected successes, and when it's this early in the NFL season, who can be sure how things will play out anyway.
There were lots of candidates for early-season applause coming out of Week 1, but Week 2 is often a course corrector and it was no different here. The optimism that surrounded Justin Fields and the Jets offense after it took a 60-yard field goal to beat New York in a shootout with the Steelers was put on pause as soon as the Buffalo Bills got on the field Sunday.
For the purpose of this exercise, we're going to focus on the true eye-openers of the first two weeks of the season, the bandwagons we didn't see coming this quickly when the season began and are now picking up speed. The Green Bay Packers may be the most impressive looking team so far this season, but that's hardly a surprise, especially after they acquired Micah Parsons in a preseason trade. So, forecasting the Packers to be contenders in the NFC doesn't qualify as jumping on a bandwagon – it's merely stating the obvious.
These early games, though, have provided plenty of new discoveries -- people and trends -- to follow and cheer for. They may not last all season, but that's part of the joy of bandwagoning. There's always another one to jump on just around the corner.
1) Seattle's defense: The Seahawks lost to the 49ers last week, but the defense forced two turnovers (both Brock Purdy interceptions) and held San Francisco to just 17 points. On Sunday, the Seahawks pulled off the biggest surprise of the early games, throttling the Steelers in Pittsburgh and providing a reality check to those who thought Aaron Rodgers might throw four touchdown passes every week. They intercepted Rodgers twice, once on a tipped pass in the end zone and another in the final desperate drive, and thoroughly stifled the Steelers offense, keeping DK Metcalf mostly in check, too. Rodgers did not get to 200 yards passing until after the final two-minute warning had already passed, and he completed just 18 of 33 pass attempts. And the Steelers rushed for just 72 yards. In all, the Steelers scored just one touchdown in their 12 drives. Alarm bells will go off in Pittsburgh because of the poor showings by the running game and defense in two straight weeks, but Seattle deserves credit for keeping Rodgers mostly out of the end zone, forcing the Steelers to settle for three field goals and providing the Seahawks offense time to heat up.
2) The Keon Coleman breakout: The Bills didn't need to throw the ball very much against the Jets -- Josh Allen attempted just 25 passes, only nine in the second half -- but when they did early in the game, Coleman emerged again as one of Allen's go-to targets, catching three passes for 26 yards. That followed his Week 1 star turn, when he caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, exploding in the fourth quarter of the Bills' comeback win over the Ravens. Coleman had a quiet rookie season, but the early indications -- and certainly the hope among the Bills -- is that he is ready to emerge as the No. 1 receiver the Bills have been looking for.
3) The Bengals' fast start: It may have come at a terrible price, but the Bengals are 2-0, after barely beating the Browns and needing Jake Browning heroics to beat the Jaguars. Joe Burrow is feared to have suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury, which would require surgery and keep him out for three months, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported. (EDITOR'S UPDATE: Rapoport reported on Monday that Burrow will indeed undergo surgery on his toe.) That puts the rest of the Bengals' season and their ability to build on the fast start in peril. Their next four opponents are at Minnesota, at Denver, against the Lions at home and at Green Bay, and the Bengals will need to score plenty of points to have a chance to beat them. Browning is fearless -- he threw three interceptions before he led the winning drive -- and the Bengals have plenty of confidence in him. They will need that now and, likely, most of the season. These two early victories may be even more important than the Bengals had first realized -- they provide an early cushion for the team while it tries to find its way without Burrow.
4) Cam Ward: Yes, the Titans are 0-2. But that is more a function of Tennessee being far from a complete enough team to compete with an elite one like the Rams, and not anything Ward is doing. On Sunday, in the loss to the Rams, Ward gave a tantalizing reminder of why he was the first overall draft pick in 2025. He scrambled to his right to avoid pressure and then threw all the way across the field for an 9-yard touchdown pass. It was a dangerous pass, but also an example of his arm strength and athleticism. Ward also repeatedly used his legs to get out of trouble and give himself a better opportunity to pass. The Titans have plenty of things to fix -- Ward was sacked five times and the two offensive tackles were struggling, and the Rams rolled up 439 yards of offense -- but Ward should not be one of their worries.
5) San Francisco's resilience: Who knows how long they can keep going like this, but the 49ers are 2-0, with both wins on the road, despite an onslaught of significant injuries. Backup quarterback Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes after battling nerves early in the game. The 49ers say Brock Purdy will miss 2-5 weeks with toe and shoulder injuries, although they hope the absence is on the shorter side of that range. The Cardinals and Jaguars are up next, and those are winnable games if Jones is steady. The two early wins give San Francisco a little cushion to stay afloat until Purdy and tight end George Kittle return.
6) The Daniel Jones renaissance: After leading the Colts to scores on each of their seven drives in their Week 1 demolition of the Dolphins, Jones picked up where he left off on Sunday against the Broncos, leading the Colts to scores on their first three possessions before the Colts finally turned the ball over on downs. Jones threw for 316 yards and a touchdown and ran for another. He completed a critical third-down pass to keep the Colts' final drive alive and push the Colts into field goal position. He has still not turned the ball over this season, and the Colts have still not punted. Jones looks comfortable and confident, an almost entirely different quarterback than the one who left New York, and it looks like he won't give Anthony Richardson any opening to try to reclaim the starting job.
