It has been a profitable first couple of weeks for the top three teams from the NFC South and AFC West divisions. Those six teams are a combined 11-0, including victories over the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.
There has been some good and some bad for the 13 teams taking 1-1 records into Week 3. We rank them here, and raise lingering questions that will determine which direction they head:
The teams that can win it all
1. New England Patriots
The Patriots frequently do not start the season looking like a championship operation. They are 1-1 for the seventh time in 16 seasons during the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. (In addition to that, they were 0-2 in 2001, when Drew Bledsoe started the first two games.) The Patriots' record through four games was 2-2 or worse five times from 2001 to 2016, but they finished those five seasons by going a combined 50-10 (.833) in their final dozen games.
Brady completed 30 of 39 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns against the Saints on Sunday. The performance said much about what could be another historically bad New Orleans defense. It also showed the Patriots' resourcefulness in manufacturing offense, as they got their backs and tight ends involved early, racking up 30 first-half points in what looked like a statement game.
Lingering question: Will New England have the pass-rush rotation to finish off good teams in the playoffs?
2. Green Bay Packers
The Packers have the NFL schedule-makers to thank for being almost assured they would start no better than 1-1. They outlasted Seattle in the opener but could not hang with the Falcons on the road Sunday night -- not without injured starting offensive tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, anyway.
The Packers will be on to Cincinnati and Chicago from here, which should help, and as long as their tackles aren't sidelined much longer, Aaron Rodgers will keep them in the mix as always. It's no accident the top two teams on this list are the ones with the top two quarterbacks in the league. The type of push Rodgers led late last season -- 15 touchdowns with no picks during the Packers' six-game winning streak to win the NFC North -- is not the sort of thing mortal QBs can orchestrate.
Lingering question: Are the Packers good enough around Rodgers to secure home-field advantage in the NFC or will their season again end somewhere such as Atlanta in the postseason?
3. Seattle Seahawks
Another season, another rough start for the Seattle offense. The Seahawks are again finding their way with a young, unproven and reshuffled offensive line. They are still settling on a rotation at running back, one that seems destined to include rookie seventh-round choice Chris Carson playing a prominent role. Russell Wilson has not appeared comfortable. His accuracy has wavered. Jimmy Graham and second-year receiver Tanner McEvoy have dropped key passes.
Watching Seattle sputter at home against San Francisco before finally pulling out a 12-9 victory Sunday, I questioned whether the Seahawks' offense could right itself this season. Wilson, center Justin Britt, receiver Doug Baldwin and tight end Luke Willson are the only offensive players left who played in the Seahawks' Super Bowl appearance against New England in February 2015, so there is not a championship pedigree for this group to draw upon. Against the 49ers, left tackle Rees Odhiambo repeatedly buckled in pass protection. Right tackle Germain Ifedi was beaten so badly by the 49ers' Aaron Lynch on one play that his only recourse for sparing Wilson was to grab Lynch by his shirttail.
Sound familiar? It should. The Seahawks' offense during the Pete Carroll era has typically hit stride in November and December, often after looking lost in the seasons' formative months (this column from October 2015 explained some of the factors at work then).
Lingering question: Can this offensive line improve sufficiently for the season's second half, and if it does, will Wilson still be healthy?
4. Dallas Cowboys
A personnel director consulted for picks heading into Week 2 called the Dallas-Denver game almost perfectly, predicting that the Broncos would force Dak Prescott into multiple turnovers, even though Prescott had thrown only five interceptions in 18 career games previously. This personnel director said before the season that he thought 2017 would expose the Cowboys as a team that rode a "perfect storm" to a 13-3 record last season.
A 42-17 road defeat to Denver in Week 2 does not necessarily validate that assessment, but the game did show what can happen when a team is forced out of its comfort zone. Dallas has the offensive line and runner in Ezekiel Elliott to play the game on its terms much of the time. But with Elliott gaining only 9 yards on eight carries Sunday and the Cowboys' defense faltering, Denver's Trevor Siemian was the quarterback in control, as it seemed he was playing downhill Sunday.
Lingering question: After losing a couple of starters this past offseason, can the Cowboys' offensive line dominate as consistently as it did last season or will the pressure be on Prescott to carry more of the load himself?
Second cut
5. Tennessee Titans
Beating up on Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 did not provide the signature victory Tennessee sought against Oakland in the opener. The Titans can get one of those at home against Seattle in Week 3 if they fully exploit matchup advantages against the Seahawks' offensive tackles.
The Titans, like the Cowboys, need their ground game to lead the way. The same is true for Seattle, although the Seahawks' defense might be good enough to keep games close regardless. Wilson's ability to lead game-winning drives -- only Matthew Stafford has more since 2012, counting playoff games -- remains a differentiator until Marcus Mariota and Prescott establish their credentials.
Lingering question: Is Mariota prone to injuries after suffering significant ones in each of his first two NFL seasons?
6. Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz could use a ground game as productive and reliable as the ones that have frequently lightened the load for Wilson, Prescott and Mariota. Through two games, Wentz has 85 pass attempts and 14 other plays in which he was sacked or scrambled. Eagles running backs have 33 carries in the same span.
Game situations can skew run-pass ratios, but the Eagles' viability in Wentz's second season will hinge at least in part on finding a sensible balance.
Lingering question: How much will the Eagles' deficiency at cornerback hurt them ultimately?
7. Minnesota Vikings
Sam Bradford has played in 79 games and missed 35 to this point in his career, which wouldn't be as relevant if Bradford had lasted more than one game this season. The knee swelling that sidelined him at Pittsburgh in Week 2 was a devastating rebuttal to the thinking that Bradford's lights-out showing against the Saints in Week 1 was sustainable.
At best, Bradford still had to prove he could persevere behind an offensive line with much to prove. At worst, Case Keenum will start too many games for Minnesota to factor as even a wild-card threat.
Lingering question: Is the Vikings' offensive line substantively improved or will the team's offseason spending spree go for naught?
The rest
8. Washington Redskins
Washington's 229-yard rushing performance against the Rams helped limit Kirk Cousins to a manageable 27 pass attempts on Sunday. It's a formula that could help the Redskins offset their downgraded talent at wide receiver.
Lingering question: Will Cousins' unsettled contract status and shaky relationship with management affect him negatively down the stretch?
9. Houston Texans
A personnel evaluator suggested bumping Houston into the second cut on the strength of the Texans' defense and the promise of rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson. But with New England, Tennessee, Kansas City and Seattle on the Texans' schedule over their next five games (plus the Browns in Week 6), what chance will Watson have?
Lingering question: Will the offensive line and running game be strong enough to support a rookie quarterback?
10. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals beat the Colts in Week 2 only because Indy was forced to deploy Jacoby Brissett in pure passing situations. Carson Palmer appeared diminished even before Arizona lost David Johnson to a wrist injury.
Lingering question: How much does Palmer have left?
11. Los Angeles Rams
The season already feels like a success simply because Jared Goff, all but written off by some NFL evaluators after a rough rookie season, has looked more like a viable pro quarterback through two games.
Lingering question: Can Goff build on his relatively promising start or will opposing defenses successfully adjust after getting a feel for Sean McVay's playcalling?
12. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo's offseason moves signaled a rebuild, but the Bills were competitive during a defensive slugfest against Carolina on Sunday.
Lingering question: Can the success Tyrod Taylor enjoyed over the past couple of seasons translate to the Bills' new system after the team subtracted some of its more talented receivers?
13. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have spent high draft choices and millions of dollars in free agency to fortify their defense and running game. They will probably spend the coming offseason searching for a quarterback. Blake Bortles completed all nine of his fourth-quarter pass attempts against Tennessee on Sunday, when the Titans were leading by 20-plus points. Before that? Bortles completed 11 of 25 for 89 yards and two picks.
Lingering question: Is Bortles bad enough to prevent the Jaguars from capitalizing on upgrades they've made to their roster elsewhere?