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?