Parity has been the dominant force in the NFL for the past two seasons. Two years ago, when the St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl, they did so without having appeared in the playoffs the season before. Last year, when the Baltimore Ravens took home the title, they too accomplished the feat without having earned a postseason berth the previous season.
It looks like we could be in store for more of the same, as previously laughable franchises are atop their divisions, and the NFL continues to be a league without a dominant team. In that vein, we present the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week Two.
The good
It's painful for an NFL traditionalist to say, but the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals are good. It may be too early to tell how good they are, but if good is too strong a word for the Chargers and the Bengals, then undefeated fits nicely.
Nobody thought too much of it when the Bengals knocked off the New England Patriots in week one. But when Cincinnati defeated the Ravens - last year's champs - 31-20 in Week Two, that's when the talk started. Baltimore's defense is better than OJ Simpson's was, yet the Bengals put up 21 points last Sunday. Sure, seven points came from a Takeo Spikes interception return, but the other two touchdowns were legitimate scores. Running back Corey Dillon, quickly rushing his way to the top tier of NFL backs, caught a pass from a yard out from quarterback Jon Kitna, who also rushed for a three-yard score.
You may remember Kitna as the quarterback cast aside by Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. He might not be putting up spectacular numbers this year, but so far he's gotten the job done in Cincinnati.
Kitna has only been cast aside once in his career, but Chargers quarterback Doug Flutie has made a living of it. Flutie is now on his fifth NFL team - he also played in the CFL for eight years - but has been a winner everywhere he's gone. This season, he's putting up some real passing numbers. He's thrown two touchdowns and has averaged 241 yards passing in the team's two victories - the first a 30-3 destruction of the Washington Redskins, the other a 32-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Flutie hasn't done it all himself, as he's been aided by 203 total rushing yards from rookie LaDainian Tomlinson. The rookie also had two touchdowns in his NFL debut.
The scariest part is that one of these two teams is going to be 3-0, as the two square off in the league's premier matchup of Week Three.
We know, it's a lot to handle. Bengals, Chargers, undefeated teams, and premier matchups. But if the Bengals or Chargers aren't that good, then who is?
Since the NFL is committed to parity, it may be too early to predict a champion, but a few other teams look strong out of the gate. The Indianapolis Colts have scored over 40 in each of their two wins, while the Denver Broncos have shrugged off injuries to wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and running back Terrell Davis to go 2-0. The Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Bucaneers, St. Louis Rams, and New Orleans Saints are all unbeaten early.
The bad
We may not know yet who's good, but we're sure of who's bad. The Cowboys have lost their first two games. Their quarterbacks are Quincy Carter and Anthony Wright. Neither one is promising, which means neither is Dallas' season. Two wins could be a lot to ask from this team.Another NFC East team, the Washington Redskins, is also real bad real early. After losing to the Chargers, 30-3, the Redskins decided that embarrassing themselves on Monday Night Football sounded like fun, so they proceeded to lose 37-0 to the Packers. That's a lie, the Redskins didn't decide to embarrass themselves, they're just so bad they didn't have a choice.
In response to the two losses, the 'Skins fired quarterback Jeff George. In his place, reserve Tony Banks will start and the team has also signed free agent Kent Graham. What you're probably thinking is correct - if you're still a free agent when the season starts, you're probably not that good.
The ugly
This has to go to a pair of quarterbacks in Week Two. The only thing uglier than the shot to the chest that knocked Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe out of commission for a few weeks was Detroit Lions quarterback Ty Detmer's seven interceptions against the Cleveland Browns. Detmer, who had been traded from the Browns in the offseason, wanted to show Cleveland what a mistake it had made. Almost.
