NFL Week 2: 5 NFC Teams That Must Keep the Momentum Going

With Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season fading to black, it’s time to take a cautiously optimistic look ahead at the NFC teams that delivered beyond expectations last Sunday.

Hope for the best has turned to plain old hope in these five NFL cities, and with expectations rising, it’s now on their hometown clubs to deliver once more in Week 2.

Momentum in the NFL is a fickle beast, and the following teams would be wise to treat her well on Sunday.

Detroit Lions

Detroit hasn’t buzzed like this since KISS urged residents to lose their mind in 1976. The Lions feel like a contender for the first time since Barry Sanders retired his PF Flyers, and their Week 1 win on the road in Tampa Bay only further emboldened those preseason prognosticators who were so bullish on Detroit’s future.

I liked what Matthew Stafford said after the 27-20 win in which he threw for 305 yards and his team out-gained the Buccaneers by 116 yards. Stafford told SI maven Peter King “We didn’t play our best football...When you make mistakes on the road and still win, that’s the sign of a good team.”

Stafford is spot on. In past years the pick six he threw to Tampa Bay corner Aqib Talib—which really wasn’t his fault—would have torpedoed the Lions chances. This year they have the talent to overcome those types of mistakes in a hostile environment.

But the Lions are still an up-and-comer, and they’ll need to string a couple of wins together before convincing fans, and themselves, that this team can bring the downtrodden franchise back to prominence.

Next week’s home game against the Chiefs provides the Lions with an opportunity to do just that, but also sets up as a trap. If Detroit loses at home to a reeling Chiefs team, all of those “same old Lions” lines will resurface.

Detroit Lions: Key Stat After Week 1

0 - The number of times Matthew Stafford appeared on the Lions' Week 1 injury report

Matthew Stafford's health is the key to Detroit’s success this year and in seasons to come. It’s been so long since Stafford played a meaningful game, I’d almost forgotten just how good he can be. In 2011, we may get to see this rare bird fly.

Chicago Bears

No division—perhaps with the exception of the AFC East—showed better than the NFC North in Week 1. The Bears were a big reason why. A vogue pick to stumble in 2011, Chicago feasted on preseason darling Atlanta in a game that sent shock waves throughout the league.

On defense the Bears looked particularly sharp, pressuring Falcons’ starlet Matt Ryan into two key mistakes (a fumble and an interception). Sure they yielded yards. But for years now we’ve known better than to judge this Bears defense by yards allowed. They’ve always been ball hawks, known for forcing turnovers, and last Sunday they showed they still have the taste for big plays.

Next week that defense gets another stiff test with a visit to the dome in New Orleans. Dominating at Soldier Field is one thing. Beating Drew Brees in the Superdome is quite another.

If the Bears defense shows up again in Week 2, we’ll know Chicago intends to keep things interesting with the Lions and Packers in the NFC North.

From three months out, it already looks like the most interesting division race in football.

Chicago Bears: Key Stat After Week 1

107.8 - Jay Cutler’s passer rating

For a QB with a career mark of 84.7, that kind of efficiency portends well for this Chicago team. From what we know of last year, Cutler need only play a smidge above average for the Bears to make the playoffs.

If Cutler plays like he did against a good Atlanta team in Week 1, Chicago could be special.

Carolina Panthers

The only Week 1 loser on this list has good reason to feel happy about defeat.

They were in the game.

During last year’s 2-14 campaign there weren’t too many opportunities for the Panthers to utter that bittersweet phrase.

And in case you hadn’t heard, their rookie quarterback (Cam something?) is on pace to break Brett Favre’s career passing yards record halfway through his 11th NFL season. So...that went well.

Now the chances of Newton repeating that performance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 are about as slim as a pixie stick. If Newton can just hang with the defending champs, the outlook for this season in Carolina gets a lot sunnier.

With all of the Panthers’ divisional foes losing in Week 1, Carolina has more reason for optimism following a loss than maybe any team ever. Heck, as of today they’re still tied for first place.

Carolina Panthers: Key Stat After Week 1

18 - Number of rushing yards by Cam Newton

Raise your hand if you thought that Cam Newton, like many athletic quarterbacks before him, would rely on his scrambling skills at the NFL level while he figured out pro defenses. Hey, I’ll put my digits in the air.

But Newton only rushed for 18 yards on eight carries last Sunday, proving that he can drive an offense without gaining ground yards. Newton still showed an ability to elude rushers and break the pocket, but he finished those plays by giving the ball up to his receivers.

Now the always-adapting chameleons known as NFL defenses will learn from last week, and future opponents won’t blitz Newton the way Arizona did. He will have to prove next week that he can dissect a more conservative scheme and read less obvious coverages while still standing tall in the pocket.

San Francisco 49ers

I’m a little reluctant to put San Francisco on this list because I’m not sure they played all that well in Week 1.

Sure, the 33-17 win over Seattle looks nice, but those two special teams touchdowns by Ted Ginn Jr. make that result a bit of a paper tiger. The 49ers only gained 209 yards of offense. And while Alex Smith played mistake-free football, his tepid 124 yards passing on 20 attempts doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence.

Still the 49ers won the game, something they haven’t done much of the last nine years.

Next week’s showdown with the Dallas Cowboys gives San Francisco a chance to put a flourish on the start of the Jim Harbaugh era. Win that game and the 49ers will sit at 2-0 in what I still consider the league’s worst division.

A fast start in that pack could have San Fran sniffing the playoffs by season’s end.

San Francisco 49ers: Key Stat After Week 1

2 - Number of tackles for loss by Patrick Willis

Just another ho-hum day for the stud middle linebacker. Five tackles, two for loss, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery. Even on his bad days this guy is a force. Is there anybody playing better at their position in the NFL right now than Patrick Willis at middle linebacker?

He’s the key cog on a defense that looked stout on Sunday—five sacks of Seattle QB Tarvaris Jackson—and figures to be the driving force behind whatever success San Francisco enjoys in 2011.

Washington Redskins

Rex Daniel Grossman the Third, just what has gotten into you?

305 yards? Two touchdowns? A 110.5 passer rating?

I know it was against a depleted Giants secondary, but those are real quarterback numbers. And you...you’re Rex Grossman.

We all ignored it when Grossman lit up the preseason. After Grossman torched a real NFL team in a real NFL game, we can’t ignore it any longer. The Redskins might be onto something here.

Grossman gets another shot at a pass-defense patsy in the Arizona Cardinals next week at home. If Rex can put up similar numbers and lead the Redskins to a second consecutive victory, Washington will look more and more like a threat in the NFC.

It’s hard to imagine that a quarterback with such an extensive and thoroughly mediocre track record could elevate his game at the age of 31. But if Rex Grossman can defy logic for one week, why can’t he do it the next? Same follows for this entire Redskins team.

And if it turns out he’s just a one-week wonder? Warm up John Beck.

Washington Redskins: Key Stat After Week 1

105 - The number of receiving yards amassed by Washington tight end Fred Davis

For the last few years, the athletic pass catcher has been a well-kept secret in the nation’s capital.

It might not stay that way much longer.

With veteran Chris Cooley still rehabbing a gimpy knee, Davis has become the go-to guy in a Skins offense that has always relied heavily on tight ends. Davis, with his penchant for big plays, looks like a fantasy star in the making.

On the field, his impact might be just as large.