So how about Week 2? Certainly was a little better than the ho-hum opening week of the season. However, we are still waiting for that week that reminds us why we all love the NFL so much. But hey, its still football though. It’s Tuesday so that means its time to take one chance to digest the previous week before we move on to Week 3. So this begs the question, what did we learn from Week 2?

The AFC West is the League’s Best Division

While this is probably filed under the “obvious” folder, you can’t deny that most teams don’t want to see anyone from the AFC West right now. This is a division that boasts three of the league’s eight 2-0 teams and the 0-2 team is not one to overlook either (even if they can’t get out of their own way).

The Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders picked up in 2017 pretty much where they left off from a year ago. All three teams have the pieces to contend this season, and can potentially dominate any game. While most of us expected the Chiefs and Raiders to look good right out of the gates, it’s the Broncos that might be the most impressive of the three.

We all knew that Denver’s defense would be among the league’s best once again but it’s the vastly improved play by Trevor Siemian that is really turning heads. Yes, this team did win a Super Bowl with sub-par quarterback play, but this team has needed improvement at the league’s most important position. Siemian has been tremendous so far posting a 106.9 quarterback rating through the first two games. A lot of credit has to go to offensive coordinator Mike McCoy for getting the most out of his young quarterback thus far.

Kansas City’s young playmakers and a suddenly rejuvenated Alex Smith have the Chiefs on the cusp of being the best team in football. You have to love the creativity of Andy Reid so far with his play calling. All three of his playmakers are getting the ball with optimal opportunities to score on any given down whether it’s a shot play, a shovel pass, or a simple draw play. A year ago this offense seemed pretty vanilla even when Tyreek Hill emerged midseason. However it seems the addition of running back Kareem Hunt has sparked a much-needed change in philosophy.

Oakland is still mostly the same team from last season, but the efficient play has been a great thing to see so far. Marshawn Lynch looks like the player we saw terrorize opposing front-sevens for years in Seattle. It’s taken pressure off of Derek Carr and this passing offense to produce in mass quantity. Lynch’s presence seems to have made this offense that much more dangerous, especially in the redzone. Opposing defenses can only guess where the ball is going to end up. Lynch could power it in, or Carr checks to a pass to Michael Crabtree or Amari Cooper. That is huge for a team that still has big question marks for a defense that hasn’t been tested (or exposed) yet.

Then there are the Los Angeles Chargers. Philip Rivers must be living in his own personal hell right now. LA has been right there at the end of both games to start this season but have come up short. Questionable decisions and poor kicking in the clutch have doomed the Chargers, who are sitting in the precarious position provided by starting 0-2. This team is now 1-10 in games decided by seven or less points dating back to last season. However, this is a team with a solid defense and an offense that can move the ball. You can’t sleep on the Chargers even if they will find a way to lose late. This is a team that could easily be 2-0, so you would hope that they find their groove in the clutch at some point.

 Nothing but the Blues for Big Blue

Playing in the biggest television market in the country certainly keeps a lot of eyeballs on you in New York. Unfortunately for the Giants, they might want some people to starting looking away. Two primetime games have put the Giants major problems on display for the entire country. Starting 0-2 isn’t good, but the way in which the Giants have gotten there is startling.

As I wrote last week, this offensive line is bad. Now we can say its virtually non-existent after surrendering another five sacks to the Lions last night. Eli Manning has no time to throw and the Giants can’t run the football either. Week 1 could be chocked up to Odell Beckham being out and the Cowboys selling out to pressure Manning. This week doesn’t offer the same benefit of the doubt. It’s no surprise that they have only scored 13 points in two games.

However, now things are getting testy in the Big Apple. Coach Ben McAdoo called out his quarterback in his postgame press conference regarding a key delay of game penalty on a fourth-and-goal. That’s not a good look especially when you have the pack of hyenas known as the New York media dissecting your every move and statement.

So far the Giants are looking like lambs to the slaughter, and it will be interesting to see how this gets fixed. Things could get even worse if the Eagles embarrass the Giants this week.

No Hangover in Atlanta?

Every year one of the biggest storylines inevitably ends up being whether the losing team in the Super Bowl takes a big step backwards. So far that is far from the case for the Atlanta Falcons. Coming into Week 2, there was some trepidation with this team as they squeaked by the Bears in the opener. Many of those doubts were silenced on Sunday night though. Atlanta continued their recent run of success against the Green Bay Packers, soundly defeating them 34-23 in a NFC title game rematch.

Matt Ryan and this offense haven’t lost a step in 2017. This defense is still coming along, but will now be without its top pass rusher, Vic Beasley, for at least a month. Luckily for Dan Quinn’s team, this offense is perfectly capable of masking any defensive issues for a while. We’ll get our definitive answer to that question this week when the Falcons head north to face the Lions.

Looking ahead though, the Falcons have a legit shot to start 5-0 before facing the Patriots in Foxboro. The real answer to the hangover question likely won’t be answered until November when the schedule becomes incredibly difficult for the defending NFC champions.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of “No Huddle” to update my power rankings heading into Week 3. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.