After a long offseason, the NFL is now back, and finally with full capacity in all stadiums. With some changes to rules, including COVID protocols being changed and lightened up since many players are vaccinated, the NFL has never been more exciting.

Although many teams stood out in the NFL in the first two weeks, three teams that stood out were the Cardinals, the Buccaneers, and the Raiders.

The Cardinals had an impressive offseason with the signings of wide receiver A.J Green from the Bengals and defensive end JJ Watt from the Texans. The Cardinals opened up week one against the Titans and one impressively 38-13. Kyler Murray, the quarterback of the Cardinals had five total touchdowns with four through the air and one on the ground. Defensive end Chandler Jones had five total sacks and two forced fumbles. The Cardinals backed up their impressive week one with a close week two win against the Vikings 34-33.

“The Cardinals stood out to me the most over the first two weeks because they were a great well-rounded team. Their defense and offense looked great,” said senior Trey Parker.

The Buccaneers also had an impressive first two weeks due to the elite quarterback play by Tom Brady who is now 44 years old and still throwing 9 touchdowns in two games. Brady has passed for over 600 yards. 170 of those found their way to wide receiver Chris Godwin, one of Brady’s favorite targets. Although the Bucs offense is impressive just as it was in their Super Bowl-winning season last year, the defense has also stood its ground. Safety Mark Edwards had two pick-sixes in the Buccaneer’s week two win against the Falcons where they won 48-25.

“After a great first two weeks, I think Brady is just as good as he was on the Patriots, and the Bucs could definitely be back in the Super Bowl this year,” said sophomore Andrew Lappin.

Although the Raiders weren’t as flashy in the first two weeks as the teams mentioned above, they still had just as impressive first two weeks. The Raiders had a tough opening week in a primetime game against the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson who is coming off an impressive MVP season just two seasons ago. After a hard-fought game, the Raiders won in overtime 33-27. The main stat from this game is that the defense forced three fumbles and recovered two of them. In week two, the Raiders defeated another great team in the Steelers 26-17. In all, the Raiders have the lead against the Chiefs in the AFC West.

After two weeks of the NFL season, various storylines and exciting games are set to play out through the remaining 16 weeks and postseason.