Top Five NFL Offenses Through Week Two

Sep 15, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers runs off the field after the Packers beat the Washington Redskins 38-20 at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Today I bring you my Top Five Offenses through week two of the NFL season. The NFL has had quite a few very intriguing performances so far, including Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodger’s aerial dominance, the Philadelphia Eagles powerful running game, and the Houston Texans all around brilliance. So, lets jump right into things, with the top five offenses in the NFL today.

1. Green Bay Packers:

The Green Bay Packers were on fire this past week, lighting up a terrible Washington Redskin’s secondary to the tune of 580 total yards of offense, and 38 points on the day, with 24 of those points coming in the first half, before they let off the throttle a bit in the second half. Aaron Rodgers was near god like on the field, completing 34/42 passes for 480 yards and four touchdowns most of which came in the first half as well. Had this game been a little closer at halftime, and the Packers been a bit more aggressive with play calling, Rodgers could be holding the all-time single game passing yard record. Even the running game was dominant, despite the loss of Eddie Lacy early in the game, led by James Starks for a total of 132 yards and a touchdown. Overall, this is by far and away the best offense in the NFL, with the likes of Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and James Jones catching pass from Aaron Rodgers, I can only think of one team in the league that may match up well against this aerial domination.

2. Philadelphia Eagles:

This might be a bit of controversial pick over Peyton Manning and the Broncos, but we’re going with the best offenses in general, and the Eagles are very balanced in the pass game, to go along with the best running attack in the NFL. Led by the resurgent Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, the Eagles probably have the quickest and most explosive offense in football today. Both McCoy and Jackson hold the top spot for rushing and receiving respectively so far, and showed no signs of slowing down, until Michael Vick went down with an injury at the end of their 33-30 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Chip Kelly’s offense has been a resounding success so far in the NFL, however I’m still a bit reserved to call it a total success, as they have yet to play a really good team so far. We’ll have to see where the Eagles rank on this list as we get into November and December and see if they can still move at this pace in the frigid cold in Philadelphia.

3. Denver Broncos:

Peyton Manning and his Broncos occupy the third spot on this list, and are behind the Eagles currently because they still have struggles running the ball, and even finding a starting back in general. Knowshon Moreno led the way with 13 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown, but I’m still not convinced he can be the lead man at running back. The man who was supposed to have the job, Montee Ball, can’t seem to hold onto the ball, and struggled with 12 carries for only 16 yards. Despite the uncertainty with their running backs, the Broncos have looked phenomenal, as Manning has done an amazing job of getting the ball to all of his offensive weapons. We all know about his seven touchdown performance against the Ravens, but he had a good followup game throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns in the Manning Bowl. As for receiving weapons, there isn’t much to complain about at all. Wes Welker, despite some drop problems, has had an excellent start, and the big surprise Julius Thomas continued his hot streak with a touchdown. With the way they’re rolling so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if Peyton Manning took home his 5th MVP award.

4. Houston Texans:

The Houston Texans haven’t down much to wow people with their close calls in two straight games, against two far inferior teams, but the offense has done quite well up to this point. Matt Schaub has been average in his first two games, but good enough to win both games, the real interesting stuff comes with the new receiving weapon they added in the draft, and new mindset when it comes to running the football. DeAndre Hopkins had a massive coming out party bringing in seven catches for 117 yards and the game winning touchdown in overtime. Andre Johnson said that one day, Hopkins will be even better than he is. So far so good for the young rookie. When it comes to the running game, the Texans have decided to try and split carries as much as possible with Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and it worked to some very good success on Sunday. Foster had 79 yards and a touchdown, to go along with Tate’s 93 yards. So far, the Texans haven’t blown people away with their ability to start games, but at the very least, the offense seems to be even better than last year’s, and a healthy Foster for the playoffs, will be a huge boon.

5. Cincinnati Bengals:

I had a few teams to consider here, but the Bengals got the final spot on this list because of the emergance of a few new potential stars. We all know about Andy Dalton and his love affair with superstar receiver AJ Green, but the key to this Bengals team getting to the next level, is the emergence of new playmakers, and they showed up last night against the Steelers. With AJ Green being locked down for the most part, guys like Tyler Eifert, Mohammed Sanu, Marvin Jones and especially Giovanni Bernard made their presence felt. Bernard had a total of nine touches, which resulted in 65 all purpose yards and a receiving and rushing touchdown. Eifert showed that he could be a big play tight end, getting downfield for a 61 yard catch and run, and Sanu and Jones each caught a number of passes. Overall, I was very impressed with the new found balance on this team. What used to strictly be the AJ Green show, is now blossoming into much more, with guys like Eifert and Bernard leading the way. Doing this against a stingy defense in the Steeler was impressive, and I expect more of the same kind of success throughout the season against a particularly weak AFC North this year.

So that’s my attempt at giving the top five offenses in the NFL thus far. What do you guys think? Who’s been most impressive to you so far? Anyone who should make this list the next time it’s put together? Leave a comment in the comment section down below. Make sure to check back two weeks from now when I will be doing the next instalment of this list, all the way up until the end of the season. Also be sure to check back tomorrow with my top 5 defenses list.

You can follow me at @MattyWinPats for Patriots and NFL analysis in general.