Hope springs eternal

21. Seattle Seahawks (1-0) 22. Washington Commanders (1-0) 23. Chicago Bears (1-0) 24. New York Giants (1-0) 25. Detroit Lions (0-1) 26. Houston Texans (0-0-1)

Say what you want about quarterback Carson Wentz, but the Commanders have enough talented playmakers to produce an effective offense this season. Curtis Samuel looked electric after missing nearly all of last season, rookie Jahan Dotson caught two touchdown passes and Antonio Gibson delivered both on the ground and through the air. The emergence of safety Darrick Forrest and the pass rush provided by defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Montez Sweat makes Washington a dangerous wild card in a wide-open NFC.

Also in the NFC East, the Giants showed things might be a little different this year under new coach Brian Daboll. His call to go for two late in a 21-20 win over the Titans provided a shot in the arm for a team that hadn’t been above .500 at any point over the last five years. Perhaps even more promising is the play of running back Saquon Barkley, who appears fully recovered from the torn ACL that cost him much of the 2020 season and sapped his explosiveness in 2021. The 2018 No. 2 overall pick finished with 194 total yards and flashed his game-breaking ability with a powerful push inside the end zone on the crucial 2-point conversion. If Barkley is back to his rookie season form, the Giants should be much improved.