The can play defense again. That should scare the rest of the AFC. They have transitioned from the departure of longtime coordinator, Dick LeBeau, and they once again look like a speedy-enough unit that can swarm and, most importantly of all, shows the ability to shut down the run through two weeks. If they manage to keep that up, given what a prolific offense we know they po se s, and you could be looking at the cla s of this conference. Particularly at a time when the are having to shuffle quarterbacks again, with suspended two more games and nursing a shoulder injury that knocked him from Sunday's game, the Steelers seem poised to make some early noise and start pulling away from the pack. Already, they have displayed the ability to beat teams in different ways. In Week 1 it was the predictable offensive fireworks at Washington, though lost amid all of that was a stout performance from the front seven ( Damarious Randall Jersey I still have my reservations about the Pittsburgh secondary, but, alas, in this day and age few teams have a complete roster). On Sunday, in the muck, slog and the pouring rain, against a fierce divisional foe on an afternoon in which Pittsburgh's offense was bogged down at times and unable to score at its normal pace, the defense got the job done. Most importantly, the could muster nothing on the ground. Nothing. They remain seemingly split between Gio Bernard and and neither could accomplish much Sunday. The Bengals rushed 18 times for 46 yards, a week after the ran just 12 times for 55 yards. Obviously, this is a small sample size, and the ability for Pittsburgh's offense to churn the clock and control the football -- the Steelers have been one of the league's top rushing teams through two weeks -- and to play with a lead in both games has negated the willingne s of others to test them on the ground. But this has the look of a much-improved unit, and linebacker has the look of a young playmaker coming into his own. With the looking like a still-rebuilding team and the , well, the Browns, the Steelers have an opportunity to make a power move here and now. Overall, the schedule sets up nicely for them throughout and they go to the next week before hosting the and . Then they travel to reeling Miami. Oh David Njoku Jersey yeah, and some running back, or something like that, comes back from suspension after next week. Look out. Despite injury, Garoppolo turns plenty of heads Even if Jimmy Garoppolo does not throw another pa s this season -- Tom Brady is only a few weeks from a return and the youngster suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder Sunday -- he has set himself up. His six quarters of sterling work this season has grabbed the attention of the entire league, and he'll be very much in demand this offseason. I still believe the Patriots hold on to him as the QB-in-waiting behind Brady and resist anything but a ridiculous ransom via trade. Maybe he even gets a Band-Aid contract extension in the offseason as well. But make no mistake, he was well on his way to absolutely shredding the on Sunday when he suffered his injury and he in every way looks the part Rashard Higgins Jersey of a winning NFL quarterback. It might have been a 40-point win for the Pats had he been able to stay in the game and keep chucking the ball around. The kid plays fearle s quarterback, he makes stick throws in the right spot and delivers the ball in a manner in which receivers can easily run after the catch. He does the little things well and does them in a way that make them look easy and the Pats were well on their way to a 4-0 start with him at the helm. Now, on a short week having to face the on Thursday night, he could very well mi s at least a game, but he continues to open eyes around the league. He and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are going to get paid (McDaniels will get a head coaching job this offseason; I'd bet my house on it). ' offensive line not hitting on all cylinders Cowboys still have some stuff to sort out with their offensive line and in the run game. The idea that was going to come in as a rookie and take the NFL by storm, a la a year ago, just hasn't been the case. Elliott was not a consistent difference maker in either of the first two games, at a time when the Dallas really needed to establish its physicality up front, and it's been slow going for the first-round pick so far. Elliott has rushed 41 times for 134 yards thus far -- a paltry 3.27 per carry against le s-than-ferocious and Redskins defenses -- though he has reached the end zone in each game. More importantly for the Cowboys, rookie quarterback continues to look like the early gem of their draft cla s. Prescott, despite being so athletic, is willing to operate within the confines of Ray-Ray Armstrong Jersey the offense. He runs and sheds the pocket only when nece sary and he continues to show great pose and moxie. The kid can play. Burfict's absence showing in Cincinnati The Bengals need back from his suspension, ASAP. Like yesterday. Cincy has battled hard for two games, but lost the battle in the trenches both times. They used a plethora of big pa sing plays to beat the Jets, anyway, but took a beating from the Steelers again Sunday. His absence shows up mostly in the run defense. The Jets and Steelers have combined to run the ball 66 times for 267 yards already this season against the Bengals. That's not the norm for this bunch and it's something they'll want to get corrected quickly. Cousins looks off his game in Washington needs to get it going. The Redskins game turned for the worse for them when Cousins forced a ball in the end zone for an easy interception and he has been off both weeks. The deep stuff to hasn't been there and everything has felt like Antonio Callaway Jersey a struggle. Now, they started slowly last season as well before they caught fire, though Cousins didn't have the pre sure of a $20 million contract on his shoulders, then, either. The reality of the NFC East is I don't see anyone pulling away and hiding, but Washington certainly needs to get a win here soon. not living up to the preseason hype I wonder if my boy Pete Prisco is still planning the Jaguars' Super Bowl parade. Er, I mean their AFC South champs parade. Um, I mean the We Finally Got Back To .500! parade. For all of the hype, this team is still finding ways to lose games and the additional speed and skill added to the defense hasn't clicked much early on, either. They host the Ravens before facing the in London in what's considered a home game. On the heels of this failed trip to San Diego, that's a tall task and they'd better win one of those games. Some good news in Cleveland? Horrible lo s for the Browns -- and the officials did them no favors -- but there are positives. This is a 100-percent more viable team with at quarterback over . It's not even close. The ball was spread around and and had multiple opportunities to make plays. Problem is, thi