Struggling units in New Orleans, Buffalo and San Francisco. Dominating units in Dallas, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. A shocking MVP candidate (or two!). The first two weeks of the season have produced surprises all across the league.

NFL Nation reporters pick out the biggest surprises for the team they cover, then give their verdict on whether it will continue for the rest of the season.

Scan through all 32 teams by division, or click here to jump ahead to your team:

The surprise: A defense in crisis.

The verdict: REAL. Despite the high-priced additions of Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy in free agency and trading up to draft linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the first round, the Bills' defense is tied with the Lions in allowing a league-high 39 points per game, while opposing quarterbacks have a league-high 84.8 Total QBR against Buffalo. The defensive crisis led coach Sean McDermott to strip playcalling duties from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier during halftime of Sunday's game. With Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck and Tom Brady on the Bills' schedule before the halfway mark of the season, relief does not appear to be in sight no matter who is calling plays. -- Mike Rodak

The surprise: An ultra-efficient Ryan Tannehill.

The verdict: REAL. Tannehill has completed 72.5 percent of his passes, fifth best in the NFL, and has a 104.9 passer rating, good for eighth best. Coach Adam Gase is building this offense around Tannehill's accuracy on quick throws and propensity to find open receivers. You can tell that Tannehill is having fun with his new crew of versatile receiving weapons. Tannehill will likely never be an MVP candidate or throw for 5,000 yards, but he could show similar efficiency throughout the season. -- Cameron Wolfe

The surprise: Dont'a Hightower's lack of impact.

The verdict: MIRAGE. A defensive captain in 2016 and 2017, the linebacker missed the second half of last season with a torn pectoral muscle, and his return in 2018 was viewed as a key to the unit's hopeful turnaround. But Hightower has had a quiet start to the season, as he appeared to be a step behind in pass coverage in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He's too good of a talent for that to continue. "He's obviously one of the leaders of our team. I think he's playing well. I think he's doing everything we're asking him to do," linebackers coach Brian Flores said. "This guy is selfless, he's a team guy." -- Mike Reiss

The surprise: Seven takeaways by the defense.

The verdict: MIRAGE. The Jets won't be able to sustain it because they don't have pressure-generating players in the front seven. Their secondary is faster and better than last season, but every secondary needs a consistent pass rush to create errant and poorly timed throws to make interceptions -- and the Jets simply don't have an established edge rusher. -- Rich Cimini

The surprise: A slow start for Alex Collins.

The verdict: MIRAGE. Collins, the 11th-leading rusher in the league in 2017, has as many rushing yards (48) as Ryan Tannehill. A large part of his disappointing numbers is due to circumstances out of his control. The Ravens beat the Bills so badly in the opener that Collins didn't play much after halftime. The next game, Baltimore got behind in Cincinnati so quickly that it abandoned the running game. Coach John Harbaugh said it's a "big priority" to get Collins and the running game back on track. "We're not in any way pleased with the numbers," Harbaugh said. "We are very determined to run the ball well because we think it fits our offense, and it's something that opens everything else up. We have to get that going." -- Jamison Hensley

The surprise: A turnover-generating defense.

The verdict: REAL. There's no way it can continue to come up with game-sealing turnovers in the fourth quarter every week, but the Bengals' defense has turned into a turnover machine, and that's no fluke. New defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spent all summer yelling at players to go for turnovers in practice, and it has immediately paid dividends. This defense isn't the same as the 2017 unit, which ranked near the bottom in takeaway/giveaway differential (minus-9). -- Katherine Terrell

The surprise: Three sacks for Larry Ogunjobi.

The verdict: REAL. The second-year defensive tackle has been forceful, active and aggressive -- and he's taking advantage of the attention offensive lines have to give Myles Garrett. Aaron Donald led the NFL with 11 sacks from the defensive tackle spot last season. There's no reason to think Ogunjobi cannot sustain what he has started. -- Pat McManamon

The surprise: Antonio Brown's modest start.

The verdict: MIRAGE. For most receivers, 18 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown is a good two-game stat line. But Brown leads the league with 33 targets and his longest reception is 22 yards. Coach Mike Tomlin isn't concerned, saying Brown's normal dose of double-teams often gets amplified early in the season as teams earmark his presence on the calendar. Coming off a sideline flare-up and social media "trade me" tweet to a critic, Brown will be looking to produce in a big way Monday night at Tampa Bay to redirect the storyline. Plus, five straight 100-catch seasons suggest he'll get it going in a hurry. -- Jeremy Fowler

AFC SOUTH

The surprise: A league-leading rushing offense.

The verdict: MIRAGE. While the Texans' running game is improved from last season -- even with 2017 third-round pick D'Onta Foreman on the PUP list -- it's unlikely the group will finish the season at the top of the list in this category. So far, Lamar Miller has rebounded from a career-worst 3.7 yards per carry last season and is fourth in the NFL in rushing yards, but eventually, as the passing game improves under Deshaun Watson, Houston will have to rely less on the ground game. -- Sarah Barshop

The surprise: A rookie leading the team in tackles.

The verdict: REAL. Second-round pick Darius Leonard has gone from playing at FCS South Carolina State to being the anchor of the Colts' defense, and he has 27 tackles in two games. The word constantly used around the Colts organization when talking about Leonard is mature, as he also wears the headset transmitter during games. He should lead the Colts in tackles as a rookie. -- Mike Wells

The surprise: A slow start in sacks.

The verdict: MIRAGE. The Jaguars have just four sacks so far, after leading the NFL with 55 last season. They have pressured Eli Manning and Tom Brady, so it's not as though the rush has been ineffective. They just haven't gotten home as much. Calais Campbell battled a sore right knee against the Patriots, but he had a great camp and should be as dangerous a rusher as he was last season (14.5 sacks). Yannick Ngakoue was almost unstoppable in the preseason and has been close to several sacks. Sacks tend to come in bunches, and it's only a matter of time until both of those players start getting home more regularly. -- Mike DiRocco

The surprise: Malcolm Butler giving up long touchdown receptions.

The verdict: MIRAGE. Butler gave up a 75-yard touchdown reception to Kenny Stills in Week 1 against the Dolphins, and Texans wideout Will Fuller got him for a 39-yard touchdown catch in Week 2. Butler is a capable cornerback who has to get his hands on receivers at the line of scrimmage to keep them from making big plays. The Titans will start to shade a safety to his side more if he continues to get beat. Gradually, Adoree' Jackson is going to shift into being the matchup corner for Tennessee and draw the cat coverage assignment on opposing teams' top wideouts. Between scheme and Jackson, big plays against Butler should be less frequent because opportunities for them will be reduced. -- Turron Davenport

AFC WEST

The surprise: The other rookie leading the team in rushing.

The verdict: REAL. Phillip Lindsay, who graduated from high school just a few miles from the Broncos' home stadium, became the first undrafted player in league history to have at least 100 yards from scrimmage in his first two games. He has gotten more touches than third-round pick Royce Freeman. He was a roster long shot when the offseason program opened, but two weeks into the season, the Broncos should now look at him as a primary option as both a runner and a receiver. Lindsay is only 5-foot-8, 190 pounds, so Denver can't use him as a lug-the-rock back with a heavy workload. This isn't just a feel-good, local-kid-plays-for-the-Broncos story, however: Lindsay is the real deal. -- Jeff Legwold

The surprise: An unstoppable Patrick Mahomes.

The verdict: MIRAGE. Mahomes is for real. He will continue to play well. But he can't keep up with his current pace. If he does, he will throw 80 touchdown passes and zero interceptions, and that's simply not going to happen. "The more that these defensive coordinators have to study it ... that's his challenge right now," coach Andy Reid said. "Is everything going to be roses? No." -- Adam Teicher

The surprise: Austin Ekeler's stellar start.

The verdict: REAL. Entering his second season, the Western Colorado running back has built on a surprising rookie year, totaling 224 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown through two games. At 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, Ekeler is a nice complement to the bruising running style of Melvin Gordon and adds juice to the Chargers' passing game. Expect Ekeler to continue to get 15 or so touches a game for the Chargers as a way to keep Gordon fresh for the rest of the season. -- Eric D. Williams

The surprise: Kolton Miller's solid play at left tackle.

The verdict: REAL. Sure, the rookie from UCLA is a first-round pick who should be playing well, but he was also a first-round pick met with a side eye of apprehension from many observers. And after more than holding his own against the fearsome pass rushes of the Rams and Broncos -- he has not allowed a sack or a QB hit in two games after allowing just one pressure in 36 pass-block snaps in Denver, per Pro Football Focus -- Miller appears to have staying power. "The film speaks for itself," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. "We think he's a long-term, big-time player for us at a critical position. That's why we drafted him. His range, not only as a pass-protector, but you saw him get out on the quick screens, he's got tremendous athleticism and he's just getting started." -- Paul Gutierrez

NFC EAST

The surprise: A suffocating defense.

The verdict: REAL. Let's put a caveat there: The Cowboys will give up more than 20 points in a game this season at some point. For years, the Cowboys have been mostly about their offense, with stars like Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray, Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and the offensive line. Now, however, the defense has a talent level that matches the effort defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli demands with the likes of DeMarcus Lawrence, Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford, Jaylon Smith and an improved secondary. This isn't a remake of Doomsday, but it will be able to win games for the Cowboys. That has not been the case over the years. -- Todd Archer

The surprise: An inept offense.

The verdict: MIRAGE. The Giants, Eli Manning and the offensive line can't be this bad. Can they? They've scored two touchdowns on 22 drives so far. They're reaching the end zone at a 9 percent clip. That's worse than last season, when they finished 31st in the NFL in scoring. The Giants are averaging 14 points per game. It will get better. The offensive line can't possibly be that bad, and Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley will make enough splash plays for the scoring output to improve. They might not become a consistent unit, but they will make enough splash plays to be competent. -- Jordan Raanan