A few dramatic jumps and slides highlight the power rankings this week as two new up-and-comers, the Dolphins and Chiefs, each jumped up six spots after 2-0 starts, while the unexpectedly lowly Redskins fell six spots all the way to 22nd after a winless first two games. The Denver Broncos still sit at number one after their impressive victory over the Giants in Manning-Bowl III this Sunday, and the Seahawks jumped up a spot to second after their blowout win over the rival 49ers. Finishing at the bottom once again are the Jaguars, who already have TV stations apologizing for airing their games on Sundays. The rest of the season definitely looks bright in Jacksonville.
1. Denver Broncos (2-0) No Change
Another impressive victory for the Broncos last week in the Meadowlands. Right now it’s gonna take a whole lot to dethrone them from the top spot in these rankings.
2. Seattle Seahawks (2-0) +1
Talk about impressive victories, the Seahawks absolutely shut down the San Francisco offense in prime-time Sunday night. It looks like we could be seeing another year of domination for the ‘Hawks at Quest Field.
3. Green Bay Packers (1-1) +3
So many things went right for the Packers and their offense on Sunday, with the exception of losing their rookie running-back Eddie Lacy. He should miss at least a week with a concussion, but nonetheless it appears that this offense is back in full swing.
4. San Francisco 49ers (1-1) -2
I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the poor performance by the 49ers Sunday night, as they have really struggled in Seattle for the past few years. But if this carries over into coming weeks then we could have a problem.
5. New Orleans Saints (2-0) -1
Wow did the Saints play down to their opponent or what on Sunday? They absolutely did not deserve that victory in Tampa Bay but a win is a win. New Orleans is 2-0 and that’s all they should care about.
6. New England Patriots (2-0) -1
Continuing with the trend of teams not deserving of their 2-0 starts, the New England Patriots have certainly not looked like a contender in the AFC through two weeks, yet they’re undefeated. This has to be a good sign right?
7. Chicago Bears (2-0) +2
Are the Bears for real or not? So far they’ve played two sloppy games yet have pulled out two sloppy wins late. The Marc Trestman era is off to a great start in Chicago, yet we’ll still have to wait and see if anything has actually changed with this team.
8. Atlanta Falcons (1-1) No Change
Typical Falcons home game against a below average opponent: get out to a big lead, nearly squander it away, ultimately go on a scoring drive and put the game away late. At least they got the win and improved to 1-1.
9. Houston Texans (2-0) -2
Well the Texans squeaked out yet another close win last week at home against the Titans in overtime, but they lost their top receiver Andre Johnson to a concussion. Look for rookie DeAndre Hopkins to be featured this week in Baltimore.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) +1
With an ugly 20-10 victory on Monday night over Pittsburgh, the Bengals got their first victory of the season. Obviously no game in this division is going to look great, so they should certainly be proud that they did what was needed to get the victory.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) +6
Our biggest jumpers of the week moved up six spots after their victory over the Cowboys in their home opener. The offense didn’t look great, but the defense was again impressive. Let’s see if they can continue this play in Philadelphia on Thursday.
12. Baltimore Ravens (1-1) +1
Well the defense played light-years better than they did in the season’s first week, but that could’ve been due to them lining up against the inept Cleveland offense. This offense again looked sub-par so that should certainly be a concern going forward.
13. Indianapolis Colts (1-1) -3
It seems like these were the type of games that the Andre Luck-era Colts had continually pulled out over and over again last year. For once their luck ran out in defeat. Now how will they rebound next week?
14. Detroit Lions (1-1) -2
A defeat in Arizona definitely hurt, but more painful for this team could be the losses of Nick Fairley and Reggie Bush on both sides of the ball. Their health will be paramount for this team moving forward.
15. Miami Dolphins (2-0) +6
Moving up five spots in this week’s rankings, the Dolphins took a huge step forward with an impressive road victory in Indianapolis. Now an even bigger test will come in their home opener next week against the Falcons.
16. Dallas Cowboys (1-1) -2
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Cowboys lost a definitely winnable game in Kansas City last week due to mental errors and despicable play-calling. When will this terrible trend finally end in Dallas?
17. San Diego Chargers (1-1) +2
Despite still sneaking out a win in Philadelphia, the Chargers really should be 2-0 right now. Their collapse in week one is still inexcusable for me. If this pass-defense could improve then San Diego could possibly be a legitimate threat for a playoff spot this season.
18. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) No Change
Well the fast-paced offense was again out in their home-opener, but it proved to more of vice for them as San Diego held the ball for over 40 minutes. Their are definitely flaws with this system and a sub-par defense definitely won’t help.
19. Tennessee Titans (1-1) +3
Well they were able to drive the Texans into overtime in Houston on Sunday, so that is definitely a positive, and this defense appears to be vastly improved over last years. Maybe the Titans have turned the corner this season and can contend for a playoff spot.
20. New York Giants (0-2) -4
Four more interceptions for Eli Manning this season has led for the bi-yearly callings for Tom Coughlin’s job to come out early this year. Although the terrible NFC East might just keep them in contention this year after a rough start.
21. St. Louis Rams (1-1) +2
Tavon Austin had his first breakout game as a pro, and the Rams really made a nice comeback on the road despite ultimately being defeated. I’m not sure that they should expect a playoff spot, but the future does look bright in St. Louis.
22. Washington Redskins (0-2) -6
After being handed a 38-20 shellacking by Green Bay on Sunday (it wasn’t even that close), the 0-2 Redskins now have to question their judgement on bringing RGIII back for the start of this season. Is healthy backup Kirk Cousins a better option at this point?
23. Minnesota Vikings (0-2) -3
The defense couldn’t stop Jay Cutler and the Bears from going down the field and scoring a game-winning touchdown last week, giving the Vikes an 0-2 start. The season could already be in jeopardy for Minnesota.
24. Buffalo Bills (1-1) +5
EJ Manuel played well for the second straight week, inspiring even more confidence for Bills fans this season and beyond. Discipline still has to be an issue for them as they head into New Jersey to take on the Jets next Sunday.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-2) -1
This was feared rushing game is now almost literally nonexistent. Alex Smith alone has more rushing yards than the Steelers do so far this season. Unless that changes Pittsburgh could be headed for a long 2013 season.
26. Arizona Cardinals (1-1) +2
Palmer is already looking like an improvement over their inept quarterbacks of the past as he led Bruce Arians to his first win in Arizona. Once this defense gets Daryl Washington back the Cardinals could become a very formidable squad.
27. Carolina Panthers (0-2) -2
Their defense has now blown 10 fourth quarter leads in the Ron Rivera era, and the offense has been incredibly unimpressive in the season’s first two weeks. Things better change fast in Carolina if much of this staff wants to keep their jobs.
28. New York Jets (1-1) -2
Geno Smith really showed his inexperience in New England on prime-time as he looked completely over-matched after throwing three interceptions in defeat. Although the defense did look very impressive in holding off the hobbled Patriots.
29. Oakland Raiders (1-1) +1
Well they beat the Jaguars at home, which is an achievement I guess. Darren McFadden played very well and made this offense look very impressive, but again, they played the Jaguars. We’ll see how they look next week against Denver.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) -3
How did they lose this game? The Tampa Bay Bucs literally should be 2-0 and about 15 spots higher on this list. Instead they’re ranked 30th and have to deal with a QB controversy very early in the season.
31. Cleveland Browns (0-2) No Change
Weeden is more and more beginning to look like he’s definitely not the answer for the Browns at quarterback. The defensive line played well again but you simply can’t win games if you can’t score.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) No Change
Hey, at least their offense scored more points than their defense this week. Could Tim Tebow actually be the “answer” for the Jaguars this season until Teddy Bridgewater arrives?
Biggest Jump: +6 (Chiefs, Dolphins)
Biggest Drop: -6 (Redskins)
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