We’ve had one week of the NFL season and let’s just say it’s already nuts.
The San Francisco 49ers, considered a possible Super Bowl team, lost on the road to the Chicago Bears, who are far from it.
The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts tied in a game that the Texans actually dominated.
The Cincinnati Bengals lost a game in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers thanks to a blocked extra point on the final play in regulation, a game that started with Joe Burrow looking awful.
The New Orleans Saints needed a late kick to rally to beat the Atlanta Falcons as their supposedly dominant defense sure didn’t look that way in that game.
It was just a weird open to the season. The only two constants were the dominance shown by the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. They both opened on the road with statement victories that featured high-flying offenses with their star passers putting on impressive shows.
The Bills remain in the top spot of my Power Rankings, with the Chiefs now in the second spot. Just remember, though, it’s just one week for all 32 teams. That means overreactions all this week leading into the second week.
Such as:
The Packers are done.
The Patriots can’t score.
The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl.
Maybe one or two of those will be true, but not yet. It’s way too early. We can’t get a true gauge on this league until October. We really won’t know the true contenders until November, when separation really begins.
So take that into account when reading these Power Rankings. Just because a team pulled off an upset doesn’t mean they should shoot up 10 spots. Let it play out for a bit.
The Bears won’t finish with a better record than the 49ers, even if they beat them. Or will they? This league is crazy sometimes, as Week 1 again reminded us.
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
After their showing against the Rams, there is no doubt they should be in this top spot. They sent a message to the rest of the league with that victory. | — | 1-0-0 |
2 |
|
Patrick Mahomes showed against the Cardinals that he can still play at a high level without Tyreek Hill. That offense will be just fine. | 1 | 1-0-0 |
3 |
|
The defense really impressed against the Cowboys. But the banged-up offense looked off at times. The offensive line has injuries, which isn’t a good thing going to New Orleans. | 4 | 1-0-0 |
4 |
|
If Jalen Hurts can play like he did against the Lions, this could be a deep playoff team. The defense was not good, though, which has to be a concern. | 4 | 1-0-0 |
5 |
|
With that passer in Justin Herbert and those pass rushers in Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, they have the two main things needed to win it all. Now they have a chance to show the Chiefs this week in a big early game. | 4 | 1-0-0 |
6 |
|
They found a way against the Falcons, but it wasn’t pretty. What happened to a defense that was supposed to be so dominant? They better get it going against Tampa Bay. | — | 1-0-0 |
7 |
|
They got off to an impressive start in beating the Packers in dominant fashion. The defense really impressed and Justin Jefferson was unstoppable. | 5 | 1-0-0 |
8 |
|
It wasn’t always pretty against the Jets, but Lamar Jackson got it going in the second half. It will get a lot tougher for this offense going forward. | 8 | 1-0-0 |
9 |
|
They looked awful in losing to the Vikings. Aaron Rodgers got beat up and didn’t play well. A defense that was supposed to be dominant wasn’t. | 7 | 0-1-0 |
10 |
|
They were outclassed by the Bills in a big way. Let’s call it just a bad game. This team will bounce back with Sean McVay as its coach. | 6 | 0-1-0 |
11 |
|
Joe Burrow looked like he missed the preseason early against the Steelers, but he bounced back. The line still has issues that have to be fixed in order to protect him. | 6 | 0-1-0 |
12 |
|
The Dolphins beat the Patriots and never were really threatened, thanks to the defense. Tua Tagovailoa was good, but the offense still only scored one touchdown. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
13 |
|
Trey Lance was really bad against the Bears. That’s not a good thing. But let’s chalk it up to the conditions and see how he does this week. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
14 |
|
They looked awful for much of their opener against the Texans, but rallied for a tie. They have to be better than that, but now face another road game at Jacksonville, where they don’t play well. | 3 | 0-0-1 |
15 |
|
The offense showed against the Chargers that it will be fun to watch. The defense has to be better. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
16 |
|
Losing to the Giants after dominating for most of the game will sting. They just didn’t do enough on offense to put them away. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
17 |
|
Carson Wentz did some good things in the victory over the Jaguars, which is a good sign for this team. They do have playmakers on offense. | 3 | 1-0-0 |
18 |
|
Give Jacoby Brissett credit for his game-winning drive against Carolina, even after an uneven showing for most of the game. The defense had a letdown in the second half. | 3 | 1-0-0 |
19 |
|
The defense came up big in the overtime victory over the Bengals. The loss of T.J. Watt is a damning blow to the defense, which will put more pressure on the offense. | 4 | 1-0-0 |
20 |
|
The Broncos need to work on their goal-line offense, their clock management and their end-of-game situations. Other than that, the loss to Seattle in the opener was good for the defense. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
21 |
|
They looked like a big mess against the Chiefs. This might be a long season even after giving out big contract extensions to the coach and general manager. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
22 |
|
They have big problems on offense. Mac Jones has to pick up his play or this is going to be a long season. | — | 0-1-0 |
23 |
|
They went on the road and beat a good Titans team. They did it after falling behind early, which is a good sign for this young group. Saquon Barkley was sensational. | 5 | 1-0-0 |
24 |
|
With Dak Prescott now down for what looks like 6-8 weeks because of a thumb injury, the Cowboys are in big trouble. They looked terrible on offense with him, so now what will things look like with Cooper Rush? | 9 | 0-1-0 |
25 |
|
Give this team credit for beating the 49ers. The defense was outstanding in the bad conditions. The offense has a lot of work to do. | 5 | 1-0-0 |
26 |
|
They came up big when they had to against Denver with their goal-line defense. The offense moved the ball, but needs to score more. | 5 | 1-0-0 |
27 |
|
It took Baker Mayfield and the passing game too long to get going against Cleveland, but eventually it did. They even had the lead late, but the defense let them down. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
28 |
|
They had their chances against Washington, but they just couldn’t get a late fourth-quarter stop when it was needed. The offense has to be better. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
29 |
|
They got a tie against the Colts, but that had to feel like a loss after they blew a 17-point lead. There were some good things, but that had to sting. The decision in overtime to punt is rightfully one that has to be questioned. | 3 | 0-0-1 |
30 |
|
The way their defense played against the Eagles isn’t a good sign going forward. They did hang around, but when is that not enough anymore? | 3 | 0-1-0 |
31 |
|
They can’t get Zach Wilson back soon enough. Joe Flacco wasn’t good against his former team as they threw it 59 times. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
32 |
|
They hung around and probably should have defeated the Saints Sunday. Give Arthur Smith credit for having this undermanned team ready to play. | — | 0-1-0 |
