D.S. Williamson
Major changes have occurred with my NFL Week 2 Power Rankings. How could the changes have not occurred after what transpired during NFL Week 1? Check out my 2017 NFL week 2 power rankings.
2017 NFL Week 2 Power Rankings
1. Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Green Bay didn’t play inspired football in their 17 to 9 win over Seattle. But, the Packers got the job done. I’ll put them ahead of Kansas City at the moment because I’m just not sure what to make of KC’s win over New England.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)
The Chiefs looked great. No doubt. Alex Smith threw 4 TD passes. Both of the Chiefs’ best skill players, WR Tyreek Hill and RB Kareem Hunt, scored TDs of 75 yards or more. Kansas City’s defense, for the most part, shut down New England’s offense.
But, the Patriots’ D didn’t pressure Smith at all during the 42 to 27 KC win. I want to see KC perform that well against the Eagles in Week 2 before jumping them ahead of the Packers.
3. Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
The Cowboys’ defense looked great in Dallas’ 19 to 3 win. Like Kansas City, though, I don’t want to get too excited about Big D. First, the Boys battled the rival Giants without WR Odell Beckham Jr. Second, the Cowboys only scored 3 points in the second half. I didn’t see many adjustments from Dallas. What does it mean? I don’t know yet.
4. Atlanta Falcons (1-0)
Tough to put New England ahead of Atlanta after a loss when the Falcons beat Chicago on the road by 6 points, 23 to 17, in Week 1. I’m not too hot on the Falcons yet, either. But, who else deserves the Top 5 ranking? Chicago came up with a terrific game plan to keep the Bears in it for the entire contest.
5. New England Patriots (0-1)
The Patriots might have 2 major issues. The first issue is on defense where they don’t appear capable of pressuring opposing quarterbacks. The second is on offense where the Patriots appeared to have trouble both run blocking and keeping defenders out of Tom Brady’s face. New England scored 27 points because he is Tom Brady.
6. Oakland Raiders (1-0)
I have nothing bad to write about the Raiders’ 26 to 16 road win over the Tennessee Titans. What really impressed me is how Oakland’s defense held Tennessee’s rushing attack to 4.5 yards per carry and 95 total yards. Why was that impressive? Titan QB Marcus Mariota averaged 8.5 yards per carry. He rushed for 26 of the 95 yards.
7. Minnesota Vikings (1-0)
Minnesota’s defense played bend but don’t break all night against Drew Brees and the Saints in the Vikings’ 29 to 19 win. The Saints got into the red zone 4 times and had to settle for field goals all 4 times before finally scoring a TD in the 5th trip to the red zone. That was the most impressive thing about Minnesota’s performance.
8. L.A. Rams (1-0)
The 46 to 9 win over the Indianapolis Colts appeared legitimate to me. I had a feeling that Sean McVay had a lot of talent to work with in La-La-Land. QB Jared Goff threw for over 300 yards. He tossed a TD. The best part is that Goff had great numbers with RB Todd Gurley averaging 2.1 yards per carry and WR Sammy Watkins catching only 5 passes for 58 yards.
9. Detroit Lions (1-0)
Matthew Stafford led a 4th quarter comeback where the Lions scored 20 points to beat the Arizona Cardinals 35 to 23. Detroit’s defense played well. The Lions D picked off AZ QB Carson Palmer 3 times.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
Pittsburgh’s offense looks the same to me. RB Le’Veon Bell was a non-factor. He’s been a non-factor plenty of times in the past. Big Ben went to WR Antonio Brown with regularity. Brown caught 8 passes for 182 yards. Pitt beat Cleveland in a lackluster performance 21 to 18.
11. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)
Baltimore did shut out Cincinnati 20 to 0 on the road in Week 1. Then again, Baltimore’s offense didn’t do much. QB Joe Flacco only passed for 121 yards. He also threw a pick. Flacco played almost as badly as Cincy’s Andy Dalton. I wonder if NFL owners are getting tired of paying quarterbacks $20 million bucks a year for a 71 QB rating?
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)
First, QB Blake Bortles didn’t throw a pick. That’s a major positive. Second, the Jaguars might have the best defense in the NFL since Seattle’s in the 2014-2015 NFL Season. The Jags sacked Houston QBs 10 times. They also recovered 3 Houston fumbles and picked off QB DeShaun Watson. That’s why Jacksonville dominated Houston 29 to 7.
13. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
The Eagles beat Washington on the road 30 to 17 in Week 1. Carson Wentz looked decent. He made a couple of interesting decisions while he threw only 1 interception to go along with 2 TD passes and over 300 yards. Philly’s rushing offense is terrible. It averaged a meager 2.4 yards per carry.
14. Carolina Panthers (1-0)
I’m not a fan of Carolina’s 23 to 3 win over San Francisco. The Panthers looked nothing like the team that went to the Super Bowl a couple of seasons ago. QB Cam Newton was horrible. He only threw for 171 yards. He also threw an interception. Both running backs Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey averaged the same per carry, 3.6. McCaffrey did catch 5 passes for 38 yards.
15. Denver Broncos (1-0)
I’ve got an issue with Denver’s defense in the Broncos 24 to 21 win over the L.A. Chargers on Sep. 11. Denver’s D allowed the Chargers to score 14 points in the fourth quarter. It also only sacked Phillip Rivers once. The D’s not looking strong in Denver.
16. Seattle Seahawks (0-1)
Seattle’s offensive line is a mess. As good as QB Russell Wilson is, the Hawks aren’t going to win football games if he must run for his life on every play. The defense actually played better than I thought it would. One thing that I noticed? TE Jimmy Graham plays with no heart. I don’t get it. There were a couple of pinpoint passes that Wilson sent to Graham that the former New Orleans TE didn’t even attempt to fight for.
17. New York Giants (0-1)
I’m willing to give the Giants’ a pass overall because Odell was injured. But, let’s be honest, the Giants have no rushing attack. NYG averaged 2.9 yards per carry.
18. Buffalo Bills (1-0)
Buffalo looked good in their 21 to 12 win over the New York Jets. I want to see the Bills play that well on the road in Carolina in Week 2 before raising them in the rankings. The Bills’ D got a chance to play against one of the worst offenses I’ve ever seen.
19. Cleveland Browns (0-1)
QB DeShone Kizer is a football player. He passed for 222 yards. He rushed for a TD. Cleveland’s defense held Pitt’s rushing attack to a 2.1 per rush average. RB Le’Veon Bell only rushed for 32 yards from 10 carries. The Browns D forced the Steelers to go back to Big Ben to Antonio Brown to win the game.
20. Tennessee Titans (0-1)
The one piece of good news is that QB Marcus Mariota targeted WR Corey Davis 10 times. This might sound crazy, but if Tennessee wants to win football games, Mariota must target Davis more than 10 times per game. The Titans could open up rushing lanes for DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry by sending it deep to Davis.
21. L.A. Chargers (0-1)
QB Phillip Rivers did his best to put the Bolts into a position to tie the game. That’s why the Chargers are ahead of some other 1-loss teams on my NFL Week 2 Power Rankings list. But, LAC still lost.
22. Washington Redskins (0-1)
Washington’s ahead of Chicago and New Orleans only because they haven’t won an opening day game in the past 5 seasons. Washington could bounce back in Week 2. We shall see.
23. Chicago Bears (0-1)
RB Tarik Cohen could be a special football player. The kid rushed for 66 yards from 5 carries. He caught 8 passes for 47 yards and a TD. QB Mike Glennon looked good while the defense held Atlanta to only 23 points. Chicago is on the right track.
24. New Orleans Saints (0-1)
New Orleans ventured into the red zone 4 times in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings. They got 4 field goals out of it. The problem in New Orleans might be the same issue in Cincinnati: the lack of changes means uninspired football. New Orleans guard Zach Strief is out for about a month. That’s bad news for an already banged-up Saints offensive line.
25. Houston Texans (0-1)
I’m surprised how poorly Houston’s offensive line played. It could be that the Jags’ front 7 is just that good. Watson is clearly the individual that should quarterback this team. Houston didn’t look comfortable on either side of the football in the stunning loss to the Jaguars.
26. New York Jets (0-1)
QB Josh McCown averaged 4.8 yards per completion. He threw for 187 yards. He threw 2 interceptions and no TDs. McCown’s QB rating was 56.3. The Jets averaged 2.5 yards per rush. 38 total rushing yards and 176 total passing yards. Good times if you’re a J-E-T-S hater.
27. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)
QB Andy Dalton played like a QB that had just learned what the game of football was all about. He completed 16 of 31 passes for 170 yards. He threw 4 interceptions. How bad is this guy? I mean, was that really Andy Dalton out there?
28. Arizona Cardinals (0-1)
Word just came out that RB David Johnson is out 2 to 3 months. Without DJ, Arizona’s offense might stand still, literally. I mean, it might just not move the football at all. QB Carson Palmer must retire. He looked horrible. He looked about as bad as any QB I watched in Week 1 not named Andy Dalton.
29. San Francisco 49’ers (0-1)
The 49’ers are worse than the Jets, Bengals, and Cardinals because San Francisco’s loss was all about strategy. The Niners had a shot to stick with Carolina. Based on what I saw, the Panthers didn’t overwhelm SF. Instead, SF decided to try to employ Atlanta’s offensive system instead of concentrating on rushing the football and playing keep away. That’s the coaching staffs’ fault.
30. Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
Even if QB Andrew Luck is healthy, the Colts shouldn’t play him. Not behind that offensive line. The Rams sacked Scott Tolzein 4 times. If one of those sacks had happened to Luck the way he is right now, it might have ended Luck’s career. It’s hard to believe that this team lost the AFC Championship game 2 seasons ago.
Not Ranked
