So much for that.
It’s apparent — after one week, at least — that holding a high spot within the NESN.com NFL power rankings is a bit of a kiss of a death. We kicked off the season last week with our first regular-season rankings, only to see five of the top 10 teams fall in Week 1. Granted, two of those losses came against other top-10 teams, but still … not ideal.
Whatever. It’s a long season, and we now have at least a small sample size to look at. Without further ado, here are the Week 2 rankings.
1. New England Patriots (Last week: 2): In an opening week in which supposed Super Bowl contenders across the league fell flat, the Patriots took care of business on the biggest stage.
2. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 4): The Packers weren’t dominant, but the defense showed a bend-but-don’t-break quality, and Aaron Rodgers pretty much scored at will when the Packers actually had the football.
3. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 5): This ranking feels high given the Cowboys’ struggles with the Giants, but Dallas did win, which is more than a lot of other teams that occupied the top spots last week can say.
4. Denver Broncos (Last week: 7): The Broncos didn’t get much out of Peyton Manning and the offense, but they still found a way beat a team that should contend for the AFC crown. For now, that’s a positive.
5. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 11): If the Cardinals play their normal stingy defense and get this kind of performance from Carson Palmer and the offense all season, they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
6. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 1): Here we are, for the second time in as many games questioning Pete Carroll’s play-calling late in games. The Seahawks go to Lambeau Field next week, so they’re staring 0-2 in the face.
7. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 12): We got a look at how good the Chiefs can be Sunday, as they torched a supposedly good Houston defense for 27 points in the first half. Having weapons — like Travis Kelce, Jeremy Maclin and Jamaal Charles — is a potential game-changer in K.C.
8. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 17): The Bills were as advertised on defense Sunday and Tyrod Taylor had the game of his career. Another big test awaits in Week 2 against the Patriots.
9. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 3): Everyone knew the Bills were a bad matchup in Week 1, but did anyone expect the Colts to vomit all over themselves like they did? Chuck Pagano’s seat-warmer is on and it’s getting cranked up. Their stay in the top 10 could be just about over.
10. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 10): The bad news is, the Dolphins struggled for much of the game against Washington. That good news is they get the Jaguars in Week 2.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 9): Assuming they’re able to curb recreational drug use and stop complaining about headsets and just play the game, the Steelers should be OK.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 8): OK, so that didn’t go well. I’m still confident the Eagles will get hot once they get in some sort of a rhythm, as they showed glimpses of in the second half Monday night. Other than that, gross.
13. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 6): Like the Eagles, this might take a little bit of time to get going with a new offensive coordinator at the helm. That defense is still pretty darn good, but losing Terrell Suggs for the season is never ideal.
14. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 13): If the Bengals are able to play the Raiders every week for the rest of the season, I love their chances.
15. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 15): The Chargers started slow, but we got an idea of how good that offense can be. Keenan Allen had a ridiculous day, and the two-headed running back attack of Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead gave Philip Rives plenty of options — even without the suspended Antonio Gates.
16. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 18): The Falcons did a remarkable job of slowing the Eagles’ offense in the first half but looked to tire in the second half. Even so, they still made enough plays when they needed to and started the Dan Quinn era off on the right foot.
17. St. Louis Rams (Last week: 23): It will be interesting to see what the Rams are able to do when Tre Mason and/or Todd Gurley get healthy.
18. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 14): The only reason I have the Vikings, who failed to show up Monday night, this high is that I picked them to win a wild card, so I kind of have to wear that for a while.
19. Detroit Lions (Last week: 16): They’re going 7-9, and that’s that.
20. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 22): It certainly looks like the Panthers are going to struggle this season in any game they don’t play against the Jaguars.
21. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 19): The Saints entered the red zone four times Sunday, and came away with one touchdown. They probably could have used Jimmy Graham.
22. New York Jets (Last week: 25): The Jets pounded the ball on the ground with Chris Ivory in Week 1, and all of a sudden they’ve got a real winnable matchup Monday against the vulnerable Colts.
23. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 27): Carlos Hyde is a monster, and if he can stay healthy all season, maybe the 49ers won’t totally suck. Maybe.
24. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 31): Marcus Mariota is on pace to be the greatest quarterback of all time!
25. Houston Texans (Last week: 20): For those keeping score at home, it took less than one game for the Texans’ quarterback controversy to begin.
26. New York Giants (Last week: 24): Tony Romo and the Cowboys basically handed the Giants the game, and they politely gave it right back.
27. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 21): The Browns were blown out by the Jets, lost their starting quarterback and debuted the worst uniforms in the history of sports. Rough weekend.
28. Chicago Bears (Last week: 28): If and when Matt Forte gets hurt this season, the Bears are so screwed — even more so than they already are.
29. Washington Redskins (Last week: 32): They weren’t the worst team in the league Sunday, so that’s something, right?
30. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 26): The Raiders got their doors blown off and lost their starting quarterback. Other than that, everything’s going A-OK.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 29): The Jaguars are still bad.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 30): Jameis Winston seems like a guy who could use a little humbling. Getting blown out at home by the Titans in his debut should do the trick.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
