Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season in the books.
The opening slate of the new campaign did not disappoint, as a handful of games featured exciting finishes. There also were a few upsets, which prompted changes to our NFL power rankings.
Here’s how we’re ranking all 32 teams heading into Week 2:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0, last week: 1)
The reigning Super Bowl champions will hold this spot until proven otherwise. Patrick Mahomes and Co. looked like their usual selves in a season-opening win over the Houston Texans.
2. Baltimore Ravens (1-0, 4)
Lamar Jackson showed no signs of a hangover coming off his NFL MVP season. The Ravens steamrolled the Cleveland Browns on the strength of three touchdown passes from their star quarterback.
3. New Orleans Saints (1-0, 2)
The Saints started off the season with a win, but there was nothing particularly impressive about their 11-point victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Drew Brees only threw for 160 yards against an OK defense.
4. Seattle Seahawks (1-0, 6)
This could prove to be one of the best offenses to date in Russell Wilson’s Seahawks tenure. Wilson thrashed the Atlanta Falcons for 322 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air.
5. Green Bay Packers (1-0, 10)
Aaron Rodgers looked like a man on a mission in Minnesota. The Packers signal-caller racked up 364 passing yards with four scores against a strong Vikings defense.
6. San Francisco 49ers (0-1, 3)
Week 1 probably shouldn’t be chalked up as a “bad loss” for the Niners, as the Arizona Cardinals might be the real deal. San Francisco also currently is dealing with a few key injuries.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0, 8)
Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp in his first game since Week 2 of last season. The veteran quarterback completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 229 yards with three touchdowns. Pittsburgh also might have the best defense in football.
8. Dallas Cowboys (0-1, 5)
The Cowboys only gave up 20 points on the road, but their offense was surprisingly disappointing. An arsenal that loaded shouldn’t be held to two touchdowns against an average defense.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1, 7)
Let’s keep in mind Tom Brady’s first game with a team other than the New England Patriots came on the road against a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Bucs, theoretically, should improve over time.
10. Buffalo Bills (1-0, 11)
It’s tough to put too much stock in the solid performance from Josh Allen and Co. in Week 1 considering it was against arguably the worst team in football in the New York Jets.
11. Tennessee Titans (1-0, 13)
Ryan Tannehill and Co. toughed out a win against the revamped and motivated Broncos in one of the tougher settings to play in the NFL.
12. Arizona Cardinals (1-0, 14)
You think Kyler Murray is happy to have DeAndre Hopkins at his disposal? The two connected 14 times for 151 yards in the star wideout’s Arizona debut.
13. Atlanta Falcons (0-1, 12)
Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but a few costly errors doomed the Falcons. We’ll give Atlanta the benefit of the doubt to rebound — for now — given the high-end talent it features on both sides of the ball.
14. Philadelphia Eagles (0-1, 9)
This is somewhat of a “prove it” season for Carson Wentz. He’s off to a rough start after throwing two interceptions to Washington as the Eagles squandered a 17-point lead in an ugly loss to their NFC East rival.
15. New England Patriots (1-0, 18)
Cam Newton looked like the Cam Newton of old in his Patriots debut. The only question is, can the first-year New England QB sustain that style of play over the course of a season?
16. Denver Broncos (0-1, 15)
If their season opener was any indication, the Broncos are going to be a tough customer to deal with in 2020. Drew Lock has a bevy of young and exciting weapons to work with.
17. Minnesota Vikings (0-1, 16)
The Vikings offense impressed in Week 1. Unfortunately for Minnesota, they were on the wrong side of a vintage performance from Rodgers.
18. Los Angeles Rams (1-0, 22)
Sean McVay’s club issued a statement to their doubters with a win over the loaded Cowboys. The Rams might not be a playoff team in 2020, but it’s looking like they won’t be an easy out.
19. Indianapolis Colts (0-1, 17)
Philip Rivers was OK in his Colts debut. Perhaps we underestimated the Jacksonville Jaguars, who outlasted their AFC South foe Sunday afternoon.
20. Los Angeles Chargers (1-0, 21)
The Bolts are 1-0, but they probably shouldn’t have struggled as much as they did against a rookie quarterback making his NFL debut whose top target was coming off a serious injury.
21. Houston Texans (0-1, 20)
It’s difficult to evaluate the Texans through one game. They had the unfortunate position of opening their season against the juggernaut Chiefs in Kansas City.
22. Cleveland Browns (0-1, 19)
The Browns looked a whole lot like their 2019 selves in Week 1. Granted they were in Baltimore, but Baker Mayfield and Co. inspired no optimism for a bounce-back campaign.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (1-0, 23)
Coming out on top in a shootout is a positive sign any way you slice it, but the Raiders edged out the Carolina Panthers, who are projected to be one of the worst teams in 2020.
24. Chicago Bears (1-0, 24)
Mitchell Trubisky actually was pretty good, but the Bears probably are starting off the season with a loss if Detroit Lions rookie back D’Andre Swift doesn’t drop a Matthew Stafford dime late in the fourth quarter.
25. Detroit Lions (0-1, 25)
See: above. The Bears and Lions sure looked evenly matched in Week 1.
26. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1, 27)
Joe Burrow had a chance to open his NFL career with a bang, but Cincinnati kicker Randy Bullock prevented Chargers-Bengals from going to overtime by whiffing on a 31-yard field goal attempt as time expired. This year’s No. 1 overall pick looked calm, cool and collected running the hurry-up in crunch time.
27. Washington Football Team (1-0, 31)
Washington showed plenty of fight in its comeback win over Philadelphia. Perhaps Ron Rivera’s presence will prompt WFT to exceed expectations.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0, 32)
Well, it appears Gardner Minshew is more than just a fun quarterback to watch. The Jags signal-caller only logged one incompletion in his three-touchdown performance against the Colts.
29. New York Giants (0-1, 28)
The Giants actually hung tough for a while with the Steelers, and their season opener might have played out a bit differently had it not been for a disastrous red-zone turnover from Daniel Jones. New York played hard for Joe Judge in his NFL head coaching debut.
30. Carolina Panthers (0-1, 30)
Teddy Bridgewater was fine in his Panthers debut, but it looks like Carolina’s offense once again will go as far as Christian McCaffrey will take it.
31. Miami Dolphins (0-1, 26)
The Dolphins’ offense effectively was non-existent against a Patriots defense that underwent significant turnover over the offseason.
32. New York Jets (0-1, 31)
It’s going to be a long, long season in the Meadowlands.
Thumbnail photo via Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports Images
