The Los Angeles Rams are done.
The Carolina Panthers‘ defense is awful.
The Chicago Bears will break the single-season scoring record.
The Houston Texans‘ vaunted defense is now a sieve.
Same for the Denver Broncos.
The Dallas Cowboys are toast.
The Green Bay Packers won’t ever hold a lead.
On and on it goes. The Week 1 overreaction bucket is full. Don’t be guilty of buying into any of it.
Be more like NFL coaches talking to their teams today: It’s just one week. Move on.
Week 1 is full of teases over the years. Remember when the Las Vegas Raiders went to Foxborough and beat the New England Patriots in Week 1 last year. All the Pats did was get to the Super Bowl, while the Raiders were a season-long disaster in 2025.
So don’t fall victim to the overreactions.
I won’t. It’s one week.
I took that into account when doing my Week 2 Power Rankings. The Seattle Seahawks stay in the top spot after beating the Patriots to open the season, while the 49ers have moved up after blowing out the Rams. The Rams fall — but not too far.
It’s one week. Stop it.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t changes. How can the Los Angeles Chargers not fall after losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals? The Dallas Cowboys looked terrible on defense Sunday night in losing to the Giants, so they drop a few.
I just want to be cautious that one week won’t greatly impact my rankings. One thing that didn’t change is Miami in the bottom spot. The Dolphins didn’t look good in their loss to the Raiders, but the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans have the look of teams that will challenge Miami all year long for the cellar.
Then agin, it’s just one week.
Don’t forget it.
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
They received good news on Sam Darnold’s hip injury since he will be out for a short time. They can handle that the next two weeks with their defense and Drew Lock. | — | 1-0-0 |
2 |
|
They dominated the Browns, but now comes a tough one at Denver. Trevor Lawrence and the passing game will be dynamic this season. | 1 | 1-0-0 |
3 |
|
Winning at Houston is big for this team. It’s obvious that Joe Brady is giving the ball to Josh Allen again. | 1 | 1-0-0 |
4 |
|
Stars can carry teams, and there’s will be able to do that if they stay healthy. They showed how good a coach Kyle Shanahan is in the victory over the Rams. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
5 |
|
So much for the idea they were just going to waltz to the Super Bowl. They have issues on both sides of the ball that were exposed by the 49ers. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
6 |
|
It looks like Lamar Jackson and the new offense are a perfect fit. That unit was dominant against the Colts, but the defense needs to be better. | 3 | 1-0-0 |
7 |
|
It wasn’t pretty against the Commanders, but there were good signs. Saquon Barkley averaged 5.5 per rush and Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
8 |
|
The defense looked improved against the Bengals, forcing three turnovers and one being returned for a touchdown. That’s progress. | — | 1-0-0 |
9 |
|
Maybe Ben Johnson is right and this team will break the single-season scoring record. They looked unstoppable in rolling up 59 points against the Panthers. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
10 |
|
Many buried this team, saying the dynasty was over. No it isn’t. Patrick Mahomes didn’t have to do a lot against Denver, but he’s healthy. That’s the good news. | 2 | 1-0-0 |
11 |
|
They didn’t tackle well in the loss to the Chiefs. That showed up on a lot of big plays. The offense didn’t do enough either. | 5 | 0-1-0 |
12 |
|
So much for the idea that this defense would be like the 1985 Bears. They didn’t look good in losing to Josh Allen and the Bills. | 1 | 0-1-0 |
13 |
|
That was a heck of a comeback against the Packers. The defense led the way. With Kyler Murray down, it’s Carson Wentz time now. | 5 | 1-0-0 |
14 |
|
That was a choke job in losing to the Vikings. They had some calls go against them, but leading by 12 in the second half means they have to win that game. | 7 | 0-1-0 |
15 |
|
They beat the Saints, but it was a lot tougher than expected. The secondary is going to be a problem until they get their starting safeties back. | 4 | 1-0-0 |
16 |
|
That was an impressive start to the season in beating the Cowboys. They look to be much improved under John Harbaugh. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
17 |
|
The idea that the defense would be improved sure didn’t show in the loss to the Giants. They blew a lot of assignments in that one. | 12 | 0-1-0 |
18 |
|
They were sloppy in the loss to the Bengals with all the turnovers. But the defense actually played pretty well against that offense, which is a good sign. | 4 | 0-1-0 |
19 |
|
Drake Maye has struggled against good defenses, which he did in the opener against Seattle. This week’s game with the Steelers feels like a must-win for the Patriots. | 3 | 0-1-0 |
20 |
|
They beat the Falcons, but it wasn’t pretty. They have to do more on offense, starting this week against the Patriots. | — | 1-0-0 |
21 |
|
That was the dud of the week in losing to the Cardinals. So much for the idea that Mike McDaniel would liven up the Chargers offense. | 4 | 0-1-0 |
22 |
|
The defense was awful in the loss to the Ravens, which could be a season-long problem. Baltimore did whatever they wanted to for much of that game. | 1 | 0-1-0 |
23 |
|
The Saints have to be thrilled with what they saw from Tyler Shough in the opener against the Lions. He threw for 400 and rallied after throwing picks. That’s a good sign. | 1 | 0-1-0 |
24 |
|
Give new coach Mike LaFleur credit for pulling off the upset of the Chargers. Maybe this team will be better than expected. | 6 | 1-0-0 |
25 |
|
The offense did its part in the loss to the Bears. But the defense was run on all day and gave up 59 points. That’s embarrassing. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
26 |
|
They showed well in hanging around against the Eagles on the road with a chance to tie it late. It had to be good to see Jayden Daniels healthy again. | — | 0-1-0 |
27 |
|
They did a lot of good things in beating the Titans. That’s a good start for a team that might be better than expected. | — | 1-0-0 |
28 |
|
The victory over Miami had some good things, but it’s not exactly a top-notch opponent. Ashton Jeanty sure looked like the real deal. | 1 | 1-0-0 |
29 |
|
Their quarterback situation gets worse by the week. It’s going to be a tough season under center for first-year coach Kevin Stefanski. | 4 | 0-1-0 |
30 |
|
Cam Ward didn’t have a good opener, but who did on that team? Now they have to try and regroup against the Eagles in what will be a tough stretch of games. | 2 | 0-1-0 |
31 |
|
How much longer can they go with Deshaun Watson? He wasn’t the only reason they lost to the Jaguars, but he wasn’t good either. | — | 0-1-0 |
32 |
|
The showing against the Raiders is something the Dolphins fans should get used to seeing. It’s going to be a long season. | — | 0-1-0 |
