Week 2 NFL Power Rankings

Week 1 is in the books. We had a lot of movement in this week’s Power Rankings.

As will happen every Tuesday throughout the year, nine of our contributors — Zach Lyons, Mike Herndon, Justin Melo, Jimmy Morris, Robert Greenlaw, Wes Wisley, Austin Nelson, Josh Hong, and Justin Graver — have submitted their full rankings, 1 to 32. Below is the aggregate results of those rankings.

Biggest Risers: The Arizona Cardinals and Washington Football Team both jumped up 8 spots.

Biggest Fallers: The Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles both dropped 9 spots.

Here’s where we landed in our rankings as we head into Week 2 of the regular season…

To see the full list of everyone’s individual rankings click here.

The Titans moved down a spot in our collective ranks, not because of their shaky debut performance but more because of the dominance displayed by the Seahawks and other teams above them. The Titans were actually the only 1-0 team to fall. Denver is a tough place to play early in the season, but the Titans were sloppy early on and made mistakes throughout the night. Credit to Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry for leading the game-winning drive when it mattered most. Good teams find ways to win, while bad teams find ways to lose.

Justin Melo:

I’m not here to tell you that the Steelers are bad… they aren’t, but I have more questions than answers following last night’s win over the Giants. The defense looked like a stout unit once again, but the offense didn’t look as good as I expected it too. Blame it on a lack of preseason or the fact that Ben Roethlisberger was making his first start in a long time, but I am slightly worried about this offense. Roethlisberger looked off at times and James Conner is a big question mark at this point.

The Giants looked like the better team at times, and were a few plays away from taking control of this football game. A more consistent performance in Week 2 against the Broncos could see the Steelers shoot up my personal rankings. But for now, I am slightly concerned about their outlook.

Josh: I get it the love for New England. Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of all time, but he’s been very questionable as a general manager lately. This Patriots’ roster is severely lacking the talent to seriously compete against playoff contending teams.

The designed runs for Cam Newton in the redzone are a fun and new look, but with each week, that’s more film for opposing defenses to prepare off of. Despite this week 1 element of surprise and the three interceptions from Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Patriots only beat a mediocre Dolphins team by ten points. That will not work against a more talented team and looking ahead it is not going to get any easier. They still have to play the Seahawks, Chiefs, 49ers, Ravens, Cardinals, Rams, and even the Bills twice. I think it’s finally time for the Bills to take over that division.

Robert: What a start for the Cardinals. They go into San Francisco and beat the defending NFC Champions. 65% of Kyler Murray’s passing yards were to his shiny new toy, DeAndre Hopkins. The duo showed instant chemistry, with limited practice time together. Murray accounted for 91 yards on the ground on only 7 carries, giving this offense another dimension.

Early on this season, it looks like the NFC West is the best division in football. Look for Arizona to continue to make some noise if Murray continues to proving he’s one of the best dual threats in the NFL.

Wes: RB Josh Jacobs started this season with an impressive 3 touchdowns and 139 total yards. The Raiders looked to use him in the passing game more as well which provides Derek Carr more options within their offense. I like the direction the offense is going.

The defense still has questions but did make plays at the end of the game when they needed to.  We will see what this team looks like against a contender next week when the Saints go to Vegas but don’t be surprised if the offense keeps it competitive.

Mike: I’m not here to tell you that the Lions are good… they aren’t, but they also aren’t this bad. Detroit melted down late against the Bears in the second half, but they still should have won the game if rookie D’Andre Swift would have held onto the game winning touchdown with seconds remaining.

Detroit outgained Chicago, beat them on 3rd downs, and generally looked like the vastly superior team for most that game. I still believe in the offensive pieces and think the Lions are underrated here at 27.

Zach: The Cleveland Browns stink. Baker Mayfield stinks. Their city stinks. their fans stink. Their chili stinks. This is why I had the Cleveland Browns ranked the lowest at 31.

It is truly a remarkable feat that this offense is as bad as it is with the talent it has amassed. They signed Austin Hooper to a huge contract and he gets 2 targets the whole game. This all falls onto the shoulders of Baker Mayfield.

Kevin Stefanski simplified this offense for Mayfield, and he is still showing the same issues he had last year. if his first read is not there he is panicking in the pocket. The Ravens absolutely embarrassed this trash heap of a team. They have a long way to go before I move them up.

Who is too high? Who is too low? Drop a comment down below!

Have your own power rankings? Click here to go to the forum and put up your own!

Author: Zach LyonsWith over 17 years experience of losing Fantasy Football games, Zach has been a Titans fan since moving to Nashville in 2002. A die-hard Alabama fan, but he doesn't let that cloud his judgement of the Elite Players they have put in the NFL. Players like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and AJ McCarron. You've heard him on Football & Other F Words giving his Unfiltered Opinions as facts and that won't change. He's always 100% right even if he has to revise earlier statements. Lawyered.