Post-Week 2 Power Rankings

Cover photo taken from Imagn Images.

1 – Packers (2-0) 2

This team is horrifying.

I’ve come to the conclusion that this Packers defense is the 2024 Eagles defense: rush four and get home effectively, allowing everyone else to keep their eyes on the ball because the opposing team can’t take the top off your defense. Teams have to fight for every single inch against this D, while the offense is clearly good enough to do the rest.

The addition of Micah Parsons has done exactly what we expected it to do. This team is completely galvanized by his presence, and you’d have to do a lot of convincing for me to knock them off this top spot right now.

2 – Bills (2-0) 1

Ho-hum, another easy win over a divisional opponent. The Bills defense took a huge step up against a Jets offense that went from electric to sputtering at best, and while Josh Allen didn’t light anything up, James Cook had an awesome game to prove his worth after getting that contract.

There’s really not much to say about Buffalo this week. This is how the rest of the season is going to look against their Charmin-soft schedule.

3 – Ravens (1-1) 1

Baltimore and Buffalo feel like they had identical performances after their electric showdown last week, bouncing back with massive wins over the bottom of their division.

But, unlike the Bills, the Ravens got a crazy good performance out of their star QB as Lamar Jackson tossed four touchdowns and took the NFL’s all-time lead in passer rating (not bad for a running back, eh?). What really stood out to me was how good DeAndre Hopkins and Tez Walker looked — if they can emerge as reliable targets on the outside, it’ll open things up so much for this passing game.

If you win a game by a larger margin than Derrick Henry’s rushing yardage total, you’re probably in a good spot.

4 – Chargers (2-0) 1

The Chargers feel like one of the NFL’s most balanced teams right now, doing great things on both sides of the ball. We can clearly see how good Justin Herbert is to start the season (early MVP candidate, perchance?) and their defense has been one of the best in football.

But, this running game is a major, major concern. LA is dead last in rush EPA/play through two weeks while their first-rounder Omarion Hampton has just 72 yards. It hasn’t bitten them yet because of how efficient their passing game is, but at some point, you’re going to need to tote the rock. I’ll choose to blame it on the offensive line still figuring itself out without Rashawn Slater, but I’d like to see them get it going.

5 – Eagles (2-0) 1

Meet the 2024 Chiefs’ long-lost twin. Defending champions that aren’t nearly impressive as they were in previous years that will win a number of games by the skin of their teeth for another dominant regular season on paper. We’ll see how it fares for them in January.

There’s still respect due in winning, as I’ve said previously with Kansas City. But this passing offense is absolutely stuck in neutral, Jalen Hurts still hasn’t thrown a touchdown, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith have combined for 104 yards. 11.7% of their offensive snaps were tush pushes for crying out loud — and the sentiment around that play is finally turning into an overwhelmingly negative one, which could hopefully lead to some officiating changes this season. And I still have numerous questions about the secondary; plus, Jalen Carter looked awful in his return to play.

There’s some kinks to work out in Philadelphia, but they’re still going to keep winning. That’s just what they do.

6 – Rams (2-0) 3

This is a little higher than I want to put the Rams considering their two wins are against two winless teams, but they clearly deserve to be in the top-10. Matt Stafford has been really good through two games, Puka Nacua has been incredible, Davante Adams presence is felt in a big way and their run game has been surprisingly efficient.

The big story early on is how good this defense has been, but it appears that they haven’t played a competent offense yet. We’ll see how they fare against an Eagles unit that’s still figuring some stuff out.

7 – Lions (1-1) 3

Yeah, they’re fine. Turns out the Packers are just the ’85 Bears.

The Lions had a point to prove on Sunday. Not just after being smothered by Green Bay in Week 1 — they wanted to stick it to Ben Johnson. And boy, did they ever. And it was awesome!

Jared Goff was by far the best QB in football in Week 2, Amon-Ra St. Brown was unguardable, the offense looked like their 2024-selves and it rocked. The defense wasn’t amazing, but they don’t really need to be against a team as inept as the Bears.

They’ve got a real measuring stick game on Monday night in Baltimore. I’m fascinated to see how it plays out.

8 – Buccaneers (2-0)

The Buccaneers are 2-0, but could easily be 0-2. The difference? Baker freaking Mayfield.

The dude is just a stud. He’s a winner. Two game-winning drives in as many weeks against good defenses is remarkably impressive. It’s big time throw after big time run. It’s box office. He’s masking some real issues on that offensive line — which is continuing to take hits as more injuries rack up — and if the season ended today (thank God it doesn’t), he’d be my MVP.

The OL and secondary will be weaknesses for a while. But with Baker and the skill position players humming, they’ll still be able to win a good amount of games.

9 – Colts (2-0) 11

The story of the young 2025 NFL season? Indiana Jones.

Danny Dimes is having a Baker-esque resurgence in Indy, and it’s awesome to see. But more than that, this entire team seems to be rallying around the new life. Jonathan Taylor is running like he’s back at Wisconsin, Tyler Warren has emerged as a real impact rookie and this secondary has been lockdown. Just wait until their front seven gets healthy.

All of a sudden, the Colts are the favorites in the AFC South. What a time to be alive.

10 – Falcons (1-1) 4

It’s a new day in Atlanta: one where the Falcons actually have a defense. And it’s going to propel them this season.

The Falcons lead the league in defensive EPA/play and it’s in large part thanks to how impactful each of their rookies have been on that side of the ball. James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker each sacked JJ McCarthy on Sunday night while Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman both nabbed interceptions. I know it’s still early, but if I’m Terry Fontenot, I’d be posting receipts right now.

Michael Penix Jr. and the passing offense still have some figuring out to do, but Bijan Robinson is taking a massive load off his shoulders. He has probably been the best RB in the league through two weeks. And this schedule really ain’t crazy in the next few weeks. This squad could be in for a massive season if they continue on this trajectory.

11 – Broncos (1-1) 1

Though I picked the Broncos to lose on Sunday, I was impressed with them. They really only lost because of a bone-headed special teams error; despite a subpar game from their defense, Bo Nix bounced back with a fantastic performance to help restore the faith in Denver.

This team is going to be fine. They really just need consistency out of Nix and, apparently, some more level-headed coaching.

12 – Chiefs (0-2) 6

You hear that? Those are the panic alarm bells ringing.

I’ve played devil’s advocate with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for years. I always defend them regardless of circumstance because of the precedent they’ve set. Despite the Rashee Rice suspension and Xavier Worthy injury, the leash feels shorter now. This is simply not the Chiefs team we’ve come to expect.

Travis Kelce drives me nuts. Mahomes can’t hit deep shots. The running game is awful outside of Patrick’s scrambles. The defense is fine, but not nearly elite — hell, it’s the third best in their own division, probably.

They could’ve won on Sunday. Maybe they should’ve. But they didn’t. It’s a regression to the mean. And that’s a concern.

13 – Commanders (1-1) 6

Not all losses are created equal. Thursday night was a shining example of that.

To be honest with you guys, I’ve already flushed that lifeless, listless performance out of my brain. A full weekend of football will help you do that. It’s the lasting effects of this game that have really bogged me down.

Austin Ekeler out for the season, removing a pivotal piece of this offense with no clear replacement (yes, Bill is good, but no one can do what Ekeler does). Deatrich Wise out for the season, leaving behind a massive hole in terms of size and impact off the edge after just two games in DC. Noah Brown and John Bates both dealing with groin injuries that can sideline them for a while, meaning this already stagnant offense is going to struggle even further to move the ball.

And then, the big one. After the worst game of his career, Jayden Daniels is dealing with a sprained knee that could sideline him for a game or two. I will say, that’s way better news than a place like Cincinnati is getting. But it’s still not great. I don’t blame him, I don’t blame the offensive line, I don’t even blame the institution of Thursday Night Football. It’s the nature of the sport. These things happen.

I just hope we err on the side of caution here. Despite not playing in camp or the preseason, Marcus Mariota is a great backup who’s more than capable of beating the Raiders. I know Jayden will hate to sit, but it’s Week 3. What bothers me is that this offense is going to continue to be stuck in neutral with him not practicing. The effects of Terry McLaurin’s absence in camp are clearly hindering this passing game and it drives me nuts. Things might get worse before they get better in DC.

Expectations suck, don’t they?

14 – 49ers (2-0) 5

I have no idea what to do with the 49ers right now. They’re 2-0 with two wins over teams that aren’t in my top-20, have injuries out the wazoo and haven’t looked super impressive. But, neither have many of the teams below them — even some other 2-0 squads!

So, I’m leaving them here while acknowledging that they could go in any number of directions while they get healthy. Because they’re the league’s biggest enigma right now, and I can’t be bothered to try and solve them.

15 – Vikings (1-1) 2

Can I put on my tinfoil hat for a second? Cool, thanks.

I don’t think JJ McCarthy is actually hurt. If you take out one admittedly great quarter in Week 1, he has been the worst quarterback in football. He looks lost, his processing is remarkably slow and he has little-to-no feel in the pocket. But, despite taking some big hits, he seemed like he wasn’t banged up at the end of the game — just upset about his performance.

So, where did this phantom ankle injury come from? No doubt that it could be legit, I just feel like we would’ve had some inclination of a tweak that’s going to sideline him for a month on a national broadcast. Maybe that’s just me.

In any case, it’s the Carson Wentz show in Minny for a month. That’s not very inspiring. But it’s a good opportunity for JJ to recalibrate while Carson tries to keep the ship afloat.

16 – Cowboys (1-1)

Good lord this defense is abysmal. The only team with a worse dropback EPA/play is the Dolphins. Not great company to keep.

Does it matter that the offense is humming right now? Absolutely. That’s a great sign — maybe one that we should’ve expected with Brian Schottenheimer at the helm and a healthy Dak Prescott. But, with the defense performing this poorly against anyone and everyone, I have serious doubts about how seriously we should be taking Dallas right now.

17 – Patriots (1-1) 7

The Pats are another team that I really don’t know where to place.

Was I impressed with their offense, particularly Drake Maye, on Sunday? Absolutely. But they were playing the Dolphins. So, I’m taking it with a grain of salt. I still think this secondary is Swiss cheese, though the defense has been stout against the run up front.

Consistency will be the key to success for New England. Right now, I don’t know if we’re going to see that. But, the upcoming schedule is pretty manageable, so if there was ever a time to get everything on the same page, it’s now.

18 – Texans (0-2) 3

I’m trying my best not to overreact here. The Texans could have been 2-0 at this point. But here we are, 0-2 after a heartbreaker at home on Monday night, staring up at the freaking Colts of all teams. Not great.

It’s the same issues, man. The offensive line is a joke. The running game isn’t good enough to offset the shortcomings in the passing game. CJ Stroud isn’t allowed the time to be his 2023-self, but he just doesn’t look like that version of himself in general. And while the defense is awesome, there’s not much they can do to overcome their offensive ineptitude.

This feels like last year’s Houston team all over again. But now, the division is catching up, and they’re not banking the wins early in the season like they did in 2024. And that’s going to be a problem when they’re scrapping for a playoff spot in three months.

19 – Cardinals (2-0) 2

Scraping your way to 2-0 with two close wins over the Saints and Panthers isn’t very inspiring. It’s not like the Cardinals have come out and dominated these games — I know they were in control against Carolina, but they damn near threw it away in the end, and that concerns me.

I like this team. I think they’re really talented, their defense has honestly been really good so far — not sure what that means against these opponents — and their offense is solid. I’m just not really impressed right now.

20 – Bengals (2-0) 9

It’s over.

For the third time in his six seasons as a pro, Joe Burrow’s season has ended short. I know this turf toe situation isn’t “season ending,” but you and I both know that it essentially is. If he returns by Christmas, what’s the point? Do we really think Jake Browning is going to keep this team in the playoff race?

It just drives me nuts. They don’t even try to improve the offensive line situation, and no matter how many times they try to make it work, it fails and fails and fails again. Burrow deserves better. And I don’t know if he’ll ever get it.

I’ve seen a number of Andrew Luck comparisons out there, and I’m horrified to say that they’re legit. I just hope Joe doesn’t go the Luck route. But, if he did, can you even blame him?

Oh, and they were extremely lucky to win on Sunday, anyways.

21 – Seahawks (1-1) 2

Hey, I guess the Seahawks aren’t that bad after all. Honestly, this game wasn’t very different than Week 1 for me — they still look pretty average on both sides of the ball, but their shorthanded secondary played much better against Pittsburgh, which gives me some more confidence about them.

If the strategy to win games is just to force feed Jaxon Smith-Njigba and let Kenneth Walker do the rest, it’s good enough for me.

22 – Steelers (1-1) 5

So, was the Steelers-Jets Week 1 just a total fugazi for both sides? Certainly seems like the case.

Aaron Rodgers looked like his Jets self rather than his Packers self like he did last week, the run game stunk, the defense continued to get gashed and that special teams error by Kaleb Johnson was inexcusable.

This just doesn’t feel like a very Steelers-like Steelers team. They’ve got some soul-searching to do while they try to figure out who they are.

23 – Raiders (1-1) 5

There’s the dark side of Geno Smith. I don’t know what the problem was on Monday night, but that was one of the worst games I’ve seen Geno play since his career resurgence. And I’m embarrassed as a guy who always advocates for him.

I think the bigger issue is the run game. Ashton Jeanty has been completely invisible through two games and isn’t displaying a modicum of effort in pass pro. It’s really concerning. I know this offensive line isn’t great, but he’s supposed to be that guy. And he just doesn’t look the part through two games.

I’ll shout out the run defense for being crazy good, though. The Patriots and Chargers have two of the worst run games in the league, but that’s been the Raiders’ strong suit early on. We’ll see if they can sustain it.

24 – Jaguars (1-1) 1

Should the Jaguars be 2-0 right now? Probably. Did they deserve to lose on Sunday? Honestly, yeah.

It’s not because of the decision to go for that fourth down at the end of the game. I completely agreed with that call and I don’t think Liam Coen should be catching the flak that he is right now. They should have converted that if Brian Thomas Jr. could catch. Or play football. Which he … just can’t right now.

BTJ is embarrassing himself on the field. He has a clear lack of effort with a glaring unwillingness to absorb contact or try to play receiver remotely effectively. Does he just hate Trevor Lawrence or something? It makes no sense. And if it continues, it will get ugly for him.

Oh, also, that DPI call on Travis Hunter that allowed the Bengals to continue their game-winning drive was a total joke. I feel bad for him.

25 – Giants (0-2) 5

I have no remote idea where Sunday’s offensive explosion came from, but I honestly loved it. It’s easy to root for anyone to do that against Dallas, so thanks, Giants.

Let the record show that I don’t expect this to continue at all. Russell Wilson turning the clock back for a game was cool and all, but that won’t happen against the Chiefs. Or most competent defenses.

And this defense still sucks. They are horrendous against the run and porous at best against the pass. I’m just giving them some respect for what we saw out of their offense, which will undoubtedly come crashing back down soon.

26 – Jets (0-2) 4

Ah, yes. The dreaded return to Earth. Welcome back, Jets! Hope you enjoyed the one game of false hope. I know I did.

27 – Bears (0-2) 1

Two-for-two on cathartic hate watches in 2025. I can always count on you to give me a dopamine hit, Chicago.

Caleb Williams was far from the No. 1 problem for the Bears on Sunday, but he sure as hell wasn’t good, either. The defense is getting ran through like your stomach after gas station sushi, Ben Johnson looks like he’s in way over his skis and they can’t run the ball worth a damn.

If this offense doesn’t look competent against Dallas on Sunday, we shall be declaring this season a lost cause in Chicago.

28 – Titans (0-2) 1

It seems like we’re going to see the epic highs and lows of Cam Ward every week of the season. Yes, he’s going to make plays that drop your jaw. Then he’s going to make plays that make you scream at the television the same way Will Levis did. At least that’s what I expected.

The Titans are good enough to give you a fight, but not good enough to win games right now. This is the worst offense in football with a defense that lacks any impact players, all while coaching continues to be a glaring weakness. It’s going to be a long season in Music City.

29 – Panthers (0-2) 2

I’m going to be honest with y’all. I just don’t feel like talking about this Panthers team.

This OL is embarrassing, Xavier Legette looks like a total bust and Bryce Young starts and ends games so poorly for some reason. Oh, and the defense still stinks. Yawn.

30 – Saints (0-2) 1

Impressive fight! That’s kind of what I expected. Still, it’s not enough.

But hey, Spencer Rattler isn’t that bad and Juwan Johnson is a fantasy beast. Three cheers for that!

31 – Browns (0-2) 3

Ah, there are the Browns we’re used to.

Maybe Sunday’s game was closer than the scoreboard would indicate, and they did a fantastic job of bottling up the run. But it doesn’t matter when your offense is this bad, particularly in the passing game. I do think Quinshon Judkins will give them a boost out of the backfield, but it won’t matter until one of the rookies takes over under center.

32 – Dolphins (0-2)

Yeah, that’s the last time I put my faith in this abomination of a team. Blow it up!