NFL Power Rankings 1

NFL Power Rankings

After Week 1

NOTE: Previous ranking is noted in the first parenthesis, which in this case was from my Early 2014 rankings, which I did last winter after the Super Bowl.

1. (1) Seattle Seahawks (1-0) – The defending champs sure look like champs once again. Despite losing free agents on defense, they still looked physical and tough. Holding Aaron Rodgers to 16 points was impressive. But I was more impressed with their offense, an area I thought they might struggle. Wilson did what he needed and the running game was beastly.

2. (2) Denver Broncos (1-0) – They let off the gas in the second half, but Manning and the Broncos owned the Colts. Their defense looks improved and the offense seems just as dangerous. The newcomers played well in their first game.

3. (3) San Francisco 49ers (1-0) – San Fran forced turnovers and routinely took advantage on their way to a dominant road win at Dallas. Similar to Denver, they let off the gas in the second half, but still won with ease.

4. (11) Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) – Picking the fourth best team after week 1 was tough. I thought there was a clear top 3, but nobody else really impressed me. The Bengals though did win at Baltimore, which is always tough.

5. (12) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) – Don’t know what happened in the first half with Philly, but the second half is what we expected all along. 34-0 in the last 30 minutes…

6. (15) Atlanta Falcons (1-0) – They’re back… Finally healthy again, the Falcons looked like the team that dominated the NFC for years up until 2013. Matt Ryan looked very sharp.

7. (7) New Orleans Saints (0-1) – Winning at Atlanta is not something that teams do over the last 5 years (except last year). New Orleans was very close to pulling it off, losing by a field goal in OT. They’ll be just fine though.

8. (8) Arizona Cardinals (1-0) – The Cardinals will likely be fighting an uphill battle all year since they are in the same division as Seattle and San Francisco. But they took a much-needed step and won their first week. They didn’t wake up on offense until late, but the defense was solid from start to finish.

9. (16) Detroit Lions (1-0) – The Giants have been bad in the preseason and they were again last. But Detroit looked solid on both sides of the ball. Stafford in particular looked sharp and in control. They are the class of the NFC North after week 1.

10. (5) Carolina Panthers (1-0) – Even without Cam, they Panthers went on the road and beat Tampa Bay, a team that everyone fell in love with over the summer. Cam should be back this week, which will surely kick start the offense.

11. (4) New England Patriots (0-1) – Things looked good for a while, but they fell apart late against Miami. I still believe they are a top ten team, but I’ll place them just outside that for now.

12. (7) Green Bay Packers (0-1) – I didn’t expect them to beat Seattle on the road, but they didn’t look great in the process. What I said about New England holds true here though.

13. (9) Indianapolis Colts (0-1) – Doomed after a slow start, but Luck found a way to make it close at the end. Losing Mathis for the season hurts though.

14. (21) Miami Dolphins (1-0) – Very impressive win in week 1. I was digging their offense, particularly the way their O-line was manhandling the Pats in the run game. Looks much improved from last season.

15. (18) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) – They would have been much higher had the second half not taken place against Cleveland. But the offense was solid and the questions about Marcus Wheaton were answered: he’s legit.

16. (10) San Diego Chargers (0-1) – Lost a heartbreaker last night on the road to Arizona. Did everything right until the fourth quarter. But they proved to me they are the biggest hurtle inside the division for Denver this season.

17. (24) Buffalo Bills (1-0) – One of the most impressive wins in Week 1 was Buffalo, who won on the road in Chicago. The defense held the mighty offense to 20 points, and Manuel managed the game well. The running game was great too, especially CJ Spiller.

18. (13) Chicago Bears (0-1) – One loss isn’t everything, but that loss could bite them in the butt later this season. Four of their next five are on the road, with Green Bay at home in the middle. Tough sledding.

19. (25) New York Jets (1-0) – The defense carried them, as usual, but Smith looked more in control than a year ago (82% completion percentage). Ivory and Johnson did some nice things in the run game also.

20. (20) Baltimore Ravens (0-1) – Lost at home to a division rival by giving up a bomb TD to their best player. Ouch. Flacco needs to do better, as he threw 62 times but only completed 35 of them.

21. (29) Tennessee Titans (1-0) – Winning at Kansas City is a great way to start the season. Plus, Locker managed to stay healthy through one game so far...

22. (30) Minnesota Vikings (1-0) – Offensive explosion from the Vikings, despite average play from Cassel at QB. The defense was great too, although it was against a weak offense.

23. (28) Houston Texans (1-0) – A win to start the O’Brien era. Losing Clowney for a while is a big loss though.

24. (19) Dallas Cowboys (0-1) – Romo was bad, as was the defense. Both need to bounce back, but only Romo will. Defense will remain poor.

25. (23) Cleveland Browns (0-1) – Great fight against the Steelers as they nearly came back from a massive hole. Josh Gordon may also be on his way back, which is crazy to think about.

26. (17) Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) – Lost at home, to a mediocre team, and lost two starters on defense for the season. Not an ideal way to start the season.

27. (31) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) – Feel apart in the second half but showed promise for 30 minutes. Allen Hurns seems to be a nice diamond in the rough they got post-draft.

28. (27) Washington Redskins (0-1) – They looked ugly, but they have talent. Can they get it all together?

29. (14) St. Louis Rams (0-1) – Not only have they lost Bradford, but Shaun Hill may be injured too. Is it time to start thinking about which QB they want to draft in 2015?

30. (26) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) – The defense didn’t look too bad on Sunday, but the offense was atrocious. That’s not what we expected from everyone’s darling pick in the NFC.

31. (32) Oakland Raiders (0-1) – They showed heart and this was only Carr’s first start. They’ll get better.

32. (22) New York Giants (0-1) – They continued to look bad as they did all preseason. Eli is getting frustrated, and he doesn’t even look good anymore. Could be a long year for the G-men.

By: The Sports Guys