W2Mnet NFL Power Rankings: Week One

The bar has been set pretty high after a terrific week one of the National Football League season. Numerous close games, come from behind victories and some unexpected results. Whether it was Carson Wentz or Jimmy Garoppolo‘s first wins, or the Los Angeles Rams not scoring a point on Monday Night Football. It is clear that every week in the NFL is going to bring surprises along with it. Attempting to rank all of these performances is quite the challenge, but the staff here are certainly up to the task. This is the W2Mnet NFL Power Rankings: Week Two.

#1 Denver Broncos

Record: 1-0

the Denver Broncos proved that last year’s Superbowl victory was not a fluke.  The Carolina Panthers had all off-season to prepare on how to counter the Denver’s defense and, while they scored more points, they still didn’t win.  Yes, it came down to a missed field goal, but Denver did all this with a quarterback who had never thrown a NFL pass.  Denver’s defense will carry them this year, but they did last year too and we all know what happened. – Daniel Anderson

(Next Week: vs Indianapolis)

#2 New England Patriots

Record: 1-0

Congratulations to the New England Patriots for winning the AFC East in Week One.  The Patriots went down to Arizona with the second string and took care of business.  No Tom Brady, no Rob Gronkowski, half of the offensive line played by rookies, no problem.  Jimmy Garoppolo looked Brady-lite on Sunday night, getting rid of the ball quickly and not making any mistakes.  Garoppolo found seven different receivers and LaGarrette Blount did a good job pounding the ball up the middle and that defense kept the Arizona Cardinals in check.  An all around team performance for the Patriots who has to scare the league when they get Brady and Gronk back. – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: vs Miami)

#3 Green Bay Packers

Record: 1-0

Welcome back to Jordy Nelson, who returned with six receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.  The offense did exactly what you thought they would.  They were a bit more balanced with Nelson back in the fold and Eddie Lacy rushing well, expect to see them use him a bit more than they did this week however.  The defense showed that they are improved over last year.  They played a tough Jacksonville Jaguars offense and kept them in check, including a late series stop that clinched the game.  – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: @ Minnesota)

#4 Carolina Panthers

Record: 0-1

In perhaps the most physical game of the week, a battered Cam Newton gave Carolina a chance, but Graham Gano couldn’t connect on a long potential game winning field goal. The Super Bowl rematch once again went to Denver, 21-20. Cam Newton was hit hard and often in this game, but at least, Kelvin Benjamin looked sharp in his return from his ACL injury last season. – Mike Mitchell

(Next Week: vs San Francisco)

#5 Arizona Cardinals

Record: 0-1

Everyone thought the Patriots would fall apart without Tom Brady, but that wasn’t the case on this night. New England did just enough to beat Arizona, a team a lot of people had making it to the Super Bowl.  Arizona’s defense has got to play better for Arizona to have a shot at the division this year.  – Daniel Anderson

(Next Week: vs Tampa Bay)

#6 Pittsburgh Steelers

Record: 1-0

The Steelers started slow on Monday Night, but once that offense started clicking, they ran away from the Redskins for a big 38-16 win. The guys you expected, Big Ben, Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams all put up big numbers in the nation’s capital. – Mike Mitchell

(Next Week: vs Cincinnati)

#7 Cincinnati Bengals

Record: 1-0

The Bengals hit a late field goal to pull out a back and forth win against a tough NY Jets team. AJ Green was a monster all day long, proving he’s the man in Cincinnati still. Andy Dalton looked solid, perhaps answering any questions we may have had after last year’s season ending injury. – Mike Mitchell

(Next Week: @ Pittsburgh)

#8 Kansas City Chiefs

Record: 1-0

Who knew Alex Smith could have this kind of performance. The Kansas City Chiefs found themselves down three touchdowns. The defense buckled down and the offense methodically started attacking the Chargers at will on three scoring drives to tie the game. Then, in overtime the Chiefs went down the field and in 10 plays it was a two yard TD run from Smith that sealed the huge comeback for Kansas City. Smith finished the game with 363 yards and three touchdowns and The Chiefs win an important division game to start the season. – Sean Garmer:

(Next Week: @ Houston)

#9 Seattle Seahawks

Record: 1-0

The result of the game was the way we all expected, but not the way it came about.  Seattle’s defense completely shut down Miami, but Seattle had a tough time moving the ball themselves.  The key thing from this game is the right ankle of Russell Wilson, which was twisted badly when he was sacked in the 3rd quarter by Ndamukong Suh.  If he has to miss anytime, the Seahawks could be in real danger.  He is the catalyst that keeps that offense moving, as their offensive line woes continue to glare. – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: @ Los Angeles)

#10 Houston Texans

Record: 1-0

Brock Osweiler throws for 231 yards and two scores, while Lamar Miller gets the ball early and often to rack up 106 yards in a good win at home. Will Fuller became the first Wide Receiver in franchise history to get over 100 yards in his first game for the squad. He could have had more, if he didn’t drop an obvious touchdown. The Texans defense sacked Jay Cutler five times, forced turnovers, and JaDeveon Clowney created havoc too. So far, it seems like all of the off-season moves paid dividends for the Texans. – Sean Garmer

(Next Week: vs Kansas City)

#11 Oakland Raiders

Record: 1-0

The Raiders pulled off an unbelievable comeback down 14 points, to defeat the New Orleans Saints. The Saints also got four touchdowns and 424 yards from Drew Brees in a losing effort. A gutsy decision from head coach Jack Del Rio to go for a two-point conversion late leads to the victory. Amari Cooper gets 137 yards and Derek Carr throws for 319 yards and a score to help on the offensive side, while the defense holds the Saints on the last drive to force a 61 yard Saints field goal that was no good. While the defense didn’t dominate as expected for the Raiders, it was certainly a total team effort on this one. – Sean Garmer:

(Next Week: vs Atlanta)

#12 New York Jets

Record: 0-1

Matt Forte and the New York Jets did everything they could to win the season opener, except make kick.  A blocked 22 yard field goal and a missed extra point were too costly for New York in a tough battle with Cincinnati.  Forte looked solid as the new runner in the backfield, accumulating 155 total yards.  Ryan Fitzpatrick looked well enough, but lacked the ability to make the big plays when needed.  The passing defense got roughed up, giving up 366 passing yards to Andy Dalton and especially AJ Green, even with the Jets recording seven sacks.  Green went to Revis Island and bought a mansion there, because he owned that secondary all game long. – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: @ Buffalo)

#13 New York Giants

Record: 1-0

The Giants squeezed out a win over their bitter rivals the Dallas Cowboys Sunday afternoon by a score of 20 to 19.  The Giants drove down the field in the middle of the fourth quarter to seal the win on a 54 yard drive capped off by a 3 yard pass to Victor Cruz, giving him his first salsa dance in nearly two years. – Brandon Biskobing

(Next Week: vs New Orleans)

#14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Record: 1-0

Jameis Winston showed that the sophomore slump may not affect him, as he threw four touchdown passes en route to the Bucs bearing the Falcons 31-24 – Brandon Biskobing

(Next Week: @ Arizona)

#15 Jacksonville Jaguars

Record: 0-1

Despite the loss, the Jaguars proved that they are the real deal on Sunday.  They went toe to toe with one of the Super Bowl contenders and were in it the entire game.  The defense was much improved and never got burnt for huge plays, and that offense is even more balanced.  There is some worry with Chris Ivory who went to the hospital and was a late scratch.  Not much has been released about him as of this writing, but hopefully all is well there.  The big play was late on a 4th and with 23 seconds to go.  The Jaguars were at the Green Bay 14 and decided to throw a wide receiver screen behind the line of scrimmage which was shut down. – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: @ San Diego)

#16 Minnesota Vikings

Record: 1-0

The ball hawks were in full force on defense for the Vikings on Sunday, scoring two touchdowns off of turnovers.  In the third quarter Eric Kendricks intercepted a pass and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.  In the fourth Danielle Hunter recovered a fumble and took it 24 yards for a touchdown. – Brandon Biskobing

(Next Week: vs Green Bay)

#17 Detroit Lions

Record: 1-0

In the highest scoring game of the week, the Lions and Matthew Stafford traded blows with Andrew Luck but ultimately pulled out some late game heroics for a 39-35 win at Indianapolis. The Detroit offense had a balanced attack and took advantage of a banged up Colts defense to the tune of 448 yards. – Mike Mitchell

(Next Week: vs Tennessee)

#18 Dallas Cowboys

Record: 0-1

The Cowboys played a close game with the New York Giants until the end. Despite a one point loss, the Cowboys’ rookie quarterback Dak Prescott played well and avoided normal rookie mistakes. The Giants shut down Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. Overall, the Cowboys inability to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns cost them a win. – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: @ Washington)

#19 Indianapolis Colts

Record: 0-1

Andrew Luck throws 385 yards and four touchdowns in a game that was devoid of defense. It ultimately came down to who had the ball last and unfortunately for the Colts it wasn’t them. Luck rallied the Colts from 18 points down to take the lead 35-34. Not too bad, for a first game back after missing a lot of last season. Indianapolis is still missing a balanced attack, as Frank Gore only rushed for 59 yards on 14 carries and the depleted defense had a rough time holding down the Lions passing attack. There may be many games like this in The Colts future, if things don’t improve as a whole. – Sean Garmer

(Next Week: @ Denver)

#20 Baltimore Ravens

Record: 1-0

In a grind it out 13-7 win over the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens defense may have shown signs that last year’s injury plagued season was the sole reason for their woes on defense. The Ravens home opener was a stifling performance versus Buffalo . Their running game is still confusing, but they got a big play from new addition Mike Wallace to pull out a win. – Mike Mitchell

(Next Week: @ Cleveland)

#21 Philadelphia Eagles

Record: 1-0

Carson Wentz made his rookie debut as an Eagle on Sunday. He lead the offense with 278 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Wentz should send a thank you letter to the Cleveland Browns defense for not putting up much of a campaign. The Eagles defense held up it’s end of the bargain to finish the game in a victory. This was a good win for the Eagles, but you also have to consider the Browns are a low ranked team as well. – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: @ Chicago)

#22 Miami Dolphins

Record: 0-1

It was a game of missed opportunities for the Dolphins. They had quite a few possible scoring opportunities squandered, including a long surefire touchdown pass, which was dropped by Kenny Stills. The Seahawks also blocked a 27 yard Field Goal as well. Ryan Tannehill did have the only touchdown for the Dolphins, but until that drive, they couldn’t muster anything going forward. On the bright side, the defense looked stout and controlled Russell Wilson for almost the entire game. They just couldn’t do it on the final drive, which gave the Seahawks the 12-10 victory. – Sean Garmer

(Next Week: @ New England)

#23 Washington Redskins

Record: 0-1

Monday night proved to be a tough night for the Washington Redskins. Kirk Cousins was very limited on his chances down field as the Steelers took away the big play  Antonio Brown avoided Josh Norman most of the night; which hurt the Redskins as they struggled to stop Brown. DeAngelo Williams also hurt Washington’s defense. The Redskins played a very good team, but they lost in a big way. – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: vs Dallas)

#24 New Orleans Saints

Record: 0-1

Same story different day in New Orleans.  The Saints offense, led by the great Drew Brees, scored a bunch of points on Sunday.  Sadly, the defense allowed Oakland to score more.  Brees is going to be in a shoot out every week and he will put up great numbers personally, but the team will not win many games with the defense playing like they did this past week.  Right now, I would put them last in the division solely because of the defense. – Daniel Anderson

(Next Week: @ NY Giants)

#25 Tennessee Titans

Record: 0-1

Tennessee’s defense did not give up a touchdown and held Adrian Peterson to 31 yards rushing. However, Tennessee still lost. Marcus Mariota threw for two touchdowns and one interception as well.  Unfortunately, turnovers did Tennessee in against Minnesota.  This is a decent team that will compete week in and week out, but if they keep turning the ball over they will keep losing. – Daniel Anderson

(Next Week: @ Detroit)

#26 Buffalo Bills

Record: 0-1

A day that Buffalo Bills’ fans would rather forget about.  The Bills lose a tough defensive battle where they were only able to muster 160 total yards of offense.  Tyrod Taylor could only get the dump off passes to work, only averaging five yards an attempt.  I have had tons of questions about this offense, and all of the answers coming out of Week One are negative. – Randy Isbelle

(Next Week: vs NY Jets)

#27 San Francisco 49ers

Record: 1-0

After all of the talk about things off the field and before the game, the 49ers were able to finally focus on things on the field on Monday night, and showed everyone that they might not be as bad as everyone thought when they dominated the Los Angeles Rams. – Brandon Biskobing

(Next Week: @ Carolina)

#28 Atlanta Falcons

Record: 0-1

Atlanta’s offense did fairly well, but the defense, and penalties, kept Atlanta from a big division win.  The Falcons gave up four passing TDs to Winston.  It is hard to win a game when you give up that many points.  Realistically the Falcons are probably one more year away from contending for the division.  – Daniel Anderson

(Next Week: @ Oakland)

#29 Chicago Bears

Record: 0-1

The Bears struggled against the Houston Texans, losing 23-14.  Jay Cutler only threw one touchdown while also throwing an interception.  The rushing game was almost non-existent, with Bears running backs only accumulating 73 yards on the ground. – Brandon Biskobing

(Next Week: vs Philadelphia)

#30 Los Angeles Rams

Record: 0-1

The Los Angeles Rams made their debut on Monday night. That just happened to be the most exciting thing coming out of this game for the Rams. Outside of that, this organization got blanked. Their offense was non-existent and their defense made Carlos Hyde look great. It seems as though, LA has more questions to answer coming out of their first game than they did after preseason..  – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: vs vs Seattle)

#31 San Diego Chargers

Record: 0-1

To the surprise of many, the San Diego Chargers jumped on the scoreboard with three touchdowns in the first half. Though, the tide would turn as the Kansas City Chiefs would make a strong comeback. Despite fighting to keep their lead, the Chargers fell apart in the fourth quarter as the Chiefs Alex Smith would fall into the end zone to crush the Chargers hopes. We learned that the Chargers are still a score driven offense with a subpar defense.. – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: vs Jacksonville)

#32 Cleveland Browns

Record: 0-1

The Cleveland Browns hoped Robert Griffin III would be the quarterback to raise them to a higher level. What they got in this game was a quarterback who only passed for 190 yards and an interception. The Browns struggled to get an offensive rhythm going. On defense the Browns had no answers. This team is not proving to be as good as they need to be. – Gary Vaughan

(Next Week: vs Baltimore)