NFL Power Rankings - Week 2
Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots battles against Ronald Darby #28 and Corey Graham #20 of the Buffalo Bills during the second half on September 20, 2015 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. New England defeats Buffalo 40-32.
(Sept. 20, 2015 - Source: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images North America)
1. (1.) New England Patriots (2-0)
QB Tom Brady seems to be in the form of his life at age 38. He threw for 466 yards and 3 touchdowns at the Buffalo Bills. TE Rob Gronkowski leads all receivers with 4 touchdowns on the season.
2. (2.) Green Bay Packers (2-0)
The offense was its usual effective self and the defense showed that they are a force to be reckoned with.
3. (4.) Arizona Cardinals (2-0)
They didn’t play the strongest opponents so far but they got the job done in style. They look like a very well balanced team.
4. (6.) Denver Broncos (2-0)
The Broncos got a bit lucky on Thursday night but the win against the division rivals Kansas City Chiefs was huge.
5. (5.) Dallas Cowboys (2-0)
QB Tony Romo’s injury (out 10 weeks with a broken collarbone) is another big blow for the Dallas Cowboys. The best offensive line in the league will help QB Brandon Weeden but will it be enough to stay atop the NFC East?
6. (8.) Cincinnati Bengals (2-0)
QB Andy Dalton has been outstanding in the first two games, completing 41 of 60 passes for 483 yards, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a passer rating of 120.3.
7. (3.) Seattle Seahawks (0-2)
There will be no more excuses in week 3 against the Chicago Bears. It’s win or bust!
8. (16.) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
The Steelers had the ball for only 23:01 minutes, yet managed to score 43 points against the San Francisco 49ers. That’s efficiency.
9. (9.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)
The Chiefs should have beaten the Denver Broncos on Thursday night but gave away 2 touchdowns in the final minute and squandered a 24-17 lead.
10. (19.) Atlanta Falcons (2-0)
Could it be that we all underestimated the Falcons before the season? Victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants keep them unbeaten and on top of the NFC South.
11. (24.) New York Jets (2-0)
The Jets show how important it is to win the turnover battle. They beat the Cleveland Browns as well as the Indianapolis Colts 5-1 in this category and as a consequence are 2-0.
12. (18.) Carolina Panthers (2-0)
The Carolina Panthers can play defense even without an injured LB Luke Kuechly, holding the Houston Texans to 61 yards on the ground.
13. (13.) San Diego Chargers (1-1)
Tough loss at the Cincinnati Bengals but they will keep the playoff race interesting in the AFC.
14. (7.) Indianapolis Colts (0-2)
QB Andrew Luck has been horrible so far this season. He is 47-of-86 for 493 yards, 3 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a passer rating of 58.9.
15. (21.) Minnesota Vikings (1-1)
The Vikings bounced back from a week 1 loss by defeating the Detroit Lions 26-16. RB Adrian Peterson rushed for 134 yards on 29 carries.
16. (11.) Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
It took the Eagles 45:39 minutes to get on the scoreboard against the Dallas Cowboys and RB DeMarco Murray rushed for just 2 yards on 13 carries against his former teammates.
17. (15.) Detroit Lions (0-2)
It says a lot about the running game when QB Matthew Stafford led the team with 20 yards on the ground.
18. (10.) Baltimore Ravens (0-2)
Giving up 448 total yards at the Oakland Raiders does not bode well for the defense. This is going to be a very long season for the Ravens.
19. (14.) Buffalo Bills (1-1)
Last week the Bills outplayed the Indianapolis Colts; this week the Bills were outplayed by the New England Patriots. The Bills need to be more consistent if they want to end their playoff drought.
20. (12.) Miami Dolphins (1-1)
Apart from a non-existent running game the Dolphins didn’t actually play a bad game but this loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars is definitely a setback.
21. (17.) St. Louis Rams (1-1)
The offense had an off-day and the defense could not stop Washington’s ground attack at all.
22. (20.) San Francisco 49ers (1-1)
Statistically the 49ers put up great numbers but the game at the Pittsburgh Steelers was basically over after 25 minutes. The offensive line left a lot to be desired though, allowing 5 sacks.
23. (22.) Houston Texans (0-2)
QB Ryan Mallet completed 46.6% of his passes for 244 yards and RB Chris Polk rushed for 38 yards on 14 carries. That’s not exactly an explosive offense.
24. (27.) Oakland Raiders (1-1)
The Raiders may have found themselves a gem in rookie WR Amari Cooper. The 4th round pick from Alabama caught 7 passes for 109 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
25. (25.) New York Giants (0-2)
The Giants played a pretty decent game against the Atlanta Falcons but squandered another lead and wound up empty-handed once again.
26. (29.) Cleveland Browns (1-1)
What a day for WR Travis Benjamin. The 4th-year pro caught 3 passes for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also returned 6 punts for 154 yards and 1 touchdown.
27. (23.) New Orleans Saints (0-2)
Maybe the Saints deserve to be further down in the rankings but you have to think that they can play better than they did in their first two games.
28. (31.) Washington Redskins (1-1)
RB Matt Jones has been nothing but stellar so far and takes some pressure of RB Alfred Morris. The rookie rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries and scored 2 touchdowns.
29. (26.) Tennessee Titans (1-1)
You had to feel sorry for QB Marcus Mariota, getting sacked 7 times at the Cleveland Browns.
30. (30.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1)
QB Jameis Winston bounced back from a somewhat dismal performance in week 1. Against the New Orleans Saints he completed 14-of-21 passes for 207 yards, 1 touchdown and a passer rating of 114.6.
31. (32.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)
The Jaguars played much better than they did in week 1. Their defense held the Dolphins to 42 yards on the ground.
32. (28.) Chicago Bears (0-2)
If only the Bears had a Matt Forte for every position on the field. QB Jay Cutler will miss at least two weeks with a hamstring injury.
