NFL Power Rankings: Week 2 Edition

Week 1 of the 2019 NFL regular season schedule is already in the books! Now it’s time to see how all 32 teams stack up. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.

BLG’S WEEK 2 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - New England Patriots (Last week: 1) - The Patriots were the best team in the league before adding Antonio Brown. Now they have him. One can only hope AB finds a way to tear the team apart but it’s probably not going to happen.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2) - Patrick Mahomes is very good at football.

3 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 3) - The Saints looked a little shaky despite ultimately beating Houston on Monday Night Football. This team is still good but they’re hardly invulnerable.

4 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 4) - The Eagles overcame a slow start by exploding for 25 points in the second half of their win over Washington. Concerns about Philly’s defense might not matter so much if the offense can pick up the slack. Carson Wentz looking like the 2017 version of himself is very encouraging for the Eagles’ outlook. The Wentz to DeSean Jackson connection is going to cause some real problems for opponents.

5 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 5) - Jared Goff did not play well in Carolina but Todd Gurley was able to help bail him out by logging 6.9 yards per carry. Nice.

6 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 6) - The Bolts don’t need Melvin Gordon. Austin Ekeler went off for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 20 offensive touches.

7 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 8) - Matt LaFleur’s offense left much to be desired but the Packers are always a threat with Aaron Rodgers around. And that Green Bay defense is looking good early on thanks to the addition of pass rushers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith.

8 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 10) - Lamar Jackson looked great against a high school defense. He’ll be tested more by actual NFL defenses. Having Hollywood Brown on his side will surely help him.

9 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 7) - The Seahawks should’ve been able to beat Cincy at home by more than one point. Brian Schottenheimer is neutering Russell Wilson.

10 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 13) - Everyone’s making a big deal out of the Cowboys’ offense having a big day against a terrible Giants defense. You’d really hate to see the Cowboys overreact to this performance and reward Dak Prescott with a bloated contract.

11 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 14) - The Vikings were able to rely on their running game this time but they aren’t going to regularly be able to win games where Kirk Cousins only attempts 10 passes.

12 - Houston Texans (LW: 15) - Deshaun Watson’s incredible comeback effort for was naught. Houston is flawed but Watson is going to give them a chance to win games regardless.

13 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 19) - I think I buy Mike Vrabel as a good head coach. The Titans could conceivably win the AFC South this year.

14 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 9) - The Falcons were down 28-0 prior to scoring some garbage time touchdowns in Minnesota. Maybe Atlanta should stop hiring bad offensive coordinators.

15 - Chicago Bears (LW: 13) - The Chicago defense is still good but Mitchell Trubisky is still bad. The Bears are only going to be so good with Trubisky holding them back.

16 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 16) - Cam Newton struggling might not bode well for the Panthers’ season outlook. At least he has the uber productive Christian McCaffrey to help him out.

17 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 11) - The Steelers are now 4-10 against the Pats in the Ben Roethlisberger era. Only one of those wins came on the road and it was in 2008 when Matt Cassel was starting in place of an injured Tom Brady.

18 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 18) - If Week 1 was any indication, the Colts aren’t going down easy just because Andrew Luck retired. They’ve got fight in them.

19 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 22) - Jimmy G wasn’t great but he didn’t need to be since the Bucs’ quarterback was even worse. This team still has a lot to prove.

20 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 24) - Buffalo’s defense is legit. Josh Allen’s limitations put a cap on this team’s ceiling, though.

21 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 30) - Apparently everyone was too down on the Bengals! Cincy deserves credit for going into Seattle and only leaving with a one-point loss. Moral victories can count for something in the power rankings.

22 - New York Jets (LW: 21) - The Jets missed an extra point and a 45-yard field goal in a one-point loss. Could’ve been worse but they’ve got to find a way to get that fixed.

23 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 20) - Nick Foles will miss at least eight weeks as he recovers from a broken clavicle. The good news is that Gardner Minshew showed promise in relief of BDN. Can the sixth-round rookie keep it up?

24 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 29) - The Raiders are not the worst team in the AFC West, so they have that going for them.

25 - Detroit Lions (LW: 23) - Matt Patricia’s a big coward and a bad head coach. In fairness to the Lions, hiring former Patriots assistants typically works out well.

26 - Denver Broncos (LW: 25) - Where’s this team really going with Joe Flacco under center?

27 - Washington Redskins (LW: 27) - Washington was up 20-7 at halftime before giving up 25 unanswered points to Philly. This team has some pieces but not nearly enough to complete the entire puzzle.

28 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 28) - Jameis Winston ain’t it, chief. 55.6% completion, 5.6 yards per attempt, 1 TD, 3 INT, 45.4 passer rating against San Fran. Winston’s contract’s is up after 2019 and the Bucs can’t possibly plan to extend him. That’d be as dumb as trading up to draft a kicker in the second round.

29 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 31) - The Cards deserve some credit for fighting back against Detroit. Kliff Kingsbury also deserves to be ripped for PUNTING THE BALL FROM HIS OPPONENT’S 46-YARD LINE WITH 1:10 TO GO IN OVERTIME. What a coward. Remember how the Cards touted how Kingsbury is friends with Sean McVay after hiring him? I guess that’s where Kliff learned cowardice from.

30 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 17) - Shame on me for giving Cleveland some benefit of the doubt. They sure looked like the same old Browns on Sunday.

31 - New York Giants (LW: 26) - Eli Manning is now 116-115 as a starter. He’s going to finish his career with a losing record. You really putting that guy in the Hall of Fame? Also, the Giants’ defense is trash. How many players would anyone really want from this group?

32 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 32) - It’s gonna be a long season for the Dolphins as they aim to tank for the No. 1 overall pick. To better put their ineptitude in perspective: