NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Latest 2016 Standings and Reaction for All 32 Teams

The first week of the 2016 NFL regular season is a thing of the past. The action ended with a pair of Monday night games—the Washington Redskins hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Los Angeles Rams.

With Monday's games complete, we've now had the opportunity to see all 32 teams in action. The season is still young, but we have our first tangible taste of these squads in 2016.

Some things went as expected in Week 1. The Steelers offense is still explosive, even without Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant. The Denver Broncos defense looks good enough to make the team a playoff contender with Trevor Siemian at quarterback.

There were some surprises in the first week of action, though. The Philadelphia Eagles and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz look like they can compete in the NFC East after all. The 49ers crushed the Rams on Monday night, which could mean San Francisco is better than expected or L.A. is worse than we thought—the truth is probably somewhere in between.

We're now going to examine our power rankings following Monday night's games and address some of what we learned this past week.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Denver Broncos	1-0
2	New England Patriots	1-0
3	Carolina Panthers	0-1
4	Pittsburgh Steelers	1-0
5	Arizona Cardinals	0-1
6	Green Bay Packers	1-0
7	Cincinnati Bengals	1-0
8	Seattle Seahawks	1-0
9	Houston Texans	1-0
10	Minnesota Vikings	1-0
11	Kansas City Chiefs	1-0
12	Detroit Lions	1-0
13	Oakland Raiders	1-0
14	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1-0
15	New York Giants	1-0
16	Indianapolis Colts	0-1
17	New York Jets	0-1
18	Jacksonville Jaguars	0-1
19	New Orleans Saints	0-1
20	Baltimore Ravens	1-0
21	Miami Dolphins	0-1
22	Atlanta Falcons	0-1
23	Philadelphia Eagles	1-0
24	San Francisco 49ers	1-0
25	Washington Redskins	0-1
26	Dallas Cowboys	0-1
27	Buffalo Bills	0-1
28	Chicago Bears	0-1
29	San Diego Chargers	0-1
30	Tennessee Titans	0-1
31	Los Angeles Rams	0-1
32	Cleveland Browns	0-1

Notable Rankings

1. Denver Broncos

The Broncos didn't produce the most dominant victory of the opening weekend—heck, they needed a missed field goal to win at home. Therefore, we'll briefly explain the team's position at the top of the rankings.

Simply put, these are the Super Bowl champions. Until the Broncos start losing, it's difficult to knock them off the top spot. The Broncos were strong enough to win over a very talented Carolina Panthers team, even in Trevor Siemian's first start. That shouldn't be overlooked.

Yes, Peyton Manning was a shadow of his former self last season, and his role in the Super Bowl was minor. However, Manning brought a plethora of football experience to the proverbial table. Siemian just got his first pro start against another playoff-caliber Panthers defense.

Siemian wasn't perfect, but he did enough to support a strong ground attack and stifling defense. These might not be the same two teams that played in Super Bowl 50, but the Broncos and Panthers are still two of the best in the league.

Denver got the win in Week 1. As Siemian and the new-look offense grow, so too could Denver's ability to win on the field.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

We're only one week in, but the Steelers look like a team that can compete for a Super Bowl if healthy. Against Washington, Pittsburgh rolled on offense and played well enough on defense that Kirk Cousins and Co. couldn't keep up.

This will likely be the strategy for the Steelers this season. Though Pittsburgh does have some emerging defensive talent, especially in the front seven, the defense isn't going to shut teams down. It doesn't have to, though, as the offense remains lethal—even without its suspended weapons.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 300 yards, DeAngelo Williams rushed for 143 yards and two scores, and the Steelers made the defending NFC East champs writhe in their wake. The game never even felt close—while the Pittsburgh defense did allow yardage, it limited the Redskins to field goals on their first three scoring drives.

Redskins cornerback Josh Norman commented, “They took us behind the woodshed today and wore our tail out,” per Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. “A good old-fashioned butt-whipping, that’s what it was. Can’t take anything away from that. Hats off to them.”

This is a Steelers team that will be tough to beat at full strength. The offense has the firepower to slice through all but the most elite defenses. If the Pittsburgh defense can play at even an average level, it'll be hard for anyone to keep pace on the scoreboard.

31. Los Angeles Rams

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Part of the reason the Rams traded up to select California quarterback Jared Goff is that the team believed it could be a playoff contender now. With a defense that was rated seventh overall by Pro Football Focus in 2015 and a stud running back in Todd Gurley, that idea didn't seem like a stretch.

Unless the 49ers prove to be a surprise playoff contender, it's looking like Los Angeles is incredibly far from contention.

The Rams presented a soul-sucking display of offense against San Francisco on Monday night. Goff didn't play well enough in the preseason to even dress against the 49ers, and Case Keenum got the start at quarterback because he was supposed to give the team its best chance to win.

The Keenum-led offense produced just 185 net yards on the night.

The 49ers defense simply stacked the box against Gurley, who averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, and dared Keenum to beat them. He couldn't, and the San Francisco offense hit enough big plays to run off with a 28-0 victory.

Are the Rams really that bad? Probably not. However, the team is going to have to dig itself out of the rankings basement because right now, the offense is just too laughable. The team continued to lean on short, uninventive sideline throws with few positive outcomes. This unit has no upside, which means Goff will probably be getting on the field sooner than later.

Once the Rams show they can at least put up points, they can start climbing away from Cleveland Browns territory.