NFL Power Rankings Week 1: Overrated Teams That Will Be Exposed in Week 2

The bulk of the 2012 NFL season's second week is fast approaching, and there are a ton of teams champing at the bit for kickoff.

While some teams are looking to atone for a Week 1 letdown, others are hoping to build on a momentum-shifting victory last week.

Unfortunately, some of those teams were one-week wonders that will fail to live up to expectations in Week 2.

With that in mind, here is a look at how every team ranks, along with an expansive look at those teams that will get exposed this week.

1. New England Patriots (1-0)

If the balanced attack we saw Week 1 is any indication of the Patriots' game plan for the rest of the season, the rest of the AFC may already be playing for second place.

With Brandon Lloyd stretching the field, the team's two star tight ends grabbing balls down the middle and Stevan Ridley manning the backfield, this could be the most talented offense of Tom Brady's career.

2. San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

Though it was a banner win for the 49ers, the Green Bay Packers' poor performance on Thursday does put a slight damper on San Francisco's opening-week victory.

We'll have to see how this team performs on a national stage against the Detroit Lions this week before making a full evaluation. Nevertheless, the 49ers looked like the best team in the NFC by a pretty wide margin last Sunday, and I expect a similar performance this week.

3. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)

After a sensational offensive performance on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, many are ready to anoint the Ravens as Super Bowl contenders.

Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens were seemingly in the end zone every time down the field.

It's been unquestioned that the biggest weakness in Baltimore has always been the offense, and with Flacco possibly emerging, this could be finally be the season it all comes together.

Unfortunately, that won't happen this week against the Eagles. Though the Philadelphia offense looked terrible in Week 1, its defense still eviscerated Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden.

Flacco is historically a far worse quarterback on the road than at home, and Philly will undoubtedly come out looking for a statement win against the Ravens.

Look for Baltimore to struggle offensively and come away with a tough loss on Sunday.

4. Houston Texans (1-0)

The Texans look every bit as dangerous on both sides of the ball as they were last season before Matt Schaub went down with an injury. If the team can solve its offensive line problems, there are few holes on Houston's roster.

If you're looking for a sleeper Super Bowl contender, look no further.

5. Green Bay Packers (1-1)

Though the Packers came away victorious on Thursday night against the Chicago Bears, it was one of the ugliest wins of the Aaron Rodgers era.

However, the team did not show enough to move up or look bad enough to tumble.

6. Atlanta Falcons (1-0)

The Falcons would have been one of the week's trendiest risers if it weren't for cornerback Brent Grimes going down with an injury.

Look for Atlanta to miss him more than expected Monday night against the Denver Broncos and for the team's secondary to be exposed.

Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan's system relies heavily on three cornerbacks taking care of the outside, and it's still questionable whether any player on the roster can handle nickel duties.

Peyton Manning looked almost prime-worthy last week against the Steelers—a team that gave up a league-best 171.9 passing yards a game in 2011. With Atlanta still searching for answers at the third cornerback spot, look for them to take a huge loss against the Broncos and fall out of Super Bowl contention talks.

7. Dallas Cowboys (1-0)

After a huge win against the inter-division rival New York Giants, heading to Seattle could present a trap game for the Cowboys.

Luckily for Dallas, the Seahawks have far too many roster problems to present a threat. The Cowboys looked in midseason form in Week 1 and should do so again on Sunday.

8. Denver Broncos (1-0)

Watching Manning pick apart the Steelers last week was an absolute thing of beauty for anyone who appreciates the quarterback position.

To show absolutely no rust after nearly 20 months of being out is astounding. The scariest part is that Manning will only get better the rest of the season.

9. New York Giants (0-1)

We are just one game through the 2012 NFL season and some are already throwing around the Super Bowl hangover superlative for the Giants. Look for all of that talk to subside this week as the Giants will course-correct against an up-and-coming Tampa Bay Buccaneers team on Sunday.

10. New York Jets (1-0)

You'll have to forgive me if I am not sold on the Jets' new-found offensive firepower.

Though quarterback Mark Sanchez looked great against the Buffalo Bills, completing 19-of-27 passes for three touchdowns against just one interception, we still saw many glaring holes in his game.

Most notable among those was the interception, where Sanchez threw an ill-advised five-yard shuffle pass that got tipped and ultimately wound up in the hands of the defender. If the Jets' signal-caller could curtail those boneheaded mistakes, he could be a serviceable NFL quarterback.

Unfortunately for New York fans, we're in year four of the Sanchez experiment, and he's yet to eliminate those mistakes.

Against an aggressive defense like Pittsburgh, expect the Jets offense to look far more like its preseason version than the one we saw last Sunday.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)

There are a ton of questions on this Steelers team heading into Week 2, especially on the offensive line and at running back.

Nevertheless, the Steelers have a myriad of strengths that other teams would kill for and should be fine going forward.

12. Chicago Bears (1-1)

After an abjectly terrible performance Thursday night, it seems that many are once again off the Jay Cutler bandwagon. And as a result, hopping off the Bears bandwagon as well.

This, of course, is an overreaction. Cutler has been and always will be a hit-or-miss type quarterback. It just so happened that on Thursday, Cutler missed. Badly.

13. Washington Redskins (1-0)

After looking sensational in his pro debut, Robert Griffin III will get another relatively easy matchup this week against the St. Louis Rams.

Look for the Redskins to start the season 2-0 and Rookie of the Year talks to take over the beltway.

14. San Diego Chargers (1-0)

Though the Chargers offense seemingly lacked explosion in the absence of injured running back Ryan Mathews and departed wide receiver Vincent Jackson, the team's run defense looked top-notch.

Despite trying to get the ball in his hands in the pass game, Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden gained just 32 yards on 15 carries.

Another difficult matchup is on tap against Chris Johnson Sunday, so we'll get a glimpse of whether this run-stuffing ability was a one-week blip.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)

After locking down second-year star Cam Newton and his high-powered Carolina Panthers offense, all signs are pointing up for the Bucs heading into Week 2.

16. Detroit Lions (1-0)

Costly over-aggression in Week 1 nearly cost the Lions a winnable game against the St. Louis Rams last week.

After leading the NFL with nine dropped interceptions last season, quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed three interceptions on Sunday, including a pick-six to Cortland Finnegan.

For the Lions to have any shot at a victory over the 49ers on Sunday, they will need to recapture their offensive explosion without turning the ball over.

Considering how poorly Rodgers played against San Francisco in Week 1, that isn't likely.

Look for a huge 49ers victory followed by talks of regression coming out of Detroit next week.

17. New Orleans Saints (0-1)

Look for New Orleans to ascend back into the top half of the power rankings next week as the team's loss to the Redskins last week will prove to be a one-week glitch. Losing Sean Payton undoubtedly hurts the Saints, but he doesn't mean enough to make the New Orleans fall out of playoff contention in Week 2.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)

Though I am 100 percent comfortable in picking the Eagles to beat the Ravens this week, they sure made me question making that pick public in Week 1.

Philly faced off against the worst starting quarterback in football, the Cleveland Browns' Weeden, and somehow came away just one-point victors.

As always, the Eagles continue to frustrate.

19. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)

With a cavalcade of young offensive talent and a decent defense, the Bengals are nowhere near as bad as they looked on Monday night.

Look for a bounce back from Andy Dalton and A.J. Green this week against the lowly Browns.

20. Carolina Panthers (0-1)

Simply put, you cannot run the ball 12 times on a weekly basis and expect to win football games—especially when there are three talented running backs on the roster.

21. Arizona Cardinals (1-0)

Kevin Kolb gets the start at quarterback this Sunday due to John Skelton's injury, so it looks like the quarterback carousel has only just begun in Arizona.

Regardless of which guy starts, neither one will be good enough to make the Cardinals contenders in 2012.

22. Minnesota Vikings (1-0)

Week 1 saw running back Adrian Peterson come back from a devastating knee injury and look 100 percent. And with Christian Ponder seemingly taking a mini-leap in his second season, some are predicting a better-than-expected season in Minnesota.

A tilt against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday will be the game that proves otherwise. Three-point favorites on the road, look for the Vikings secondary to get exposed as rookie Andrew Luck makes up for a disappointing opening-week performance.

Despite Peterson's heroics and Ponder's improvement, this is still a team that has a long way to go before becoming relevant.

A win against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars certainly does not change that.

23. Oakland Raiders (0-1)

If we were covering underrated teams that should vault up the power rankings next week, Oakland would be at the top of my list.

Costly penalties and bad long snapping were the only two reasons the Raiders lost to the Chargers on Monday night.

Both the offense and defense were both strong and the team should get an easy win this week in Miami.

24. Kansas City Chiefs (0-1)

After looking equal parts playoff contender and terrible against the Falcons last week, we will likely get a better glimpse at what the true identity of the Chiefs this week.

A win in Buffalo likely means Kansas City is a middle-of-the-road fringe playoff team, while a loss will signal a slew of Matt Barkley rumors.

25. St. Louis Rams (0-1)

All it took was one week to see the massive difference that Jeff Fisher has already made in St. Louis. If the team continues to trend upward during the regular season, the Rams could be a strong late-season spoiler team.

26. Buffalo Bills (0-1)

On the bright side, at least only $24 million of Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract is actually guaranteed. Unfortunately, that won't help solve the Bills' quarterback woes this season.

27. Seattle Seahawks (0-1)

Russell Wilson did not live up to all of his preseason hype in Week 1, but he did not do anything to lose the game for Seattle, either. Had his receivers held onto the ball in the red zone, it's likely that the Seahawks would be 1-0 heading into their game against Dallas on Sunday.

28. Tennessee Titans (0-1)

Much has been made about Chris Johnson's 11-carry, four-yard performance last week and for good reason.

Nevertheless, quarterback Jake Locker looked vastly improved in Week 1, and that is truly the situation that bears watching going forward.

Getting an actual franchise quarterback goes a long way toward masking a terrible running game.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)

The franchise is nowhere near competing for a playoff spot, but at least Maurice Jones-Drew still looked good in Week 1.

30. Indianapolis Colts (0-1)

No one should have expected Andrew Luck to come out and play at Robert Griffin III's level in Week 1. There are simply too many holes on Indianapolis' offense that don't exist in Washington, and 2012 will likely be a rough season for the No. 1 pick.

Regardless, it will serve as a valuable learning experience and Luck will develop into a marvelous NFL quarterback.

31. Miami Dolphins (0-1)

At least we'll always have Hard Knocks.

32. Cleveland Browns (0-1)

While everyone seems ready to pile on Brandon Weeden for his horrendous Week 1 performance, it seems that running back Trent Richardson is getting an undeserved pass.

Either way, it's beginning to look a lot like two wasted first-round picks for the Browns.