Pittsburgh Steelers Top Week One NFL Power Rankings

RealSportsTalk Sep 21, 2009

1. Pittsburgh Steelers -

You know they showed their true colors on Opening Night against a tough Titan team. Tough defense, hard-nosed running game, 4th quarter comeback = Steeler football. No reason to move the defending champs down at all after that performance.

2. New York Giants -

The Giants showed that they don't need Plaxico Burress to win decisively against a good team, when they rolled over the Redskins. The score didn't reflect the dominance in all facets of the game that the football Giants exhibited. Big statement.

3. New England Patriots -

It's easier for me to believe that the Bills are a much-improved team, and not that the Patriots have declined that far. That game was scary close, and the Pats only scratched out a win because of an amazing amount of luck and pitiful mistakes on the part of the opposition. Tom Brady and company looked better than ever, but the losses of modern Patriot legends Richard Seymour, Tedi Bruschi, and Rodney Harrison seem to indeed be having an adverse effect on the defense.

4. Philadelphia Eagles -

The Eagles made the Panthers look like a Junior Varsity team. There's not much more to say than that. It was no contest. McNabb's injury is cause for concern, but the signing of Garcia numbs the pain a bit.

5. Atlanta Falcons -

Absolutely crushed a playoff team. Prized LT Jake Long was abused by John Abraham, and really there wasn't much to take out of this game from the Dolphins' perspective. What we can say is that this Falcons team is for real. They dominated offensively with very little production at all from a top 10 back in Turner. That says something.

6. Indianapolis Colts -

Looks to be a definite contender once again this year. This team doesn't have the defense to carry a team with anything but an explosive offense...Peyton has got to have another MVP type year, and be able to carry that into the playoffs.

7. Minnesota Vikings -

I love this team very, very much with a good QB. They beat the hell out of the Browns last week with Adrian Peterson putting on an MVP caliber performance. If Favre can carry this to the late season, the Vikings are primed to make a big time postseason run.

8. San Diego Chargers -

Nothing on offense looked particularly impressive even against a thought-to-be weaksauce Raider defense with bad calls by the refs and rookie mistakes by JaMarcus Russell being the only two things between the Chargers and a devastating Week One loss to a division rival. I think this week was a wake-up call for the Chargers, who should be on their way to coasting to a division win.

9. Baltimore Ravens -

Even against the Chiefs, you can't deny that the offense looked explosive and many more dimensional than last year. That combined with the famous Raven defense will get them to the playoffs again; maybe beyond.

10. New Orleans Saints -

Another win for the Saints, another vintage Drew Brees performance. Nothing to worry about on the offensive side, the defense is what needs to step it up for this team to make noise this year.

11. Tennessee Titans -

They took the Super Bowl champions down to the wire, but did not look impressive while doing so, if you know what I mean. Kerry Collins made some downright terrible decisions, and Chris Johnson wasn't his usual self.

12. Green Bay Packers -

I wasn't expecting much out of this team in 2009, but they made some kind of first impression against the Bears on Sunday night. The question mark heading into the season was the defense, and they definitely looked sharp, so who knows.

13. Dallas Cowboys -

Roy Williams showed everyone what he was capable of, putting up some gaudy numbers in the absence of T.O. Romo broke 300 yards which is always a good sign. For me to put real stock into this team, I need to see them dominate like this against a real team...and not an Arena League squad.

14. New York Jets -

Mark Sanchez looked amazing in his first start, beyond, I think, all Jets' fans' wildest wet dreams. Every no-name on the defense was bringing pressure, Kris Jenkins was throwing people around, and all around just a very, very convincing overall performance. Is it POSSIBLE that this team bites the Pats in the ass this year?

15. Seattle Seahawks -

My pick to win the NFC West did not disappoint in Week 1. The only reason they're this low is because I have to see some consistency after last season's five win disaster.

16. San Francisco 49ers -

Just an amazing overall game and statement against the 2008 Super Bowl runner-ups. The 9er front-7, namely Paris Harylson and Justin Smith, spun the Cardinal O-Line in circles, re-introducing Kurt Warner to a thing called pressure. Shaun Hill was also impressive, racking up 200+ yards passing. A very inauspicious start for one team is another team's flash of promise.

17. Chicago Bears -

I'm not sure if the Bears' Sunday Night Game against the hated Packers could've gone any worse for the organization. To have your newly acquired Franchise QB throw four picks, basically the reason your team lost is just a huge blow that will take a few weeks to recover from. If Jay Cutler needed anything more to bruise his ego, he got to watch the other main piece in the blockbuster Bears-Broncos deal, Kyle Orton, lead his team to a wild week 1 win. All of this is unbearably painful for Broncos fans; but the loss of Brian Urlacher for the season is absolutely devastating. A team I expected to be in the top 10 this week has dropped to the late teens...things aren't looking good in Chicago, to put it lightly.

18. Miami Dolphins -

A very tough opening loss for the Dolphins to the Falcons brought back memories of 2007. Jake Long was absolutely abused on the blindside, and the offense overall was fairly nonexistent in this game. Pass defense also struggled mightily, with Hall Of Famer Tony Gonzalez ripping apart multiple different Dolphin LB's in coverage. No one said it'd be easy this year. All eyes are on Chad Pennington now.

19. Arizona Cardinals -

The "Super Bowl Runner-Up" appeared to rear its ugly head once again on Sunday. Kurt Warner confirmed many cynics' belief that much of his success could be attributed to his passing weapons, when he showed inability to drive the ball in the absence of Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. Cardinal fans have reason to be worried.

20. Houston Texans -

What can I say? I just really like how this team is built. I've had them as my sleeper all summer, and I'm not going to abandon them after just one loss. I fully expect the amazing offensive talent to shine through next week, with Andre Johnson showing up big.

21. Jacksonville Jaguars -

This team really showed me something taking Peyton Manning and the Colts down to the wire. If you come in as a heavy underdog and shut a powerhouse Indianapolis offense down, you can walk away proud of your effort. What the Jags need is for one of their WR's to step up and become that big play threat. MJD can't do it all by himself in the face of nine men in the box on each play.

22. Buffalo Bills -

So close, yet so far. A trend that has become all too familiar for this generation of Bills' fans. Chalk it up to a bone-headed rookie mistake and utter lack of clutch on the part of the defense, but fate just seems to have it out for this team. It should be noted that Terrell Owens got completely shutdown in his Bill debut by a CB, who coming in, looked to be a slab of fresh meat for T.O.: Shawn Springs.

24. Washington Redskins -

The Giants O-Line had an amazing plan set up to shut down Albert Haynesworth, committing three bodies to him on each play. Running away from him also proved to be an effective strategy. Santana Moss and Clinton Portis both looked lackluster in this game, with a big morale loss coming after Moss got slapped up by Corey Webster.

25. Denver Broncos -

Nothing short of a miraculous performance by the Bronco defense to shut down a highly-touted, star-studded Bengal offense. That was amazing; but not close to the most dumbfoundingly amazing thing to take away from this game. The pass to seal it with 14 seconds left, tipped in the air by Leon Hall into the welcoming arms of Brandon Stokley...you have to see it to believe it. Regardless of how it came about, it's a win, and reason for Denver fans to be happy.

26. Carolina Panthers -

Blech. All I have to say about the Panthers' Week One drubbing at the hands of the Eagles. This team showed me NOTHING on either side of the ball, but the story was Jake Delhomme's utter incompetence in the pocket with the ball in his hands. Memories of his playoff implosion have unwelcome company after Week 1. It's never a good sign when the coach has to clarify whether the franchise QB will keep his job in Week 2.

27. Cincinnati Bengals -

Wow. This team has got to be under some kind of ancient Egyptian curse. That's the only way I can explain Week One's loss to Denver. I didn't watch enough of the game to give specifics, but it seemed like each side put up a solid performance. Jay Cutler's bad karma tipped the scale.

28. Oakland Raiders -

The Raiders looked very good against the Chargers providing consistent pass rush and a balanced offensive attack to make the game a hell of a lot closer than Norv Turner would've liked. This game suggested that the gap between the two teams isn't all that great after all...

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -

They did amass an impressive 450 total yards against the Cowboys (more than any total from last year), but the defense just wasn't there to back it up. There's going to be many such tough days ahead for this team.

30. Cleveland Browns -

Yuck, defense got steamrolled by All Day last week, offense was lack luster, eh. But I mean, what can the Browns do? When you're outclassed, you're outclassed. The Vikings are out of the Browns' league.

31. Detroit Lions -

Signs of life earned them the 31 spot over St. Louis. Louis Delmas looked really good, which is strange since he's part of a secondary that allowed six Touchdowns. Matt Stafford had a tough day which was expected. And is to be expected for many more weeks to come.

32. St. Louis Rams -

Just horrible. When keeping it close for one half of football is progress, you know your team sucks. And that the Rams do. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Marc Bulger can't succeed without some better weapons. When Marc Bulger can't do anything, Steven Jackson sees nine in the box. When Steven Jackson sees nine in the box, he gets shut down. When Jackson and Bulger are shut down, voila! There goes the Rams' offense.