NFL Week Two Power Rankings: Its A New York State Of Mind

NFL Power Ranking Week 2

Last week in parenthesis

Best 0-2 Team: Tennessee Titans

Worst 2-0 Team: Denver Broncos

Team who gained the most positions: New York Jets, 11. Beating the Patriots will do that for a team.

Team who lost the most positions: Green Bay Packers, 9. Losing to the Bengals at home will do that for a team.

Team I have yet to figure out: The Bengals. When Chad Ochocinco is motivated they seem to win. Perhaps every team should have a scoring ritual that he can mimic.

On to the Rankings:

1.     (6) New York Giants – Running defense struggled, pass defense was excellent. Eli conducted another game winning drive and the Giants spoil Jerry Jones' night. Any road win in the NFC East is tough.

2.     (13) New York Jets – The Jets now look like a serious contender in the AFC after two great performances. Their defense looks unstoppable, Sanchez has played not terrible, but made plays when he has had to, and the running game is excellent. Perhaps they can challenge the Steelers.

3.     (4) Minnesota Vikings – Struggled against the Lions but put it together in the second half and Peterson ran wild. Their offensive line needs to protect Favre better or his games started streak will be snapped.

4.     (8) Atlanta Falcons – Not a great game against Carolina, but everyone in front of them loses so they move up. Their offense looks good, but defense has to step up, especially if they are going to beat the Saints.

5.     (14) New Orleans Saints – A good win against a pretty good Eagles team, but with no McNabb. Regardless, I am starting to believe they can compete, despite their defense being pretty bad. Drew Brees might have a better year than last year, which is scary.

6.     (1) Pittsburgh Steelers – Lost a tough game to the Bears. Defense wasn’t the same without Polamalu but was still pretty decent. Need to find a running game if they want to defend their Super Bowl title.

7.     (11) Indianapolis Colts – Move up by default of not losing their games. Have not looked impressive in first two games, but the offense is coming around. Defense couldn’t bottle up the Wildcat, how will they fair against the Cards next week?

8.     (12) Baltimore Ravens – Defense was lacking against the Chargers but helped them to field goals in the red zone and made enough plays to win. Flacco looked great. If that offense continues and the defense plays like its supposed to  they could be a front runner in the AFC.

9.     (2) New England Patriots – After two lackluster performances, the Pats have to be wondering. Welker not playing hurt Brady tremendously, and Brady does not look to be in rhythm yet, especially with Galloway. Defense did its part today however.

10. (3) Philadelphia Eagles – Defense was atrocious against the Saints, not that any defense might fair to well. Need to get more pressure on Brees, but I believe with McNabb that the Eagles win the game.

11. (15) Chicago Bears – Cutler avenges his last weeks performance by constructing a game wining drive. Still doesn’t look like the Pro Bowler we know but is getting closer to that form. Defense played scrappy with Urlacher missing.

12. (5) San Diego Chargers – Defense looked terrible in an outing against the Ravens. On the flip side, offense did amazing against a solid Ravens D. Need to score in the red zone if they aspire to reach the Super Bowl.

13. (16) San Francisco 49ers – Another solid, balanced performance. Injury to Gore is concerning. Shaun Hill improves to 9-3 as a starter.

14.  (9) Dallas Cowboys – Tony Romo struggled, but the running game was excellent. Defense needs to step it up a notch if they want to win the NFC, especially in the loaded NFC East. No one hit the scoreboard, that’s also a plus.

15.  (20) Houston Texans – As bad as the Texans played against the Jets, they played this good against the Titans. Their defense needs some work allowing Chris Johnson to beat them in every way, but a win against Tennessee for Houston fans is always so sweet.

16. (7) Tennessee Titans – A surprise 0-2 start for the Titans. They have had some tough games, but the defense really needs some work. The lack of pass rush against the Texans was surprising, especially after the Jets gave them a blue print last week.

17. (21) Arizona Cardinals – Got their “Can’t win on the East Coast” off of their back. The offense was crisp, the defense was active, and was the normal Arizona Cardinals we are used to seeing.

18. (18) Buffalo Bills – Beat a less talented Buccaneers team. Should have won by more. Defense stepped up when it needed and Trent Edwards continues to play excellent minus that one interception.

19. (10) Green Bay Packers – Losing to the Bengals? Pretty bad. Their defense looked terrible and their offense was out of sink, and failed to shred the Bengals defense. I’m not sure who the Packers are yet, especially after last weeks outing.

20.  (17) Seattle Seahawks  - Had a reality check after dismantling the Rams. Hassleback is hurt and their defense needs a lot of work. Allowing 207 yards to one player is just frightening.

21. (30) Cincinnati Bengals – As bad as last week was, this week was just as good. They brought their bad karma into Green Bay and turned it around. The offense looked great against an above average defense and the defense did enough to win the game.

22. (19) Washington Redskins – Did not play well against the terrible Rams. Defense bottled up Jackson but the offense has to come around to compete with any of the teams in the NFC East. The running game has to step up.

23. (27) Denver Broncos – The Broncos are 2-0, but much with smoke and mirrors. A miracle the first week and the Browns in week 2. I will wait until they play a good team to reserve judgment. Although they did play well against the Browns.

24. (23) Oakland Raiders – Beat the lowly Chiefs. The defense was great, but the running game has to be better because Russell is just not where he needs to bet yet. They are moving in the right direction I believe.

25.  (22) Miami Dolphins– Did everything they could do to win the game, but their defense failed them. I’m not sure how you lose the game when you have 45 minutes in time of possession. Wildcat looked back to normal form, but need to find a way to make Pat White plays more productive. Defense needs to not let big plays happen.

26. (28) Carolina Panthers – Jake Delhomme redeemed himself after his last two games. Defense needs to step up if the Panthers want to compete. 0-2 start is not a good sign in the loaded NFC South.

27. (23) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Played hard again, but this year is going to be tough. Defense allowed Fred Jackson to run all over them. Offense is going to have to carry them much of the way.

28.  (24) Cleveland Browns – Defense was atrocious against the Broncos and the offense wasn’t much better. Braylon Edwards had a good game though.

29. (29) Kansas City Chiefs – Played hard against the Raiders in a classic defensive struggle. Cassel needs to play better if they are to win any games this year. Defense played well against the Raiders run.

30. (26) Jacksonville Jaguars – Let the Cardinals run all over them and the 31-17 score was a favorable final score. Garrard didn’t make any mistakes, but the defense allowed the highest passing percentage in one game in NFL History.

31. (31) Detroit Lions – Played an excellent first half against the Vikings, but then realized they were the Lions. Fans hope to see more of Stafford to Johnson in the future.

32. (32) St. Louis Rams – Also played well enough to move up, but couldn’t make any plays at the end of the game to win. Offense is atrocious, Bulger needs to step up his game.