NFL Power Rankings Week 1: 5 Defenses Due for Strong Starts

They say that defense wins championships. Luckily, it also wins games in the first week of the regular season.

Or so it would be safe to presume.

We tend to talk a lot about quarterbacks, running backs and certain other staples of high-scoring offenses this time of year, but defense is fun to watch, too.

Only if it's good defense, though. And if that's what you're looking for in Week 1 of the regular season, my advice to you is to direct your attention to the five teams listed below. They're going to be playing some good defense right out of the gate.

5. Atlanta Falcons

Last year, Atlanta's defense was somewhere between pretty good and just okay. In fact, most will tell you that the Falcons leaned more towards the latter.

This year, Atlanta's D promises to be better. The Falcons went out and upgraded their pass rush by acquiring Ray Edwards, which was really the only move they had to make.

In their season opener against the Chicago Bears, the Falcons have a natural advantage. This is largely because the Bears offense just isn't very good. The individual pieces are just okay, but the unit as a whole is less than spectacular.

Because of that, all the Falcons really have to do is show up and play. They rest will take care of itself. 

4. Detroit Lions

The Lions do not have the best defense in the league. They do, however, have the best defensive line in the league, and that alone makes their defense dangerous.

On Sunday, Detroit's D-line will be tasked with containing Josh Freeman and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Personally, I like Freeman and I like the Bucs, and I think both are going to do very well this year.

But I like Ndamukong Suh more. He lives to hunt quarterbacks, and that just doesn't bode well for Freeman and the Bucs.

3. Houston Texans

In 2010, I don't think I once predicted that the Texans defense was going to have a good game. That's probably because the Texans didn't seem to even bother playing defense.

Things are going to be a little different this year. The Texans made some nice additions, chief among them being a new defensive coordinator in Wade Phillips.

Will the Texans be that much better under Phillips? Honestly, I'm not sure.

But against a Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts squad, I suspect they'll look like world-beaters. 

2. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are another team that was just downright bad defensively in 2010. That was largely because the offense just couldn't give the guys on defense a breather.

This year, I'm not expecting too much improvement from the Cardinals on defense. They'll probably be a little better, but not much better.

So why are they on this list?

Because they're playing the Carolina Panthers. Cam Newton is going to be good someday, but he's not very good now. Because of that, it's going to be a struggle for the Panthers to move the ball.

1. New York Jets

There are things about the Jets I don't like. One of them is Mark Sanchez, who just isn't very good.

But the defense? I'd wager it's the best defense in the league. I'll side with it any day of the week.

Especially on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. They're going to have Tony Romo back healthy for the first time in a long time, but I don't think he's going to be able to help them much against the Jets.

I'm sorry, Cowboys fans. But the Jets defense is that good.

2011 NFL Power Rankings

1. New England Patriots

2. Green Bay Packers

3. Atlanta Falcons

4. Philadelphia Eagles

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. New Orleans Saints

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

8. San Diego Chargers

9. New York Jets

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

11. Kansas City Chiefs

12. Houston Texans

13. Detroit Lions

14. Indianapolis Colts

15. Chicago Bears

16. New York Giants

17. Dallas Cowboys

18. Arizona Cardinals

19. St. Louis Rams

20. Oakland Raiders

21. Jacksonville Jaguars

22. Tennessee Titans

23. Minnesota Vikings

24. Miami Dolphins

25. Washington Redskins

26. Cleveland Browns

27. Denver Broncos

28. Seattle Seahawks

29. San Francisco 49ers

30. Buffalo Bills

31. Cincinnati Bengals

32. Carolina Panthers