Ranking Best Games on the Schedule for NFL Week 2

Well, it's time to move on. Whether your favorite team won or lost in Week 1, the next slate of NFL games is already on the horizon. The real question is which games are must-see television or even worth a ticket to see in person and which ones represent a good time to take up needlepoint?

The temptation would be to look for undefeated matchups as must-see games and winless encounters as reasons to stay away, but its only Week 2 which is why you can't put too much stock in records.

One of the best sayings in sports is "styles make fights" with regards to boxing and mixed martial arts. Well, I am going to apply that saying to ranking this week's games. Good storylines also make for prime entertainment and they can be found here too.

Although I'll warn you now: There are a few really hard-to-watch games on this list to go with the must-see tilts.

Without further ado, here is a power ranking of this week's 16 NFL games.

16. Cleveland Browns (0-1) vs. Indianapolis Colts (0-1)

Do you know how bad this game looks on paper?

You would have to pay me a lot of money just to watch it and that's if Peyton Manning was healthy and lining up for the Colts.

Seriously, what possible angle is there to this game?

About all you have is whether the Colts can rebound after getting pasted by the Houston Texans 34-7.

Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy completed fewer than half of his passes against a Cincinnati secondary that lost Jonathan Joseph to the Texans during the offseason. The Browns lost 27-17 and there seems to be limited reason for optimism in the short term.

15. St. Louis Rams (0-1) vs. New York Giants (0-1)

Let's just call this game the "Depleted Bowl" as both teams have lost players to injury. Granted St. Louis could get Sam Bradford back for this game, but it seems that running back Steven Jackson is unlikely to play and the Giants seem to actually breed injuries. Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks is just the latest player to go down. His status was unclear as of press time.

The Monday Night Football television crew probably thought they had a possible matchup of surprising contenders when they got the rights to this game.

Instead, they have two squads looking to find an identity and for whom the bye week can't already come soon enough.

14. Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) vs. Denver Broncos (0-1)

Yeesh.

The Bengals can't throw the ball and the Broncos can't run the ball.

Want proof?

Cincinnati's likely starter at quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, completed 5-of-12 passes last week. Seriously.

Even if rookie Andy Dalton is healthy enough to go with an injured wrist, he completed just 10 passes.

The Broncos ran for 38 yards in a 23-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders which thankfully ranks them last in the league after one game.

At least, if the Broncos struggle, you'll get to hear the chant you know is coming sooner or later.

"Tee-bow! Tee-bow!"

13. Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) vs. Detroit Lions (1-0)

There is one reason that this game is a watchable game and only one reason.

The Detroit Lions.

I haven't said those words since a guy named Barry Sanders zig-zagged through defenses for the team from Motor City.

Detroit is good and should only improve with a weapon-laden offense and some talented components on defense. Lost in last Sunday's coming-out party of quarterback Matthew Stafford was Ndamukong Suh, Stephen Tulloch, Chris Houston and the rest of the defense holding the Buccaneers running game to a paltry 56 yards and keeping Tampa quarterback Josh Freeman in relative check.

The Chiefs were embarrassed by the Bills in a 41-7 loss at home and you'd think they would be primed to bounce back but there is a sense that the team overachieved in winning the AFC West last season and might be tiring of the authoritarian ways of coach Todd Haley.

12. Baltimore Ravens (1-0) vs. Tennessee Titans (0-1)

Unless the Ravens have a major letdown, this is a brutal mismatch.

Titans running back Chris Johnson had nine carries for 24 yards last Sunday in the team's loss to the Jaguars and it's fair to ask what kind of shape he is in coming off of a prolonged contract holdout. A game against perhaps the league's best rush defense is not the prescription to cure a rusty running back.

On offense, Baltimore has Ray Rice who is a younger, more complete version of Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who scorched the Titans for 97 yards on 24 carries.

Enigmatic Tennessee wide receiver Kenny Britt (five catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns against the Jags) does give the Ravens something to worry about. 

11. Dallas Cowboys (0-1) vs. San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

Look at it this way: At least we should get some footage of the Cowboys-49ers classics from back in the day. I call the over/under of Dwight Clark soaring through the end zone at five.

Seriously though, this is a bit of a dog of a game. Dallas is smarting from a game they should not have lost if Tony Romo didn't make his case for the Heimlich maneuver to be performed. The 49ers edged by Seattle on the strength of two Ted Ginn Jr. return touchdowns. It should be a couple of years before we see that again.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) vs. Minnesota Vikings (0-1)

For a game between 0-1 teams there are several reasons to tune in to this one.

Despite Donovan McNabb's atrocious effort in completing seven passes out of 15 attempts for 39 yards, the Vikings led a very talented Chargers team on the road going into the fourth quarter. Does Minnesota rookie and first-round draft pick Christian Ponder go in if McNabb struggles this week?

Adrian Peterson, even with a new multimillion dollar contract, ran hard with 16 carries for 98 yards.

On the other side, Tampa Bay was a hot choice this offseason to take the next step and be the young team everyone talked about as the season progressed.

Instead, the team dropped a 27-20 decision to the Detroit Lions in Week 1 and doesn't want to go 0-2 before hosting division-rival Atlanta next week.

For the Bucs to win their first game of the season they are going to have to get more production out of wide receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn. The duo had a combined eight catches for 77 yards and Williams scored a touchdown. That's not enough downfield mileage from your playmakers.

9. Jacksonville (1-0) vs. New York Jets (1-0)

For most fans outside of New York and Jacksonville, this is perhaps the least interesting matchup of undefeated teams.

Despite quarterback Mark Sanchez's inability to play well for four quarters, the Jets continue to find ugly and improbable ways to win. Yet, Sanchez is a treat compared to Jacksonville starter Luke McCown, whose primary job is just not to lose the game. Consider that the Jaguars ran the ball 47 times last Sunday.

If the Dallas Cowboys don't have a meltdown and the Tennessee Titans were, well, not the Tennessee Titans, both teams should have entered this week's matchup at 0-1.

8. Seattle Seahawks (0-1) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)

Beyond the fact that neither of these teams expected to be 0-1, there is the little matter of a rematch from Super Bowl XL that is intriguing. Pittsburgh defeated the Seahawks 21-10 in "the big one," but Seattle and much of the rest of the country with rooting interests still bristles at the role the officiating played in the result.

Hard feelings die hard and while many of the players from that game are long gone, don't think for a second that some in the Seattle organization wouldn't derive guilty pleasure from dropping the Steelers to 0-2.

However, this will be a tough task for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and his team as they have to fly across the country into a very hostile environment. This should be well worth watching.

7. Green Bay Packers (1-0) vs. Carolina Panthers (0-1)

This game should by all accounts be a blowout. You take the worst team in the league last season and you put them against the best team in Week 2 of the 2011 regular season.

However, Green Bay could be somewhat primed for letdown after dispatching the New Orleans Saints in the team's home opener. Don't misunderstand—I am not picking the Panthers but it could be closer than some think.

More importantly, after Cam Newton set an NFL record for rookie quarterbacks making their first start with 422 yards passing, it will be fascinating to see what he does against an elite defense and team.

The guess here is that the Packers' Clay Matthews might be snacking on some Cam Fig Newtons come Sunday.

6. Arizona Cardinals (1-0) vs. Washington Redskins (1-0)

This matchup between former NFC East rivals (before the Cardinals moved to the NFC West) has some intrigue. The crowd at FedEx Field was electric as the Redskins snapped a five-game losing streak with a 28-14 win against the New York Giants.

Washington quarterback Rex Grossman completed 21-of-34 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. The Redskins seem like a bunch with something to prove and they should be after several disappointing seasons in recent memory.

The Cardinals represent an interesting test for Washington because Arizona possesses some clear talent in the passing game. Larry Fitzgerald is obvious and he presents a difficult challenge for defensive backs DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson. But, don't sleep on fourth-year wideout Early Doucet either, who had three catches for 105 yards, including a 70-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the team's win over the Carolina Panthers. Doucet is a possible breakout player in 2011.

5. Oakland Raiders (1-0) vs. Buffalo Bills (1-0)

While this is a surprising matchup of 1-0 teams (yeah, go ahead and raise your hand if you had both the Raiders and Bills winning last week and be honest), it's a fascinating game.

Oakland running back Darren McFadden ran all over the Denver Broncos with 150 yards on 22 carries. He finally seems to be reaching the immense potential he showed at the University of Arkansas.

Normally, you would think that the Bills' dreadful run defense would have no shot at stopping McFadden but Buffalo kept Jamaal Charles in check with 56 yards, albeit on just 10 carries.

If Buffalo gets out to a quick lead and keeps McFadden off the field, they will be in good shape. If not, the good feelings that Bills fans had following last Sunday's rout of the Chiefs will quickly dissipate.

4. Houston Texans (1-0) vs. Miami Dolphins (0-1)

The Miami Dolphins have never beaten the Houston Texans in a regular-season game.

Houston looked like world-beaters against a Peyton Manning-less Colts team that looked every bit as awful as you feared without No. 18 at the helm.

The best part of this game is you're going to find out the answers to a few burning questions.

Is Miami's defense and secondary as bad as they looked Monday in surrendering 622 yards in a 38-24 loss to the New England Patriots? The ability to handle Houston's Matt Schaub, Ben Tate, Andre Johnson and maybe even a healthy Arian Foster should be able to answer that question very quickly.

Is the rebuilt Texans secondary as effective as the looked against Indy in surrendering only 172 yards through the air? Or will Miami quarterback Chad Henne (30-of-49, for 416 yards and two touchdowns) find his comfort zone for two games in a row?

Will the Dolphins win an important home game for the first time in a couple of years? If not, things could turn mighty ugly in South Florida.

Is this the year the Texans finally make the playoffs?  OK, one game in a Week 2 won't answer this one, but in a weak division, the Texans won't need a ton of wins to make this a reality.

3. Chicago Bears (1-0) vs. New Orleans Saints (0-1)

The first of two back-to-back possible NFC Championship previews, this is the week's best 1:00 pm ET game.

The Bears gave up 319 yards to Atlanta's Matt Ryan and another 100 on the ground to Michael Turner, yet still romped 30-12 because their defense forced turnovers and sacks.

This week it doesn't get any easier against Drew Brees and Company.

On the other side, it's hard not to think that if the Saints were playing any team other than the defending Super Bowl champion Packers last Thursday they likely would have won. That theory will clearly be put to the test this time.

You have to love the matchup of the Bears' Mike Martz and his sophisticated offensive schemes against the defensive packages put forth by the Saints' Gregg Williams. These are two of the best coordinators in the business.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) vs. Atlanta Falcons (0-1)

Not only does this game feature a return by fallen hero/now-apparently-redeemed-one in Mike Vick to Atlanta, it also matches two of the NFC's best teams.

The Falcons were stunned by the Bears last week on the road and their opener is likely to feature this rising team's best effort.

The "dream team" in Philly got by St. Louis 31-13, but they face a much more difficult test in this game.

The matchups to watch are how the Eagles run defense handles running back Michael Turner and the scintillating one-on-one battles featuring the duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones going against the twosome of Nnamdi Asomugha and Asante Samuel. 

1. San Diego Chargers (1-0) vs. New England Patriots (1-0)

It's hard to believe that Tom Brady could be any better than he was against the Dolphins this past Monday night in throwing for 517 yards and four touchdowns.

The Chargers better hope not, because if he is the Chargers have two chances to win on Sunday in Foxboro: Slim and None. Oh, and Slim just got toasted for another touchdown by Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski or Wes Welker.

The problem for the Patriots is that Philip Rivers guy is pretty darn good and if Chad Henne threw for 416 yards against New England, who knows what San Diego's quarterback is capable of?

Perhaps the most irrelevant injury going into this week is the torn ACL suffered by San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding, because if the Chargers need to kick field goals they are probably going to lose anyway.

This game represents the new NFL where throwing the ball is the norm and running it as an afterthought. If you like pinball-like action and scoring, this is the game for you.

If you prefer defense, sit this one out.