NFL Power Rankings Week 2: 3 Teams That Are Better Than 0-2 Start Will Suggest

Miami Dolphins

It actually wouldn't completely surprise me if Miami pulled a win off against Houston in Week 2. My guess is that the Texans' offense will just have too much punch for Miami to withstand.

Actually, more specific than Miami being better than their record will suggest, their defense is a lot better than the stats will suggest. My guess is that that will be true even if they beat the Texans.

The schedule makers threw two of the top offenses in the NFL at Miami to start the season. The positive is that they are getting some of the beef out of the way early, but the AFC East won't give them any breaks.

I don't see Miami making a playoff run. Actually, my guess is that they will have a poor win-loss record, but spoil a season or two at the end of the year.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons couldn't take many positives out of their Week 1 loss to the Bears. That game was just a blowout.

But Matt Ryan is a good quarterback with weapons at his disposal.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the amount of weapons that Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles have.

Even if you did go 13-3, starting a season with two division winners is just brutal. Their playoff chances are a little better than Miami's.

Miami was the only team in its division that lost in the opening week, and it did so against a division rival. Actually, it's not impossible that the AFC East will have three 2-0 teams by the end of the week.

If the Falcons lose to the Eagles, the worst they will be is one game back. Every team in the NFC South lost in Week 1 and the Saints face the same team (the Bears) in Week 2 that beat the Falcons in week 1.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are a little more like the Dolphins than they are the Bengals. Despite everyone in the division losing their respective openers, the NFC South is still a strong division.

All three teams that the Panthers share a division with won 10 or more games in 2010.

After losing a fourth quarter lead to the Cardinals, the Panthers head home to take on the Green Bay Packers.

Defensively, this will be a difficult day for the Panthers. We can probably say that about pretty much any team that the Packers face.

Still, one good game from Cam Newton gave the Panthers and their fans hope. That's something that wasn't present in Carolina last year.

Now, I don't see them beating the Packers, but I do see a better year from Carolina than we previously anticipated.

Michael Dixon's Week 2 Power Rankings:

Rank	Team	Record
1	Green Bay Packers	1-0
2	New England Patriots	1-0
3	Philadelphia Eagles	1-0
4	Baltimore Ravens	1-0
5	Chicago Bears	1-0
6	New Orleans Saints	0-1
7	San Diego Chargers	1-0
8	New York Jets	1-0
9	Houston Texans	1-0
10	Detroit Lions	1-0
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	0-1
12	Atlanta Falcons	0-1
13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0-1
14	Arizona Cardinals	1-0
15	San Francisco 49ers	1-0
16	Oakland Raiders	1-0
17	Buffalo Bills	1-0
18	Washington Redskins	1-0
19	Dallas Cowboys	0-1
20	Cincinnati Bengals	1-0
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	1-0
22	Minnesota Vikings	0-1
23	St. Louis Rams	0-1
24	Tennessee Titans	0-1
25	New York Giants	0-1
26	Kansas City Chiefs	0-1
27	Miami Dolphins	0-1
28	Indianapolis Colts	0-1
29	Denver Broncos	0-1
30	Cleveland Browns	0-1
31	Carolina Panthers	0-1
32	Seattle Seahawks	0-1