NFL Power Rankings 2011: 3 Opening Losers That Rebounded Beautifully in Week 2

The early season can be a cruel beast in the NFL, as it was in Week 1 to so many quality teams. These three teams didn't wait long to turn their season-opening frowns upside down in a big way with convincing wins in Week 2.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers awoke from their post-Super Bowl slumber just in time to whip the stuffing out of the visiting Seahawks. It was a day of vintage Steelers football, with Ben Roethlisberger stewarding a balanced attack and Troy Polamalu terrorizing Seattle into a measly 164 yards and as many points as you or I scored on Sunday.

Whether or not the Steelers have actually ironed out their issues or not, look for them to bring the pain with them to Indianapolis against the Colts in Week 3.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints played well in Week 1, but were simply outclassed by a powerful Packers team.

Hence, New Orleans went seeking redemption against the Chicago Bears, Green Bay's biggest rival, and came up with a convincing 30-13 throttling at the Louisiana Superdome. Drew Brees was his usual self, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns, while the backfield trio of Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles combined for 109 yards on 27 carries to own a three-fifths advantage in time of possession.

The Saints should have little trouble scoring 30 points or more for the third time in three games when the Houston Texans come to down. The winner, though, will likely come down to who has the ball last; or, rather, who can stop the other first.

Tennessee Titans

To call Tennessee's season-opening loss to to Jacksonville a disappointment would be something of an understatement. Granted, the Titans aren't expected to be world-beaters in 2011 by any stretch of the imagination, not so soon after the turmoil of 2010 and not in their first season under Mike Munchak.

That being said, the Titans put up arguably the most impressive bounce-back performance of any Week 1 loser, soundly defeating the Baltimore Ravens, 26-13. Chris Johnson struggled once again, though Matt Hasselbeck more than picked up the slack with 358 yards and a touchdown through the air.

The real point of pride for the Titans came on defense, where they limited Ray Rice and the Ravens rushing attack to just 45 yards while hounding Joe Flacco into three sacks and two picks. Look for Tennessee to continue its ascendancy against Denver in Nashville this weekend, with an intriguing clash against the Cleveland Browns to follow.

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