NFL Power Rankings Week 2
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Welcome back.
The satisfaction of a full weekend’s worth of NFL action, from the season-opening thriller between the Ravens and Chiefs, through a full Sunday of adrenaline, to the Monday night beatdown, was like a visit from an old friend.
The true joy of last weekend was in the familiarity. Getting together with friends. Hanging out with your football-interested kids. Talking about your bets. Talking about your fantasy teams. Complaining about too many penalties. Complaining about (or begging for) Taylor Swift shots. Listening to friends second-guess offensive and defensive play-calls. Drinking. Snacking. Laughing.
Say what you want about the NFL. As a business. As an institution. As a product. But at the end of the day, a major part of the allure of pro football, and one of countless reasons for its cultural significance in this society, is the comfort that it provides. It’s intimate. Even the mundane things -- like timing your bathroom breaks and drink refills for the commercials or the way conversations arc and loop around the game play -- just give a sense of contentment and happiness.
Last weekend it felt like football never left. As if the bliss and horror of the last eight months never happened. No school shootings. No election. No natural disasters. No fights with relatives or illness or annoying household chores. All that was gone. And for hours, anyone interested could gather around the TV, like we would around a fire on a cool summer night, and we could all feel the relaxation and warmth radiating out from our national pastime.
Music is the soundtrack of our lives. Football is the entertainment of it.
Doc’s Sports offers NFL expert picks for every game on our NFL predictions page.
Here is Doc’s Sports NFL Power Rankings:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) – Anyone watching Thursday night’s game knows how close the Chiefs came to losing it. (A toe for the touchdown, and Baltimore was going for two.) However, anyone watching also saw what is obviously the best team in the NFL. Kansas City dominated that game, and it never seemed as close as the score looked. Defending Super Bowl champs are now 20-5 SU and 15-8-2 ATS in Week 1 over the last 25 years.
2. San Francisco 49ers (1-0) – That was a dominating effort on Monday Night Football. But remember what Cody used to say: “Win on Monday, lose on Sunday.” The 49ers are in a clear letdown spot this week on the road, with an early start time, against a tricky Minnesota squad. The 49ers lost 22-17 in Minneapolis last October as six-point favorites.
3. Detroit Lions (1-0) – The Lions continue to be the best bet in football over the last three years. They are a ridiculous 38-16 ATS over the last three seasons after beating the number again in overtime against the Rams. At a certain point, the books are going to catch up to this group and the ATM is going to run dry. But when?
4. Baltimore Ravens (0-1) – The Ravens are now 1-6 in their last seven games against the Chiefs. And the difference is clear: Patrick Mahomes is just better than Lamar Jackson. Jackson has two MVPs and is a special player. But it was obvious Thursday that he is not in Mahomes’ league and that Jackson will be both the reason that Baltimore is a factor in the AFC and the reason that they don’t get over the hump.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) – A lot of people are selling their Eagles stock. I will buy it. That said, those two interceptions by Jalen Hurts were atrocious. Those were rookie-level mistakes on both throws. And if the Eagles are going to be a threat in the NFC, then Hurts has to be better than that.
6. Buffalo Bills (1-0) – The Bills have absolutely dominated the Dolphins over the last five years, going 9-1 straight up in the last 10 meetings and outgaining the Fins in all 10 of those games. Buffalo has won four of their last five games in Miami.
7. Miami Dolphins (1-0) – That was kind of a vintage Tua game. The final stats look great (338 yards and a 101.0 passer rating) and a win. But was anyone that actually watched that game impressed with what they saw? Two receptions accounted for 143 of those yards, including the 80-yard game-breaker by Tyreek Hill. Tua also took a foolish sack to knock his team out of field goal range and missed some easy throws. Can he beat Josh Allen in primetime?
8. Houston Texans (1-0) – Houston’s flashy new additions paid instant dividends, with Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs leading the offense. Houston’s run defense really stood out to me, though, as they refused to let Jonathan Taylor get on track. Houston doubled Indianapolis in time of possession, 40:00 to 20:00, and that made the difference in the game.
9. Dallas Cowboys (1-0) – I will admit, that was an impressive performance by the Cowboys in Cleveland, and they do not look like a group that was distracted by all the offseason drama around the squad. The home team is 5-1 SU in the last six meetings with the Saints, and the home team is 6-2 ATS in the last eight.
10. Los Angeles Rams (0-1) – Red zone failures made the difference in their playoff loss at Detroit last January when they went 0-for-3. It was the same story on Sunday night when L.A. finished just 2-for-5. And that doesn’t count a failed 4th-and-4 from the 23-yard-line the Rams didn’t convert. Los Angeles has serious injury issues along the offensive line and that should continue to drag down their short-yardage effectiveness.
11. Atlanta Falcons (0-1) – The Falcons are now 2-8 ATS in Week 1 over the last 10 years. Kirk Cousins was a mess last week and didn’t look comfortable at all, not in the pocket, not in this new offense, and not with his new team. Cousins is 7-22 straight up in his career in primetime and will have another tough task this week heading to Philadelphia on MNF.
12. Green Bay Packers (0-1) – Jordan Love’s absence has swung the spread in this week’s game against the Colts eight full points. I think Love’s injury was worth six of them. The fact that putrid Malik Willis is getting the start accounts for the other two. Willis is a train wreck, and the Packers are in serious trouble until Love is back at full strength.
13. Seattle Seahawks (1-0) – I know the public is going to be all over Seattle this week in New England after their Week 1 win over Denver. Be wary: this is still a rookie head coach taking his team on his first road trip, flying across the country for the dreaded early start time.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) – I know the Jaguars took the loss, but I thought they played well for the most part. Travis Etienne had a costly fumble and Christian Kirk had some drops. But the group that was the biggest disappointment was the offensive line. Cam Robinson was shaky all day and terrible in some big moments, and Anton Harrison was up and down all day. Those guys have to be better.
15. New York Jets (0-1) – For a group that carries itself as some rough-and-tumble, run-the-ball-and-crack-skulls-on-defense team, the Jets sure did look like papier-mache on Monday night. Defensively, the Jets got pushed around and seemed to have a player injured on every other play. Offensively, Aaron Rodgers looked washed and the Jets offensive line didn’t look much better than last year.
16. Cleveland Browns (0-1) – The Browns are now 2-23-1 in Week 1 dating back to their 1995 return to NFL and they are 0-11-1 SU in their last 12 Week 1 home games. Oh, and franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson is facing yet another sexual assault allegation. That’s top of the fact that he sucks. How can guys in this Cleveland locker room follow this guy as a leader?
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) – The Steelers are an incredible 48-25 ATS in their last 63 games as an underdog after going 6-4 in that role last season and winning outright as an underdog last Sunday. I’m skeptical now of them in the role of road favorite. This is only the third time they have dressed up as a nondivisional road favorite in the last four years. They were 1-1 ATS in those games, including a 30-6 loss at Houston last year.
18. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) – Mike Brown is a terrible owner. He is extremely cheap and is a scumbag. Brown isn’t going to kowtow to Chase’s demands because he doesn’t care if the Bengals are competitive or not. The morale in this locker room must be pretty horrible right now. This week will be the sixth meeting between the Bengals and Chiefs since the 2021-22 playoffs. The Bengals are 3-2 SU and ATS and the underdog is 4-1 SU and ATS in those games.
19. Indianapolis Colts (0-1) – Last year was the second-lowest scoring season in the NFL since 2010. The Colts were the lone reliable ‘over’ bet on the board throughout, going a solid 11-6 against the total. Indy started out this year exactly like they finished last year: shootouts. It is surprising to see this week’s total (41.0) as one of the lowest on the board, even with Willis suiting up for the Pack.
20. New Orleans Saints (1-0) – Dennis Allen is still 25-46 SU and 27-43 ATS in his career as a head coach, so let’s slow down on anointing him. The Saints piss-pounded Carolina last week, scoring on their first nine possessions. We will see what they do in the face of the tremendous pressure that I’m sure Dallas will throw at them on Sunday.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) – The Bucs will be the second team in two weeks to start this season that are trying to get revenge against the Lions for playoff losses. Tampa Bay lost 31-23 in the Motor City last January, but that game was closer than that (17-17 heading into the fourth quarter). The difference in that game was Baker Mayfield’s two interceptions. We’ll see if he learned anything.
22. Chicago Bears (1-0) – The first half of Chicago’s game against Tennessee was a master’s class in football incompetence. The Bears made constant mistakes on offense, defense and special teams while spotting the Titans a 17-0 lead. The Bears were able to cobble together enough defensive and special teams scores to claw their way to a win. But Chicago’s weak offensive line and their reliance on soft Cover-2 on defense will be anchors around their necks.
23. Minnesota Vikings (1-0) – One game is not getting me on the Sam Darnold bandwagon. Let me end the suspense: Darnold stinks. There is not going to be a career Renaissance. He is a turnover-prone mess. Darnold is not without talent and will have some moments. But I’ll still be surprised if he manages to start all 17 games due to either injury or ineffectiveness.
24. Arizona Cardinals (0-1) – This was one of the more impressive losing teams in Week 1. Arizona played well. And that no call on pass interference on Greg Dortch on Arizona’s final drive was brutal. Arizona is just 2-8 SU and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against the Rams and were outscored by a combined 63-23 in their two games against L.A. last year.
25. Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) – This is yet another team that I think people are buying into way too much based on preseason hype and a Week 1 win. Jim Harbaugh is going to be successful here. Eventually. He’s been successful everywhere he’s been, and the guy knows football. This roster still has plenty of holes in it. And they are only going to win so many games by simply not making mistakes.
26. Las Vegas Raiders (0-1) – Antonio Pierce is the rare interim head coach that was awarded the main gig. He didn’t do himself any favors last Sunday with his ridiculous decision to punt on 4th-and-1 from the Chargers 43-yard-line with seven minutes to play in a 16-10 game. What happened to the big balls this guy was swinging around last year?
27. Tennessee Titans (0-1) – I have a feeling that Will Levis’ flip-six interception is going to be a defining moment in his career. And I almost feel bad for everyone that had money on the Titans in that game, with Tennessee (+4.5) blowing a 17-0 lead despite not allowing an offensive touchdown. But that is what you get for backing Levis in the first place.
28. Washington Commanders (0-1) – Yup, still bad. Washington is pointing in the right direction. They still have a long way to go, though. They started four rookies last Sunday – including their quarterback – and this team isn’t nearly stout enough along either the offensive and or defensive line. Since the turn of the century, the Commanders are 14-32-1 SU in their last 47 games against the Giants. That includes a 2-8-1 mark against them since December of 2018.
29. Denver Broncos (0-1) – Quarterbacks that were first round draft choices are now 5-14-1 SU and 7-13 ATS in their first career start. Bo Nix certainly wasn’t the reason that the Broncos didn’t win in Seattle, but throwing two interceptions and mustering just 138 passing yards didn’t help.
30. New England Patriots (0-1) – Let’s not get too carried away; these guys are still one of the worst teams in the league and it is going to be a long season. The Bengals made mistake after mistake, including goal line fumbles, and did everything they could to gift wrap the Patriots that game – and New England still barely held on.
31. New York Giants (0-1) – There is no doubt that this team is better than they were last year. But they had a ton of ground to make up. The Giants were outscored by 141 points last season. They’ve been outscored in 10 of the last 11 years and have been outscored by at least 110 points on the season four times in the last seven seasons. Brian Daboll has some nice value at +900 to be the next NFL head coach fired.
32. Carolina Panthers (0-1) – I said the following heading into the season: Dave Canales is giving me Lane Kiffin/David Shula vibes. He was an offensive coordinator for one year in Seattle and then one year in Tampa Bay. Now this guy is a head coach? He’s never held that position at any level. And given Davey Tepper’s laughable track record of head coaching hires, you would think he would’ve dug a little deeper this past offseason. Carolina also signed three cornerbacks off waivers. And their skill positions are manned by guys like Ian Thomas, Chuba Hubbard, Jonathan Mingo and Dionte “Drops” Johnson. I don’t care if Canales was Don Shula, it will be a tall task to win with this roster.
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