29. Carolina Panthers (26)
While I would love to give the Panthers some grace for a game that was a bit wonky after the weather delay midway through the first half, I just can’t do it. The time in the locker room didn’t seem to affect the Jaguars all that much, so how can that be an excuse for Carolina?
This defense is still a work in progress, even if there are some signs of improvement. What’s scary for the Panthers, though, is that Bryce Young didn’t look like the quarterback we saw down the home stretch of last season. Maybe he just needed to get his feet wet, but it looked like there was some regression taking place, which would be awful news for this team and offense.
28. New England Patriots (22)
Man, I was hoping for a lot more from Mike Vrabel’s Patriots than what we got on Sunday against the Raiders. This New England team still looked quite lost offensively and, while the run defense was stout, it was clear that there issues in this secondary. Despite all of the big-time additions made to the roster, they still might be a bit away.
At the same time, I’ll hold out hope that we’ll see notable improvements from the Pats throughout the season, especially considering the sparse starts Drake Maye has under his belt. But it’d be disingenuous to say that this loss to Vegas wasn’t a bit disheartening.
27. Tennessee Titans (29)
To be completely honest, I’m not entirely sure what was more to credit or blame in Week 1 as the Titans lost to the Broncos, but did so in a close game. Was it more about Tennessee being friskier than we thought previously, or did Denver just not live up to expectations out of the gate?
The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but while Cam Ward and the offense looked like a rookie-led and ultimately imperfect unit, the Titans defense caught my attention. They went toe-to-toe with Sean Payton and had a lot of answers, which definitely increases the favorability of my opinion toward this team.
26. Cleveland Browns (30)
Despite a Week 1 loss in divisional play to the Bengals, I have the Browns moving up. Frankly, I’d move them higher but you have to weigh the loss in there at some point. Cleveland flat-out outplayed Cincinnati for most of this game, though, which is backed up in the box score as the Browns actually outgained the Bengals significantly in this matchup, 327 to 141.
While a Joe Flacco-led offense might have a clearly defined ceiling, this is one of the league’s best defenses, bar none, and the offensive competency level and floor are high. I’m not sure how many wins that translates to, but the Browns certainly aren’t going to be a pushover.
25. New York Jets (28)
Everything we heard and saw from Jets training camp and the preseason with Justin Fields apparently just got thrown out the window. New York looked like a completely rejuvenated franchise with the new quarterback at the helm and Aaron Glenn manning the sidelines.
Sure, it ultimately didn’t result in a win, but the Jets were going blow-for-blow with the Steelers and just happened to come up a hair short. There’s a very real chance that the Jets are the upstart team in the AFC East this season rather than the Patriots, which is not how I foresaw things playing out at all coming into the year.
24. Indianapolis Colts (31)
Daniel Dime? Daniel Dimes! Look, I’m not going to get crazy and vault the Colts into the Top 15 or Top 10 because they beat the brakes off of the Dolphins. As stated already, there’s a really good chance that Miami just stinks out loud this season. At the same time, that might’ve been the best game we’ve ever seen Daniel Jones play, which feels important considering it’s his first start since leaving New York.
Indianapolis’ defense also deserves plenty of credit for stonewalling the Mike McDaniel attack for most of this game. Again, I need to see it against a team that’s just simply not the Dolphins, but there were more signs of optimism than I expected from this group in Week 1.