25. Tennessee Titans (27)
While the Titans may have lost in Week 2 at home against the Rams, I still feel more than comfortable moving them up in this week's power rankings. In the simplest terms, there's a lot to like about this team, even if they aren't a finished product. Cam Ward looks more than promising just two weeks into his NFL career and, despite allowing 33 points, the defense is going to make some plays.
None of this will likely translate into a ton of wins for the Titans, but this team isn't going to be a doormat. They'll catch more than their fair share of opponents underestimating them this season and put a scare into a few of them, if not upsetting them. All this is to say, the Titans should be a fun team that inspires optimism, even if they clearly aren't a great team.
24. Chicago Bears (21)
Caleb Williams is likely going to keep taking heat after he was quite inconsistent in Week 1, but he was miles away from being the Bears' biggest problem in Week 2. Ben Johnson, returning to Detroit to face his former team, had circles run around him in this game. More importantly, the Chicago defense didn't have a single answer for the offense that Johnson left in Detroit.
My concerns about the Bears defense coming into the year seem well-founded at this point. There are good players, but the depth is questionable at best, so when the team is now without Jaylon Johnson for the year, that's a massive cause for concern. Many expected Johnson to be an immediate cure to all of the Bears' longstanding woes and, while he may still be the solution, it's going to be a much longer fix than some anticipated.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (23)
Though I like Geno Smith as much as the next guy, the Raiders seem to look like what should've been the biggest fear about this team coming into the 2025 season. Yes, they made substantial upgrades at quarterback, drafted a stud in Ashton Jeanty in the Top 10, and obviously added Pete Carroll. All of these were seemingly win-now moves, though, and I don't think the totality of the Las Vegas roster was in a position to have that kind of onus put on them.
This defense has some great pieces, but I still worry about their ability to consistently get stops against good offenses, which includes what we saw against the Chargers. Beyond that, this offensive line isn't allowing Smith or Jeanty to actually be the weapons we know they're capable of being. Unfortunately, it might just be another long season for the Raiders, even if they do feel much closer to competing than they did at the end of 2024.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (19)
Trevor Lawrence waving off Liam Coen was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential problems that the Jaguars have. Granted, it's a big tip of the iceberg, but there's more going on here, not the least of which is some poor effort from last year's breakout star, Brian Thomas Jr. Oh, and the defense might just be plain stinky. All this is to say, the vibes definitely aren't what you want in Duval right now.
Obviously, the talent in Jacksonville top to bottom is just undeniable at this point. However, until we see the Jags start to make good on that, and until we see Lawrence actually live up to his billing, this team isn't going to be able to get it done. The hope, however, is that the poor vibes coming out of Week 2 aren't something that lingers for the rest of the year.
21. Houston Texans (18)
I continue to just be uninspired by the Texans, particularly on offense. It was quite telling in the Monday night loss to the Bucs that, when the game was on the line, Houston largely took the ball out of C.J. Stroud's hands and started relying more heavily on veteran Nick Chubb, despite the fact that he's actually the backup for the injured Joe Mixon.
Houston's defense is extremely talented, but they aren't a group that appears to be good enough to overwhelm a good offense and ultimately win games of the Texans. Instead, Houston quite clearly needs to find something better going offensively that gets Stroud more comfortable. Until that happens, it feels completely justified to call this Texans team middling and nothing more.