NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: Vikings and Lions impress, Browns in the bad place

The beautiful thing about NFL Week 1 is how much we can learn from what happens to start the regular season. What makes that even more fun, though, is trying to decide what we can believe in from the results in Week 1, what we should still be in a holding pattern with, and what is a severe overreaction. That's part of what we'll diagnose in our NFL Power Rankings going into Week 2.

There were some huge surprises. The New England Patriots won a football game before the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers! Kirk Cousins' debut with the Falcons was a flop! So too was Caleb Williams' debut for the Bears but that didn't matter for Chicago! And there's so much more to unpack.

We're enlisting the help of team experts from the FanSided network to help flesh out what we saw in Week 1 and what it means as we dive through our NFL Power Rankings this week, so let's get into it. (Note: Number in parentheses indicates last week's ranking.)

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32. Carolina Panthers (31)

Carolina Panthers fans came into the campaign with optimism that better days were ahead under new head coach Dave Canales. This evaporated in the blink of an eye after a disastrous start to the campaign. They were outmatched and outperformed by the New Orleans Saints, giving up 47 points and somehow looking even worse than last season. 

Bryce Young’s performance was woeful at best. He threw an interception on his opening pass attempt and coughed up another pick on the second play of the second half. Things need to improve quickly for the signal-caller to alleviate concerns about his long-term future with the franchise. As for Canales? He's probably wondering what he's gotten himself into. — Dean Jones, Panthers Expert, Site Expert at Cat Crave

31. New York Giants (30)

Everything that could have gone wrong for the NY Giants in Week 1 did. Daniel Jones reminded fans once again that he’s not the long-term answer for this offense, throwing for two interceptions, including a pick-six to Andrew Van Ginkel. Want a sobering stat? Since signing his $160 million extension, Jones has thrown for two touchdown passes and three pick-sixes. Yes, he has more TDs to the other team than to his own teammates. — Braulio Perez, Giants Expert, Senior Editor at GMEN HQ

30. Denver Broncos (26)

The Broncos didn’t get the same type of performance from Bo Nix that we saw in the preseason, but there were moments to build on and learn from as the season progresses. Going to Seattle and getting a win is a tall order, even without Pete Carroll roaming the sidelines. The Broncos couldn’t overcome their three turnovers in Bo Nix’s debut and lost a tight matchup with the Steelers looming. — Sayre Bedinger, Broncos Expert, Site Expert at Predominantly Orange

29. Washington Commanders (28)

It was an offseason of monumental changes for the Washington Commanders. This is going to be a long rebuilding project based on their first showing of the season. They were soundly beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, displaying the same concerning play despite coming into the game with an unrecognizable roster from the previous campaign. 

The secondary was torched by Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Washington's defense front couldn't finish plays effectively and the wide receivers had trouble creating separation. Jayden Daniels' performance left reasons for encouragement, but things might get worse before they get better for the Commanders unless significant adjustments are made. — Dean Jones, Commanders Expert, Site Expert at Riggo's Rag

28. Las Vegas Raiders (25)

Raider Nation had every fear realized in Week 1 as the offense put together a putrid performance against a pretty unimpressive Chargers team. The offense couldn’t get the ball moving and Luke Getsy hasn’t improved as a playcaller now that he’s away from Justin Fields.

The good news is that the defense looks really good and dominated most of the game before running out of gas toward the end. That said, it’s hard to see how the Raiders win many games this season with such an underwhelming offense. Things aren’t about to get any easier with a road game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. — Austin Boyd, Raiders Expert, Site Expert at Just Blog Baby

27. Tennessee Titans (29)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis self-imploded, committing three second-half turnovers to help his team blow a 17-0 lead and ultimately lose, 24-17, to the Bears in Week 1.

The Titans will need significantly better play from Levis if they're to achieve their goals this season. — Justin Melo, Titans Expert, Site Expert at Titan Sized

26. New England Patriots (32)

It's fair to say that the New England Patriots starting the season 1-0 might be the biggest surprise coming out of Week 1. This is one of several examples wherein I'm not sure how much this had to do with the Pats and how much it had to do with an abysmal Bengals performance but you do have to give Jerod Mayo and his team deserved credit.

The offensive line and run game looked far better than anyone projected, especially after a suspect body of work in the preseason, while the defense was fierce in forcing mistakes throughout this game. Will this continue as a shock-the-world type season for New England? I wouldn't bank on that quite yet but it was a far better start than just about anyone imagined.

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25. Cleveland Browns (16)

Abject failure might be too kind to what we saw from the Browns on Sunday against the Cowboys. Make no mistake, Dallas is a good team -- but it was made abundantly clear that Cleveland is not that with this iteration of Deshaun Watson at quarterback. He looks more washed than that t-shirt from high school you probably should've thrown out three years ago, at least.

What really stood out is that Watson's dismal performance adversely affected the strength of the Browns, their defense, as well. Dallas didn't have a monster day but had more than enough to simply keep leaning on a defensive unit that couldn't get off the field. You have to wonder when Kevin Stefanski seriously considers giving Jameis Winston the rock, if he isn't already.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (21)

The Jaguars failed to live up to expectations in 2023 and didn't do much in Week 1 to dispel the notion that they're not ready for primetime. Leading 17-7 with two minutes left in the third quarter, they had a favorable chance of beating the Miami Dolphins. So what did they do with such a promising opportunity? They let it slip out of their hands. 

Running back Travis Etienne fumbled near the Miami end zone and the Phins recovered. They proceeded to score on the following play to make it 17-14. Later in the game and still leading by three points, head coach Doug Pederson made the puzzling decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 on the Jags' own 32-yard line. The fact that Trevor Lawrence only attempted seven passes in the second half didn't help matters. 

There's still plenty of time left to turn things around, but Doug Pederson's seat should start to get warm. — Carlos Sanchez, Jaguars Expert, Site Expert at Black and Teal

23. Atlanta Falcons (17)

Point blank, Kirk Cousins looked like a player who was taking the field for the first time since tearing his Achilles last year. He was a statue in the pocket on Sunday, and the Steelers might be the worst team in the league to be facing when your already limited-mobility quarterback is further compromised coming back from injury.

Even with the offense's shortcomings as a result of that, this defense did look salty as they allowed just six field goals and no touchdowns. That's something to hang the ol' hard hat on after a day's work and, as Cousins hopefully gets healthier as the season goes on, the Falcons could still very well reap the rewards from that.

22. Arizona Cardinals (22)

There's no reason to move the Cardinals, even after they opened the season with a loss -- and even in spite of Kyler Murray getting cooked on social media for missing a wide-open Marvin Harrison Jr. on what could've been a game-changing play. But this team went toe-to-toe with the Bills and remained in it until the end.

Arizona's defense is going to give up quite a bit this season as that's clearly the next step for rebuilding this roster. But you can almost guarantee that the Cardinals offense has the pieces to really push just about anyone on their schedule, which Buffalo can certainly attest to after Week 1.

21. Indianapolis Colts (27)

The Colts were looking to avenge their season-ending loss to the Houston Texans last year, and break an embarrassingly long Week 1 losing streak. With quarterback Anthony Richardson healthy, there were high hopes that they might be able to upset the Texans.

Unfortunately, the Colts lost 29-27 in a roller-coaster game that kept fans’ hopes alive until the very last second. Anthony Richardson had several impressive throws, with multiple 50+ yard passes.The pass rush was also impressive, keeping C.J. Stroud under pressure with four sacks. But they also allowed the Texans to run all over them; Texans running back Joe Mixon had an incredible day. Meanwhile, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was lackluster.

There are still some positives about the Colts; after all, they kept up toe-to-toe with the Texans through the entire game. But if they want to have a shot at being playoff contenders, there are still a lot of things they’ll need to improve. — Casandra Chesser, Colts Expert, Site Expert at Horseshoe Heroes

20. Cincinnati Bengals (9)

What a disastrous way to start the season for the Cincinnati Bengals. This team has been notorious for starting slow but, with Joe Burrow getting a full training camp in, albeit with some guardrails to make sure his health and recovery were going along properly, you expected more than what they showed, and certainly expected them to at least beat the Patriots.

The run defense most definitely needs to be shored up after Rhamondre Stevenson ran all over the Bengals on Sunday. But really, this all comes back to the offense. It can't look like it did in Week 1 if this team wants to have even a remote chance of making the playoffs. I suspect it will but this is aa sour taste in your mouth to start the year.

NFL Power Rankings: Jury's Still Out

19. New Orleans Saints (24)

Perhaps the biggest question coming out of Week 1 for me is whether the New Orleans Saints are that good, the Carolina Panthers are that bad, or if the answer is somewhere in the middle of those two things. But a 47-10 victory to open the season certainly has my attention when it comes to Dennis Allen's team.

The Saints defense made Bryce Young's life miserable throughout this game and the offense took advantage of that again and again. It was a near flawless Derek Carr performance (by his standards, at least) and Alvin Kamara looked dangerous as well. But what they look like in Dallas in Week 2 I feel will tell us far more about the Saints than this result.

18. Chicago Bears (18)

The good news is that the Chicago Bears started off the Caleb Williams era with a win. For a franchise that had not given fans too many reasons to be excited in recent years, that qualifies as cause for celebration. However, we'd all be lying to ourselves if we said that was the most impressive thing we've ever seen from the rookie and, specifically, the Bears offense.

Williams finished the day just 14-of-29 for 93 yards while rushing for 15 more. That obviously has to improve but Chicago's special teams and defense came up with huge plays to carry this team to victory, which is a good sign for the state of the roster. The ceiling hinges on Williams' improvement but it's higher perhaps than expected given what the rest of the team looked like on Sunday.

17. New York Jets (12)

After the offseason was filled with a huge amount of anticipation for the New York Jets this season now that Aaron Rodgers is healthy, the club came out and got dog-walked by the 49ers. It was a bit disheartening to see the Jets clearly not have it but perhaps that's what happens, specifically on offense, when your 40-year-old quarterback returning from an Achilles injury doesn't play at all in the preseason.

16. Los Angeles Chargers (20)

The Chargers looked like a different team in Jim Harbaugh’s first game back in the NFL. It was not always pretty, as the Bolts wholly struggled in the first half and were unable to find the endzone despite being handed good field position, but the team peaked when it mattered most. 

The best-coached teams in the league get better as games go along and that is exactly what the Chargers did on Sunday. In the first and second quarter the Chargers ranked 23rd and 25th, respectively, in the NFL in EPA/Play for those particular quarters. In the third and fourth quarter, the Chargers jumped all the way to 10th and third, respectively. Los Angeles peaked in the fourth quarter, which is not something fans are used to. 

There are still several areas for Harbaugh’s squad to improve. The pass-catching weapons are still among the worst in the league and that limits what the Bolts can do offensively. Justin Herbert needs to play better, too, as not every game will be a 22-10 slugfest where mediocre play from Herbert is enough. 

This was a great first step for the Chargers in Week 1. With the Carolina Panthers on the horizon in Week 2, Chargers fans should feel even better about the team in seven days. — Jason Reed, Chargers Expert, Content Director at Bolt Beat

15. Minnesota Vikings (23)

Sam Darnold conquered his demons (or ghosts?) on Sunday, as he helped the Vikings humiliate the Giants in front of a MetLife Stadium crowd that decided to leave the building midway through the third quarter.

While many will talk about Darnold’s debut with Minnesota, it was actually the team’s defense that was the most impressive on Sunday. The Vikings added several players this offseason that are better fits for the scheme run by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and this made a tremendous impact against the Giants.

New York couldn’t do anything on offense, as Minnesota held them to six points, forced two turnovers, and sacked Daniel Jones five times. If the Vikings are going to do anything meaningful this season, it’s probably going to be because of the guys on the defensive side of the ball. — Adam Patrick, Vikings Expert, Site Editor at The Viking Age

14. Seattle Seahawks (19)

Mike Macdonald got his first win as head coach for the Seattle Seahawks in the way he most likely hoped. The defense was stout, limiting the Denver Broncos to just 231 total yards and 3.3 yards per play. Seattle’s offense struggled, but should the defense continue to play as well as it did in Week 1, Seattle will have a successful season.

The issue is that the schedule begins to get a lot tougher in Week 3. Macdonald might not yet know what he has as far as his defensive personnel and there isn’t much time to go from beating a dismal offense like the Broncos to trying to compete with the offenses of the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. — Lee Vowell, Seahawks Expert, Site Expert at 12th Man Rising

13. Green Bay Packers (10)

The Packers left Brazil with more questions than answers, none bigger than Jordan Love's status after suffering a sprained MCL that could sideline him for multiple weeks. Matt LaFleur's squad must navigate through choppy waters without their $220 million quarterback, beginning in next week's home opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

The ink has barely dried on Malik Willis' playbook, but the Packers' playoff hopes may rest on his shoulders. He needs support from everyone around him, including a defense that surrendered 410 yards and 34 points against the Philadelphia Eagles in an underwhelming start to Jeff Hafley's tenure as defensive coordinator.

Things could get worse before they get better in Green Bay. — Freddie Boston, Packers Expert, Site Editor at Lombardi Ave

12. Los Angeles Rams (13)

If an NFL team can take comfort in a road loss, while the team incurs even more injuries that have placed several key positions dangerously thin, then the Los Angeles Rams certainly warrant the benefit of the doubt. There were plenty of question marks hovering over the team before the regular season opened. While some questions remain, the team did show strong competitiveness playing on the road, short-handed, against a Detroit Lions team that almost everyone expects to return to the NFC Championship Game.

The Rams offense appears to be dialed back to their 2021 success story, Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp. And with Puka Nacua reinjuring his knee, that may be what this offense must rely on until the Week 6 BYE. But the Rams defense came to play this season, and as key players get healthy enough to suit up, could be a huge factor in their ultimate success.

The Rams have to get very healthy very quickly. — Bret Stuter, Rams Expert, Site Expert at Ramblin' Fan

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11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15)

Things could not have gotten off to a better start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield was given $100 million this offseason and wasted no time proving the team right for making that decision. The season largely hinges on whether he can continue to build on the success of last season, and so far, he's doing exactly that. 

Baker began his second season in Tampa Bay by throwing four touchdowns and leading the team to its highest point total since 2022. Part of that was new offensive coordinator Liam Coen calling a great game, but a lot of it was Baker looking as comfortable as ever in an offense that is loaded with talent. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan all scored, Rachaad White and Bucky Irving look like Skip Peete's next evolution of Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard, and the offense looked more effortlessly efficient in ways we haven't seen in a long time. 

The silence you hear is the hush that has fallen over the Baker Mayfield doubters who spent the offseason claiming the Bucs didn't do enough to improve. It's a small sample size, but the Revenge Tour Part II is off to a fantastic start. — Josh Hill, Buccaneers Expert, Content Director at The Pewter Plank

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (14)

The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t have asked for a better start to their 2024 season. Before emerging victorious in the early slate of games in Week 1, they watched the Ravens fall to the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. This was followed by a Bengals and Browns loss on Sunday.

Nobody expected Pittsburgh to hold sole possession of first place in the AFC North after one week. While the offense wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders with Justin Fields under center, the newcomer managed the clock and led his team on six scoring drives. 

Defensively, the Steelers look as strong as ever after an electrifying performance from T.J. Watt and a new-look secondary. A top-flight defense raises the floor for Pittsburgh and has them sitting on their high horse atop the division after entering Week 2. — Tommy Jaggi, Steelers Expert, Site Editor at Still Curtain

9. Houston Texans (11)

I'm not going to sit here and lie to you on the internet and say that the Houston Texans beating the Colts by two points really lit my world on fire. There were flashes that you absolutely wanted to see, without question, including Joe Mixon reeling off a monster debut with his new team while C.J. Stroud seemed to fit right into his new and improved cast of weapons, including Stefon Diggs.

However, it felt as if the Texans might've been too aggressive for their own good at times. Whether that was with their defensive pressure designs or even some play-calls offensively, it felt like there were opportunities for this game to not be as close as it was. A win is a win for a team we thought highly of coming into the year but that's something to monitor for the next 16 games.

8. Miami Dolphins (6)

After a slow start on both sides of the ball, the Miami defense stepped up in the second half and shut down the Jaguars offense. The turning point came on a stripped fumble by Jevon Holland into the endzone. Miami turned that into seven points on the next drive.

The offense began to come to life at that point and were able to win the game. Miami has a lot to fix in a short week when they host the Bills on Thursday night. There is a lot of mess to clean up. — Brian Miller, Dolphins Expert, Senior Contributor at Phin Phanatic

7. Buffalo Bills (8)

It was a huge up-and-down performance by the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, yet they managed to escape with a 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals. After being down 17-3, Josh Allen put the team on his back and played at an MVP caliber level to help bring the Bills back into the game with four total touchdowns. However, Allen injured his left hand on his final rushing touchdown and that will be a situation that needs to be closely monitored. 

Buffalo has had more questions than answers this entire offseason due to an overhaul on their roster. They answered some of those questions on Sunday and proved that they are still one of the top teams in the NFL. Now they will have a tough stretch of their schedule coming up, with three consecutive primetime matchups (two of them being on the road). — Brandon Ray, Bills Expert, Site Expert at BuffaLowDown

NFL Power Rankings: Still Looking Pretty Elite

6. Baltimore Ravens (2)

The Ravens had a near-impossible task ahead of them going into Week 1: beat the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs at home on opening night. Shocker, they lost. However, Lamar Jackson looked as electric as ever. The reigning regular-season MVP hasn’t lost a step and a few miscues and missed throws on opening night won’t suggest otherwise. Even with the mistakes (and the refs seemingly having money on the game), this Ravens team was a toe-length away from stealing a win at Arrowhead Stadium.

They’ll fix the little things like how to incorporate Derrick Henry into the offense where to utilize Mark Andrews, and how to sure up the offensive line, but it’s good to get those pesky heebie-jeebies out of the way early on in the season. Unfortunately, there’s a Patrick Mahomes-sized shadow they need to get out of but this is a good football team and they’ll improve. — Matt Sidney, Ravens Expert, Site Expert at Ebony Bird

5. Philadelphia Eagles (7)

What do we actually know about the Philadelphia Eagles after they opened the season in Brazil? Well, I'm not actually sure it's too much. The sloppy conditions led to some big plays for both sides in that Friday night affair, so the jury should rightly still be out on if both the Eagles offense and the secondary are fixed after falling off dramatically at the end of last season.

Even still, the Eagles got a bit win over a potential playoff team in the Packers, which is good to start building momentum. And crappy turf or not, the one-week sample size says that the investment made in Saquon Barkley this offseason was well worth it for Philadelphia.

4. Dallas Cowboys (5)

Dak Prescott signed his long-term extension with the Cowboys only a few hours before Dallas started the 2024 regular season, but credit to Mike McCarthy and his staff for having this team ready to play despite all of the contractual turmoil that surrounded the offense. You would've never known it watching this team dismantle the Browns.

For as good as Dan Quinn was for several years in Dallas, it looked early like Mike Zimmer may be an even better fit. Maybe that was just Deshaun Watson, but the Browns were living in hell this entire game. On the flip side, it wasn't flashy but the Cowboys consistently made the right plays throughout on offense to put up 33 points against last season's top-rated defense.

3. San Francisco 49ers (3)

In most cases, losing the reigning Offensive Player of the Year would spell doom for an offense. So, when Christian McCaffrey was ruled out because of a calf issue, one might have thought the 49ers defense would be in trouble against a tough Jets defense on Monday night. 

No one told the undrafted Jordan Mason, though, who rushed for a whopping 147 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown, helping take the load of Brock Purdy who didn’t need to go toe to toe against Aaron Rodgers.

Not as if Rodgers could get much done against the Niners’ own defense, which looks just as potent as it did a year ago, perhaps even better. — Peter Panacy, 49ers Expert, Side Editor at Niner Noise

2. Detroit Lions (4)

The Lions didn’t fully look the part of a Super Bowl contender in the season opener against the Rams, but they did what good teams do: find a way to win when you don’t play your best. The offense was up and down, highlighted by a long touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Jameson Williams as the latter took a step toward paying off all the preseason hype with the first 100-yard game of his career. 

David Montgomery led the ground game with 17 carries for 91 yards, including 45 yards and the game-winning touchdown on the only drive of overtime as the offensive line showed why it’s the best in the league.

Week 2 brings another rematch from last year’s playoffs, at home against the Buccaneers. — Brad Berreman, Lions Expert, Site Expert at SideLion Report

1. Kansas City Chiefs (1)

The Chiefs weathered a highly emotional best effort from last year’s top conference seed and came out with an early seeding win over the Ravens—the single team best suited to beat them in 2024. These Chiefs are deep and young with several key players growing into important roles — Xavier Worthy, Kingsley Suamataia — with the league’s fifth-youngest roster. 

Given Hollywood Brown’s imminent return (and Charles Omenihu should be back by midseason), Patrick Mahomes & Co. are already having more fun than last year. The AFC West also looks anemic. That should scare every team trying to keep pace as they chase a three-peat. — Matt Conner, Chiefs Expert, Site Editor at Arrowhead Addict