One week under the belt! Some teams are exactly what they thought they were (looking at you Bills and Raiders). Others surprised us by pulling off an incredible Week 1 upset (Thanks, Bucs). Overall it was a pretty fun, controversy free weekend. However, every team has now played and every team has either one win or one loss.
The first four weeks of Power Rankings are my favorite form of Power Rankings because there are so many overreactions and takeaways that may just be a one week anomaly and will not be a reflection of how the actual season will play out. However, fan-bases have one week to enjoy a win and feel like their Superbowl hopes aren't dashed yet. I am also guilty of this in Week 1 because it's fun to overreact and take things too seriously sometimes. Like, do the Ravens have the best offense in football? Just how bad will the Raiders be? Will Derek Carr throw more interceptions than touchdowns this season? Is Sam Darnold the greatest rookie QB since Troy Aikmen? How soon will Matt Patricia be fired? Let's not speculate any further though. Here are my Week 1 Power Rankings!
32. Buffalo Bills. When you lose 47-3 you end up at the bottom of the rankings. This team looks horrible and has no hope for this season. They'll probably go 0-16 and I think most Bills fans will be okay with that. Everyone needs to understand that this is a tanking season and a year for Josh Allen to take as many lumps and growing pains as possible.
31. Detroit Lions. They also looked awful. It's not possible, but the Lions looked almost as bad at the Bills. They had a terrible offensive line, no running game, and no defense at all. After their pick 6 on the first play of the game, they were embarrassed throughout the whole game as they allowed a Rookie QB to march up and down the field on them. Apparently the Jets also knew the signals that the Lions were using and predicted every play. I would be upset as Lions fan and embarrassed by this routing.
30. Dallas Cowboys. We all had worries about their offense coming into this season and we were all correct. They didn't have a single passing touchdown, Prescott was sacked 6 times, they had a very insignificant run game, and couldn't beat the Panthers despite their best efforts to keep Dallas in the game. I'm not sure how Dallas fixes their offensive problems so they'll probably just stay around this bottom tier of the Rankings all season long.
29. Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals couldn't do anything on offense and this game won't be the only time I say that. Just bench Bradford and let Josh Rosen start. You're not going to be good, so just let him play and give your fan base some hope. Although, Sam Bradford will probably get hurt in Week 3 so you may not have to wait that long.
28. Oakland Raiders. It would have been nice to have Khalil Mack on defense huh? Fortunately for the Raiders, missing Mack was the least of their worries. The Raiders play calling looked antiquated compared to the Rams and Derek Carr looked like a rookie throwing 3 interceptions (including a pick 6 clinching one). The Raiders are trying to stay competent and competitive before moving to Las Vegas with their old roster. I think they need to be looking down the road and focus on trying to be competitive 2 years from now, not this year. Monday night made that clear if it wasn't already.
27. Indianapolis Colts. Andrew Luck played. Even though the Colts lost and they had no run game, the colts have to remember what this season is for. Get Andrew Luck back to play at an elite level again. That won't happen in one week, but him playing an entire game is a start.
26. Tennessee Titans. Offense was bad, Mariota out, multiple other injuries. The Titans had plenty of optimism going into this year. That may have ended this week.
25. New York Giants. You're at home Opening Day and you lose to the Jaguars in an uninspired performance by your starting QB. Thus, you become number 25 on this list. At least Saquon Barkley is really good...
24. Cleveland Browns. They ended their losing streak and they won't go 0-16 this year!! They hung in the game against the Steelers and Tyrod Taylor (despite his bad completion percentage) didn't look terrible. I wish the Browns would use Nick Chubb more in their run game, but it was still a good Week 1 for them.
23. San Francisco 49ers. Jimmy G is no longer the savior and is no longer undefeated! Only one of those two things are true, and it is not the savior one. While he didn't look good, we were once again reminded that his weapons are almost all entirely below average and not nearly good enough to help them make the playoffs this year. Opposing teams have also had an entire offseason to scout Garoppolo which means he will have the toughest year of his career. The 49ers are going to have lots of lumps this year, but they will be a team that improves despite their losses.
22. Seattle Seahawks. I feel like this is something we say every year, but you need to protect Russell Wilson. He is the heart and soul of your team. You need a running game and an Offensive Line that can give him time to make plays downfield. This loss on Sunday was no fault of Russell Wilson's, but he can only do so much as was evident in this loss. Doug Baldwin went down with an injury this Sunday which hurt their offense even more. The best part about their game on Sunday was seeing Shaquem Griffin play and make back to back tackles in the first quarter. His story is still unbelievable and an inspiration to anyone who has the desire to play NFL football.
21. Atlanta Falcons. They started out the (delayed) season opener in Philly and they played exactly like we expected them to. They started out slow on offense, couldn't find Julio Jones in the end-zone, and lost a close game they should have won. These trends are becoming too normal for the Falcons at this point.
20. Houston Texans. Deshaun Watson didn't look as good this year as he did last year against New England, but that's because he hasn't played in a full game since Week 4 last year, and Bill Belichick has had an entire year to scout him. The Texans did do a good job of staying around the entire game against the Pats which is admirable and something the Texans can hang their hat on going forward.
19. San Diego Chargers. Well, so much for the Chargers being better than last year. They looked very similar to their old teams. Phil Rivers threw 51 times (too many) and they couldn't run the football. They were dominated and run up and down the field by the Chiefs. They let Patrick Mahomes look like a 4 year starter and allowed Tyreke Hill to continue to own the Chargers. It's only Week 1 and I don't want to overreact to our Superbowl pick, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.
18. New Orleans Saints. Do. Not. Overreact. The Saint's looked bad, yes. Yes, they lost. But most of their errors were self inflicted and they can't play worse this season than they did on Sunday. They'll be okay, but it's important to remember, no matter how much the Saints may have been favored by, playing division rivals is always close and competitive because of how well each team knows each other. With that in mind, I have the Saints ranked pretty low. They'll climb out of this though and bounce back next week.
17. Chicago Bears. Khalil Mack looked great, Mitch Trubisky looked competent, but conservative play calling and Aaron Rodgers being otherworldly led to the end of the Bears this week. The Bears showed that they can compete on the road against a good team and that they will be a good team this year.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How did they beat the Saints? Jesus Fitzpatrick took control from the very beginning and thanks to the Saints constantly shooting themselves in the foot, the Bucs escaped with a win.
15. Denver Broncos. Keenum looked good, defense looked good (thanks to Seattle's O-Line), and Emmanuel Sanders had himself a day. It's the perfect opening day for the Broncos! Keep this up and you'll be just fine this year.
14. Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals may be the youngest team in the NFL, but they didn't play like it on Sunday afternoon. Joe Mixon had a good running game including a couple broken tackles and 5 receptions out of the backfield. The Bengals also had Shawn Williams get ejected because of a dirty hit on Andrew Luck. That means the Bengals are officially back! You can't have an opening week without some Bengals ejection or major defensive penalty, after all.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite a bad tie to the Browns this week and an abysmal performance by Big Ben, the Steelers proved they may not need Le'Veon Bell. I think later on in the season Conner will cool off and the Steelers will realize they need Bell at runningback, but for now Conner is working and the Steels can hang their hat on that.
12. Carolina Panthers. Cam Newton and the Panthers defense both looked good yesterday as they hung on to a close 16-8 lead defeating the Cowboys in Carolina. Their strip sack of Prescott at the end of the game on Sunday helped seal their victory. However, they suffered a big loss when Greg Olsen went down. Apparently, he injured his foot (same one as last season). Hopefully he can recover, because the Panthers need him on offense this year.
11. Miami Dolphins. This game took forever, and although the Dolphins won, the real winners in this game were Lightning Delays as they delayed the game on two separate occasions. I predict that next week Hurricanes will win.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars. Another example of a good team going on the road and doing what they needed to do to win. All of the hype coming into this game was surrounding OBJ and Jalen Ramsey. I felt like, despite their personalities, Barkley was the real story on Sunday and that this game played out as expected; in a Jaguars tight victory.
9. Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers is so good at football. Even when he died (at the hands of Khalil Mack), he came back and still beat the Bears. He made multiple miracle plays in the 4th quarter and reminded us why the Packers are always a contender with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Aaron Rodgers health this season will be a question mark for the team, but if he stays healthy they'll stay at the top of these rankings. If this injury turns out the be even more serious, then the Packers will not be here next week.
8. Washington Redskins. Washington went to Arizona and took care of business against a bad team. Adrian Peterson actually looked good running the ball and Alex Smith looked comfortable in the Skins' offense. Their defense looked solid (although it was against a below average Cardinals offense) and they came away with a victory pretty handily. The Redskins lost two rookie receivers and hopefully they end up being okay. If not, then despite a victory, their offense took a dent in Week 1.
7. Minnesota Vikings. Cousins couldn't have had a better debut for the Vikings than he did. He made tight, accurate, throws and made plays when they counted. He also protected the ball and showed that he will be a better Quarterback than Keenum was for Minnesota last year. The Vikings defense looked good as usual and their offensive receiving core was solid.
6. New York Jets. J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets! This is it! They finally found their Quarterback!! They're back and ready to compete in the AFC East! Probably not, but after one week Sam Darnold looked really good. He had confidence and wasn't affected after he threw a pick 6 the first pass of his career. The Jets' defense also was elite last night as they intercepted Stafford 4 times. Who knows if this success is sustainable, but one thing is certain: this team will not be an easy out anytime they come to play this year.
5. Los Angeles Rams. This team is so overloaded with talent that it was only a matter of time before their offense and defense came to life on Monday. These first couple of weeks will be a feeling out process for the Rams as they get used to each other's tendencies and build chemistry, but they are going to win anyway like they did last night because their team has so many playmakers on both sides of the ball. Final note, Todd Gurley is untackleable (made up word).
4. Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs looked really, really good. Tyreke Hill looked really good, Patrick Mahomes looked great, and, until the 4th quarter, handled the Chargers. They struggled to run the ball which is a problem, but they had their aerial attack going so well it felt like maybe they didn't need to run the ball that often. The Chiefs had this same explosive start last season and tailed off. If they can continue this run under Mahomes then they'll be a fun team to watch this season and eventually may see themselves at Number 1 in these rankings.
3. Philadelphia Eagles. Banner nights, ring ceremonies, and opening days in general for defending champions are always hard to play in. You feel the emotion of last season and you get caught up in the celebration which can lead to overexertion early on and make any opening night a struggle. The Eagles suffered from this, but they still pulled off the Philly Special 2.0 in a game that went from a terrible Thursday night game to an exciting 4th quarter and finish. The Eagles will be fine this season. There's no need to worry about their season.
2. New England Patriots. Tom Brady looked great, the Patriots let a Texans team hang around at home, and their receiving core did a great job of making up for Edelman's absence. There's not much you can say about the Pats this season that isn't already known about them. Gronk looked really good this year, and if he stays healthy, then other teams should be worried about how they can stop him.
1. Baltimore Ravens. Are the Ravens the best team in football? They probably aren't, but they certainly looked like it. Their offense was clicking and they took care of business against a bottom tier team just like a good team is supposed to. They didn't allow the Bills to hang around and destroyed any hope Buffalo may have had this season. Their defense was relentless, dominant, and absolutely suffocating. They caused 6 sacks and 2 interceptions. I know it's only Week 1, but their defense looked really good and like one that can carry their team far this season. Joe Flacco also finally looked elite! Is he elite? Find out next week!
Comentarios