NFL Power Rankings: Week 2, 2019
Ravens, Titans, Raiders rise; Bears, Steelers, Browns fall.
Well, Week 1 is in the books.
After a relative snooze-fest of a season opener between the Bears and Packers, in which neither team looked great but Mitch Trubisky, in particular, seemed to struggle, Sunday brought the excitement we had waited seven months for.
Patrick Mahomes picked up right where he left off, with 378 yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars in a game which also saw new Jacksonville starter Nick Foles break his clavicle, sending him to the IR.
Luckily, rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew performing well, even setting a new franchise record for completion percentage in a game. While Foles will be out for at least two months, don’t write off the Jaguars quite yet.
But the biggest surprise quarterback performance — and team performance as a whole — came from Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, who threw up 59 (!!) points on the Miami Dolphins on the road.
By the end of the game, even Robert Griffin III got in on the action. Baltimore could’ve easily hit the 60s or maybe even 70s if they wanted to, and Jackson’s five touchdown passes proved all the haters wrong, sending them to detention to repent.
Elsewhere, the Browns failed to live up to any of the hype, instead reverting to their old selves and losing by 30, the same deficit by which the Steelers fell to the defending-champion Patriots in a near-flawless debut from New England.
But, of course, the best was saved for last. On Monday night, the Saints and Texans tangled at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome. After a slow first half, Drew Brees dialed it up to 11, giving the Saints a six-point lead with less than a minute left.
Spectacularly, Deshaun Watson led the Texans to a touchdown in just two plays, and after Ka’imi Fairbairn’s initial extra point was missed, he got a second chance after a roughing the kicker penalty, which he drilled.
Yet, somehow, they gave the Saints too much time on the clock, and Wil Lutz nailed a 58-yard game-winner as time expired. What a game.
My sources are telling me the Raiders and Broncos also played that night.
There’s so much to unpack after just one week of action. Here’s how everyone’s opening performances impact their standing in my power rankings.
32. Miami Dolphins (0–1, Last Week: 32)
Can a season-opener get any worse? Fans were already booing in the first quarter, and by halftime, Hard Rock Stadium was basically empty. The Dolphins allowed 42 points in just the first half, and frankly, looked like a team that didn’t deserve to be playing in the NFL.
They got killed in the passing game, where Lamar Jackson tossed five touchdowns. They got killed in the running game, where Mark Ingram had 105 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens had 265 yards as a whole. They even got killed in special teams, giving up 60 yards on a fake punt by Baltimore deemed by some as just plain cruelty.
The Fins were outgained 643–200 and turned it over three times. Even Josh Rosen got to make an appearance, although he promptly threw an interception. After the 59–10 thumping, at least three players requested a trade.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, they get New England next week.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0–1, LW: 26)
Leave it to Jameis Winston to literally throw the game away with a pair of second-half pick-sixes. At this stage in his career, can Jameis really be trusted to learn from his mistakes, or will it quickly become more of the same?
This was a chance at home to get the season off on the right foot in a winnable matchup — one that Vegas called a toss-up. Instead, the misery seems to have already begun.
30. Arizona Cardinals (0–0–1, LW: 31)
A tie! I suppose that’s a good thing considering the Cardinals had just five first-downs after three quarters and trailed 24–6 at one point in the fourth. Knowing that much, I guess it’s actually more like a miracle.
Kliff Kingsbury called a poor game early on, but learned quickly in his first game, as did rookie quarterback Kyler Murray. I wrote earlier in the week about a few of Kingsbury’s strong late-game decisions, including the decision to punt late in overtime, which I believe was the correct one.
Just look at this gift Matthew Stafford tried to give them! I don’t know if the Cardinals will win many games this season, but they could be fun to watch.
29. Washington Redskins (0–1, LW: 29)
At some point around 1 pm central time Sunday, the Redskins were shocking the world, leading the Eagles 17–0. Clearly, they lost the game 32–27, so things went very wrong after that miraculous start, but it’s a very encouraging opening performance from Case Keenum — 380 yards and three TDs.
However, the running game struggled, going for just 28 yards on 13 carries between Derrius Guice, effectively a rookie after missing last season with a torn ACL, and Chris Thompson. Now, Guice is injured again and looks to be out at least a few weeks.
Guess who’s starting again? Adrian Peterson.
28. New York Giants (0–1, LW: 27)
At some point, you just have to feel bad for Eli Manning. He wasn’t great in Week 1, but he still played fairly well, racking up over 300 yards and only turning the ball over on a fourth-down sack deep in Cowboys territory.
It’s just hard to imagine the Giants winning games with a defense as atrocious as the one they put on the field Sunday. They’ll get Golden Tate back, and will hopefully learn to give Saquon Barkley the ball more on crucial downs, but none of that will matter unless they can stop someone.
I wouldn’t normally say this during just Week 2, but if the Giants can’t beat the Bills, a team that turned it over four times against the Jets, at home in their next matchup, there’s very little hope for this squad.
27. Detroit Lions (0–0–1, LW: 24)
The Detroit Lions have always been a team we’ve wanted more from — one with decent to high expectations that finds ways to wind up in mediocrity. Still — they could beat the Cardinals, right?
Things looked pretty good on that front at 17–0 and 24–6, but a fourth quarter, overtime, and a tie later, they’ve proven once again to be that team that can’t get over the hump.
Now, I’m starting to wonder if Matt Patricia is really the right coach for this team. At least T.J. Hockenson balled out in his debut.
26. Cincinnati Bengals (0–1, LW: 30)
Add the Bengals to the list of teams who overperformed but still ultimately lost to likely playoff teams. They’re joined by the Redskins, Panthers, and Colts.
Cincinnati outgained the Seahawks 429–233, and Andy Dalton led the league in passing yards in Week 1. His favorite target? That would be John Ross, who had 158 yards and two touchdowns, coming close to his total of 210 receiving yards from all of 2018.
Mistakes like a fumble, missed field goal, and missed fourth-down conversion on the edge of field goal range did in the Bengals. To beat a team like Seattle, you need to make the most of your opportunities, and they let a few too many slip away in their one-point defeat.
25. New York Jets (0–1, LW: 23)
When you force four turnovers in the first half, you’re supposed to head into the locker room with a comfortable lead. Instead, the Jets’ offensive struggles meant they only were up 6–0.
By the third quarter, the Jets had made that 16–0. However, even that margin wouldn’t be enough, as the Jets allowed 17 unanswered to the Bills to lose 17–16 in the most Jets way possible.
I still can’t believe they wasted this incredible fourth-down effort from Le’Veon Bell on their final drive. I don’t have much else to say about this one — it just stings.
24. Denver Broncos (0–1, LW: 19)
I don’t know if anyone expected the Broncos to be great this season, but at least you could convince yourself that they’d be decent. A talented defensive core gets a great defensive mind at head coach, and Joe Flacco gets a fresh start.
Unfortunately, none of the pieces came together well in their opener against the Raiders. Next up on the list is a home game against the Bears, another team which failed to live up to expectations in Week 1. The team that falls to 0–2 will have plenty of questions to ask of themselves.
23. Buffalo Bills (1–0, LW: 22)
Congrats on winning, I guess. I’m not sure it could have been any uglier, but hey — that’s what Jets/Bills matchups are for. Both of these teams have a lot of work to do.
In his first Bills game, John Brown recorded seven catches for 123 yards and the game-winning touchdown with three minutes left. And impressively, Devin Singletary managed 70 yards on just four carries with none of them going for longer than 23.
Up next, it’s at the Giants and home against the Bengals, two teams you’ll notice are ranked below the Bills. If this team is to have an unlikely run, the opportunities are there.
22. Oakland Raiders (1–0, LW: 28)
After all the Antonio Brown nonsense and the appearance on Hard Knocks, that the Oakland Raiders could put together as solid of a football game as they did is a real achievement. I thought we could have been headed for a historic dumpster-fire.
Technically, that could still occur, but I was impressed by Oakland’s ability to control the tempo in this one and punch it in when they got into the red zone. At one point, the Raiders led 21–9 with three touchdowns to the Broncos’ three field goals.
If this was the last Monday Night Football game in Oakland, they ended on a good note.
21. San Francisco 49ers (1–0, LW: 25)
Jameis Winston threw two pick-sixes (congrats to Richard Sherman on his first INT since 2017!), but Jimmy Garoppolo had one of his own, too. There were more defensive touchdowns than offensive ones in San Francisco’s 31–17 victory.
The 49ers ran (no pun intended) with three RBs in this one, and while there were questions over whether Matt Breida or Tevin Coleman would get the bulk of carries, it was actually Raheem Mostert who led the team in rushing (despite being third in attempts).
I’m intrigued to see how they fare against a Bengals team that played the Seahawks tough in Week 1.
20. Atlanta Falcons (0–1, LW: 15)
On paper, the numbers don’t look terrible for Matt Ryan and the Falcons. However, that’s mostly because, as with many Falcons losses from the past few years, the team was down big early on before Matt Ryan spent much of the second half trying to dig his team out of a hole.
The Vikings led this encounter 28–0 after three before the Falcons tacked on a pair of TDs with missed two-point conversions in garbage time to make it 28–12.
From having a punt blocked on their first drive to fumbling on the edge of the red zone and throwing a pick in the end zone, the Falcons were dominated despite actually outgaining the Vikings by 76 yards. Not the best look.
19. Cleveland Browns (0–1, LW: 12)
The Browns rode into 2019 with high hopes — perhaps the highest hopes for any season since they came back to Cleveland. Then, they committed 18 penalties for 182 yards and got smoked at home.
The start of their matchup with the Titans was a relatively slow game, just 6–3 over five minutes in the second quarter, with the Browns scoring the only touchdown to that point but missing an extra point.
However, it was all south from that point. The Titans ended the game on a 43–7 run, and as the Browns fell further behind, Baker Mayfield only became more rushed, ultimately throwing three interceptions in the game.
Obviously, the Browns aren’t dead after just one poor performance. However, we might want to cool off all the hype — this team has a lot of work to do.
18. Indianapolis Colts (0–1, LW: 21)
After Andrew Luck’s retirement, we all knew the Colts would switch to a more run-heavy offense. However, I don’t think anyone expected that after Week 1, Marlon Mack would be leading the NFL in rushing. 174 yards later, here we are.
The Colts impressed heavily against the Chargers, taking a team expected to do much better than them into overtime. It was an uncharacteristic nightmarish performance from Adam Vinatieri, who missed two field goals and an extra point. On any other day, they’d have won the game in regulation.
I think we have to cut the 46-year old Vinatieri some slack, though. The fact that he’s still playing shows a lot about how good he is.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (0–1, LW: 17)
Gardner Minshew, possibly the oldest-looking 23-year old on the face of the earth, and his sweet, sweet mustache are now leading the Jacksonville Jaguars after the injury to Nick Foles.
The offense looked good, and after his time with Mike Leach at Washington State, we certainly know Minshew can sling it. And I wouldn’t worry too much about giving up 40 to the Chiefs, either. They’ll do that to a lot of people.
Week 1 tells us that the Jaguars can hang, but it’ll take a bigger sample size to get a good grasp of where this team is.
16. Carolina Panthers (0–1, LW: 18)
I’m tempted to just talk about Cam Newton’s outfit but considering this was one of the tighter Week 1 matchups, I’ll give credit where credit is due. I thought the Rams would take this one relatively easily, but with a combination of great special teams play and over 200 total yards and two scores from Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers nearly took down last year’s NFC Champs.
Panthers fans should feel good about their team’s chances of going 2–1 with very, very winnable games against the Bucs and Cardinals over the next two weeks.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (0–1, LW: 9)
Oh, man. The Steelers and the Patriots are usually playing for a spot in the Super Bowl, but if this game was any indication…
The Steelers have gotten rid of some pretty big pieces, so it might take them a bit to adjust. Plus, the Patriots are the Patriots. Still, they looked poor in all three phases, and Mike Tomlin’s decision to kick a field goal down 20–0 from the one-yard line was, well…terrible.
Congrats — you didn’t get shutout. Was waving the white flag worth a 33–3 final?
14. Tennessee Titans (1–0, LW: 20)
Conversely to the Browns, their Week 1 opponent, not many people were talking about the Titans during the offseason. After bringing in Ryan Tannehill, you got the feeling that this would be a real make or break season for Marcus Mariota and his future with the team.
If Week 1 is any indication, it’s a “make”. Mariota threw for three touchdowns, and the Titans as a whole played a much more disciplined game. This win will have heads turning. Tennessee was the only AFC South team to win their opener, and look like they could be a real contender in that division.
13. Chicago Bears (0–1, LW: 6)
The Bears defense will be great — even after losing Vic Fangio, that won’t change. However, offense alone does not a game win. For them to throw points up on the board and live up to their NFC Championship potential, Mitch Trubisky needs to make big strides this season.
Judging by the constant overthrows against Green Bay, I’m less than confident of his abilities to become the man they need him to be, which is unfortunate considering who else the Bears could’ve taken in that draft.
12. Green Bay Packers (1–0, LW: 14)
They aren’t all going to pretty, and this one certainly wasn’t pretty. Fans tuning into the opening game of the season were treated to a hodgepodge of sacks, punts, and general offensive struggles.
Aaron Rodgers wasn’t at his best but still was able to scramble and make some great plays to remind of us who he is. The running game and offensive line struggled mightily, but on Thursday, the defense was more than enough to make up for it.
Props to Adrian Amos for sealing the win with a pick against his former team. Apparently, he knew what play was coming, which led him to make that great read.
11. Seattle Seahawks (1–0, LW: 8)
As nine-point favorites, the Seahawks were lucky to get out of Week 1 with a 21–20 victory over the Bengals. Once again, the story seems to be the lack of help around Russell Wilson.
D.K. Metcalf performed well in his first NFL game, but Tyler Lockett caught just one pass (albeit a big touchdown). Every now and again you can steal one with a mediocre performance, but you don’t win titles that way. The Seahawks want to win titles.
10. Houston Texans (0–1, LW: 11)
Game. of. the. week. I’m not someone who believes that just because a team loses, they have to fall in the power rankings. I’m not the AP Poll. The Texans and Saints both looked like true contenders in a slugfest on Monday night, and it didn’t disappoint, down to the very last second.
Wil Lutz’s game-winning 58-yarder was heartbreaking for Houston, but they have a ton of positives to take from this one, including Deshaun Watson’s remarkable two-play touchdown drive in the final minute of the game.
One cause for concern, though: Watson was sacked six times. Particularly with his history, the Texans need to minimize the hits on their star QB. It must be a top priority.
9. Baltimore Ravens (1–0, LW: 16)
Wow. I mean, just wow. The Ravens thoroughly dismantled the Dolphins faster and with more efficient than just about any other game I can remember. A-pluses across the board.
But how much can we take from just one game, against a team that was expected to compete for the #1 pick? A few thoughts:
- Dropping 59 points on any professional football team is an absurd achievement.
- Don’t go betting on the Ravens to win the Super Bowl just yet.
- That being said, with how poorly the Browns and Steelers played in Week 1, the Ravens are probably AFC North favorites now.
8. Minnesota Vikings (1–0, LW: 13)
Just how they drew it up. In a matchup between two teams that were supposed to be fighting to reenter the postseason, the Vikings looked every bit the contender while making the Falcons look like pretenders.
Any time you can throw 28 points on the board with your quarterback only attempting 10 passes in the entire game, you know it’s been a total team effort. Dalvin Cook dominated on the ground, and defense/special teams took care of business.
Kirk Cousins will get his first taste of a team with a winning record in 2019 when the Vikes head to Green Bay this week.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (1–0, LW: 7)
How about the immortal Darren Sproles still going to work, leading the Eagles in rushing and getting in for this two-point conversion!
Speaking of old guys back in town, DeSean Jackson had himself quite a day in his first game back with the Eagles after bouncing around a bit, including with the Redskins, their opponent in Week 1. He finished with eight catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, ever the deep threat.
After a rocky start, the Eagles are 1–0 and on the road, headed to Atlanta for a Sunday Night Football matchup where they can establish themselves as one of the NFC’s top dogs and capitalize on the Falcons’ early-season struggles.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (1–0, LW: 5)
Melvin Gordon who? That’s the question the Chargers will be asking after Austin Ekeler stepped up big in the team’s star running back’s absence, with 154 total yards and three touchdowns. Gordon won’t be traded, and the Chargers don’t seem to mind him being gone that much. We’ll see if the holdout continues, but it doesn’t look great for Gordon at the moment.
That being said, it was a very close game and one that the Chargers were fortunate to win. They’ll look to have a far more dominant performance in Detroit this week.
5. Dallas Cowboys (1–0, LW: 10)
What an unbelievable start at offensive coordinator for former Cowboys backup quarterback Kellen Moore. Perhaps I’m overreacting a little bit by throwing the Cowboys into the top five, but I have concerns about the Chargers and Eagles, neither of whom looked near as dominant as the Cowboys did when they scored touchdowns on five-consecutive possessions against the Giants.
To be fair, the Giants secondary provided little resistance, but that game could help make Dak Prescott a very rich man, as he seems to be next on board to gain a massive extension from Jerry Jones.
4. New Orleans Saints (1–0, LW: 4)
Unbelievably, after one of the worst missed calls in NFL history to end their previous season, and after Saints fans dressed up as referees to their team’s Week 1 home game against the Texans, the officials made a huge mistake again right before halftime, likely causing Wil Lutz a chance at a field goal.
Lutz ultimately got his revenge, of course. The Saints trailed 14–3 at the break, but Drew Brees came back with a vengeance, marching his team down the field again and again, in true Brees fashion.
Having a game that close and with a playoff-like atmosphere in just Week 1 should prove beneficial to the Saints as they march on into Los Angeles for a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game against the Rams.
3. Los Angeles Rams (1–0, LW: 2)
The Rams were marred by uncharacteristic special teams issues on Sunday but given that they won’t have punts blocked every week, I don’t think there’s a ton of cause for concern, although I will move them below the Chiefs heading into Week 2.
Jared Goff struggled against the Panthers defense, but he still has plenty of tools at his disposal, and where he lacked, the running game more than made up for it. It was a big game for Malcolm Brown, who had two touchdowns on the day and will likely see his role increase from last season this backfield.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (1–0, LW: 3)
The human torch Patrick Mahomes lit up what should be a pretty good Jaguars defense, pretty quickly ending all doubts on whether he plans on having a sophomore slump, although he did have a brief injury scare late in the second quarter.
However, the two big winners in this game were new guys on the team. LeSean McCoy, who had only been on the team for a week, heavily outperformed Damien Williams in the backfield, picking up 81 yards on 10 carries.
In the receiving game, Sammy Watkins exploded for 198 yards and three touchdowns, for a fantasy 40-bomb in PPR leagues. Watkins’ once heavily promising career had taken injury downturns, so it’s good to see him rolling again. The Chiefs seem to be able to win with anyone.
1. New England Patriots (1–0, LW: 1)
Obviously, the whole news cycle this week for the Patriots has been around and will continue to be about controversial new signee Antonio Brown, who’s already tenuous situation has been made even worse by rape and sexual assault allegations against him coming from a former trainer.
Drew Rosenhaus, Brown’s agent, used the lamest “father of a daughter” defense, which deserves to be called out.
Brown may or may not be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, but until we get any additional information, I’ll refrain from speculation. During their game against the Steelers, the Patriots proved they don’t need Brown to play to be the best team in the league. Depending on what happens, he might not be a Patriot much longer.
Connor Groel is a writer who studies sport management at the University of Texas at Austin. He also serves as editor of the Top Level Sports publication on Medium, and the host of the Connor Groel Sports podcast. You can follow Connor on Medium, Facebook, and Twitter, and view his archives at toplevelsports.net
