NFL Power Rankings - Week 2: Early overreactions for every team
NFL Power Rankings takes stock of all 32 teams throughout the season.
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1. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
Previous rank: 1
Philly has NFL's best LBs. Remember when the linebacker position was an annual sore spot for the Eagles? Howie Roseman does, but he's ensured it won't be a problem for years to come. Jihaad Campbell is already looking like one of the best picks in the 2025 draft, and Zack Baun's All-Pro breakout was no fluke.
2. Buffalo Bills (1-0)
Previous rank: 4
Bills are going undefeated. A Week 1 matchup with the Ravens was the most difficult game on this schedule. But if a roster like that can't finish the job against Buffalo with a 15-point lead late in the fourth quarter, good luck to everyone else.
3. Baltimore Ravens (0-1)
Previous rank: 3
Derrick Henry will run for 2K. It's easy to forget that the Ravens running back got off to a slow start last season before hitting his stride and finishing with 1,921 rushing yards. The sky's the limit after a 169-yard performance on Sunday night.
4. Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Previous rank: 5
Packers have the best defense in football. Green Bay held Detroit's high-powered offense to 13 points and, perhaps more importantly, a mere 2.1 yards per carry. And that's before Micah Parsons has the opportunity to work his way up to a full-time role. Look out.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (0-1)
Previous rank: 2
Tyreek Hill will be back in K.C. by October. Xavier Worthy's shoulder injury has the potential to spoil any plans the Chiefs had to rediscover a downfield passing game. Fortunately for them, a familiar face who was the lightning rod on that front in the past happens to be playing for a team already looking like a deadline seller.
6. Detroit Lions (0-1)
Previous rank: 6
No Ben Johnson, no Super Bowl. The Lions topped 100 rushing yards in all six games against the Packers over the last three years. The first matchup without Johnson as the offensive coordinator? Just 46.
7. Minnesota Vikings (1-0)
Previous rank: 7
The Vikings are better than last year. It wasn't looking pretty early against the Bears, but J.J. McCarthy finding his stride in the second half showed why it was a no-brainer to let Sam Darnold walk and pass on any interest from Aaron Rodgers. This team has everything it needs to support a young quarterback learning on the fly.
8. Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
Previous rank: 8
Rams bound for NFC title game. Matthew Stafford looks good after dealing with a back injury throughout the preseason, so we know this offense will be dangerous. A young defense that held Houston out of the end zone all day seems poised to provide the perfect complement.
9. Washington Commanders (1-0)
Previous rank: 9
Bill Croskey-Merritt for OROY. A 10-carry, 82-yard debut was just a taste of what the seventh-round rookie can do as a featured runner in this Kliff Kingsbury offense.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (1-0)
Previous rank: 13
Justin Herbert is an elite QB. The Chargers' star signal-caller putting on a show in a standalone game Friday in Brazil is an excellent development for the always reasonable and never insufferable QB discourse.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)
Previous rank: 10
Baker Mayfield's regression is here. Mayfield getting drafted as a top-seven fantasy quarterback based on one great passing season was always a little strange.
12. Denver Broncos (1-0)
Previous rank: 11
Bo Nix headed for sophomore slump. Although the Broncos won their opener against the Titans, the game was much closer than it needed to be. Nix's poor decision-making was a big reason the offense couldn't pull away until late.
13. Chicago Bears (0-1)
Previous rank: 15
The Ben Johnson hype was a little much. Johnson is an elite offensive mind, and he'll probably be a good head coach in time. But he's effectively a rookie when it comes to running an entire team. That showed up Monday night, when a clock management blunder on a late kickoff robbed the Bears of any chance to get the ball back with enough time to tie the game.
14. Houston Texans (0-1)
Previous rank: 12
Houston's offense is doomed again. The Texans' offensive coordinator change provided plenty of reason for optimism. Still, the club's nine-point output in a season-opening loss to the Rams was far too reminiscent of last year's frustrating unit.
15. San Francisco 49ers (1-0)
Previous rank: 14
Robert Saleh will be a head coach next year. His time with the Jets was a disaster, but whose fault was that, really? He had a young 49ers defense tied for fifth by EPA/play in Week 1, according to TruMedia.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
Previous rank: 18
Aaron Rodgers is so back. The 41-year-old is the first Steelers quarterback since 2020 to throw four touchdowns in a game. Sure, most were schemed layups, but even those were an adventure at times in years past.
17. Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)
Previous rank: 16
Cincinnati isn't a playoff team. The good news: the Bengals avoided another season-opening loss. The bad news: the result doesn't quite reflect the fact that the Browns thoroughly outplayed them.
18. Seattle Seahawks (0-1)
Previous rank: 17
Klint Kubiak fooled us. The Seahawks seemed to be in the process of building a dominant run game in the preseason. However, the 49ers threw cold water on all that hype in the first game that mattered, holding Seattle to 3.2 yards per carry.
19. Dallas Cowboys (0-1)
Previous rank: 19
CeeDee Lamb will set receiving record. Joke about the drops if you must, but the big takeaway from Lamb's performance in Week 1 is that he was in position for a 200-yard day against one of the NFL's best defenses. He's going to have a monster season with a healthy Dak Prescott pushing the ball downfield to compensate for a bad Cowboys defense.
20. Indianapolis Colts (1-0)
Previous rank: 26
Daniel Jones is the next Sam Darnold. The former first-round bust is going to earn himself another big contract if his Colts debut is a sign of what's to come this season. Perhaps the difference from Darnold is that Jones might not have to go elsewhere to get it.
21. Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Previous rank: 23
Geno Smith is the best Raiders QB since Rich Gannon. All due respect to Derek Carr, but this team hasn't had a quarterback of this caliber in decades. Perhaps airing it out in a Chip Kelly offense will finally get Smith the credit he deserves league-wide.
22. Arizona Cardinals (1-0)
Previous rank: 22
There's a new RB1 in Arizona. Though James Conner has long been one of the NFL's most underrated bell-cow backs, it was only a matter of time before he started to slow down. Trey Benson is going to be tough to keep off the field after he ripped off a 52-yard run in Week 1.
23. Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Previous rank: 21
The sub-.500 streak continues. Michael Penix Jr. is fun to watch, and the young playmakers added on defense provide some excitement, but the Falcons are the Falcons until proven otherwise. Allowing a struggling Bucs offense to march downfield for a five-play, game-winning touchdown drive was vintage stuff in that regard.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)
Previous rank: 25
Lawrence's 2022 season was a mirage. Liam Coen's arrival was supposed to unlock the promise Trevor Lawrence showed as a sophomore. Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter combining for 44 yards against the Panthers' defense is unacceptable.
25. New England Patriots (0-1)
Previous rank: 24
Mike Vrabel is overrated. The new Patriots coach certainly gets a lot out of his players, but game management is a pretty important part of the job, too. Punting the ball back to the Raiders while trailing by 10 points with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter is one of the worst decisions you'll see all year.
26. New York Jets (0-1)
Previous rank: 29
Jets have a top-10 offense. While we knew the run game would be great, Justin Fields stepping up and making big plays as a passer changes everything. The Jets offense comes out of the season opener ranked third in EPA/play. And unless the Steelers defense has suddenly fallen off a cliff, that's probably one of the best opponents this group will face all year.
27. Tennessee Titans (0-1)
Previous rank: 30
Titans should trade for a WR. Although parting with draft capital when you probably won't be in a position to compete is generally considered a bad idea, this is a special circumstance. Cam Ward looked quite good in his debut. The stat sheet doesn't reflect that reality because he got no help from his supporting cast.
28. New York Giants (0-1)
Previous rank: 27
It's Jaxson Dart's time to shine. The first-round rookie proved in the preseason that his development is further along than many thought. After an uninspiring performance from Russell Wilson in Week 1, why waste another game?
29. Miami Dolphins (0-1)
Previous rank: 20
Dolphins will get No. 1 pick. Miami doesn't have the worst roster on paper, but that's only part of the equation. An embarrassing effort to start the season against the Colts may be the first step in a complete meltdown for this team.
30. Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Previous rank: 28
Bryce Young's breakout didn't carry over. Young appeared to have taken some meaningful steps forward after being benched last year, but the former No. 1 pick somehow looked like a rookie again versus a mediocre Jaguars defense.
31. Cleveland Browns (0-1)
Previous rank: 32
Harold Fannin Jr. is the next great tight end. Whether it was the level of competition, the athletic profile, or a combination of the two, it seems like the NFL overthought another easy evaluation. The Browns featuring the third-round rookie right out of the gate tells you everything you need to know about his potential.
32. New Orleans Saints (0-1)
Previous rank: 31
Drafting Tyler Shough was a mistake. Shough may well become a decent NFL quarterback, but it's not a great sign that he couldn't beat out Spencer Rattler, who threw for just 4.7 yards per attempt in Week 1. Considering the Saints will probably be in the QB market at the top of next year's draft, that second-round pick probably could have been put to better use.
Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.