So a wild and crazy week 2 is in the books, and we had a gigantic shakeup in our power rankings. This is why its pretty tough to judge a season by 1 game. After 2 weeks, we have 9 2-0 teams, 14 1-1 teams, and 9 0-2 teams. Six of the top eight teams from week 1 lost in week 2, and some fell extremely far.
Now, before I reveal the new #1 ranked team, if I asked you who has the longest winning streak in the NFL since last season, including last year’s playoffs, who would you guess? I doubt the San Francisco 49ers would come to mind, but they do indeed have the longest winning streak at 4 games. Yes, somehow, someway, my favorite team, the 49ers are ranked #1. The Niners got to beat up on some NFC West scum the past 2 weeks, and as a result they have the #4 ranked scoring defense in the NFL and a 2-0 record. You could definitely look down on them because of their level or competition, but they have shut down a high powered offense that played in the Super Bowl last year and a team that was everyone’s favorite sleeper pick for a big rebound in 2009. Their offense is still lacking, but they managed to do just enough in week 1 and got 2 huge runs from Frank Gore in week 2. Mike Singletary has them playing hard, Patrick Willis is a beast, and they have a wonderful experienced secondary. Will the Niners stay on top? I doubt it, but it will be fun to see…
These new ranks set up our first #1 vs. #2 matchup of the season, as Brett Favre’s Minnesota Vikings climb all the way up to #2 after their blowout win of Detroit. The Vikings have beaten probably 2 of the worst 3 teams in the NFL so far, but this early in the season, those are the only stats we can base their rank on. Checking in at #3 is the Falcons, who got another nice win over the former #32 team, the Panthers. The Saints and their explosive offense climbed to number 4 after their blowout win of the McNabbless Eagles. The Giants win over Dallas moves them up to #5.
On the flip side of things, some of the crap is already sinking to the bottom, but there are a few surprises. The Bucs stay at #28, the Chiefs move into the bottom 5 at #29 after losing to the Raiders. Surprisingly, last year’s #1 seed in the AFC, the Titans, have fallen all the way to #30 after losing a shootout to the Texans. The Panthers less disastrous loss moves them up a spot to #31 while the horrible Browns fall to #32.
There were some big gainers and losers this early in the season. The Saints rose 10 spots to #4, and the 49ers, Broncos, Vikings, and Texans rose 8 spots each. Five teams had double digit drops after losses of varying proportions. They were the Eagles (-11 to #12), Chargers (-12 to #16), Seahawks (-14 to #19), Steelers (-14 to #20) and Cowboys (-15 to #23). We’ll see if some of these teams that have been expected to do well can turn things around next week.
Here are the complete ranks:
1. 49ers – 83.55 – +8
2. Vikings – 76.45 – +8
3. Falcons – 75.81 – -1
4. Saints – 74.11 – +10
5. Giants – 73.79 – +6
6. Jets – 71.61 – +1
7. Broncos – 71.37 – +8
8. Ravens – 70.89 – +5
9. Colts – 64.27 – +7
10. Patriots – 57.02 – -7
11. Packers – 56.29 – +1
12. Eagles – 55.56 – -11
13. Bengals – 54.76 – +4
14. Raiders – 54.60 – +6
15. Cardinals – 54.35 – +4
16. Chargers – 53.63 – -12
17. Redskins – 52.02 – +1
18. Bills – 51.85 – +3
19. Seahawks – 50.16 – -14
20. Steelers – 49.11 – -14
21. Texans – 47.34 – +8
22. Bears – 46.94 – Even
23. Cowboys – 44.76 – -15
24. Dolphins – 26.77 – Even
25. Rams – 24.19 – +5
26. Jaguars – 23.55 – -3
27. Lions – 22.42 – Even
28. Buccaneers – 22.26 – Even
29. Chiefs – 21.85 – -3
30. Titans – 21.05 – -5
31. Panthers – 20.40 – +1
32. Browns – 17.58 – -1
(AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez)
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