We are officially two weeks into the NFL season. It’s crazy how quick the season always goes after the seemingly never ending wait. The first two weeks have been every bit as fun as advertised. Before Week 3 kicks off, I thought I’d take a step back and reassess everything we’ve seen so far. Without further ado, here is my NFL power rankings, with each teams MVP thus far.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)
The reigning super bowl champions look even more dominant. It is all fueled by the man who is only competing against father time, Tom Brady. Even in Year 22, Brady continues to give defense fits, leading the Bucs to 2 big wins. Will this guy ever slow down?
2. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)
Even after the SNF loss to the Ravens, the Chiefs are still my number two weapon. With a revamped offensive line, Patrick Mahomes playing lights out, and a plethora of weapons including Travis Kelce you can only hope to keep up with this team. They’re virtually impossible to stop, and Kelce has been the focal point thus far. Kelce looks like he’s gonna be breaking his own records this season, and has only further cemented himself as a revolutionary Tight End to start this season.
3. Los Angeles Rams (2-0)
Headlined by the offseason addition of Matthew Stafford this is the most complete Rams team that has touched the field in a while. The defense is still stalling opponents, even after the departure of Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley. Stafford is playing like a legitimate MVP candidate and has quickly formed a connection with receiver Cooper Kupp.
4. Arizona Cardinals (2-0)
How about the Cardinals? They have been dismantling defenses behind the shifty Kyler Murray who seems to be making an MVP case of his own in year 3. This offense somehow looks more complete than ever with newcomer Rondale Moore. He has been playing lights out for the Cardinals thus far, providing that extra lift to the Wide Receiver room.
5. Buffalo Bills (1-1)
Even with Josh Allen not play great, the Bills are playing some good football. The defense pitched a shutout against the Dolphins and Devin Singletary is leading a good rushing attack. This is a welcome sight to Sean McDermott and Bills fans everywhere, as it takes some of the load off Allen during his slump.
6. Baltimore Ravens (1-1)
Injuries have been the main story for the Ravens, but they have still been able to have success. Lamar Jackson is playing some of his best football and carrying this team in games. With the gutsy fourth down conversion last week, Jackson won his first game ever against Mahomes and the Chiefs. Look for him and the Ravens to continue fighting and scraping out wins.
7. Las Vegas Raiders (2-0)
This Raiders team may actually be good. After an insane week 1 win against the Ravens, they came out and won a hard fought matchup in Pittsburgh behind Derek Carr. Carr leads the league in passing yards right now and is playing great football. Their defense is playing well too behind Maxx Crosby and Carl Nassib.
8. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
The 49ers have been a big question mark so far this season. This complete disappearance of offseason darlings Brandon Aiyuk and Trey Sermon seems to be taking away from the good football this team is playing. Deebo Samuel is keeping this offense rolling and currently is leading the league in receiving yards.
9. Green Bay Packers (1-1)
After a disastrous opening week, the Packers bounced back Monday night and thrashed the Lions. Aaron Jones completely gashed the Lions defense, scoring 4 touchdowns on the day. Eric Stokes has looked like a steal so far, and they’re gonna need him to continue playing well to keep Kevin King off the field.
10. Seattle Seahawks (1-1)
If it wasn’t for Derrick Henry, the Seahawks would’ve flown out to a 2-0 record. With the way Tyler Lockett is opening up the field, the Seahawks will continue scoring in bunches. New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has this team firing on all cylinders through the first two weeks.
11. Cleveland Browns (1-1)
The Cleveland Browns have been a disappointment in my eyes so far. The revamped defense is still finding its groove, and Baker Mayfield looks like he’s slightly regressed. The one constant from last years team is how good Running Back Nick Chubb is. He’s gashing opposing defense once again, averaging a robust 6.8 YPC.
12. Denver Broncos (2-0)
The Broncos are a team I’ve been hyping up for a while. Although that came with the expectation that Drew Lock would start, Teddy Bridgewater has been impressive thus far.Teddy two gloves has been pushing the ball deep without being erratic and leading this offense to two super efficient performances.
13. Tennesse Titans (1-1)
It looked like the Titans were gonna stumble into an 0-2 start until the king decided to wake up. Derrick Henry singlehandedly carried the team to a win in Seattle. Accumulating 237 total yards and 3 touchdowns in one of the most Derrick Henry esque games.
14. Carolina Panthers (2-0)
The Panthers are probably the most surprising undefeated team on this list. They completely stonewalled the Saints and have had an efficient offense headlined by newcomer San Darnold, Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore. Moore and McCaffrey have made life a lot easily for the quarterback that formerly saw ghosts and was stuck hearing Adam Case call plays.
15. New Orleans Saints (1-1)
I don’t think any team had a higher high and a lower low than the Saints. After completely crushing the Packers, they got completely crushed by the Panthers. It seemed like Jameis Winston finally had become disciplined in the pocket, and he will be a story to watch throughout the year. The defense looked awful last week with Marshon Lattimore who put in the work standing across Davante Adams week one.
16. Los Angeles Chargers (1-1)
The Chargers haven’t shown they have what it takes to get over the hump yet. Justin Herbert continues to play well, but continues making costly mistakes. The Chargers keep on finding themselves in tight games, as their defense keeps stopping opponents. Derwin James is the main factor, continuously flying over the football field making play after play.
17. Dallas Cowboys (1-1)
Dak Prescott’s return from his gruesome injury has been the storyline for this Cowboys team. But, he showed in the season opener, he hadn’t missed a beat. Dak continues to utilize his plethora of weapons and a new one is emerging as Tony Pollard continues to carve out a role in the offense.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
Defense is king in Pittsburgh and that narrative hasn’t changed for this season. T.J. Watt continues to destroy opposing tackles, already racking up three sacks. The offensive line and Big Ben are still bad, but this defense should carry the Steelers to a good regular season record.
19. Washington Football Team (1-1)
Another team that values defense, the WFT pulled off a crazy comeback against the Giants behind Taylor Heinicke. Scary Terry McLaurin has gotten off to a fast start this season and is playing lights out for the Football Team so far. Their defense hasn’t lived up to expectations so far, but should get it right soon.
20. New England Patriots (1-1)
A new era began in New England this year after Mac Jones was announced as the starting Quarterback for the season. He has been quietly efficient, but not spectacular. If not for a fumble from Damien Harris, this team would be 2-0. Their defense, led by J.C. Jackson has been causing an insane amount of turnovers.
21. Indianapolis Colts (0-2)
The Colts are the best 0-2 team in the league, in my opinion. They played the Rams until the last second and had a good chance of winning if Carson Wentz didn’t get injured. Speaking of Wentz, he looks rejuvenated since the trade, and it’s a shame his season is getting derailed by injuries again. Defensively, Matt Eberflus called an amazing game to slow down the potent Los Angeles Rams offense. Headlined by the man in the middle Darius Leonard, this defense figures to be a strength once again for the Indianapolis Colts.
22. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1)
The Eagles are outperforming most people’s expectations for them this season, so far. Headlined by the elevated play of second year Jalen Hurts, the Eagles have a chance to move up these rankings in the near future. Hurts seems to have taken his connection with Devonta Smith to the next level post-Alabama days, as those two have already re-established a really good rapport.
23. Miami Dolphins (1-1)
Tua Tagoviloa went down with an injury last week, which surprisingly may not be the worst thing for the Dolphins. Tua has followed up his underwhelming rookie campaign with an even worse start to the 2021 season. n the bright side, Xavien Howard didn’t go through with his trade request and is playing like the best corner in the league.
24. Minnesota Vikings (0-2)
The Vikings kicking luck is always hilariously bad. They had a chance to stun the Cardinals last week but Gred Joseph lined up to kick a 37 yarder, and missed left. 37 yards! Luckily, the Vikings still have one of the scariest offenses in the NFL, headlined by Running Back Dalvin Cook. K.J Osborn has been a surprisingly good Wide Receiver 3 option for Kirk Cousins and will continue to be vital for this team.
25. Chicago Bears (1-1)
The Justin Fields wait is over! Fields will start the Bears’ Week Three game against the Browns. The Bears defense got after it against the Bengals, picking Joe Burrow off thrice, with Roquan Smith taking one back to the house.
26. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)
I’m still waiting for Joe Burrow to figure it all out. After looking good against Minnesota, he fell back down to earth. Hard. The Bears picked him off three times and made life difficult for him in the pocket all day. He has a good amount of weapons to use, with Tee Higgins highlighting the group, but just can’t seem to find that week to week consistency.
27. New York Giants (0-2)
The Giants lost in the most Giants way against the Football Team Thursday Night. With Daniel Jones whipping out his best Lamar Jackson impression, the rest of his squad still found a way to let him down. As long as Jones is playing this good, this Giants team may pull off a few upsets this season.
28. Houston Texans (1-1)
The Texans and Tyrod Taylor were rolling to start the season, until Taylor got hurt. The guy somehow outperforms no matter what his teams looks like, but has the worst luck. It’s looking like he’l be out for a little while, and the Texans are virtually hopeless with Davis Mills starting, so don’t expect anything in these coming weeks.
29. Detroit Lions (0-2)
The Jared Goff era in Detroit has gotten off to a shaky start so far. The only good thing that’s come out of these two weeks is that the Goff is better than Stafford believers are seemingly gone now. On the bright side, T.J. Hockenson and Goff have formed a connection that will last until the end of Goff’s contract.
30. Atlanta Falcons (0-2)
The Falcons can’t get over this 28-3 curse. Matt Ryan has been a shell of his former self since that game, wasting a slew of weapons constantly. Cordarrelle Patterson has been a welcome free agent signing, putting in work out of the backfield and as a receiver.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2)
To say that Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer have been disappointments would be understatements. Lawrence has thrown for more interceptions than touchdowns and Meyer seems to be behind in play calling consistently. The Jags are a team that garnered a lot of offseason buzz due to big names, and one that wasn’t talked about that much has been their best player. That is Marvin Jones Jr. who came over from the Lions and has been Lawrence’s favorite target thus far.
32. New York Jets (0-2)
It’s hard to find anything going right for the Jets. Zach Wilson may be seeing ghosts, and they’re very weak on both sides of the ball. I honestly had zero clue who to choose for their MVP thus far, so I took to PFF rankings. John Franklin-Myers has graded out as their best player so far with 2 sacks and a few pressures.
One response
[…] NFL Football: Week Two Power Rankings […]