Last week, I wrote about how I wouldn’t overreact too often. And it’s so hard when the New Orleans Saints are 0-2 and the Buffalo Bills are 2-0, but let’s see how drastically I can change the rankings one way or the other.
32. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 32)
In case you forgot, the Raiders are still bad. They’re an early favorite for the 2015 No. 1 overall pick.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 31)
Chad Henne’s been sacked 13 times already this season, and at one point against Washington on Sunday, the Jaguars had one yard compared to the more than 130 Washington had. That sums up the Jaguars.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 30)
Josh McCown went incredibly conservative against the St. Louis Rams, and the offense is somehow better without Doug Martin. The defense, which was supposed to be a strong point of this team, just lost Gerald McCoy with a broken hand. After Week 3, there’s a decent chance the Bucs end up behind the Jaguars.
29. New York Giants (LW: 27)
Victor Cruz has completely disappeared in the first two games, and although Eli Manning wasn’t terrible, his weapons aren’t performing well. Even in the NFC East, the Giants won’t break five wins.
28. St. Louis Rams (LW: 29)
The Rams looked awful even in a win over Tampa Bay, but I’m a believer in this team at least being competitive when Shaun Hill is healthy. I’d rather be a coach of the Giants than the Rams at this point, especially given the talent on defense.
27. Washington Redskins (LW: 21)
The DeSean Jackson injury could be worse for Washington in the short term than Robert Griffin III, and they’ve only played Chad Henne and Ryan Fitzpatrick so hard. Still, this ranking is more about other teams moving up than Washington moving down.
26. Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 20)
Kansas City’s slide continues. Jamaal Charles could miss multiple weeks now, and Alex Smith blew about three extra chances that he had to upset the Broncos on Sunday.
25. Minnesota Vikings (LW: 25)
Although Adrian Peterson might be back this weekend, there’s no telling what kind of time he might miss in the future. The secondary is also still an issue, and it’s only a matter of time before the Teddy Bridgewater chants get even louder.
24. Tennessee Titans (LW: 24)
Tennessee’s defense still has the potential to be a top 13 unit, but Jake Locker is far too inconsistent to count on this team on a weekly basis.
23. Cleveland Browns (LW: 25)
I’m still not sure if Sunday’s win for the Browns was more about them or the Saints. Without Jordan Cameron, Josh Gordon and Barkevious Mingo, Cleveland still won with basically a second unit on offense, especially considering Johnny Manziel will likely eventually start. The defense is legit, but Brian Hoyer still has a long way to go.
22. Houston Texans (LW: 26)
I still have the same concerns as I did about Houston last week on offense, but the defense is a top five unit. Still, the win over the Raiders doesn’t mean much considering it’s the Raiders.
21. New York Jets (LW: 22)
This is a case of more teams taking a slide than New York improving, but there’s something to be said for how tough of a game they played against Green Bay.
20. Buffalo Bills (LW: 28)
This is your weekly reminder that the Houston Texans started 2-0 last season. I’ll give the Bills credit for how well the running backs have controlled the pace of their first two games, but I can’t put too much stock in a team quarterbacked by E.J. Manuel.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 18)
Pittsburgh is on pace for another 8-8 season. The defense looks slow, and the offense really struggles when Antonio Brown isn’t on the field.
18. Miami Dolphins (LW: 14)
The defense still has potential to cause teams some problems, but unless Ryan Tannehill improves his accuracy, the offense will be held back.
17. Dallas Cowboys (LW: 19)
The offense, especially DeMarco Murray, looked amazing against the Titans, but Murray will likely be injured at some point this season, and the rest of the offense relies on Tony Romo not turning the ball over, which you can’t put too much hope in.
16. Atlanta Falcons (LW: 13)
The Cincinnati Bengals are much better than people give them credit for, so I won’t dock the Falcons much for losing to them, but the secondary needs to step it up, especially in a division where they’ll face the Saints once more and Cam Newton twice. Julio Jones and Roddy White still are longshots to make it all 16 games.
15. Chicago Bears (LW: 12)
It took Brandon Marshall posting up on two San Francisco defenders at a time and multiple Colin Kaepernick mistakes for the Bears to come back Sunday night, and the offensive line really struggled with run blocking for Matt Forte.
14. Baltimore Ravens (LW: 15)
Chykie Brown might be the worst starting corner in the league right now, and the running game is taking a huge hit without Ray Rice, but the offensive line is much improved from last year, which is great news for Joe Flacco.
13. San Diego Chargers (LW: 16)
San Diego played what I’d expect a perfect San Diego game to look like against the Seahawks: They found first downs all over the field, controlled the clock for the entire game and made plays when it needed to. But can they do that for nine more wins?
12. Arizona Cardinals (LW: 17)
Arizona has the fifth best defense in terms of DVOA, according to Football Outsiders, which is far better than I expected them to be with all the losses on that side of the ball in the offseason. If Carson Palmer can get healthy, this team will compete once again for a Wild Card spot.
11. New Orleans Saints (LW: 5)
Although the defense was supposed to be the biggest improvement from last year, it has failed the Saints in back-to-back weeks, allowing two game-winning drives. Also, how many more bad games does Drew Brees need to have outside before we talk about that being a serious problem?
10. Detroit Lions (LW: 11)
As always, the Lions struggled to string two wins together, but as long as Calvin Johnson is healthy, I’m a huge believer in all the offensive weapons Detroit has, and in a struggling NFC North they will be around all year.
9. Green Bay Packers (LW: 3)
Had Marty Mornhinweg not called that errant timeout on Sunday, the Packers would be 0-2 right now.
8. Indianapolis Colts (LW: 9)
Had Green Bay not looked so rough against the Jets, the Colts would have stayed put at 9. I’m not docking them any credit for losing to a quality Eagles team, and if they choose to finally give up on Trent Richardson as the starting running back, Ahmad Bradshaw would really help the offense.
7. Carolina Panthers (LW: 10)
J.J. Watt is the best defensive player in the league, but by the end of the season, don’t be shocked if Luke Kuechly is 1B in that conversation. With Cam Newton healthy, this team could win 10 or 11 games and compete for a division title.
6. New England Patriots (LW: 7)
The Patriots don’t look great, especially Tom Brady, but I trust Bill Bellichick and Brady to put enough wins together to run away with the AFC East.
5. San Francisco 49ers (LW: 4)
The defense is still holding up just fine, but Colin Kaepernick made a ton of bad reads Sunday night and stared down a number of his receivers. If those kinds of mistakes continue, the 49ers could find themselves on the lower end of the top 10 in the next two weeks.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 8)
Adding Darren Sproles has made this offense that much more dangerous. If the Eagles can put together two halves of football, they would be blowing teams out.
3. Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 6)
When healthy, there’s a case to be made that this is even the second best team in the league. As long as A.J. Green’s injury isn’t serious, this offense will keep clicking. Hugh Jackson was very creative with his offensive playcalling, especially in regards to Giovani Bernard, making this a dangerous offense in more ways than one.
2. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 1)
I wasn’t expecting Seattle to go 16-0 this season, so one loss isn’t a huge problem, but between the Seahawks and Denver, I trust Denver’s offense to win more games that Seattle’s defense.
1. Denver Broncos (LW: 2)
Peyton Manning and Julius Thomas are quickly becoming one of the best receiving combos in the league, and Denver will likely get Wes Welker back this weekend. Watch out NFL.