32. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco had an extremely impressive outing in its home opener. Colin Kaepernick looked like the best quarterback not named Peyton Manning this week and Anquan Boldin looked like an All Pro.
31. Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning absolutely carved the Ravens defense to the tune of seven touchdown passes. This game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. The Broncos lost a touchdown when Danny Trevathan dropped the ball before getting into the end zone.
30. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks offense didn’t look great, but the defense was outstanding. They held Cam Newton to a career low 163 yards of total offense. Russell Wilson picked right up where he left off last year, throwing for over 300 yards and a touchdown.
29. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals didn’t’ win this game, but that was because of stupid, fixable mistakes. A.J. Green let a ball bounce off his hands and get picked off and Mohamed Sanu had a costly fumble. Add to that two stupid personal fouls and you have a loss.
28. New Orleans Saints
The Saints defense dug in and held the high powered Falcons offense to only 17 points. They got pressure on Matt Ryan and kept him from scoring late in each half. If the defense can play this well with the offense they have, look out.
27. New England Patriots
The Patriots survived a scare from the Bills this past week. People wondered all preseason about how Tom Brady would look without all three of his top weapons from last year. Brady was still Brady and Shane Vereen proved to be a very good weapon.
26. Green Bay Packers
The Packers lost on the road to the 49ers, but they played a good game. The Packers do have some flaws that can be exploited though. Their offensive line isn’t very good and Colin Kaepernick torched them through the air. With the defenses in their division, they need to get that line fixed in a hurry.
25. Houston Texans
The Texans came out and looked really bad last night. Then they decided to turn it on and came back from 21 down to win the game. The defense and the run game will be there, but can Matt Schaub continue to play like he did last night?
24. Chicago Bears
The Bears came out and played well in Marc Trestmans opening game. Jay Cutler looked sharp when the line blocked for him and they blocked very well Sunday. If the line continues to block like that, they will battle the Packers for the NFC North crown.
23. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs looked good on Sunday, though playing Jacksonville helps with that. I’m not so much sold on the Chiefs yet, but I have more faith in them than any other team battling for the wildcard. Alex Smith had two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. If he can protect the ball, the Chiefs will be in most games.
22. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys defense forced six turnovers against the Giants, but they gave up 450 yards passing to Eli Manning. They have to sure up the pass defense because they won’t get six turnovers every game.
21. Indianapolis Colts
I have said that the Colts would take a step back this year, but for the life of me I can’t see anyone else better than them to knock them out of the playoffs. Andrew Luck is the only reason this isn’t a three to four win team.
20. Detroit Lions
The Lions looked really good against the Vikings on Sunday. Reggie Bush is looking like the best free agent pickup of the year and that offense looks almost unstoppable. The defense did a good job on Adrian Peterson outside of his one big run, but they still showed they were disciplined when Ndamukong Suh decided to go low on a player completely out of the play.
19. Baltimore Ravens
Peyton Manning made the Ravens defense look like a high school team. On top of that, the loss of Anquan Boldin was easy to notice. Joe Flacco at times looked lost out there and the play calling didn’t get the ball to Ray Rice nearly enough.
18. Philadelphia Eagles
Everyone wanted to see how Chip Kellys offense would look in its first game. The answer to that question was outstanding. LeSean McCoy looked like he was the best running back in the NFL and he might run for 2,000 yards. The defense looked good early, but obviously still needs some work.
17. Atlanta Falcons
I wasn’t sold on the Falcons before the season and I’m not now. They can’t pass block or protect Matt Ryan and their defense gave up just over 350 yards passing to Drew Brees. The Falcons have weapons at the skill positions, but if you can’t protect Ryan or stop the other team you won’t win much.
16. St. Louis Rams
The Rams are a team that, if in the AFC, I would have in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them they are in the same division as the Seahawks and 49ers. Jared Cook looks to have a big year and Sam Bradford played a good game. The defense, just like last year, got a lot of pressure on the quarterback.
15. St. Louis Rams (Via Washington Redskins)
The Redskins looked terrible early on offense, with Alfred Morris fumbling his first carry and Robert Griffin III showing signs of rust. However, in the second half the offense started to roll and they turned a blowout into an interesting game.
14. Tennessee Titans
The Titans got a good win against the Steelers Sunday. The defense help the Steelers to 195 yards on offense and forced two turnovers. However, the offense and specifically Jake Locker still looked shaky. If Locker can shape up, this is a dangerous team.
13. New York Giants
The Giants put up a ton of passing yards, but turnovers killed them. Combine the six turnovers, an absolute inability to run the ball and getting no pass rush and you aren’t likely to win. The Giants need David Wilson to step up and be the lead back for this team.
12. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers defense played a great game against the Seahawks, but the offense couldn’t get anything going. Cam Newton was held to 163 yards of total offense. If the defense can continue to play at this level, the offense should get better and they should win some games.
11. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins defense played very well against the Browns, holding them to 291 yards and forcing three turnovers. However, the run game has to be troubling for the Dolphins. The Dolphins only gained 20 yards on 23 carries. The offensive line also gave up four sacks.
10. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are in the same position they were in last year. Adrian Peterson is a beast and Christian Ponder isn’t a good enough quarterback to lead them where they want to go. The defense was also picked apart by the Lions offense.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers offense looked like the worst in the NFL in week one. On top of that they lost starting center Maurkice Pouncey to a knee injury for the season, as well as running back LaRod Stephens-Howling. They defense played well, but had no splash plays.
8. Buffalo Bills
The Bills played the Patriots tough, but couldn’t come away with the win. The Bills are going to have to take the training wheels off E.J. Manuel and let him take some shots down the field. The Bills only had 150 yards passing.
7. Arizona Cardinals
Carson Palmer played a good game against the Rams, but the blocking on the left side of the line was not any good. Levi Brown gave up at least three sacks. They also weren’t very effective running the ball, averaging only 3.3 yards per carry.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccs were one stupid play away from beating the Jets Sunday. Even if they had won the game, they didn’t look good in doing it. Josh Freeman didn’t look very good at all and the defense let Geno Smith look like an actual, competent NFL quarterback.
5. San Diego Chargers
The Chargers looked great early and were in line to show the haters that they were better than people were saying. Early in the third quarter they were up 28-7 and then things fell apart. Philip Rivers played a good game, throwing four touchdowns, but a costly pick six when Brian Cushing read his eyes and made a great play on the ball.
4. New York Jets
Geno Smith played better than expected, but the Jets still should have lost that game if not for a monumentally stupid penalty by Lavonte David. The Jets had little run game to speak of, except for some Geno scrambles. The Jets need their run game to shape up if they want to win more than a couple games this year.
3. Cleveland Browns
The Browns defense played well, especially against the run, but their offense wasn’t any good. Brandon Weeden had three interceptions and the Browns only ran Trent Richardson 14 times. On top of that, their offensive line gave up six sacks.
2. Oakland Raiders
The Raiders surprised a lot of people by playing the Colts as tough as they did. The Raiders defense played well, holding the Colts offense to 274 yards and getting four sacks. The offense moved the ball well and Terrelle Pryor showed talent running and throwing the ball. However, two interceptions by Pryor showed he is still raw.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars win the award for the worst looking team week one of the regular season. The Jaguars offense was anemic, only gaining 178 total yards all game. The defense played pretty well, only giving up 21 points despite the offense not helping them at all. Now Blaine Gabbert is out next week with a cut on his hand. That might be a blessing in disguise for the Jaguars.