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Tabeek's NFL Power Rankings: Packers, Patriots surge while Cowboys, Falcons take a tumble

Saints stay put while the other three NFC South teams drop in this week's rankings

Sep 15, 2020 at 07:04 AM
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Matthew Tabeek

Digital Managing Editor

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With no preseason games, I knew it would be hard to get a read on some of these teams this offseason – and knew my first set of rankings might be off with some teams heading into Week 2.

Boy, was I right.

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And I think it might take another few weeks before we get a real good read on a lot of them, too. Some teams just looked … rusty. And that's to be expected. I knew the Chiefs, Ravens and Saints would be very good – and they are. I thought the Packers and Seahawks would be solid, but they might be much better. I also thought the 49ers, Vikings, Cowboys, Eagles and Falcons would play better than they did.

Again, it's just one week – and it's super easy to overreact.

So, without further ado, it's time for the Week 2 edition of my Wildly Important NFL Power Rankings. These rankings will appear here on AtlantaFalcons.com every Tuesday morning. Enjoy!

(1-0)
1
Chiefs_table
Kansas City Chiefs
The defending champs might be even better with Edwards-Helaire toting the rock. Watch out.
(1-0)
2
Ravens_table
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson and Co. crushed their longtime rivals by 32 points. That’ll leave a mark.
(1-0)
3
Saints_table
New Orleans Saints
The Saints look like a veteran team on mission and it’s Super Bowl or bust.
(1-0)
4
6
Packers_table
Green Bay Packers
They went into Minnesota and absolutely whipped a very good team.
(1-0)
5
3
Seahawks_table
Seattle Seahawks
How good is Russell Wilson? If the defense gets better, they won’t lose many games.
(1-0)
6
3
Steelers_table
Pittsburgh Steelers
Big Ben is back, and that Steelers defense looks nasty. Finally, some normalcy in the world.
(1-0)
7
Bills_table
Buffalo Bills
They took care of the Jets and I (still) think they’ll eventually win the AFC East.
(1-0)
8
8
Cardinals_Table
Arizona Cardinals
Really not surprised they beat the Niners; they played ’em tough last year, too.
(0-1)
9
5
49ers_table
San Francisco 49ers
Disappointing loss for sure, but at least the Kittle injury doesn’t appear to be season-ending one.
(1-0)
10
8
Rams_table
Los Angeles Rams
Impressive win over the Cowboys. Sean McVay has this (up-tempo) offense rolling again.
(1-0)
11
8
Patriots_table
New England Patriots
Too high? Maybe, it was Miami after all. But Belichick’s defense looks solid. What’s new?
(1-0)
12
1
Titans_table
Tennessee Titans
It’s never pretty with the Titans. Still, they held on for a win on the road. That matters.
(0-1)
13
8
Cowboys_table
Dallas Cowboys
Forget the bad calls by the refs. They suffered some brutal injuries and limped away 0-1.
(0-1)
14
8
Vikings_table
Minnesota Vikings
They were embarrassed at home and drop considerably this week. This is still a good team.
(0-1)
15
4
Bucs_table
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They looked like a team that hadn’t played together a whole lot. They’ll get better if they can stay healthy.
(0-1)
16
1
Texans_table
Houston Texans
How many teams can go into KC right now and win? Not many. They’ll be fine in time.
(0-1)
17
5
Falcons_Table
Atlanta Falcons
Good news: The offensive and defensive lines looked better. Not-so-good news: Run game is still inconsistent and they’re still turnover-challenged on D.
(1-0)
18
2
Raiders_table
Las Vegas Raiders
It’s not easy for West Coast teams to go across country and win, and they did.
(1-0)
19
4
Chargers_table
Los Angeles Chargers
They went to Cincy and held that offense (Burrow, Mixon and Green) in check.
(1-0)
20
12
Jaguars_table
Jacksonville Jaguars
Minshew and Co. surprised me with a win over the Colts.
(1-0)
21
7
Bears_table
Chicago Bears
Say what you want but they scored 21 points in the fourth to escape with a road win.
(1-0)
22
9
Washington_table
Washington Football Team
They dug in and shut out the Eagles in the second half for a nice win and sit atop the NFC East.
(0-1)
23
2
Broncos_table
Denver Broncos
Tough loss at home for a team that’s had a brutal offseason with injuries. Like how they battled.
(0-1)
24
6
Giants_table
New York Giants
They went toe-to-toe with the Steelers until some mistakes at the end. They look better, and that’s a start.
(0-1)
25
1
Lions_table
Detroit Lions
Tough way to open the year for a franchise that’s had more than its fair share of disappointing seasons.
(0-1)
26
12
Eagles_table
Philadelphia Eagles
I wasn’t sold on the Eagles and probably had them too high here initially. That O-line looks suspect and the run game is non-existent.
(0-1)
27
1
Bengals_table
Cincinnati Bengals
They had a chance to win their opener and that’s a positive as the Joe Burrow era begins.
(0-1)
28
11
Colts_table
Indianapolis Colts
I’m probably dropping them too low, but I’m starting to wonder about this team.
(0-1)
29
2
Dolphins_table
Miami Dolphins
How many more games will Ryan Fitzpatrick play before Tua Tagovailoa takes over?
(0-1)
30
5
Jets_table
New York Jets
They outscored the Bills 14-6 in the second half. That’s a positive, right? Could be another long year for Jets fans.
(0-1)
31
9
Browns_table
Cleveland Browns
I was never on the Browns hype train and never understood it. Ugly loss to a good Ravens team.
(0-1)
32
3
Panthers_table
Carolina Panthers
We thought the Panthers might score points but give up a ton with all of that youth on D. Yep, get used to it, Carolina.
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