Week 1 was telling in a lot of ways for a lot of teams, but it’s also just that – one game, and it is way too easy to overreact to a team's win or loss in the opener. Some wins were impressive looking, and some of those losses were surprising … and ugly.
The top five teams remain the same this week, but I do have the Saints jumping the Chargers after Monday night’s last-second win over a very good Texans team. While the Chargers won, it wasn’t pretty against the Colts.
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And that’s where things really shake up this week. The Vikings, Cowboys and Texans are jump into the top 10, pushing the Falcons, Browns and Bears out. Chicago, by the way, took a major tumble – dropping 10 spots – after that season-opening loss to the Packers.
The Falcons fall from No. 9 to the 14th spot after a disappointing road loss to a very good Vikings team. Atlanta could never overcome the turnovers and miscues, but has a chance to rebound in a big way this week against the Eagles.
So, without further ado, it’s time for a preseason edition of my Wildly Important NFL Power Rankings. Enjoy.
| 1. Patriots | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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The Patriots weren’t even at full strength and looked impressive against a good Steelers team. | 1 |
| 2. Chiefs | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Patrick Mahomes picks right up where he left off in 2018 and puts up video game-like stats. | 2 |
| 3. Saints | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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They jump a spot after Drew Brees leads them to a last-second win over a potent Texans team. | 4 |
| 4. Chargers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Forget about Melvin Gordin, the Chargers got the job done with Austin Ekeler … albeit in overtime. | 3 |
| 5. Rams | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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It wasn't always pretty, but they still dropped 30 on a pretty good Panthers team and squeezed a win out. | 5 |
| 6. Vikings | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Yes, the Vikings benefitted from three Falcons turnovers, but this is a really good football team, too. | 14 |
| 7. Eagles | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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The Redskins punched them in the mouth and took a 17-0 lead, but they countered with DeSean Jackson and won. | 7 |
| 8. Seahawks | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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I was surprised they let the Bengals hang around, but I’m not going to overreact. Good teams win ugly games. | 6 |
| 9. Cowboys | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Where are all the Dak Prescott naysayers? A four-touchdown day with a near-perfect QB rating leads Big D. | 15 |
| 10. Texans | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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I know they lost in New Orleans, but they were seconds away from pulling off the biggest win of Week 1. | 19 |
| 11. Packers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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They drop a spot, but Aaron Rodgers and Co. still got it done against their rivals on the road. | 12 |
| 12. Ravens | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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It would be easy to gush over Lamar Jackson and Marquise Brown (and I am), but it was against a bad Dolphins team, too. | 17 |
| 13. Titans | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Hats off to Mike Vrabel. He took his team into Cleveland and whipped the Browns. Impressive win. | 22 |
| 14. Falcons | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Turnovers were the difference. Dirty Birds have a chance to rebound in a big way this week against the Eagles. | 9 |
| 15. Steelers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Has anyone found the Steelers yet? They didn’t show up in Foxborough; definitely not what I expected to see. | 11 |
| 16. 49ers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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It wasn’t the Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan offense we expected to see, but it didn’t matter. | 20 |
| 17. Browns | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Baker Mayfield was sacked five times and their much-hyped season got off with a whimper. | 8 |
| 18. Panthers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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The Run CMC Show was fun to watch, but it was a bad ending for the Panthers – just couldn’t close the deal. | 13 |
| 19. Colts | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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OK, so the Colts have a pulse and aren’t going to lay over without Andrew Luck. They almost pulled off the upset. | 23 |
| 20. Bears | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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I know it was the season-opener, but it had the look of a preseason game. Ugly night for Mitchell Trubisky, too. | 10 |
| 21. Bills | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Speaking of ugly games … the Bills didn’t play well, but woke up in time to outscore the Jets 14-0 in the fourth to beat their rivals. | 21 |
| 22. Raiders | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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I keep telling myself to not overreact to some of the Week 1 outcomes, but … Wow, Oakland. I’ll bump you up four spots after that. | 26 |
| 23. Bengals | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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A.J. Green is still wearing a boot and that doesn’t bode well for Andy Dalton and Co. | 28 |
| 24. Jets | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Not much went right for the Jets vs. their East rivals, but it was good to see Le’Veon Bell back on the field. He played well. | 18 |
| 25. Giants | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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The Giants came to play against the Cowboys, at least early on. Big Blue’s defense has a lot of work to do. | 27 |
| 26. Redskins | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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They punched Philly in the mouth (and that was good), but squandered a 17-0 lead. The Skins also only rushed for 28 yards on 13 carries. | 29 |
| 27. Buccaneers | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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I keep hearing how Bruce Arians is going to be good for Jameis Winston. After one week I’m not seeing it. | 25 |
| 28. Broncos | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Bad night for Denver, and Joe Flacco didn’t really expose a Raiders defense that was one of the worst in the NFL last year. | 24 |
| 29. Cardinals | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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After rallying from a 24-6 deficit in the fourth quarter, Kyler Murray led the Cards back (to a tie) and there’s some hope in the desert. | 31 |
| 30. Jaguars | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Time will tell how the Jaguars respond but losing Nick Foles (broken clavicle) and the game is a tough way to start 2019. | 16 |
| 31. Lions | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Speaking of tough openers, how about the Lions? They couldn’t seal the deal with a big lead vs. the Cardinals … and end up tying. | 30 |
| 32. Dolphins | TABEEK'S TAKE | PREVIOUS |
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Players are reportedly phoning their agents trying to get out of town and traded. Let’s leave it at that. | 32 |
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