NFL power rankings Week 2: Reactions to opening week as NFC soars
There’s really no point to preseason power rankings, or even ones before Week 1. The reality is, those opinions are more based on how last season ended then they are with how the current season will play out. And while Week 1 can certainly offer their fair share of mirages, it makes more sense to use that information as the baseline for the rest of the season, rather than how a team looked in January.
Make no mistake, previous performance matters for teams that have proven to be among the best in the league. But there are always a bunch of false positives just waiting to be proven misleading once more information is added to the evaluation. For instance, the New York Giants were one of the final eight teams standing 2022. Did they look like a top-eight team on Sunday night? Here are our premier NFL Power Rankings going into Week 2.
32 Houston Texans (0-1)
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
31 Arizona Cardinals (0-1)
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
30 Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
29 Chicago Bears (0-1)
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
28 Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
27 Tennessee Titans (0-1)
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
26 Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
25 Washington Commanders (1-0)
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
24 Atlanta Falcons (1-0)
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
23 New York Giants (0-1)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8)
22 Minnesota Vikings (0-1)
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
21 Denver Broncos (0-1)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
20 Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
18 New Orleans Saints (1-0)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
17 New England Patriots (0-1)
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
16 Seattle Seahawks (0-1)
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
15 Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
14 Los Angeles Chargers (0-1)
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
13 Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
12 Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
11 Buffalo Bills (0-1)
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
10 New York Jets (1-0)
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
9 Cleveland Browns (1-0)
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
8 Detroit Lions (1-0)
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
7 Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)
Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean-USA TODAY Sports
6 Baltimore Ravens (1-0)
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
5 Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
4 Miami Dolphins (1-0)
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
3 Kansas City Chiefs (0-1)
2 Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
1 San Francisco 49ers (1-0)
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
