NFL Week 2 Division-by-Division Power Rankings and Recap

These Power Rankings are based primarily off of what we’ve seen these past two weekends. Preseason hype and supposed roster strength are secondary factors.
The Divisions are ordered by how well each conference has looked. The better ones are at the top, the weaker ones towards the bottom.

• NFC East (6-2) Unquestionably the best conference in the NFL top to bottom.

1. Dallas Cowboys (2-0) Beat Philadelphia in a monday night thriller. The offense is lethal, the defense makes plays and the special teams are vastly improved. This team is the class of the NFC.
2. New York Giants (2-0) The Giants destroyed a really bad Rams team, and even racked up six sacks, an extremely encouraging sign considering the questions surrounding their pass rush. Oh, and they’ve now won 12 straight on the road.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) As frustrating a loss as it was for Eagles fans, putting up 337 yards, winning the turnover battle and having Donovan McNabb throw for 281 yards Dallas are all encouraging signs for a team that should be drastically improved.
4. Washington Redskins (1-1) New Orleans was missing four defensive starters and Washington took advantage. Santana Moss welcomed rookie CB Tracy Porter to the NFL by torching him for 67 yards to complete the comeback win over the Saints. This was big for Washington, who hadn’t played anywhere near their ability since rookie head coach Jim Zorn took over.

• AFC East (5-3) The big question mark, but so far, so good.

1. Buffalo Bills (2-0) QB Trent Edwards and RB Marshawn Lynch are the personified bright future of the Buffalo Bills, but their offensive line is what makes them shine. They battled it out against a scruffy Jaguars team and came out on top. They appear to be legit contenders.
2. New England Patriots (1-1) Matt Cassel did what he was supposed to do against the Jets. No, this isn’t Tom Brady part two, but it could be a Damon Huard/Kyle Orton/rookie Ben Roethlisberger type of situation. As long as that defensive line holds up like they did on that big goal line stand, this team will have a shot.
3. New York Jets (1-1) Who is this Chansi Stuckey guy that Brett Favre seems to like? The Jets battled the Patriots, but New England is a team that has their number (and playbook). It’s kind of hard to judge the Jets and the Patriots since they’ve only played cannon fodder and each other.
4. Miami Dolphins (0-2) So much for optimism. After a pretty respectable opening day, the Dolphins got demolished my Arizona. Their offense was nonexistent and Kurt Warner looked like he was orchestrating the greatest show on turf again.

• AFC South (3-4) The highest upside of any conference. If they get it together, watch out.

1. Tennessee Titans (2-0) A 70-yard coffin corner punt and a backup QB who’s better than the starter are bizarre enough. But few things beat Chris Johnson, who runs a 4.24 40-time, speaking out about how fast NFL defenses are. He backed up last week’s nice performance with his first 100-yard rushing game. Keep an eye on CB Cortland Finnegan, who now has 3 INTs in two games.
2. Indianapolis Colts (1-1) Well Peyton Manning is not healthy and Vikings RB Adrian Peterson just bullied their run defense after Matt Forte tore them apart in the opener, but at least they showed heart in a big comeback sprung by a big Anthony Gonzalez reception and lateral play. Their offensive line has serious issues.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) Who would have thought this team would start off 0-2? Their interior offensive line is absolutely depleted and David Garrard trying to do everything by himself isn’t working. They’ve faced two teams that look like they’ll be in the playoff picture and weren’t overmatched, so there’s still hope.
4. Houston Texans (0-1) They had a bye due to hurricane Ike, but interviews with their players sound eerily familiar to interviews with Saints players in 2005. I hate using the word ‘distraction’ in sports talk, but in the case of a massively devastating hurricane, I’ll call it a distraction.

• NFC North (3-5) Tough and gritty. The Lions are the only non playoff contender.

1. Green Bay Packers (2-0) If you’re already putting Aaron Rodgers in the hall of fame, remember how good Matt Ryan looked against that Lions defense. Otherwise, the Packers played a sloppy game versus Detroit. Their punter had a high snap go through his hands for a safety and they blew a 21-point lead, but then they scored 21 points in 84 seconds to secure the win.
2. Chicago Bears (1-1) Their super bowl defense is back and in full force and their special teams are stellar. Considering their offense basically just needs to play mistake-free football, Kyle Orton was definitely the right choice. Still, this would be a real contender if they had receivers and an offensive line.
3. Minnesota Vikings (0-2) They’ve now lost two close games to two pretty good teams. They’re giving up a lot of yards through the air, which wouldn’t be nearly as big a problem if they could throw for some yards themselves.
4. Detroit Lions (0-2) The Lions are a joke. After making Matt Ryan and Michael Turner look like Marino and Sanders, they got torched by Aaron Rodgers. Even when Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson finally managed to get Detroit back in the game, they preceded to give up 24 unanswered points in less than half a quarter

• NFC South (5-3) There are wins, but they’re against each other. Too many questions.

1. Carolina Panthers (2-0) Welcome to the daily show with Jonathan Stewart! Beat San Diego in the opener and this week they mounted a comeback over a rejuvenated Chicago team. The last time Carolina started 2-0 was in 2003.
2. New Orleans Saints (1-1) Their defense had problems before all the injuries. You would have hoped that the offense would be still strong enough to carry them…then Marques Colston got hurt. Reggie Bush of all people is the guy making plays and keeping this team competitive.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) They put Atlanta back in their place and the defense shut down Michael Turner. Sophomore DE Gaines Adams also gave rookie LT Sam Baker fits all day and racked up 2 sacks. They just need to make sure their QB situation doesn’t get too ugly.
4. Atlanta Falcons (1-1) 13 for 33 with 2 INTs is more like what a rookie QB should play like. Their 24-9 loss to Tampa Bay was a buzz kill, but if you thought last week’s performance was the norm for this team, then I want some of what you’re drinking.

• AFC North (3-4) Possibly the only division that already seems decided.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) After looking very impressive in the opener against Houston, the Steelers beat Cleveland in probably the ugliest game of the weekend. Is it me, or does Pittsburgh get caught playing under unplayable conditions more often than any other team in the NFL?
2. Baltimore Ravens (1-0) They had a bye since Houston was in no condition to host them. Normally having a Week 2 bye is a disadvantage, but Baltimore is very banged-up and needed some time to heal.
3. Cleveland Browns (0-2) Safeties Brodney Pool and Brandon McDonald couldn’t tackle Wille Parker, Jamal Lewis has never been able to run on Dick LeBeau’s Steeler defense and Braylon Edwards couldn’t catch anything thrown his way. As I said last week, expect a lot of mediocrity from this team.
4. Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) The Bungles are back Cincinnati! Remember when Marvin Lewis was considered for coach of the year, and the Bengals’ offense was unstoppable? It’s amazing how far this group has fallen since 2005. At least they have one thing remaining from then: their defense still can’t stop anybody.

• AFC West (3-5) There is a line as clear as the Mason-Dixon line separating top two and bottom two teams.

1. San Diego Chargers (0-2) Yes, they are deserving of the top spot in the division. If the NFL replay rule didn’t have a Kool-Aid man-sized hole in it, they would be 1-1 with a win over Denver, the only other relevant team in the division. I don’t even blame fully referee Ed Hochuli, the NFL’s replay system just doesn’t deal with missed fumble calls sufficiently. However, if San Diego doesn’t post zero sacks and doesn’t allow Jay Cutler to rip them up for 350 yards and 4 TDs, maybe this situation doesn’t even matter.
2. Denver Broncos (2-0) They’ve looked great in two games. People dismissed their stomping of Oakland as a blowout against a bad opponent, but they beat (“defeated”) a very talented San Diego team. For some reason nobody is talking about Brandon Marshall’s 18 receptions against pro bowler Antonio Cromartie, one of the most impressive performances by a receiver in recent memory.
3. Oakland Raiders (1-1) Did anybody in the country even watch the Raiders beat the Chiefs this past weekend? Well, the only thing worth watching was Darren McFadden tearing up Kansas City’s defense for 164 yards. JaMarcus Russell was 6 for 17 with 55 yards…is there anyone who actually thinks he’s going to be a star NFL QB?
4. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) They lost to the Raiders 23-8 and their QB is Tyler Thigpen. Does anything more need to be said? If Tony Gonzalez weren’t such a class act he would have forced his way out of Kansas City by now.

• NFC West (3-5) The Arizona Cardinals are clear cut favorites, yeah… that bad.

1. Arizona Cardinals (2-0) If this roster were playing under any other franchise (except Detroit), they would be considered super bowl contenders. Picking the Cardinals is just a textbook recipe for losing credibility every year. But they have talented playmakers all over the depth chart and demolished a Miami team that looked much improved until they played this squad.
2. San Francisco 49ers (1-1) A little tip for the future: trust Mike Martz. When he starts J.T. O’Sullivan over Alex Smith and brings in antique WR Isaac Bruce to be his go-to-guy, trust him. O’Sullivan was 20 for 32 with 321 yards and a TD while Bruce raked in 153 yards in an overtime victory over 4-straight NFC West champions Seattle.
3. Seattle Seahawks (0-2) You just have to feel for Matt Hasselbeck. Can you remember any team that had this many offensive injuries this early in the season? These are the WRs listed on their official depth chart: Logan Payne, Courtney Taylor, Billy McMullen, Michael Bumpus. Compared to those names, newly acquired wideouts Keary Colbert and Koren Robertson look like Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. On the bright side, they had 8 sacks against the 49ers, including two by rookie Lawrence Jackson.
4. St. Louis Rams (0-2) Do I really have to acknowledge their existence this year? This might be the worst third-down team in recent memory. RT Alex Barron gave up two more sacks to Justin Tuck, further building his already abysmal NFL resume. They’ve been outscored 79-16 in their first two games.