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The 2013 Denver Broncos have all the markings of a truly dominant team. They are explosive on offense. They are a stout defense. And well, on special teams they are just special.
Peyton Manning and the Broncos have embarrassed two of the last three Super Bowl champions and now head into a stretch of games they should easily handle. The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars just finished the Laughingstock Bowl on Sunday and Manning isn't the type to sleep on any team. Divisional games are tough though, so don't expect another forty point night next Monday. Do you all remember when analysts were concerned this team wouldn't make it to 4-2 without Von Miller? Yeah, me neither.
Aside from the Broncos, the biggest winners this week were the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. Two won games they were not really expected to win and the other bounced back with a dominant performance against the Washington Redskins.
The biggest losers would have to be the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions. Only one of those teams won, but all five either sucked badly or just blew a win and deserve to be punished for it.
Let's see how things got blown up this week in my NFL Rankings. Check out last week's power rankings here.
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1 |
Denver Broncos |
Is there another team in the NFL as dominant as the Denver Broncos so far in 2013? Let's see, 45 PPG and that was against two of the last three Super Bowl champions. The only other time this franchise has had a team that I would consider to be dominant was the 97-98 Broncos. It's only two games in, but so far its looking good for Peyton Manning and John Elway. |
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2 |
Seattle Seahawks |
The Seahawks will get all of the love from the media in this weeks power rankings, but they looked terrible against the Panthers in Week 1 and looked terrible in the first half of this last game too. Their defense looks great and really won the game for them on Sunday night. These guys are a different team at home. |
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3 |
Green Bay Packers |
But Tim, the Packers lost to the 49ers - how could they possibly be ranked higher? Well, the 49ers barely beat them at home then got embarrassed by a division rival. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were absolutely dominant against the Redskins to bounce back from their close defeat against the 49ers in Week 1. |
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San Francisco 49ers |
I'm sorry, but you cannot go into a division rivals home turf and get utterly dominated 29-3 and expect to remain near the top of the power rankings. I'll give them a mulligan and keep them in the Top 5, but they better get back on the right track next week if they want to stay there. Shave your eye brow, Colin Kaepernick. |
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5 |
Atlanta Falcons |
After a tough Week 1 loss to the Saints, the Falcons turned it up against the Rams with a solid win. Meanwhile, the Saints looked terrible against a dysfunctional Buccaneers squad. When Matt Ryan has time to find Julio Jones, this team is deadly. |
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6 |
New Orleans Saints |
The Saints looked like garbage this week. Drew Brees could not seem to get anything going and they are dang lucky to come away with a victory. If the Bucs had any ounce of resolve in their bones, they would have stolen a win here. Yes, I know the Saints beat the Falcons in Week 1, but that was in the Dome where they rarely lose. On neutral ground, I'll take the Falcons every time. |
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7 |
Chicago Bears |
The Bears are another team that lucked out this weekend. Jay Cutler was terrible and Adrian Peterson continues to pose problems for defenses in spite of my belief that he can't go two years in a row rushing for 2000 yards. They escaped with a victory against an inferior team, so we'll just keep them right here. |
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8 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
The Bengals took care of business last night against a perennial AFC North powerhouse in the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers might be trending downward, but there are certainly some demons Andy Dalton and the Bengals needed to exercise if they are to take command of the division in 2013. So far so good. |
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Houston Texans |
So far, the Texans are not looking quite like a Top 10 football team, but they have too much talent and are in a weak division not to come out on top. Perhaps it just the early season jitters, look for this franchise to get back to their dominating ways soon. |
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New England Patriots |
Tom Brady and the Patriots may have played one of the worst games I've ever seen them play on Thursday Night Football. Even though they came away with a win against the lowly Jets - at home - they took a hit in their rankings this week. |
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11 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Technically, due to some geniuses way of deciding tiebreakers, the Chiefs are first place in the AFC West right now and surging up my power rankings. I'm starting to buy into that maybe this team makes the playoffs this year, but they certainly won't be able to keep pace with Peyton Manning and the Broncos. |
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12 |
Baltimore Ravens |
Joe Flacco was able to string some good drives together late to lead the Ravens past the Browns in a low scoring affair. The jury is still out on the defending Super Bowl champions, but they need to figure things out soon or its going to be a long, disappointing season for them and their lovely fans. |
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13 |
San Diego Chargers |
I love making fun of Phillip Rivers and the Chargers, but in a moment of unbiased review this team is competitive. They were annihilating the Texans in Week 1 before imploding, but then found a backbone against a weaker team to take down the Eagles. Honestly, I don't quite have them figured out other than I think they belong in the top half of things for now. |
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Dallas Cowboys |
Tony Romo and the Cowboys had a tough outing against the Chiefs this week, but it isn't easy to win in Arrowhead. Even against their bad team teams. It certainly looks like the Cowboys might be the best of a rather bad bunch in the NFC East. |
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15 |
Miami Dolphins |
Okay okay, it looks like I have to stop disrespecting the Dolphins. They are 2-0 and judging by how the Patriots are handling the lesser teams in the division, could be poised to bring down the juggernaut of the division this year. Raise your hand if you'd prefer to see Ryan Tannehill to Tom Brady in the playoffs on the road to the Super Bowl? |
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Detroit Lions |
Damn you Matt Stafford! You and your Lions cost me a first place finish in my pick'em league. Oh wait, it was your defense? I don't care, I flip flopped several times and I knew better than to put my faith in you guys. So uh, their rankings, yeah... umm, they lost and they suck and I hate them. |
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17 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
The Eagles have some explosive players on offense, but so do many other teams in the NFL. I think Chip Kelly will need to spend some time building a capable defense if he wants to see some rings come his way in the distant future. Oh, and a quarterback not named Michael Vick. |
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18 |
New York Giants |
Now for a stretch of teams that remain exactly who I thought they were. Eli Manning and the Giants are off to their normal slow starts and Manning in particular looks like he is forcing his throws far too much - making him a turnover factory. We'll see if they start climbing their way back up the boards in the coming weeks. |
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Indianapolis Colts |
Whelp, Andrew Luck is not Peyton Manning and he isn't going to help a crappy Colts team win 13 regular season games for a decade straight. Luck is still going to be a great quarterback, but the Colts need to start drafting talent instead of scrubs. |
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20 |
St. Louis Rams |
The Rams played hard this week, but were overmatched by a contender in the Falcons. This team really does look on the verge of turning the corner. I wouldn't be surprised if they close out the season with a string of wins, but just miss the playoffs. |
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21 |
Washington Redskins |
Robert Griffin III just doesn't look like the same dynamic quarterback he was in his rookie season and the Redskins are not good enough to help him along. Mike Shanahan is in trouble, they could be looking at a Top 5 pick if they don't figure things out soon - especially on defense. |
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22 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
The Steelers lost on Monday Night Football, but they did draw the unfortunate straw to play against a more talented and begrudged Bengals squad. They've dropped to 0-2, but I'm not ready to quit on them quite just yet. The Titans suddenly look good too, so maybe they just ran into a couple of buzzsaws early on. |
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23 |
Buffalo Bills |
The Bills produced a miracle on Sunday to beat the Panthers. Well, not really a miracle, but they did come back to win the game in the final moments. Which is more than they did the week prior. The two-headed monster of C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson makes this team interesting. |
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24 |
Arizona Cardinals |
I have to hand it to the Cardinals. They are a scrappy football team. They pulled victory from the clutches of defeat from a mentally weak football team and they almost did the same last week against the Rams. I do not trust Carson Palmer, but he has too many weapons not to be at least efficient in most games. Look for this team to keep rising in the coming weeks. |
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25 |
Minnesota Vikings |
Nearly 90% of people here on Mile High Report voted "Too Low" in my power poll in May for this team. I had them 22nd at the time and not much has convinced me to change. I just couldn't see Adrian Peterson carrying this team to the playoffs two seasons in a row. Without a quality quarterback, the ceiling is low for this team. Christian Ponder just isn't going to live up to the expectations fans had hoped for. An 0-2 start in their division certainly justifies this drop. |
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Tennessee Titans |
The Titans suddenly look like a good football team. They shocked the Steelers, then damn near beat the Houston Texans. Obviously, I am not yet a believer in this team as is evident with my rather tepid movement in their rankings since the first week. They play hard nosed football again next week and I don't think I'll be able to keep disrespecting these guys with my rankings next week. |
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Oakland Raiders |
The Raiders played the Colts hard and then led from start to finish against the hapless Jaguars. Maybe this team isn't as terrible as all of us Bronco fans hoped. I still fully expect these talent deficient team to get steam rolled on Monday Night Football next week, but so far they at least look competitive. The AFC West doesn't appear to be a doormat anymore, although the Raiders are still the doormat of the AFC West. |
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Carolina Panthers |
The Panthers should not be among the worst teams in the league, but they - like the Browns - just don't like to win. Looking back, I guess I was right to put them down near the bottom back in my May power rankings. I would love to blame Cam Newton for this one, but he actually did what he was supposed to do - put up some points late with what should have been not enough time left to come back for the other team. |
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29 |
New York Jets |
The Jets brought their A game to the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. LOL, I'm joking. The Patriots brought their D- game. The Jets are terrible and will continue to be terrible. The bump today is for nearly making Tom Brady cry like a baby who spilled his milk. |
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30 |
Cleveland Browns |
I really though the Browns would take that next step this year, but like most craptastic franchises, they can never figure out how to win even when they have talent. The Lions and Raiders also suffer from this odd phenomena. They have a stout defense, but winning just doesn't seem to be in the cards for this team or city. |
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31 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
The Buccaneers are dysfunctional. What were people thinking when they gave me crap for putting them 24th in my power rankings back in May? Josh Freeman needs to go. I think he is a good quarterback, but I don't think he'll ever be able to regain his rookie magic while in Tampa. I'm sure Jacksonville would love to talk trade right now. |
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32 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
It's amazing how much difference even a below average quarterback can be for a horrible football team. From zero offensive points to a couple of field goals. At least they are scoring points! However, losing to the lowly Raiders is about as rock bottom as you can get in today's NFL. Can I just lock the Jaguars into this bottom spot permanently? Save me some time... |
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