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Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: Seahawks clearly better than the rest; Broncos not

The Denver Broncos looked great in the first half and like crap in the second, while the Seattle Seahawks were dominant from start to finish. With both facing similarly good playoff-caliber teams, I think the outcomes of both tell us more than we'd like to admit.
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Boy was it good to see the 2014 NFL Regular season get fully underway on Sunday or what? The Seattle Seahawks looked like defending Super Bowl champions that may be destined to repeat, while the Hall of the Very Good appears to contain the same teams as they did at the end of the last season - minus the New England Patriots anyway.

Thanks to a Monday Night Football doubleheader, I'll have to keep my normal snarkiness to a minimum(maybe) in order to get these completed before daylight Tuesday morning. I do work full-time you know! If you read just two rankings, go for the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. It is Chiefs Week after all.

Check out last week's rankings, but there is a column to track how the teams changed from last week.

RNK
TEAM
INSTANT ANALYSIS
CHG

1

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have not skipped a beat from their Super Bowl run it appears, which means they could be on another collision course with the Denver Broncos. My eye is already on Week 3 as that will be an excellent benchmark of measurement for this Broncos team. As it stands, both of these teams are clearly the two most dominant teams in the NFL right now.

+1

2

Denver Broncos

After a first half that was everything us Denver Broncos fans had hoped we would see to start the 2014 season, we witnessed everything we had hoped we would not see to start the season in the second half. The positives were how well the defense held up when their backs were against the wall. Peyton Manning looked impressive at first, then horrible at the end. It isn't often when you say, "The defense bailed Peyton Manning out in this game." On the plus side, he did run for no reason here and it was sort of comical.

-1

3

San Francisco 49ers

As bad as the San Francisco 49ers were during the preseason, they opened up playing the worst defense in NFL history. So does that mean they are bad to being great? I just don't know. I'll give them a slight benefit of the doubt here, but mostly I'm going to play the wait and see game with these guys.

+3

4

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints losing on Sunday was more a validation of my opinion of the Atlanta Falcons than it was a black mark against Drew Brees and the Saints. They are still the best 0-1 team in the NFL right now and are not moving out of my top 5. They'll still go on to win the NFC South.

-1

5

Philadelphia Eagles

Early Sunday was quite fun for us football fanatics as we all got to make fun of Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles as they were down 17-0 late in the first half. Apparently they woke up, because the final score ended up being 34-17. I am grateful for that, because I suggested they might be on the verge of a dynasty and that would have made me look really stupid!

+5

6

Cincinnati Bengals

I picked the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North, but it appears that distinction will stick with the Cincinnati Bengals as Andy Dalton led them to a hard fought road win giving them the edge moving forward. I tend to fade teams I distrust and, frankly, I distrust this team and my bias really gets in the way - especially when I am wrong!

+1

7

New England Patriots

Poor Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They just can't seem to figure out how to play football in southern Florida and this time it all came to a head as Knowshon Moreno dominated that Patriots defense to help catapult the Miami Dolphins to a convincing two touchdown victory on Sunday. I still think New England bounces back, but it sure was fun to watch them flop for a change. Point and Laugh, Denver.

-2

8

Green Bay Packers

I bought into the hype again this year with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, but they started this season with six guys on injured reserve. I doubt they stay healthy again in 2014, so that is going to push them right out of the discussion as far as I am concerned. We'll see how they bounce back after a tough road matchup against the defending Champs.

-4

9

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck reminds me so much of John Elway from the 80s and early 90s and the Indianapolis Colts are eerily built like those Bronco teams from back then. Luck is going to have to will this team to almost every win in 2014, because the Colts front office has no idea what they are doing and cannot draft to save their lives. It should be fun to watch though!

-1

10

Atlanta Falcons

It looks like Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons will, in fact, bounce back from a very disappointing 2013 campaign. The NFC South is officially a two horse race as far as I am concerned with the Saints and Falcons. We'll have to see if the Carolina Panthers were more than just a one-year wonder, but it certainly looks like we may have a three horse race in the South.

+2

11

Carolina Panthers

Without Cam Newton I thought for sure the Carolina Panthers would not play well on the road, but apparently Derek Anderson channeled his inner "let's take the Browns to the playoffs" and put on a whooping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The defense didn't take a step back either, so the NFC South looks like it could be the best division in football now.

+3

12

Detroit Lions

Matthew Stafford came out and lit up a suspect New York Giants team. Being a home game, that is exactly what a playoff contender should do on opening day. The issue I have with the Detroit Lions is that they tend to start seasons off great, only to collapse in embarrassment by Week 17 to miss the playoffs yet again. I'll ride this train until about Week 9, then start fading them like a hater.

+3

13

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals played much better than I expected, but they are still not the team that Pete Prisco thinks is going to win the NFC West this season. That comeback victory against the San Diego Chargers, however, keeps the dream alive for their fans. Staying up late was never more worth it. The Denver Broncos are now in sole possession of first place in the AFC West. For good.

+4

14

Miami Dolphins

Knowshon Moreno is a Patriot killer and he took his hunting skills to the Miami Dolphins where he ground out 130 yards and a touchdown to slay the dragon. The Dolphins are still not a playoff-caliber team in my mind, but they are certainly improved from last year. They could end up in the scrum for the final playoff spot if they can keep this momentum going for a while.

+6

15

Minnesota Vikings

Boy did I called this one right. The Minnesota Vikings are indeed going to be a threatening team with the weapons they have put together on offense. Cordarrelle Patterson is the real deal. If the Vikings can somehow get Teddy Bridgewater to be a star in the NFL, this team is going to be dangerous. With Matt Cassel, though, they should win 8-9 games.

+4

16

Pittsburgh Steelers

So the Pittsburgh Steelers blew a 24 point halftime lead only to win in the final minutes on a field goal. So there you go. Be happy Steelers fans, because you are in for a very long season. Brian Hoyer almost beat you at home. LOL!

--

17

Chicago Bears

Oh Jay Cutler. I had forgotten how you love playing up or down to the competition. Thank you for demanding that trade all those years ago and now you are the Chicago Bears fans problem. I loved that backfoot interception you threw too - I could almost picture Brandon Marshall in a Denver Broncos uniform at that moment. I can see that the Bears will just miss the playoffs again in 2014.

-7

18

San Diego Chargers

I had a victory comment all written up for this power rankings post, but I should have known better. After all, Philip Rivers is an underrated choker in my book. In fact, I couldn't hold back my glee when Rivers got the ball back with three minutes to go down by one point - to Twitter I went! It's so awesome when you look smart.

-7

19

Houston Texans

Holy crap J.J. Watts! That defense! I picked their defense up in the final round of one of my fantasy leagues and it only paid off for 25.00 friggin' points this week! Conversely, holy crap that offense! Can you say turrible. Yes. Turrible. Which is marginally worse than terrible. The Houston Texans need a real quarterback and some offensive line help.

+2

20

Baltimore Ravens

I had high hopes for the Baltimore Ravens, but having Flacco throw ten thousand passes in Week 1 tells me they are suffering from stupidity. Oh wait, Joe Flacco is elite. Oh wait, if he hadn't screwed his team out of a field goal, they may have been just a field goal from tying instead of a touchdown as the Bengals would not have gone for a two point conversion. Oh wait, they lost and their franchise is broke. Ha. Ha.

-7

21

Tennessee Titans

Wesley Woodyard led the Tennessee Titans in tackles and also picked up a sack of Alex Smith, helping spearhead a defense that shut down the Kansas City Chiefs offense completely in Arrowhead Stadium. Quite an impressive feat for a team that no one has given any shot at being successful in 2014. Well news flash people, they are already more successful than the Chiefs!

+4

22

Buffalo Bills

The freaking Buffalo Bills went into Chicago and beat the Bears. I'll say that again. The Bills went into Chicago and beat the Bears. I had them marked as the worst team in football, but obviously they are not that bad if they can go into Chicago and beat an above average football team on the road.

+10

23

New York Jets

The New York Jets were not very impressive in their home opener against the lowly Oakland Raiders, so I see no need to change their positioning this week. They barely contained a rookie quarterback in his first start and Geno Smith looked shaky at best. It was nice to see Eric Decker have a respectable first game with his new team. I bet he misses Peyton Manning though.

+4

24

Kansas City Chiefs

So, you know that elite defense from last season and the well-oiled Alex Smith machine? Well, the wheels just flew off... on a positive note, it is Chiefs week for Broncos fans!

-6

25

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Every year it seems like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are favorites to do something big in the NFC South by major media outlets, but I never buy into that hype. This franchise isn't well run and they do not really have any good players. If they win more than five games, I'll be shocked.

-1

26

New York Giants

Eli Manning seems to be going through a late career struggle not uncommon of quarterbacks his age. It looks like the offense is stale, the coaching is stale and the team overall his stale. If Manning is every to experience a Philip Rivers-like return to above averageness then the New York Giants need to make some front office changes. I think Tom Coughlin is a Hall of Fame coach, but it may be time for him to enjoy retirement.

-4

27

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins had a rough go at it against that nasty Texans defense and it is highly doubtful Robert Griffin III is going to make it through the entire season given how many horrifying hits he is taking. I hate to say it, but if I were a Redskins fan, I would be very curious to see what Kirk Cousins can do in the NFL.

-1

28

St. Louis Rams

The NFC West is not going to be considered the best division in football in 2014, so you better put that in your mind when making your weekly picks. The St. Louis Rams got obliterated at home by the Vikings. The Vikings. Here you go Jeff Fisher, get on this elevator...GOING DOWN!

-5

29

Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr has a ton of potential, provided the Oakland Raiders organization doesn't wreck him. He looked poised out there and had a very good first game - even when he had to make plays like this.

-1

30

Jacksonville Jaguars

Chad Henne went out and dropped a 17 point lead on the Philadelphia Eagles ... in Philadelphia! It's too bad games are sixty minutes instead of thirty though, because the Eagles went on a 34 point run to bury any joygasm hopes of Jacksonville Jaguars fans. Blake Bortles needs to get some reps people. That is all.

-1

31

Dallas Cowboys

The worst defense in NFL history played really bad defense for most of this game, but Tony Romo kept it interesting with interceptions and Hail Mary's. At the end of the day, the 49ers obliterated the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboys are as sucktastic as we had all hoped they would be. On a sad note, I learned Romo is 35 years old, which means we only have a couple more seasons of making fun of him. #sadface

-1

32

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns lost. It's time for Johnny Manziel. #logic How about you learn some Kung Fu instead, because you fight like nerds.

-1