2015 NFL Power Rankings: Seahawks fall, Patriots still best in Week 2

1.

New England Patriots

Record 1-0. Tom Brady has two weapons: Julian Edleman and Rob Gronkowski. That's apparently all you need against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I started the year off with the New England Patriots in the number one spot, because they are both talented and masters at cheating to gain competitive advantages over their opponents. Keep up the good work, New England. Since we now know cheaters always prosper in the NFL.

2.

Green Bay Packers

Record 1-0. The Green Bay Packers won their game without doing much offensively. Aaron Rodgers only had 189 yards passing, but he tossed three touchdowns. The Packers showed they could win without having to put up tons of yards offensively. The bigger concern for the Packers now is their run defense who gave up 141 yards to Matt Forte and needed a Jay Cutler bed crapping to secure the win. Cutler's isn't always going to be there for the Packers to bail them out. Just sayin'...

3.

Denver Broncos

Record 1-0. Peyton Manning finished the day with a better stat line than Joe Flacco, but fans are going to freak out anyway. He finished 24/40 for 175 yards and an interception, but he doubled up Flacco in point-scoring drives with four field goals to two. Let's give him a few more weeks before we start looking to bench him, mkay? As for the Broncos defense. Can you say, Orange Crush? Practice it, because you are going to use that work a lot in 2015. The only thing I don't love about the defense is the inside rush defense and I can live with that. Plus, I have a feeling we're going to see lots of this.

4.

Arizona Cardinals

Record 1-0. Carson Palmer seems to be the real deal anymore. He put up 307 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Saints. Two of those touchdowns came in the fourth quarter to take a close game and make it a double-digit victory for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals run defense is fairly elite as well. This team is going to give the Seahawks some problems this year.

5.

Kansas City Chiefs

Record 1-0. Oh boy, the Kansas City Chiefs score 27 points in the first half against one of the worst teams in football and suddenly they are Super Bowl champions. Or so you would think listening to the Chiefs fans on Sunday. Nevermind that the Chiefs went another half without scoring a single point and could only muster three yards per carry in the run game. Oh and did I mention the Texans almost came back to win it? The Chiefs will be facing one of the leagues premier pass defenses on Thursday Night Football. Good luck with that.

6.

Cincinnati Bengals

Record 1-0. The Cincinnati Bengals reminded Oakland Raiders fans everywhere that, no, this wouldn't be the year the Raiders would turn the corner. Andy Dalton was efficient, throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He looked to Tyler Eifert often, who finished with nine grabs for 104 yards and both of Dalton's touchdown passes. The score was 33-0 when the Bengals defense took their foot off the gas, allowing two garbage time touchdowns to the Raiders.

7.

Seattle Seahawks

Record 0-1. Mmm, delicious. I love Seahawks tears, there's so many...

8.

Baltimore Ravens

Record 0-1. The Baltimore Ravens played a tough game against fellow AFC powerhouse, Denver Broncos. Joe Flacco could not get anything going against the ferocious Broncos defense, finishing 18/32 for 117 yards and two interceptions. The Ravens did find some soft inside running lanes, but finished with just six offensive points. To add insult to injury, the elite Ravens defense lost Terrell Suggs for the year to an Achilles' tear. The AFC north just got a little more interesting.

9.

Dallas Cowboys

Record 1-0. The headline on NFL.com after Sunday Night Football was something like "Tony Romo grew up right before our eyes". I mean seriously? The dude is like 36 years old and will be retiring in a few years. I think Romo is who he has always been. He just had a bad rap for blowing it in a few big games in his career, but overall the guy is among the leaders in the NFL when it comes to game-winning drives. That said, the Dallas Cowboys are not going to win 12 games this year. They were foolish to let Demarco Murray walk without a way to replace his production.

10.

Indianapolis Colts

Record 0-1. I need to toot my own horn for calling the Indianapolis Colts what they were last week. They are an organization that drafts horribly and can't seem to evaluate talent. Like Peyton Manning in 1998, they couldn't miss on Andrew Luck and he will be the only reason this team is a playoff contender each and every year. As he goes, so goes the Indianapolis Colts.

11.

Atlanta Falcons

Record 1-0. The Atlanta Falcons are finally the team I thought they would be last season. Getting rid of Mike Smith was just what the doctor ordered. Matt Ryan was cool under pressure and the Falcons offense looks fairly explosive. At some point, their defense is going to cost them a win, but right now they look like the best team in the NFC South and its not even close.

12.

Buffalo Bills

Record 1-0. Let the Buffalo Bills hype commence! I would love to see Rex Ryan's swarming defense frustrate Tom Brady twice this season and Tyrod Taylor looks like he is going to be a major matchup problem for most teams in 2015. If the Bills keep playing like this, they will challenge the Patriots for the AFC East division title. How sweet it is!

13.

San Diego Chargers

Record 1-0. In typical San Diego Chargers fashion, Phillip Rivers had a frustrating half of football paired with an incredible half of football. He would finish with 404 yards passing and two touchdowns. Danny Woodhead would add another two touchdowns to lift the Chargers over the Lions at home. Three of the four AFC West teams are 1-0 heading into Week 2. Denver can lower that number by taking care of the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.

14.

St. Louis Rams

Record 1-0. The St. Louis Rams dominated the game with the Seattle Seahawks. Until the fourth quarter. The Seahawks, in typical heart attack fashion, nearly won in a fluky way once again. Their 18 point fourth quarter was thwarted in overtime by the Rams defense who feasted on Russell Wilson to the tune of six sacks and an interception. The Rams special teams also accumulated 144 return yards with a touchdown to boot. If the Rams play like this all year long, the NFC West is going to be fun to watch.

15.

Philadelphia Eagles

Record 0-1. All the offseason hype and the Philadelphia Eagles are who they are. A team with a suspect offensive line and Sam Bradford. The playoffs are a possibility, but do Eagles fans really think they can win a Super Bowl with Bradford? That running game didn't look all that great either. I thought this was the Dream Team.

16.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Record 0-1. The loss drops the Pittsburgh Steelers a bit from their Top 5 ranking last week, but not by too much. The Steelers offense moved the ball at will on Thursday night and that is going to win them plenty of games in 2015. Their defense is definitely vulnerable, which will cost them dearly in the playoffs. People should also take into account that if Josh Scobee hadn't missed two field goals, the Steelers would have been a two-point conversion away from tying the game at the end.

17.

Detroit Lions

Record 0-1. The Detroit Lions were up 21-10 at half time. Then the San Diego Chargers scored 23 points in the second half to win. That is not how a playoff team closes the deal. Matthew Stafford found a way to throw two touchdowns and two interceptions, which seems to be how he rolls in most games. The one positive is that Ameer Abdullah has the look of an explosive offensive weapon.

18.

Miami Dolphins

Record 1-0. Whatever hype the Miami Dolphins may have had before the season was diminished some as they nearly lost to the lowly Washington Redskins in Week 1. Still, Ryan Tannehill was efficient with 226 yards and a touchdown with no costly interceptions. The Dolphins needed a late punt return for a touchdown to seal the deal for a 17-10 win. Right now, the Dolphins look like the third best team in the AFC East.

19.

Carolina Panthers

Record 1-0. Ho hum. That's my analysis of Cam Newton in his first game of the season. He can thank the Carolina Panthers defense for this win. Greg Olsen would have had a fairly monster game, but he had a touchdown and another huge reception negated by penalty. So don't sleep on his 1 catch for 11 yards. He just got screwed on Sunday. It doesn't help that Newton can't seem to find him now.

20.

San Francisco 49ers

Record 1-0. Did I call the San Francisco 49ers a dumpster fire last week?

21.

New York Giants

Record 0-1. The New York Giants lost on Sunday Night Football, but I'm not going to give up on them as my dark horse after just one game. If Eli Manning had just taken the sack on his last drive, the outcome would have been quite different. The Giants do have a tendency to make dubious decisions in tight games and this time it came up and bit them in the rear end. Overall, the Giants look like they will contend in the NFC East.

22.

New Orleans Saints

Record 0-1. Tell you what, the problem with the New Orleans Saints isn't Drew Brees. He finished the day with 355 yards passing, but could not close the deal with touchdowns. It was going to be a tough go to go into Arizona and beat the Cardinals, but they were down by one point in the 4th quarter before the Saints defense just completely folded.

23.

Minnesota Vikings

Record 0-1. Whelp, so much for that Minnesota Vikings hype. Adrian Peterson is still good, but Teddy Bridgewater does not look NFL ready to me. Which screws my fantasy sleeper pick of Charles Johnson. I hate when I buy into hype that isn't directly related to my own orange and blue obsession. Serves me right. Stupid Vikings.

24.

Tennessee Titans

Record 1-0. Marcus Mariota joins Fran Tarkenton as the only player to throw four touchdown passes in their first NFL start. The Tennessee Titans were rolling from the start, nabbing a pick six on the first defensive series then going on to score another 35 points. It's hard to believe the Titans are that much better than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it surely looks as though one of these teams might be the worst team in football. Hint: It's not these Titans.

25.

New York Jets

Record 1-0. So my rankings last week assumed Geno Smith would be the starter once he got back from his broken jaw, which means the New York Jets are a better football team without him. Ryan Fitzpatrick might just hang onto his starting quarterback position longer than that and if so, the Jets are going to win more games. Chris Ivory looks like a running back that should have been taken earlier in fantasy drafts too.

26.

Chicago Bears

Record 0-1. Losing at home with a late interception with the game on the line. Yep, that sounds like Jay Cutler. John Fox starts his tenure as head coach with a home defeat to a division rival in a game the Bears dominated offensively, but could not seem to come away with points. I suspect this team will finish 7-9, because of this guy...

27.

Houston Texans

Record 0-1. The Houston Texans without J.J. Watt are an 0-16 football team right now. With him, they'll win probably two. The good news for Texans fans is that Ryan Mallett might add a few more wins to that column if he continues to get the start moving forward. He damn near brought the Texans back against the Chiefs on Sunday.

28.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Record 0-1. The Jacksonville Jaguars finally look like a team on its way up. They played the Panthers tough defensively, but Blake Bortles made some poor decisions to keep the game out of reach. Overall, I think the Jaguars will find some consistency later this season and maybe even win five or six games. That's definitely a step in the right direction.

29.

Washington Redskins

Record 0-1. I figured the Washington Redskins would be a better football team with Kirk Cousins at quarterback and Robert Griffin III on the bench and so far that looks to be accurate. Cousins will make boneheaded interceptions at times, but his overall decision making skills from the pocket is miles better than RGIII's. The Redskins played a tough defensive game against the Dolphins and held strong until the very end when their special teams gave up the game deciding touchdown on a punt return.

30.

Oakland Raiders

Record 0-1. So much for the hopes and dreams of Oakland Raiders fans everywhere. Keep on losing on.

31.

Cleveland Browns

Record 0-1. The Cleveland Browns almost looked like a good football team there, then they didn't. In fact, they made the New York Jets look a lot better than I thought they would be. Johnny Manziel needs to continue being the starting quarterback as he led both in passing and in rushing and figures to be the Browns only hope for offensive production as they can't seem to run the ball or pass very well.

32.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Record 0-1. With Mariota making history above, Jameis Winston also made history by joining Brett Favre as the only other quarterback to have his first pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Winston would recover some to finish with two touchdown passes to go with his two interceptions, but certainly not the way you'd hope to open the season in your own house. The Buccaneers are a bad football team.