NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: Packers vault into top three

Previous rank: No. 1

It's not fair. On a night when Patrick Mahomes averaged a pedestrian 6.6 yards per attempt, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce were held under 100 yards combined and Clyde Edwards-Helaire finished his first NFL game without a catch, the Chiefs still put up 34 points in an easy win over the Texans. Last season, four different teams went the whole year without scoring 34 points once ... the Chiefs do it when it feels like they're barely paying attention. Edwards-Helaire was the story against Houston, piling up 138 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He is yet another piece of an offense that might be functionally impossible to stop.

Previous rank: No. 3

By the third quarter, Sunday's opener felt more like a preseason tune-up. That's how easy and relaxed the Ravens looked in a 38-6 win over the overmatched Browns, Baltimore's 13th straight regular-season victory. Lamar Jackson finished 9-of-10 for 180 yards on throws of 10 yards or more downfield, according to ESPN. It showed growth in his game from last year's MVP season, when he completed less than 50 percent of such pass attempts. Is it possible that Jackson could be even better than he was in 2019? A scary thought for defensive coordinators across the league.

Previous rank: No. 8

Take a bow, Aaron Rodgers. After an offseason in which the Packers drafted his presumed successor and many in the football cognoscenti decided his best football was already in the rearview, Rodgers stepped on the field and dominated the Vikings for four quarters in a blowout win. Rodgers was simply brilliant, torching Minnesota for 364 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target? Davante Adams, of course, who tied a franchise record with 14 catches, racking up 156 yards and two scores in the process. Even more important, Rodgers got help from Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who each chipped in with big plays and touchdowns. Hell hath no fury like a legendary quarterback scorned.

Previous rank: No. 4

The offense wasn't quite ready to roll in Week 1, but teams as complete as this don't put all their eggs in one basket. The Saints forced Tom Brady and the Bucs into three turnovers (including a Janoris Jenkins pick-six) and a blocked kick, providing cover for Drew Brees and Co. in a relatively easy win at the Superdome. Brees threw for just 160 yards, and New Orleans' typically prolific offense was held to 271 total yards. After the game, Sean Payton called it "as bad a game as I've had as a play caller ... it was awful." These are rich teams' problems -- lamenting all the failures and shortcomings in the afterglow of a double-digit victory.

Previous rank: No. 5

Stephen Gostkowski overcame an extraordinary case of the yips on Monday night, and the Titans narrowly avoided what would have been one of the more excruciating losses in franchise history. Gostkowski -- who had three missed field goals (one of which was blocked) and a failed PAT -- was bailed out by the offense, which marched 83 yards over 12 plays in the final minutes to set up a game-winning, chip-shot field-goal attempt that even Gostkowski couldn't mess up on a cursed night. It could be a hugely important win for the Titans, who now hold the edge on the Broncos in a head-to-head playoff-tiebreaker scenario. It aged everyone roughly 12 years, but Mike Vrabel's Titans got out of Denver with what they came for.

Previous rank: No. 6

We got the Josh Allen pu pu platter in Sunday's win over the Jets. Big plays with his legs (57 yards, TD), a career-best passing day (312 yards, two scores) and -- yes -- a pair of lost fumbles, both on the opponent's side of the field. Allen also airmailed a gimme TD to John Brown that would have put New York away in the fourth quarter, but on balance, the day was a successful one for both the Bills and their polarizing third-year quarterback. A trip to Miami is up next on the schedule; getting the Jets and Dolphins back-to-back is pretty much the ideal way to start a football season in 2020.

Previous rank: No. 12

A hugely promising start to the season for the Steelers, who got a vintage Ben Roethlisberger start in his return from elbow surgery, a 100-yard rushing day from Benny Snell and a smothering performance from the front seven, which limited Giants star Saquon Barkley to 6 yards on 15 carries. Big Ben's return stands out, however: He shook off some early rust to throw for 229 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. We wondered last year how far the Steelers could go if they combined their world-beating defense with strong quarterback play. We're about to find out.

Previous rank: No. 9

Much was made about "Let Russ Cook" and Brian Schottenheimer's subsequent decision to air it out on Sunday, and Seahawks fans can only hope Wilson continues to get every chance to unleash his full potential as a passer. How could you not love the fourth-and-5 play call in the third quarter? Wilson, eyes downfield from the snap, dropped a bomb into the hands of DK Metcalf for a touchdown that broke the back of the Falcons' defense. Give Wilson the opportunity, and he may very well reward you with an NFL MVP performance in 2020.

Previous rank: No. 2

The 49ers need their wide receivers to get healthy. Aside from a breathtaking Raheem Mostert catch-and-run TD (his max speed of 22.73 mph was the highest of any player in the past three seasons, per Next Gen Stats), it was a slog on offense against the Cardinals. Playing without Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk (a pregame scratch), San Francisco receivers managed four catches for 41 yards on 11 targets. Jimmy Garoppolo's stat sheet didn't match his play, either: In the final two minutes, he undershot an open Kendrick Bourne on what could have been a go-ahead TD, then threw late and behind Trent Taylor on the game-deciding, fourth-down play deep in Arizona territory. 

Previous rank: No. 17

The Rams flew under the radar for much of the offseason, but that's changing after an extremely impressive performance against the Cowboys on a national stage. New coordinator Brandon Staley's defense never let Dak Prescott get comfortable (Aaron Donald was especially dominant in his SoFi Stadium debut), and Sean McVay gave his offense a different look in the first game of the post-Gurley era. Jared Goff kept the Dallas defense off balance with short throws and a quickened pace, completing passes to eight different targets while averaging nearly 9 yards per attempt. Malcolm Brown was the rushing star, with 79 yards and a pair of scores from close range. The Rams are back.

Previous rank: No. 7

Cowboys fans will spend the week debating Mike McCarthy's doomed decision to pass on a game-tying field goal in favor of a fourth-and-3 attempt in the fourth quarter. CeeDee Lamb was stopped short of the sticks on the ensuing pass play, and it turned out to be Dallas' last, best chance in a frustrating 20-17 loss. "You have to trust your players," McCarthy said after the game. The Cowboys got more bad news later when it was learned that linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is out six-to-eight weeks after suffering a broken collarbone. Vander Esch's absence will test the limits of an already-thin defense.

Previous rank: No. 15

The Patriots aren't the Patriots of their glory years, but that doesn't mean they won't matter in the AFC. They improved to 51-12 at home against AFC East opponents in the Bill Belichick era (seriously) after a 21-11 win over the Dolphins in Foxborough. The craziest stat of the day? Cam Newton rushed the ball 15 times in his Pats debut; it was the highest number of carries he's ever had in a game that didn't go to overtime. It's too early to say if this is how Josh McDaniels' offense will look every week, but a Cam-led ground-and-pound attack makes a lot of sense.

Previous rank: No. 13

The Tom Brady era got off to a sputtering start as the Bucs played far too sloppy a game to beat a loaded Saints team in full Super Bowl-or-bust mode. Brady had two turnovers, one on a miscommunication with Mike Evans and the other thrown behind Justin Watson and intercepted by Janoris Jenkins for a score. Brady lamented his "terrible turnovers" afterward, but he wasn't all bad in his first game away from Bill Belichick. Brady looked comfortable running the offense and accounted for three TDs (two passing, one rushing). Bucs fans may feel let down with a bad case of pick-six deja vu, but they still remain in very capable hands.

Previous rank: No. 23

So much for Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins not getting enough reps this summer. The league's hottest new QB/WR combo hooked up an absurd 14 times for 151 yards on 16 targets in a huge season-opening win against the defending conference champion 49ers. Hopkins didn't reach the end zone, but his 33-yard catch-and-run got Arizona to the one-foot line and set up the go-ahead score with five minutes to play. In other words, Hopkins delivered exactly the kind of game-changing performance the Cardinals were expecting when they traded for the superstar wide receiver in March. It's great to see a plan come together.

Previous rank: No. 16

Deshaun Watson can't do it by himself . Too often, that's how it feels when watching the Texans on offense. A play breaks down, and the quarterback does his dancing magician act behind the line, eyes always upfield in search of the big play. The genius of Watson is that sometimes, this works ... but not on Thursday night. Will Fuller did most of his damage after the game was decided, and Randall Cobb was virtually invisible in his Texans debut. Houston's defense deserves credit for not allowing Patrick Mahomes to go wild, and new running back David Johnson moved like a veteran with something to prove, but these two teams exist in different worlds. Just like January.

Previous rank: No. 10

Forget the garbage-time production, which was prodigious and undoubtedly appreciated by fantasy owners. In the real world, this was an embarrassing effort against a division rival that outclassed the Vikings in all phases. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers did whatever he wanted against the young secondary, and Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense struggled to get anything going until it was too late. The pass rush was nearly nonexistent with Danielle Hunter sidelined by injury, and huffing and puffing was rampant by the end of a first half where the D was on the field for 22:45 of game time. It's going to be a long week at Vikings headquarters.

Previous rank: No. 14

The opener played out like a slow-motion car crash. What started as a pleasant Sunday drive (17-0 lead) turned into a tangled mess of steel for the Eagles (27-17 loss), who have to be wondering -- respect to John Madden -- "Where'd that truck come from?" That 18-wheeler was the Washington pass rush, which trampled Carson Wentz for eight sacks and forced the quarterback into a host of ill-advised passes. (Wentz threw two picks and easily could have tossed five). Not every team has a front-seven push like Washington, but the Eagles have every reason to worry right now.

Previous rank: No. 11

Philip Rivers looks like the same guy with the Colts as he did with the Chargers ... and that was the problem for Indy in Sunday's grim 27-20 loss to the supposedly tanking Jaguars. Rivers threw for 363 yards and a score, but he also tossed two interceptions and had another pick wiped away by a penalty. The idea here was that an elite offensive line would help Rivers play a smarter, more efficient brand of football in 2020. Not so far. The Colts lost more than the game: Running back Marlon Mack is done for the season after tearing his Achilles. If Jonathan Taylor is available in your fantasy league, close this window and do what you need to do.

Previous rank: No. 20

With all due respect to Kyler Murray, Josh Jacobs was the best offensive rookie in football last year, and on Sunday, he took the next step toward true star status with a monster day against the Panthers. Jacobs piled up 139 yards from scrimmage and scored three times in a 34-30 win, outproducing Christian McCaffrey in a game featuring two of the league's top young running backs. The Raiders' defense showed it still has much work to do, but credit is in order for the game-clinching fourth-and-1 run stuff by Clelin Ferrell and linebacker Cory Littleton late in the fourth quarter. These were the big plays the Raiders had in mind when they took Ferrell fourth overall last year.

Previous rank: No. 22

Hey, it wasn't a masterpiece, but that's also the kind of game the Chargers have lost approximately 400 times in the past. They were due for some luck, received in the form of a shanked Randy Bullock field-goal attempt in the final minute of a 16-13 win. Tyrod Taylor was unspectacular but steady (this is pretty much the Tyrod Taylor experience in totality) and the defense forced two big turnovers, a welcome change from last year, when Los Angeles was too often on the wrong side of the takeaway battle. Melvin Ingram's fourth quarter interception on a Joe Burrow shovel pass was a thing of beauty. How many other 250-pound defensive ends can move like that and make that play?

Previous rank: No. 21

The Broncos' aggravating 2019 trait of blowing games in the final minute reared its ugly head again on Monday night, and Vic Fangio played his part. The coach's decision to pocket his three timeouts during the Titans' go-ahead field-goal drive in the final minutes of regulation served as an egregious clock-management error that put Drew Lock and the offense in a hopeless situation. In fact, stopping the clock would have had multiple benefits, seeing as how a tired Denver defense probably could have used a breather -- or even a simple break to regroup -- as Tennessee marched 83 yards on 12 plays. It's a tough loss, made more frustrating by the fact that Denver had already benefited enormously from a prime-time meltdown by Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The Broncos aren't good enough to turn away charity.

Previous rank: No. 24

Just when it looked like Mitchell Trubisky was finally about to be run out of town for good, the former No. 2 overall pick came to life and threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter of a stunning comeback win over the Lions. This marked the Bears' first comeback from a deficit of 17-plus points entering the fourth quarter since 1998, according to NFL Research. Did they get a dollop of good fortune in the form of D’Andre Swift's hideous drop in the final seconds? Sure, but we're not going to take away anything from the Bears right now. That was a game that showed some guts.

Previous rank: No. 31

The Football Team has arrived -- and its strength is a relentless pass rush that will be giving quarterbacks hell from now until the end of days. Washington had its way with the Eagles' beat-up offensive line, punishing Carson Wentz for eight sacks and forcing three turnovers in a 27-17 win. Chase Young, the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft, was a game-changer, finishing with four tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble as Washington wiped away a 17-point second-quarter deficit. It's unclear if this team will have enough offense to win consistently, but there's no doubt it has a defense that will keep it in -- and outright win -- games.

Previous rank: No. 18

Give the Falcons this: They put together a beautiful box score on Sunday. Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards and two scores. Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Justin Gage each had nine catches and all went over 100 yards for the day. Todd Gurley began his Falcons career with an even 4.0 yards per rush and TD. But the defense had zero answers for the Seahawks' Russell Wilson-led passing attack, and too much of Atlanta's offensive fireworks occurred after the game was already decided. Dan Quinn's team plays from behind too often -- Week 1 felt too much like what we saw last season.

Previous rank: No. 19

The Browns made a lot of changes this offseason, but the on-field results remain the same. Cleveland failed to be competitive in its opener at Baltimore, outclassed on both sides of the ball in a blowout loss. The defense slowed down the Ravens' famed running game, but Lamar Jackson had no problems picking apart the Browns' secondary for three touchdowns. Things were even more distressing on the other side of the ball, where Baker Mayfield finished with an ugly 4.8 yards per attempt (the dreaded Gabbert Zone) and Odell Beckham Jr. finished with 22 yards on 10 targets. So far, the Kevin Stefanski era looks a lot like the Freddie Kitchens era.

Previous rank: No. 27

Joe Burrow looked like, well, a rookie in his NFL debut. He gave himself a D grade after the 16-13 loss to the Chargers, citing a touchdown-costing overthrow of a wide-open A.J. Green and a shovel pass that turned into a disastrous Melvin Ingram interception in the final quarter. But Burrow also did some nice things, like a 23-yard scoring run on a designed draw and a composed drive down the field in the final minute that was ruined when Randy Bullock shanked a chip-shot field goal that would've tied the game. Burrow's rookie season will be filled with these ups and downs, but you get the feeling he'll continue to improve as the season progresses. The Bengals have every reason to be optimistic.

Previous rank: No. 29

You need a foot on fourth down with the game on the line and you use Christian McCaffrey ... as a decoy? That was the call from offensive coordinator Joe Brady -- the wrong one, as it turned out -- after fullback Alex Armah was stuffed for no gain late in a 34-30 loss. Some pages of a playbook should be set on fire. It capped a strange day of usage of the game's best running back. McCaffrey had just 10 touches with a little more than five minutes to play in the third quarter. His number was called with regularity from that point on ... just not when it counted most. It's a shame, too, because the Panthers' offense had an otherwise-solid day with Teddy Bridgewater at the controls.

Previous rank: No. 30

Just a horrendous setback for the Lions, who melted down in the fourth quarter and allowed a Bears team led by Mitchell Trubisky to steal a win in the opener at Ford Field. According to Next Gen Stats, Detroit's win probability was at 98.3 percent late in the final stanza, but the Lions -- man, the Lions -- they're just one of those teams that always finds a way. Allowing Trubisky to throw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter was bad; D'Andre Swift's egregious drop as he backpedaled into the end zone in the final seconds was supernatural in its ghoulishness. These are the rare types of stomach-punch losses that can submarine an entire season.

Previous rank: No. 32

Tank this. The Jaguars welcomed a supposed AFC contender into their building on Sunday and stunned a world of doubters. The 27-20 win over the Colts featured opportunistic play by the defense (two key interceptions) and beautifully efficient play by Gardner Minshew, who finished the day 19 of 20 for 173 yards and three scores. Minshew spread the ball around to 10 different Jaguars receivers and played under control, while his counterpart, Philip Rivers, forced the action. Could Minshew actually play himself into a long-term future with Jacksonville as the starter? String together a few more games like this and he just might.

Previous rank: No. 28

Oh, Danny Boy. Daniel Jones was thisclose to finishing off the best drive of his young career on Monday night, an 18-play, 87-yard march that took the Giants all the way to the Steelers' 4-yard line. But the 19th play went sideways, as Jones was hit in his wind up and intercepted in the end zone. Jones wishes he had a play back, Saquon Barkley wishes he had the whole damn game back. The star running back finished with 6 yards on 15 carries against Pittsburgh's swarming front seven. That's a tough game to sit with for a week.

Previous rank: No. 26

Moral victories mean squat in the NFL, but I'll say this: The Dolphins were trailing by three points with 10 minutes to play in Sunday's opener at Foxborough. That's progress from a year ago at this time, when we exited September thinking the Dolphins might be the worst team in NFL history. Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't given much of a chance against New England's tough secondary, and the calls for rookie Tua Tagovailoa will only grow louder if the 16th-year veteran continues to stack interceptions. With DeVante Parker nursing a hamstring injury, this offense will need a spark. Adding Tua to the mix in some capacity could provide it.

Previous rank: No. 25

Outclassed and outcoached. That's the succinct way to describe the season opener, a 27-17 loss to the Bills that wasn't nearly that close in reality. Josh Allen piled up nearly 400 yards with his arm and legs, while his counterpart, Sam Darnold, showed no evidence of greater comfort in his second year in Adam Gase's system. Darnold has the deck stacked against him on multiple levels, but that doesn't excuse the errant passes and poor decision-making that we saw for most of the afternoon in Orchard Park. Darnold now gets the 49ers in Week 2, and it looks like he won't have Le'Veon Bell, who could miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury. (UPDATE: The Jets are placing Bell on injured reserve, per NFL Network's Kim Jones, which means they will be without him for at least three weeks.) The Jets feel like a bad news factory right now.