After a wild and wacky opening weekend in the NFL, there has obviously been considerable movement in my Power Rankings. But not at the top – the Buffalo Bills remain my number one team in the league.
The Bills look complete, winning by 21 points on the road against the Super Bowl champs on opening night. Josh Allen is always a cool story, but the Von Miller-led defense was outstanding with seven sacks and three interceptions.
How will the Chiefs look without Tyreek Hill this season? Pretty good based on the evidence of one week. Patrick Mahomes produced 488 yards and the Chiefs ran 66 plays with 33 of them going for first downs. That is stunning.
It was not a masterpiece from the Bucs, by any means, but not every win has to be a classic and a victory on the road in Dallas is not to be sniffed at. It will be fascinating to see how Julio Jones continues to be used in this attack.
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley labelled his squad’s 24-19 win over the Raiders as a team victory. But let’s be real here, the Chargers are going as far as Justin Herbert (three TD passes in Week 1) can carry them this season.
It’s a decent slide for the Rams after they got embarrassed at home, but head coach Sean McVay has faced and overcome adversity before. This group have enough talent to bounce back, although the offensive line is a worry.
Hey, Cincinnati… can you please keep Joe Burrow upright? The most-sacked quarterback in the NFL last season was dropped seven times on opening day and pressured countless times. And yet he still almost delivered a dramatic win.
I try to avoid massive leaps in the power rankings after one week of action, but the Vikings were hugely impressive in easily handling Green Bay on opening day. Justin Jefferson lived up to the hype and the D was in dominant form.
Lamar Jackson left $250 million on the table on the eve of the new season. That’s one heck of a distraction. If he is betting on himself this year, a three touchdown pass start to the new campaign is pretty good.
The speed at wide receiver was evident as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle made big plays for Tua Tagovailoa. But what was also on display in a comfortable win over New England was the fearsome Dolphins defense.
The Packers lost by 35 points on opening weekend last year and ended up as the NFC’s top seed. So, can we view a 16-point loss in Minneapolis as progress? I’m kidding, of course. This was a stinker, but don’t write off Aaron Rodgers.
The Eagles rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns and that is a nice statistic. What is a tad more worrying is the fact that quarterback Jalen Hurts took off on 17 runs. That is not sustainable if the Eagles are to contend in 2022.
What was notable to me about the Saints’ come-from-behind win over Atlanta was the form of the receivers. Each of the trio of Jarvis Landry, Michael Thomas and Chris Olave made plays, especially once Jameis Winston got hot.
The miserable weather in Chicago was a great leveller, but let’s keep an eye on Niners quarterback Trey Lance. With San Francisco giving up three first-round picks for him, is it not fair to expect the kid to deliver a win over the Bears no matter the elements?
The Colts can, at times, be one of the most frustrating teams in the NFL. They had a huge day from Jonathan Taylor yet still had to scramble to tie proceedings against the lowly Texans. And then Rodrigo Blankenship misses a 42-yarder to win it in overtime. He has since been cut.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett has already admitted he could have that fourth and five against the Seattle Seahawks back. He should have put the ball in the hands of his superstar quarterback Russell Wilson and not been reliant on a 64-yard field goal attempt.
The Raiders have a shiny new toy in Davante Adams and he made a tremendous debut with 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. But some of their same old problems remain, namely a line that allowed Derek Carr to be sacked six times.
The Titans were a big disappointment in Week 1. They simply have to close out games where they lead by 13 at the half against lesser opposition. Derrick Henry being held to just 82 rushing yards is a mild early-season concern.
The Steelers feasted on sacks and turnovers against Cincinnati and that is typical of their defense. That unit will be breathing a huge sigh of relief following the news that All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt could return from his pectoral injury within six weeks.
The Cowboys are going to have to ride out a rough few weeks with quarterback Dak Prescott now sidelined with a thumb injury. The timeline for his return will be worth monitoring. The expectation was 6-8 weeks but team owner Jerry Jones is predicting four.
The Browns laid out their plans while they wait for Deshaun Watson’s return in Week 13. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt touched the ball 38 times for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The rest of the Browns? 19 touches for 151 yards.
Carson Wentz had some bumps in his Washington debut, but I think that is most definitely a part of his adventure now. We should focus on the way he turned it around late, ending a victorious day with 313 passing yards and four touchdowns.
The New England offense lacked consistency and spark while producing just seven points against Miami on opening weekend. Mac Jones is now nursing a sore back and this is going to take some sorting out from Bill Belichick.
Any win is satisfying, but Pete Carroll must have really loved that MNF showing where his team took down Russell Wilson. The Seahawks played good defense and Geno Smith took care of the ball. More from the running game and Carroll would have been ecstatic.
The Cardinals were arguably the biggest disappointment of Week 1. They never put up a fight while losing 44-21 in front of their own fans to the Kansas City Chiefs. The defense was a sieve, Kyler Murray restrained and the running game non-existent.
The prove-it years for Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones got off to a very good start on Sunday. Jones had some mistakes but played pretty well overall. Barkley was an absolute stud, rushing for 164 yards and scoring the all-important two-point conversion.
The Panthers left it too late to get their season up and running against the Cleveland Browns but Baker Mayfield looked promising in the second half. Carolina may be trying to protect him, but Christian McCaffrey needs more than 14 touches.
The Lions showed us something on offense in Week 1, scoring 35 points. D’Andre Swift was the star of the show, rushing for 144 yards and one touchdown. But the defense was a major concern and will hold this feisty team back.
I’ll hold my hands up here and admit that I gave the Bears little chance of winning against San Francisco in Week 1. Their victory was not just about the weather. Justin Fields made some good plays on a difficult day and Chicago played solid defense.
The Jags had a shot at picking up a rare win on the road, leading by eight in the fourth quarter. They couldn’t seal the deal in Washington but I think they showed that a more competitive and competent team will be fielded in 2022.
The Falcons led by 16 points with 13 minutes remaining but found a way to blow another fourth quarter advantage. But there are some positives to be taken from defeat, most notably the fact that this under-manned team plays hard for head coach Arthur Smith.
The Texans led by 17 points heading into the fourth quarter but ended their opener with the Colts with a tie. That will have felt like a loss in Houston, but Davis Mills offered positivity at quarterback as he threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
I don’t think the Jets will be here for long and they certainly played tough against Baltimore’s rushing attack led by Lamar Jackson. But they need Zach Wilson to return quickly at quarterback to kick-start the offense.
