After months of waiting, all 32 NFL teams returned back to action last week and finally the public was given a chance to see how these rosters are going to stack up this year. New players showed what they're going to bring to the team, new coaches showed how they have reshaped their rosters. Now that each team has been on a field for 60 minutes plenty has been learned about the state of each NFL franchise, and so there's plenty of movement on the rankings from a week ago. The Vikings in particular have taken a dip due to their sloppy performance Sunday, so where did they end up? Read on to find out!
1. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 1)
The 49ers continue to show that they're the class of the NFL in week one, beating a top class Green Bay team and doing so after Dom Capers spent all offseason trying to stop this team. They managed to shut down San Francisco's run game but Colin Kaepernick responded by throwing for over 400 yards, proving that their is no sure-fire way to stop this team. Anquan Boldin also looks like he is in line for a big year, and should help shore up this receiving corps while Michael Crabtree returns from injury.
2. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 2)
The Seahawks won a close game on the road and showed some possible signs of weakness, but it looks like Russell Wilson is ready to take charge to make up for those flaws. The Seattle offensive line and run game struggled against the Panther's tough front seven, but Wilson responded by putting the team on his back and leading a game winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks will even have a shot at taking the top spot on this list when they face the 49ers this week at home.
3. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 3)
No doubt about it, Peyton Manning and this Broncos' offense is going to be absolutely outstanding this year. Unlike the top two teams on the list their defense still needs some work, as they struggled to create a pass rush against the Ravens Thursday and still need to prove they can be effective minus Von Miller.
4. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 4)
Losing a close game on the road to the best team in football doesn't lead to a drop for the Green Bay Packers, as they still showed how close they are to being the top team. If Eddie Lacy can hold onto the ball and find some running lanes this offense could be practically unstoppable. Health in the secondary is a concern right now, but the Packers aren't afraid of shootouts.
5. Houston Texans (Last Week: 6)
The Texans' offense led a massive comeback on Monday Night Football, and if Matt Schaub can repeat that kind of performance in January this team could go places. This team started very slow on both offense and defense though, and will need to prove next week it's shaken off the rust and is ready to keep climbing.
6. New England Patriots (Last Week: 5)
Tom Brady proved he can still be himself in the clutch despite all the new weapons around him, though injuries are already threatening to hold this offense back. Steven Ridley may also be forced into the doghouse for fumbling, but this team needs him to contribute while Brady's weapons in the passing game recover. This team shouldn't be challenged too much facing the Jets tomorrow, and they need their roster to get healthy before playing some of the better teams on their schedule.
7. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 13)
Sean Payton and Rob Ryan put on a show at the Superdome Sunday, and already this New Orleans team is looking more like the 2011 version than the 2012 one. Payton showed his offensive mastery once again as he and quarterback Drew Brees showed their chemsitry hasn't taken a hit after spending a year apart. The real story of the day was Ryan and this new Saints defense though, who held the Falcons to 17 points and were great on third downs.
8. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 17)
The Chicago Bears have an offensive line, and those should be scary words to the rest of the NFL. Jay Cutler was not sacked once on the day and the Bears' defense looks like it will continue to force turnovers to get the ball back in the offense's hand. It looks like Cutler still has some growing to do in Marc Trestman's system, but it looks like he'll receive plenty of support from the rest of his team.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 7)
The Bengals came up just short against the Bears Sunday, and that's enough to push them below Chicago in the rankings. The Bengals still have some work to do on offense, as their running game was quiet throughout the day and the offense failed to score in the fourth quarter to take control of the game. Andy Dalton was overall solid, but he needs to be big at the end of games if he wants to start winning big games.
10. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 8)
Concerns about the Falcons were validated Sunday, as this team is already in a hole to its main division rival and needs to rebound to show that it's still a top contender. The offensive line struggled to protect Matt Ryan, even though the New Orleans pass rush has suffered several injuries, and it was never that good on paper to begin with. The Falcons also need to trust Steven Jackson with the ball more, as he only had 11 carries on the day despite the Falcons getting off to an early lead and the Saints finishing in last in run defense last year.
11. St. Louis Rams (Last Week: 10)
The Rams move down one spot through really no fault of their own, there were just a few risers that exceeded expectations in their openers. The Rams got a nice home win against a division rival, and quarterback Sam Bradford put on a nice performance and led a game winning drive in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Tight end Jared Cook is also starting to look like an outstanding free agent pickup, as he totaled over 140 yards (at over 20 yards per reception) as well as scoring two touchdowns.
12. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 9)
This Ravens team definitely had a disappointing opener against the Broncos, but they may just need time to gel with all their new offseason acquisitions so I'll give it a little bit more time before passing too much judgement. The defense needs to make tackles and their receivers need to catch the football, it's that simple and hopefully that will come with more time practicing together. Torrey Smith needs to step up and become a legitimate number one wide receiver, as he was quiet most of Thursday and he can't do that to quarterback Joe Flacco.
13. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 14)
Another week, another game winning drive by Andrew Luck. It's almost becoming routine at this point. Luck had an extremely efficient day as a passer, but his defense still needs work as Terrelle Pryor's mobility gave them plenty of trouble. They were able to record two interceptions however, and anytime they can get the ball back in Luck hands that's a huge win for this team.
14. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 15)
The Cowboys finally got a win in their home stadium against the Giants, though depending on the health of Tony Romo and Dez Bryant it may have come at a cost. Despite forcing six turnovers it was actually a mixed bag for this new Cowboy defense under Monte Kiffin, as it seemed that any drive they didn't force a turnover on resulted in a score for Big Blue. Romo's offensive line looked great, providing the injured passer with tons of time to survey the field, and if that continues and Romo returns to 100% than this offense could be absolutely deadly.
15. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 26)
Chip Kelly was the talk of the NFL offseason and now it looks like he'll be the talk of the regular season too. His offense and defense absolutely dominated the Redskins for a half Monday night, but the Redskins actually came close to winning the game at the end as RGIII became more comfortable out on a football field again. It's unclear whether the comeback occurred because Kelly stepped off the gas, or whether his players simply were gassed. The Eagles look like they're going to be fun to watch, but it will be interesting to see whether this team can keep up their fast offensive pace without succumbing to exhausting or suffering injuries.
16. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 19)
The Chiefs played exactly like we expected them to Sunday, with Andy Reid revitalizing the franchise and Alex Smith remaining a solid, but not explosive passer. Of course, it also helped that the team played the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, which may have helped them look good. This team looks much improved under new management, but they still seem like a long ways away from knocking the Broncos off the top of the division.
17. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 20)
The Dolphins defense was making plays everywhere against the Cleveland Browns, ruining Brandon Weeden's day with three interceptions and plenty of sacks and hits. Ryan Tanehill and the offense didn't look half bad either, though Miami's run game was almost non-existant. The Patriots look somewhat vunerable on the perch of the division, but the Dolphins need either Lamar Miller or Daniel Thomas to produce if they want to take control of this division.
18. New York Giants (Last Week: 11)
The Giants had a horrifically ugly outing that must have almost given coach Tom Coughlin a heart attack, yet they still were in position for a game winning drive at the end of the day. Their rebuilt secondary didn't actually play that bad and Eli Manning and the passing game were humming after two early interceptions, but the lack of a pass rush and a viable running back is what cost this team in the end. Do you think if Andre Brown was healthy that he tips Eli's final pass into a waiting Cowboy defender?
19. Washington Redskins (Last Week :12)
RGIII was slow to get back up to speed in his first game action since injuring his knee, and that dug his team into a hole it just couldn't climb out of Monday night. With RGIII limited the rest of the offense was basically shut down, as Alfred Morris and the running game struggled to find room. This Redskins' defense isn't as bad as they may have looked against Chip Kelly's up-tempo attack, but clearly they were unprepared for what they saw on the field. This team did look a lot better in the second half, and they're going to need to continue to build off that momentum on their quest to repeating as division champions.
20. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 22)
The Lions did some good things against the Vikings, but they also looked a lot like the same undisciplined team from previous years who failed to live up to expectations. Penalties, turnovers and bad execution in key situations kept a huge number of points off the board for the Lions, and when they play better teams that simply won't cut it if they want to win. Reggie Bush looks like a perfect fit in their offensive scheme though, and their defensive line dominated the contest by shutting down the reigning NFL MVP after his first carry.
21. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 21)
The Panthers hung tough with a quality opponent, but Cam Newton is far enough along in his career that moral victories no longer count. It's not entirely on him though, as the Panthers discovered the lack of play-making options around him, something that severely limited their game plan and kept them to only seven points. The Panthers front seven had a great day, shutting down one of the league's best running game, but they need this offense to do its share of the work.
22. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 23)
The Titans had perhaps the biggest upset of the week, absolutely dominating the Steelers on the road, already causing many Pittsburgh fans to panic. This defense had the Steeler offense corralled all game, putting constant pressure on Ben Roethlisberger and forcing turnovers from both him and running back Isaac Redman. The offense, on the other hand, stayed turnover free, which was critical to making sure the Steelers never were able to gain momentum in the game.
23. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 18)
Steeler fans are already freaking out after a big opening day loss in which many of their concerns for this team were validated and then some. Not only did the offensive line fail to protect Ben Roethlisberger, they lost their center and leader Maurkice Pouncey to a season ending ACL injury. Their backfield also lacks depth now that backup running back LaRod Stephens-Howling is also done for the year, forcing the team to start fumbler Isaac Redman next week. Yikes.
24. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 16)
Speaking of yikes, the Vikings did not play well Sunday, in almost every aspect of the game. Christian Ponder had some nice moments but they were all overshadowed by some terrible decisions that severly hurt this team. The offensive line, so solid just a year ago, suddenly couldn't give Adrian Peterson any room to run and he was bottled up after his first carry. The defense had few answers for the Lions all day as they allowed several long drives to go the length of the field, though at least the defense often came up big in the red zone. This team has too much talent to put any lower, but they need to start using that talent.
25. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 27)
The Cardinals lost a tough match-up to a good divisional rival on Sunday, but Carson Palmer at least looks like he will provide some much needed stability to the quarterback position, which had at least Larry Fitzgerald smiling. Offensive line woes continue to hold this team back, as left tackle Levi Brown was beaten for three sacks on the day. The defense also had no answer for tight end Jared Cook, well, expect for the Honey Badger Tyrann Mathieu, but he just doesn't care anyway.
26. San Diego Chargers (Last Week: 28)
For three quarters it looked like Mike McCoy had actually managed to turn this team and Philip Rivers around. But then the fourth quarter happened. The Chargers still have some work to do on defense, but at the end of the game Rivers needs to step up and close the deal for his team. Instead, he threw a pick-six that tied the game up. There was some evidence for hope, but Rivers still looks like he needs some more fixing.
27. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 29)
The Bills got so close to trouncing their division rival Patriots, until Tom Brady pulled some late game magic and managed to steal away rookie EJ Manuel's first victory. Manuel was solid, not spectacular on the day; he was efficient but was given pretty easy reads and wasn't asked to push the ball downfield too much. He still has some work to do, but he has some solid tools around his to help his development, and this defense may not be elite, but it's not a pushover either.
28. New York Jets (Last Week: 30)
The New York Jets have more wins than half the teams in football right now. They are tied for the best record in the NFL. Those are somehow both facts in the NFL right now. Rookie Geno Smith received a gift in the form of a blaltant personal foul at the end of the game, which gave him enough yardage to put his team in range for a game winning field goal. Like EJ, Geno wasn't anything special, and has plenty of work to do, but winning his first game with the kind of offensive talent he's surrounded with is a very encouraging sign. Rex Ryan seems to have resurrected this defense too, and they might be able to keep this team in ball games while Geno starts learning the ins and outs of quarterback play in the NFL.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 25)
Not a great start for Tampa Bay this year, as their offense was held down all game by the Gang Green defense. Quarterback Josh Freeman had a pretty unspectacular outing, and if he keeps it up the calls for rookie Mike Glennon to start will just get louder and louder. Running back Doug Martin had a disappointing outing as well, only running for 64 yards on 24 carries. Not to mention, the Buccaneers had this game all but wrapped up, only to let a personal foul doom their chances of victory.That level of discipline is not a good sign.
30. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 24)
The Browns, thought to be a team that could sneak up on some teams this year, might revert back to being a team that everyone loves having on their schedule. Brandon Weeden's receivers had an off day without star wideout Josh Gordon, forcing Weeden to mainly lock on to tight end Jordan Cameron most of the day. Weeden was not exceptional himself, throwing three picks and just not looking settled in Norv Turner's system yet. You're almost 30 Weeden, you don't have the luxury of patience.
31. Oakland Raiders (Last Week: 32)
The Raiders move up from the bottom spot thanks to the spark Terrelle Pyror provided this team with his legs. Pyror rushed for over 100 yards on the day and his ability to improvise kept this team alive on several busted plays. Pyror is still incredibly raw as a passer and shouldn't be in the running for any awards this year, but at least he makes this team actually somewhat fun to watch.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 31)
Blaine Gabbert is still himself, and he gave the Jaguars absolutely no chance to win against the Chiefs. At one point, the Jaguars were averaging barely over a yard per play (and that's after having ran over 40 plays) and that sort of ineptitude puts this team as the lead dog for the #1 overall pick next year. Teddy, better start packing up for Jacksonville.
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