Familiar faces top the Week 2 power rankings, but we’ve got some potential risers

The NFL successfully made it through Week 1. After a lengthy offseason of questions and concerns, we have a full week of action under our belts. And with no preseason games to give us even a modest handle on how teams might look, this first week was especially important.

It’s still way too early to make any hard and fast conclusions, but we can definitely start to formulate some more educated guesses as to where this season could go for each team. Many of them might prove to be bad guesses, but guesses we will make!

A week ago, we set up Week 1 NFL power rankings using Super Bowl odds and strength of schedule. The rankings were ordered by Super Bowl odds because that’s as good a starting point as any subjective measure we might otherwise see. The Chiefs are the favorites, and they’ll remain as such following their win over Houston.

This week, we move away from Super Bowl odds and into a more subjective gut feeling. For example, the Jets are awful. That’s pretty much a given. The Jaguars appear to be less awful than expected, but maybe the Colts are not as good as expected? Indy hosts the Vikings in Week 2, and I’m fascinated to see if Philip Rivers & Co. rebound.

Best performers, Week 1

Rather than pick just one team, I’ll offer up a few top performers in Week 1. The Chiefs impressed, and even though the Texans look like they’ve taken a step back, the Chiefs offense looks incredible.

The Seahawks went into Atlanta as favorites and took care of business, but most importantly, their passing game showed some serious life. Russell Wilson is one of the best in the game even as he doesn’t get nearly enough passing work. This could be a boon for him and that offense.

The Ravens thumped the Browns, and while Cleveland stinks, it was still a great performance by Lamar Jackson & Co. They could be prepared to take a step forward with the addition of JK Dobbins to the backfield.

Sleeper team, Week 1

I know I’m not the only one here intrigued by 1-0 Washington. They looked like they were sleep-walking through much of the first half against the Eagles, but they got going on offense and made life miserable for Carson Wentz and the Philly offense. Now, suddenly, Washington is the only 1-0 team in the NFC East. I don’t expect Washington to win the division, or even make the playoffs, but they’re interesting for at least a week.

More questions than answers

I really have no idea what to make of the Colts following their Week 1 loss in Jacksonville. Road divisional games are never simple, but the Jaguars were supposed to be awful this year. Both teams in this game leave us with an assortment of questions. I don’t imagine the Jaguars are a good team, but they have something to build on. Meanwhile, the Colts need to get it going on both sides of the ball. The ground game was atrocious, Philip Rivers threw two picks, and I expected a lot more out of the defense with the addition of DeForest Buckner. We’ll see what Week 2 brings.

And with that, here’s a look at my power rankings as we head into Week 2.