NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Chiefs remain No. 1 after surviving Ravens; Packers, Bengals plummet

As we sat in the green room of our Florida studios watching games Sunday, the overreactions came firing out from all corners.

This team is done.

That player is a bum.

This player is overrated.

That player is a star.

That team can win a Super Bowl.

On and on it went all day long, some of it said sarcastically to get a reaction, some of it said with a serious tone.

My reply to all of it is my usual retort after the first week of the season:

It’s just one week.

You can’t tell much of anything from Week 1 of the NFL season. It’s fugazi. Yep, fake.

It takes time to get a beat on a season. So if your favorite team stunk, don’t fret — unless you are a Carolina Panthers fan. There is no hope there.

The rest will get better and win games. If your team won in impressive fashion, don’t get too high. It usually evens out.

If your fantasy star struggled, it probably won’t last. If strange players had big weeks, that probably won’t last, either.

It’s all fugazi.

One team that seems to be a constant is the Kansas City Chiefs. They won their opener against the Ravens in their quest to three-peat, and for that they stay atop my Power Rankings this week. But there is change. The Green Bay Packers, my pick to win the Super Bowl, fell from No. 2 to No. 15 after losing to the Eagles, but also losing quarterback Jordan Love for as much as six weeks with an MCL injury to his right knee. That means it’s Malik Willis time as they face Colts.

Some other top-10 teams from last week that lost included the Bengals, Ravens and Jets. The Bengals’ loss was the biggest stunner of the week as they lost at home to the Patriots. Of all the losses, that’s the most concerning. And now they head to Kansas City to play the Chiefs in what looks like an 0-2 start to the season.

If there is any consolation for the Bengals, it’s that it’s only one loss and there is a lot of time left in this season. That’s why overreactions after one game are so laughable.

No team or player is as bad as they looked or as good as they looked. It’s one game.

Breathe. Relax.

Unless, of course, you are a fan of the Panthers. I am not sure there is any fixing that mess.

Biggest Movers

Rk	Teams		Chg	Rcrd
1	Chiefs	We won’t be worrying about their receivers this season. Xavier Worthy can fly and Rashee Rice is taking his game up a notch. Patrick Mahomes will light it up again.	—	1-0-0
2	49ers	They are right back as the elite team in the NFC. They mauled the Jets in every way. They are so well coached and so talented.	1	1-0-0
3	Bills	Josh Allen once again showed how valuable he is as a player with four combined touchdowns in the opener. Now he has a short week to get ready for Miami on the road, but he has owned the Dolphins in his career.	1	1-0-0
4	Lions	They nearly fretted away a lead against the Rams, but showed their physical toughness to win it in overtime. The pass defense has to tighten up a bit.	3	1-0-0
5	Texans	Winning the opener on the road against the Colts shows how they are ready to be a hunted team. The defense had some issues, but they can be worked out.	3	1-0-0
6	Cowboys	They signed Dak Prescott to a big deal Sunday and then went out and blew out the Browns. The defense was special that day, which is maybe a sign of things to come.	4	1-0-0
7	Ravens	Two things of concern coming out of the Chiefs loss: the offensive line and the pass rush. Lamar Jackson’s amazing play covered them both up, but they have to be better.	1	0-1-0
8	Eagles	The offense showed up in a big way against the Packers in Brazil, but the defense still had some issues. They have to cut down on the big plays.	3	1-0-0
9	Buccaneers	Baker Mayfield came up big in the opener against the Commanders with four touchdown passes. They are the team to beat in the division.	4	1-0-0
10	Dolphins	They didn’t play great against the Jaguars, but found a way to pull it out with a game-winning field goal. Now comes their division nemesis in Josh Allen and the Bills on Thursday night.	4	1-0-0
11	Chargers	Jim Harbaugh won his opener, but it wasn’t pretty. Then again, winning ugly and tough is the Harbaugh way.	7	1-0-0
12	Steelers	They impressed in a big way on defense in beating Atlanta. Does it matter who plays quarterback if they play defense like that?	7	1-0-0
13	Jets	Aaron Rodgers returns and the defense suddenly has issues. Who saw that coming? They couldn’t stop the 49ers and the offense didn’t do much.	4	0-1-0
14	Bears	Caleb Williams didn’t do a lot in his debut, but he didn’t have to in the victory over the Titans. They got a blocked punt for a score and a pick-six. But he has to be better this week against the Texans.	3	1-0-0
15	Packers	With Jordan Love down for maybe six weeks, their season is in jeopardy of going bad in a big way. Malik Willis has to win at least two games.	13	0-1-0
16	Bengals	What the heck was that against the Patriots? Aberration or cause for concern? They looked disjointed on offense, which isn’t a good thing going to Kansas City.	11	0-1-0
17	Jaguars	They blew a game they should have won at Miami. Fumbling going into the end zone for a 24-7 lead really killed their momentum and cost them the game.	5	0-1-0
18	Vikings	Sam Darnold impressed in leading the Vikings over the Giants. The defense also came up big. This team might be better than expected.	7	1-0-0
19	Rams	The banged-up offensive line made for tough going against the Lions, but somehow Matt Stafford fought through to get the game to overtime. They need guys to get healthy up front.	4	0-1-0
20	Seahawks	The defense impressed against Denver, which we should expect with Mike Macdonald as coach. They face a long trip to play the Patriots this week, which won’t be as easy as it was thought to be before the season.	4	1-0-0
21	Browns	Deshaun Watson looks lost and the offensive line is bad. When do the Browns get a return on the Watson investment? What a bad trade that looks like now.	5	0-1-0
22	Falcons	Kirk Cousins wasn’t very good in his debut for the Falcons. The Steelers limited the offense in a big way and he threw two picks. Not good.	2	0-1-0
23	Colts	Anthony Richardson hit some big plays to keep the Colts in the game against the Texans, but the defense wasn’t good. The run defense was gashed, which could be a major problem going forward.	1	0-1-0
24	Patriots	New coach Jerod Mayo deserves a ton of credit for getting this team to beat the Bengals on the road. The defense and running game both impressed.	6	1-0-0
25	Saints	Derek Carr lit up the Panthers as the Saints got off to a great start. But was that them or just feasting on a bad opponent?	2	1-0-0
26	Titans	They blew a game they should have won against the Bears. Will Levis has to be better than he showed in that game or this is going to be a long season.	5	0-1-0
27	Cardinals	They blew a big lead in losing to the Bills on the road, but they flashed a lot of good things. They will be a tough out every week.	4	0-1-0
28	Commanders	The preseason concerns showed up in the loss to Tampa Bay. They have offensive line issues and the defense wasn’t good. Jayden Daniels was just OK in his debut.	2	0-1-0
29	Broncos	Bo Nix didn’t look good in his first start, but that was a tough place to play. Even so, there will be days like that with a rookie quarterback.	1	0-1-0
30	Raiders	The defense was solid against the Chargers, but the offense didn’t do enough. But that defense will keep them in games.	1	0-1-0
31	Giants	Wow, was that bad against the Vikings. This is going to be a long season and one that could cost Brian Daboll his job.	2	0-1-0
32	Panthers	Just when we thought it couldn’t be worse than last season, it was against the Saints. This team isn’t good and Bryce Young is an issue.	—	0-1-0