Curran's Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: How do Cam's Pats stack up?

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1/32

Somebody has to be 32. If it weren’t for that absolutely horrendous goal-line pick by Daniel Jones at the end of a 19-play drive in the third quarter, maybe they could have stunned the Steelers.

But we can’t pretend that didn’t happen, nor that their best offensive player, Saquon Barkley, had 6 yards on 15 carries. Work to do. (Pre-camp ranking: 32)

2/32

This reporter believed Teddy Bridgewater to be the best non-Brady quarterback available in the offseason. (Yes, I slept on Cam). And while he is at 31 with his Panthers, he did nothing in his first game with Carolina to convince me he isn’t a great add for them. But somebody has to be 31st. (29)

3/32

I don’t think the Chargers are very good and the Bengals lost to them. I also don’t think the Bengals are going to be this bad for long. They have the Browns this week. And I – for one – am intrigued. (28)

4/32

At least the Browns have a usable excuse. This was Kevin Stefanski’s first game as a head coach so the 38-6 bludgeoning administered by the Ravens is somewhat understandable.

Ten targets, three catches, 22 yards for Odell Beckham Jr.. Am I wrong to wonder if he’s a little bit JAG-gy at this point? (20)

 

 

 

5/32

Holy crap, these guys find a way, don’t they? They’ve now won once single last September – 13 of their last 14 going back to last year.

The worst part? They have talent all over the roster. At the Packers, at the Cardinals and then hosting the Saints in their next three. (27)

 

 

 

6/32

The beating they took from Buffalo had more to do with the Bills than it did the Jets. Nobody will want to believe that because everyone wants to paint Adam Gase as the devil incarnate, but that’s the way it is.

Upset special this week: Jets over Niners. (23)

 

 

 

7/32

These clowns. On one hand, you want to see them lose because of the boobery of the owner. But then, well, it’s Ron Rivera in his first year and the players aren’t to blame, so good for them coming back against the Eagles.

Let’s face it, Football Team vs. Eagles? Can they both lose? (30)

 

 

 

8/32

Absolutely stunning result that precisely nobody saw coming as the Minshew went off. And they have a chance to go on a little run maybe with very reasonable competition coming up: Titans, Dolphins, Bengals, Texans, Lions. (31)

 

 

 

9/32

They got handled, that is true. And the 21-11 result was not as bad as it coulda been. But a lot of teams would have had issues flying blind against the Cam Newton-led offense.

They have a big chance to rebound this week against the Bills. (18)

 

 

 

10/32

Holy crap, somebody get Vic Fangio and Ernie Adams. Sitting on a couple dozen timeouts like the league’s going to give him $100K for every one he doesn’t use. Lawd.

Other than that, I like Drew Lock and Noah Fant (astic!). (26)

 

 

 

11/32

They got past Cincy in Joe Burrow’s first start. They trailed going into the fourth but avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss with nine points in the fourth.

They will get clubbed by the Chiefs on Sunday. (25)

 

 

 

12/32

They got run off the field by Kansas City and the protection for Deshaun Watson (four sacks) continues to be lacking. They have their hands full this week with a Ravens team that demolished the Browns. (15)

 

 

 

13/32

Gardner Minshew picked Indy apart going 19 for 20 with three TD passes. The Colts lost Marlon Mack along the way and Philip Rivers got picked late, which was a movie playing in theaters last season. Vikings up next. (14)

 

 

 

14/32

Aaron Rodgers feasted on the Minnesota defense with two raw corners in the lineup and Danielle Hunter on IR. Defense was supposed to be their calling card. It wasn’t on Sunday in a 43-34 loss.

The Vikings visit Indy which had an equally awful loss to the Jags. (12)

 

 

 

15/32

Really a humiliating defeat in the opener to lose to Football Team, Washington after being up 17-0. Carson Wentz got picked twice and there was a fumble mixed in there too. Heat will be rising on Wentz this week. (11)

 

 

 

16/32

They put up a ton of yards against Seattle but that was in part because of the hole they dug for themselves. Atlanta was down 31-12 before falling 38-25. They have the Cowboys, Bears and Packers coming up next. (17)

 

 

 

17/32

They snatched a win away from the Lions late as Mitch Trubisky helped them erase a 23-6 deficit with 21-unanswered in the fourth. Was this more the Lions being the Lions or Trubisky finding something. I’d bet on the former.

They should get to 2-0 this week with the Giants coming up. (24)

 

 

 

18/32

They absolutely should be able to take care of business against a first-year head coach of a non-playoff team like Carolina and they ultimately did, 34-30. The Panthers made it tighter than you’d expect though.

Very tough stretch for them, so the top 20 might be short-lived: Saints, Patriots, Bills and Chiefs upcoming. (22)

 

 

 

19/32

Very balanced offensive attack for the Rams and holding the Cowboys to 17 was good work. I said it before, I’ll say it again: The NFC West is going to be the funnest. (21)

 

 

 

20/32

Edged by the Rams on the road and got a little bit hosed by the late OPI call on Michael Gallup. They stay put but there was definitely a “same old Cowboys” feel to this even with Mike McCarthy as Jason Garrett.

The Rams put up some yards on them so it will be interesting to see what Atlanta does to them this week. (13)

 

 

 

21/32

It was all Cam, all the time on offense and defensively, the Patriots didn’t miss a beat against a team that stunned them last year in Week 17. All that defensive attrition and they played like that in a 21-11 win? And it could have been more lopsided than that.

Tough one against the Seahawks coming up. (16)

 

 

22/32

Just a tough, workmanlike win over the Broncos to close out the week’s games. Stephen Gostkowski can’t be out there missing field goals and Rashaan Evans can’t be punching helmets even if the guy he punched was a Butt. (10)

 

23/32

Big jump because almost every team ahead of them lost on Sunday, they went into San Fran and beat the defending NFC champs, Kyler Murray is an issue and now they’ve got DeAndre Hopkins. (19) 

 

24/32

You figured the Steelers would take care of business against the Giants and Joe Judge in the opener and they did. What was the catalyst? Defense.

They allowed Saquon Barkley to gain six yards on 15 carries. Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns in his first game back. Broncos and Texans up next for the Steelers.  (11)

 

25/32

A little too much is being made of the Bucs’ 34-23 loss to the Saints. Yes, Tom Brady had two picks and one was returned for a touchdown. Also, yes, Jameis Winston did that all the time and that’s why he’s now a backup in New Orleans.

But the Tampa defense was actually pretty annoying for Drew Brees and Brady – despite the now-constant age reminders – didn’t show any lack of arm strength.

Make quick judgments on the Bucs at your own peril. They have the Panthers this week. If they aren’t 1-1 after that one, then we can talk. (5)

26/32

Huge start for wild child Josh Allen. He ran for 57 and threw for 312 and two touchdowns and new addition Stefon Diggs was involved right away with 86 yards on eight catches.

Allen being Allen, he also fumbled twice and threw 27 feet over the head of a wide-open receiver in the end zone in the second half. Three of the Bills’ next four games are on the road starting with Miami this week. (8)

27/32

Not a good start for the Niners offensively as they went just 2 for 11 on third down against a Cardinals team that is going to surprise some people.

The Niners got to the Super Bowl on the back of their defense last year but they got undressed by Kyler Murray, who ran for 91 yards and hit DeAndre Hopkins 14 times for 151 yards.

San Fran should rebound quickly from the 24-20 defeat. They have the Jets and Giants the next two weeks. (3)

28/32

Green Bay rolled up 522 yards of offense against the Vikings. That’s a lot. Aaron Rodgers threw for 364 and four touchdowns as the Packers win on the road in Minny in a game where they had the ball more than 41 minutes.

The Packers host the already-reeling Lions this week. (7)

29/32

No quarterback had a better start to the season than Russell Wilson – 31 for 35 for 322 and four touchdowns – and the former Jet Jamal Adams had a huge game in his first game in Seattle.

Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf will be problems for the Patriots’ secondary this week. They combined for 187 receiving yards in the win over the Falcons. (6)

30/32

They took out the Bucs 34-23 but when you look at the numbers, New Orleans was more efficient than explosive.

Drew Brees was just 18 for 30 for 160 yards and they managed only 82 yards on 34 carries. But their defensive game plan kept Brady in check and allowed just 3.3 per carry while scoring itself on that Janoris Jenkins pick-six.

The Saints are at Vegas this week then host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday night. (4)

31/32

Yes, they pummeled the Browns 38-6 in Kevin Stefanski’s first game as head coach. No, that was not a surprise.

But the efficiency of Lamar Jackson – 20 for 25 with three touchdowns – and the efficiency of the offense (5 for 6 scoring touchdowns in the red zone) signaled the regular-season Ravens remain a problem. They are at Houston this week. They smushed them 41-7 last season. (2)

32/32

They ran all over the Texans with rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire going for 138 on 25 carries but the ominous part of the win was stuck at seven points from the first quarter until midway through the fourth.

It was a trademark Chiefs run of 31-0 that turned the first game of the season into one of the dullest games of Week 1.

They have a helluva slate coming at them – at the Chargers and Ravens and hosting the Patriots over the next three weeks then at Buffalo. (1)

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