| Each week analysts scours the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, the heart of each team and delivers their Power Rankings! |
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| 1 | Colts (2-0), Last Week: 2 | The 2006 Colts look a lot like the Colts' of years' past: plenty of offense but little in the way of defense. Still, with Manning pulling the trigger and surrounded by so many weapons, the Colts should continue to outscore their opponents more often than not.
Offense: 2
Defense: 25
Overall: 14 |
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| 2 | Seahawks (2-0), Last Week: 3 | After sneaking past the inferior Lions in Week 1, the Seahawks looked more like their dominant selves in the convincing win over the division rival Cardinals.
Offense: 17
Defense: 4
Overall: 7 |
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| 3 | Patriots (2-0), Last Week: 4 | Make that two ugly wins in a row for the Patriots. Of course, when the season is over there will be no bonus points awarded for how the team looked in accumulating all of their W's. The bottom line is that the Pats are 2-0 -- and even more importantly, they are 2-0 in their division.
Offense: 12
Defense: 13
Overall: 12 |
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| 4 | Bengals (2-0), Last Week: 5 | The Bengals once again dominated their foe in Sunday's big win over Cleveland. For those worried about Carson Palmer, note that he passed for 352 yards and 2 TD passes in the victory.
Offense: 9
Defense: 14
Overall: 10 |
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| 5 | Bears (2-0), Last Week: 6 | For those of us who thought that 2005 may have been a fluke, Lovie Smith says, "Take that!" The Bears have darn near shutout both of their opponents -- both NFC North rivals. What's more, Rex Grossman and the offense made some big plays of their own.
Offense: 7
Defense: 5
Overall: 2 |
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| 6 | Chargers (2-0), Last Week: 7 | With Drew Brees playing in New Orleans and Phil Rivers taking over at QB, the Chargers haven't missed a beat. With LT still doing his thing, the team was smart not to ask the young QB to do too much, and he is now 2-0 as a starter with the Chargers. Meanwhile, Marty and Wade have the defense roaring on all cylinders. They remain in sole possession of first place in an AFC West that has otherwise looked horrible in the first 2 weeks.
Offense: 4
Defense: 2
Overall: 1 |
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| 7 | Jaguars (2-0), Last Week: 8 | The Jaguars defense has made life miserable for QBs in back-to-back weeks. After pressuring Drew Bledsoe into multiple mistakes in Week 1, we started hearing chants for Tony Romo. Then, the Jags perplexed Ben Roethlisberger, which now has everyone saying that he came back from surgery too soon. Maybe, just maybe, the Jaguars' defense had something to do with that. If so, maybe Peyton Manning should be prepared, as the Jags set up to face the Colts in an AFC South showdown in Week 3.
Offense: 14
Defense: 3
Overall: 4 |
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| 8 | Falcons (2-0), Last Week: 9 | The Falcons actually got some help from Mike Vick (127 rushing yards and a rushing TD plus another passing TD) to go along with their usual great defense and running game. They are now 2-0 in the NFC South.
Offense: 5
Defense: 10
Overall: 3 |
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| 9 | Ravens (2-0), Last Week: 11 | Against two inferior teams, the Ravens have looked -- dare we say -- like that Super Bowl team from 2000. The defense has been absolutely dominant, while the offense looks in control with Steve McNair behind center. Playing in a division with the likes of the Bengals and the Steelers, the Ravens will have plenty of time to prove that they can compete against better teams.
Offense: 24
Defense: 1
Overall: 12 |
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| 10 | Steelers (1-1), Last Week: 1 | In a purely defensive battle, the Steelers came out on the losing end of a Monday night battle in Jacksonville. With a division loaded with Cinci and Baltimore, the Steelers are going to have to scratch and claw each and every week to keep their heads above water. This week, they get a shot at the Bengals, who are sure to be seeking revenge for the infamous playoff loss in Cinic last year.
Offense: 27
Defense: 19
Overall: 24 |
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| 11 | Vikings (2-0), Last Week: 13 | The schedule-makers didn't do Brad Childress and the Vikings any favors by having them play on the road against the Redskins in week 1, followed by the Carolina Panthers in week 2. There probably weren't too many "experts", who guessed that the Vikings would start the season 2-0.
Offense: 13
Defense: 7
Overall: 6 |
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| 12 | Giants (1-1), Last Week: 16 | The Giants deserve major credit for hanging tough and making a great 4th quarter comeback in defeating the rival Eagles. They may be the best team right now in the disappointing NFC East.
Offense: 3
Defense: 29
Overall: 17 |
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| 13 | Eagles (1-1), Last Week: 10 | For three quarters the Eagles looked awesome. Then they had a 4th quarter collapse and lost to the Giants in overtime. Losing at home to a division rival has a way of coming back to haunt a team -- especially a team that just found out that they've lost Javon Kearse for the year.
Offense: 1
Defense: 20
Overall: 7 |
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| 14 | Cardinals (1-1), Last Week: 12 | For the second week in a row, the Cardinals exhibited a strong offense and a not-so-great defense. If Arizona wants to prove that they can compete for the NFC West division title, they will need to find a way to get past the Seahawks.
Offense: 16
Defense: 26
Overall: 21 |
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| 15 | Saints (2-0), Last Week: 20 | The Saints on a roll! The team is now 2-0 -- and two games ahead of both the Panthers and Bucs, the two teams that dominated the division last season. Both of their victories have also come on the road. Of course, the Saints have yet to beat a team with a win under their belt, so it is hard to know how good they really are. We may find out this week, when they host the also undefeated division rival Atlanta Falcons in the newly renovated Louisiana Superdome.
Offense: 10
Defense: 12
Overall: 9 |
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| 16 | Cowboys (1-1), Last Week: 23 | In man-handling the Redskins, Drew Bledsoe and the Cowboys rebounded nicely after their Week 1 disappointment against the Jags. The 'Boys enter their bye week in a 3-way tie for first place in the NFC East. Of course, the entire week will be spent answering questions about T.O.'s broken finger...
Offense: 11
Defense: 8
Overall: 5 |
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| 17 | Bills (1-1), Last Week: 26 | When is "Rebuilding" not such a bad word? Despite starting four rookies on defense -- and at times playing as many as five on the field at the same time -- on Sunday the Buffalo Bills darn near shutout the Miami Dolphins in their own backyard. This team isn't getting any respect. In Week 1 they almost beat the Patriots on the road, but everyone poo-pooed that by suggesting that the Patriots had a letdown. The Week 2 victory over the Dolphins is being brushed aside as the Bills having just beaten an overrated Miami team. For their home opener this week they take on the Jets, a team that has been scrappy in these early goings just like the Bills. Of course, if they win that game, everyone will just say that they beat a horrible Jets team...
Offense: 31
Defense: 16
Overall: 25 |
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| 18 | 49ers (1-1), Last Week: 28 | Big win for the 49ers against the division rival Rams on Sunday! Considering that the 49ers ranked dead last in BOTH offense AND defense last season, you knew they had nowhere to go but up. OC Norv Turner has already made some positive changes, as you can see from the performances of both Frank Gore and Alex Smith these past two Sundays. Mark this down: they will NOT finish last in offense in 2006.
Offense: 6
Defense: 18
Overall: 11 |
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| 19 | Rams (1-1), Last Week: 14 | The Rams are 1-1 after the first two weeks of the season, which is right about where many would have guessed that they would be. The interesting thing is that they didn't necessarily get to that record the way most of us would have guessed: They beat the Broncos but lost to the 49ers.
Offense: 18
Defense: 17
Overall: 20 |
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| 20 | Broncos (1-1), Last Week: 17 | How many more performances like the ones we've seen from Jake Plummer in the first two weeks of the season before the Broncos' fans start chanting C-U-T-L-E-R? This team, which hosted the AFC Championship Game just a few months ago, has looked inept on the offensive side of the ball. They had to play into overtime against the Chiefs, who don't exactly have one of the better defenses in the league, to score 9 points in victory. The good news is that the defense still hasn't allowed a TD through 2 games.
Offense: 19
Defense: 15
Overall: 19 |
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| 21 | Panthers (0-2), Last Week: 15 | Surely the loss of Steve Smith isn't the only reason that the Panthers are 0-2 to start the season. John Fox, who we think is normally an excellent coach, made some late game blunders, including instructing Chris Gamble to toss that silly lateral, which completely changed the momentum of the game. The Panthers now sit two games behind both the Falcons and the Saints.
Offense: 30
Defense: 28
Overall: 31 |
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| 22 | Jets (1-1), Last Week: 22 | If nothing else, rookie head coach Eric Mangini has these Jets playing hard. They certainly put a scare into Mangini's former boss Bill Belichick and his Patriots on Sunday. Make that back-to-back 300-yard games for Chad Pennington. This week the Jets travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. Believe it or not, the winner of that game will be sitting at 2-1.
Offense: 8
Defense: 24
Overall: 17 |
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| 23 | Chiefs (0-2), Last Week: 21 | What do you know? Herm Edwards leaves the Jets -- and they manage to win in Week 1 and play the Patriots tough in Week 2 with Chad Pennington passing for over 300 yards in both contests. Then he heads to KC, where their offense looks awful and they lose at home in Week 1 and score just 6 points against the Broncos in Week 2. Maybe there is a correlation. Of course, being without Trent Green doesn't help matters.
Offense: 20
Defense: 9
Overall: 16 |
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| 24 | Dolphins (0-2), Last Week: 18 | Maybe Nick Saban should quit whining about the fans booing his overrated team -- and figure out a way to get the team to raise its level of intensity. Daunte Culpepper sure has looked lost out there in the first two weeks.
Offense: 21
Defense: 6
Overall: 14 |
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| 25 | Buccaneers (0-2), Last Week: 19 | Jon Gruden has the reputation for being an offensive genius. Yet, after two weeks, the Bucs have scored a grand total of 3 points. Chris Simms has looked simply awful in both contests as well. Given that neither of their first two weeks' opponents (Baltimore and Atlanta) made it to the playoffs in 2005, this could be a long year for Gruden and the Bucs.
Offense: 28
Defense: 22
Overall: 28 |
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| 26 | Redskins (0-2), Last Week: 24 | Once again the Redskins prove to be the poorest team that Dan Syder's money can buy. With so much money paid for the triumverant coaching staff of Gibbs/Williams/Saunders, you'd expect more. Gibbs still exhibits poor clock management, Williams can't formulate a scheme to put pressure on the QB (even statues like Brad Johnson and Drew Bledsoe), and Saunders' creative offense consists of some misdirection and a series of screen passes. And what of the big-name free agents? Andre Carter -- has anyone seen Andre Carter? Brandon Lloyd, where are you? T.J. Duckett, well, the coaches must have forgotten that they traded for you in preseason.
Offense: 25
Defense: 23
Overall: 27 |
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| 27 | Lions (0-2), Last Week: 25 | How about that guarantee, Roy? It's still early, but the Mike Martz experiment doesn't appear to be working out, as the Lions are averaging fewer than 7 points per game through the first two weeks. Of course, they have played the teams that finished with the two best records in the NFC last season, so maybe things will get better.
Offense: 26
Defense: 21
Overall: 25 |
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| 28 | Texans (0-2), Last Week: 27 | The Texans may not win many games in 2006, but at least they are giving their fans a good money's worth. In fact, David Carr and the offense have been holding up their end of the bargain through the first two weeks. Now, with just a little help from the defense...
Offense: 23
Defense: 32
Overall: 30 |
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| 29 | Browns (0-2), Last Week: 29 | With the rest of the AFC North looking so good -- all three of the other teams look to be Super Bowl contenders -- the poor Brown Stains are probably SOL. Losing the season opener to the likes of the New Orleans Saints followed by a blowout at the hands of the rival Bengals certainly doesn't help.
Offense: 29
Defense: 30
Overall: 32 |
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| 30 | Titans (0-2), Last Week: 30 | The Titans are still feeling the pain of a messy salary cap situation -- and a roster loaded with aging veterans and inexperienced youngsters. On Sunday Vince Young managed to get into the game and even tossed his first career TD pass. Before you get too excited, he's not ready for primetime, so the Titans are likely to struggle through a few more weeks with Kerry Collins at QB.
Offense: 22
Defense: 31
Overall: 29 |
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| 31 | Packers (0-2), Last Week: 31 | Well, at least Brett Favre looked to be in vintage form in Sunday's loss to the Saints, passing for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. The problem for the Packers is that without a strong running game and decent defense, Favre isn't going to be able to carry the team on his shoulders.
Offense: 15
Defense: 27
Overall: 21 |
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| 32 | Raiders (0-2), Last Week: 32 | The dubious distinction of ineptitude falls to the Oakland Raiders. With that putrid offensive line, we knew it was just a matter of time before Aaron Brooks got hurt. How long will young Andrew Walter last? The sad thing is that poor Art Shell probably doesn't have any quick answers to fix what is hurting the Raiders... Get ready for a lo-o-o-o-ng season, Silver and Black fans.
Offense: 32
Defense: 11
Overall: 23 |
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