Week 2 Power Rankings, and the Biggest Week 1 Standout From Every Team
Week 1 was a flurry. Tua Tagovailoa dropped 446 yards in a cornerstone win for the Dolphins franchise. Joe Burrow was on the other end of the spectrum, totaling 82 passing yards and 3 points to show for it— good for his worst career NFL game. The defending champs lost to the Hard Knock Detroit Lions, and the Cowboys absolutely boat raced the Giants in primetime. But what every fan is thinking about is what transpired on Monday Night Football. In remembrance of 9/11, Aaron Rodgers charged out of the tunnel with the American flag in his right hand with a sold out MetLife stadium making deafening noise in celebration of their Hall of Fame quarterback—their savior. But four plays into the most anticipated Jets game in several decades, Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Leonard Floyd, and looked towards the sideline shaking his head. Rodgers would be ruled out for the season with a torn achilles hours later. But not uncelebrated was the miraculously beautiful end to a miraculously horrifying night in New York City, when undrafted rookie, Xavier Gipson, took off down the left sideline into the endzone for the game winning punt return.
Going into week 2, a lot has changed. Let’s see how things have shaken up in the power rankings.
32. Arizona Cardinals (no change)
Biggest standout: Dennis Gardeck (LB)
I guarantee that 95% don’t know who Dennis Gardeck is. I had no clue that a man named Dennis Gardeck existed before he violently spun through the Commanders offensive line, and strip sacked Sam Howell, leading to the Cardinals only touchdown of the game. Gardeck got to Howell again later in the game, giving him a career best two sacks.
31. Chicago Bears (down 3)
Biggest standout: Justin Fields (QB)
It was the same story as last year for Chicago. Fields was good but nowhere near good enough to carry this mangled roster past a better coached team in the Packers. Fields wasn’t terrible, completing 65% of his passes for 216 yards and a touchdown (all above his season averages last year), along with 59 yards on the ground. Despite the Bears going off the rails in the second half as a result of Fields’ pick-six to Quay Walker, he was still the only life the Bears had.
30. Houston Texans (up 1)
Biggest standout: Nico Collins (QB)
Collins came into the season as the Texans’ WR2 behind Robert Woods, when in reality he is probably a WR3 or WR4 across the league. But Collins outplayed expectation on Sunday, giving Houston some of its only life on offense. He caught six passes for 80 yards, and as C.J. Stroud finds receivers he can trust as he acclimates to the NFL, Collins could play an increasingly big role.
29. Indianapolis Colts (no change)
Biggest standout: DeForest Buckner (DT)
Buckner certainly filled up the stat sheet on Sunday despite the Colts defense giving in to the Jaguars impressive looking offense in the 4th quarter. He had four tackles, along with a sack of Trevor Lawrence. However, Buckner’s big splash came in the third quarter on one of the more bizarre plays you’ll ever see. When everybody on the field thought the play was dead after a Trevor Lawrence fumble that appeared to be an incompletion, Zaire Franklin (who could have also been the standout for Indy) punched the ball out of Tank Bigsby’s hands, Buckner collected it, and took the ball 35 yards for the score.
28. Carolina Panthers (down 2)
Biggest standout: Hayden Hurst (TE)
Hurst was a bit on an unexpected candidate, but looks good in this refined Carolina system. They say that a young quarterback’s best friend is a reliable tight end, and that’s exactly what Hurst was to Bryce Young against the Falcons. He led the Panthers in receptions (5) and yards (41), and even got in the endzone for Young’s first career touchdown pass. Perhaps Young shouldn’t rely on Hurst so much though, since Hurst chucked the touchdown ball into the stands instead of giving it back to Young.
27. Denver Broncos (down 3)
Biggest standout: Russell Wilson (QB)
Though Wilson was extremely conservative under Sean Payton’s new system—throwing for 177 yards on a measly 5.2 yards per attempt—he was efficient and looked better than last season, ultimately finishing with a rating of 108.0 (good for 5th overall in week 1). Wilson threw two touchdowns and no interceptions, and also spread the ball around well, hitting ten different receivers. Wilson will need to be a bit more aggressive going forward.
26. New York Giants (down 12)
Biggest standout: Jamie Gillan (P)
Looking through the box score from week 1, not a single Giant on the offense or defensive side of the ball played up to expectation. So, I turned to special teams, where Jamie Gillan boomed three punts for an average of 53.3 yards per punt. Yeah, that’s really all there is to say. That’s what happens when you lose 40-0.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (up 2)
Biggest standout: Antoine Winfield Jr. (FS)
I could have given the Bucs award to several guys, including Baker Mayfield, but the impact that the pro-bowler, Winfield, was able to make in one play shines brighter than anyone. Late in the first period, he sacked Kirk Cousins so hard that Cousins fumbled the ball. Winfield scooped it up, which led to a Bucs field goal—the difference in the game.
24. Los Angeles Rams (up 6)
Biggest standout: Puka Nacua (WR)
Puka Nacua entered training camp as the likely wide receiver six, assuming he wouldn’t get cut. But, miraculously, the rookie fifth-round pick gave Matthew Stafford a Cooper Kupp esque performance, catching 10 passes for 119 yards. Tutu Atwell should be the co-winner of the biggest standout because after years of hardly seeing the field, he had 6 receptions for 119 yards of his own.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (up 2)
Biggest standout: Jakobi Meyers (WR)
After gifting the Raiders a win as a result of his reverse hail mary when Meyers was a member of the Patriots, it’s only fitting that he had a monster game for Vegas in his first game in the silver and black. Meyers outplayed Davante Adams, logging nine catches for 81 yards, and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the 4th quarter. Meyers only saw the endzone twice in his first 275 targets as a Patriot. He’s already matched that total for the Raiders after just 10 targets.
22. Minnesota Vikings (down 6)
Biggest standout: Justin Jefferson (WR)
This was a no-brainer, as it might as well be for all 17 games of this season. In spite of a horrendous, turnover-filled performance by Kirk Cousins, Jefferson still had the second most receiving yards of anyone in the league (Tyreek Hill was 1st). It makes you wonder, if Jefferson and Hill switched offenses, would Jefferson have one of the greatest seasons of all time?
21. Tennessee Titans (no change)
Biggest standout: Denico Autry (DT)
Theo Titans’ offense was a circus all day in New Orleans, but both Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry had themselves days on the front line. I chose Autry as the standout because he had 1.5 sacks to Simmons’ 1.0, and because we are accustomed to these types of performances out of Simmons. But if Autry can blossom into a double digit sack guy, the Titans defense can continue stifling opponents.
20. Washington Commanders (down 2)
Biggest standout: Montez Sweat (DE)
I mentioned Sweat in my last article as somebody who could have a breakout year for a breakout team in the Commanders, and he had quite the breakout week. Sweat compiled 1.5 sacks on Josh Dobbs, and was the captain of a defense that held the Cardinals offense to just nine points and 228 yards of offense. I would expect Sweat to continue at this pace in the future.
19. Atlanta Falcons (up 2)
Biggest standout: Jessie Bates III (CB)
Bates is the CB2 on Atlanta behind AJ Terrell, and thus, cycled his coverage between Adam Thielen and DJ Chark. He had the highest PFF grade of any defensive player all week with a score of 94.2. The reason for this? Bates picked off Bryce Young twice, with one of them setting Atlanta up for their first touchdown. Bates also stuffed the stat sheet with a fumble recovery late in the third quarter.
18. Seattle Seahawks (down 7)
Biggest standout: Bobby Wagner (LB)
If there was one bright spot from Seattle’s ugly loss to the Rams, it was the run defense. The Seahawks held the Rams’ runningbacks to 92 yards on 40 carries (an absurdly low 2.3 YPC). At the center of the operation was a familiar face—Bobby Wagner. Wagner had 19 tackles, including 9 solo, which led the league in week 1, and ties his career high for most tackles in a single game. For a guy that has led the NFL in combined tackles twice in his Hall-of-Fame career, that’s not a bad thing to say at age 33.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (down 4)
Biggest standout: T.J. Watt (DE)
T.J. Watt is an absolute monster. You can’t give me three other NFL players that can compile 22.5 sacks in a season, get hurt the next season, and come back after nearly a year of being sidelined and log three sacks against a top tier offensive line. That’s exactly what T.J. Watt did in week 1, and was the only pulse for the Steelers against San Francisco. Watt is the type of player that can carry the Steelers defense to the playoffs despite a sluggish offense.
16. New England Patriots (up 7)
Biggest standout: Mac Jones (QB)
Jones is clearly benefitting from the coaching change at offensive coordinator. Matt Patricia had the Urban Meyer effect on Mac Jones the way that Meyer did on Trevor Lawrence, and Bill O’Brien has arrived to be Jones’ Doug Pederson. The playbook in week 1 let Jones be a lot more aggressive—he threw for the 4th most yards of any quarterback with 316. He also had three touchdowns and just one pick. It’s clear that when Jones is allowed to be himself, his ceiling is high enough to win the Patriots games when the rest of the team isn’t showing up.
15. New Orleans Saints (up 4)
Biggest standout: Chris Olave (WR)
16 points doesn’t tell the whole story for a Saints offense that functioned very well in Derek’s Carr inaugural game in the black and gold. Carr went for over 300 yards, with 112 of them going to Chris Olave. It’s clear a player will become a breakout star when they take control of the WR1 slot in game 1 of their second season—just ask Garrett Wilson. Though Olave had a top-5 performance of any wide receiver this week, it’s the speed, the route running, and the overall intangibles that make him look like he’s next up.
14. Green Bay Packers (up 8)
Biggest standout: Jordan Love (QB)
Whenever you play well enough to be labeled as the rightful successor to Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre, you know you played well. Love only completed 15 passes, but went for 245 yards and three touchdowns with the 6th highest passer rating of any QB in week 1. It’s not just his performance that was special, it’s how much he performed over expectation. In ATA’s week 1 picks, five people picked the Bears to the two people that picked the Packers (I was one of them). Love definitely turned some heads in week 1.
13. Los Angeles Chargers (down 4)
Biggest standout: Austin Ekeler (RB)
117 yards on the ground, 47 yards through the air, 7.3 yards per carry, and a touchdown. Those seem like eye-popping numbers for most guys, but for Austin Ekeler, it was just another day at the office. Ekeler has consistently been the Chargers life on offense going back to two seasons ago, and LA will need even more of his production to start beating the good teams like the Dolphins.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (up 3)
Biggest standout: Calvin Ridley (WR)
Ridley did not skip a beat in his return from a one-year suspension. He looked as explosive as ever, affirming the clips of his ridiculous speed in training camp. Ridley had seven catches and a touchdown in the first half, and finished with eight receptions for 101 yards overall. Not only that, but it is clear that Ridley has already established himself as Trevor Lawrence’s favorite target.
11. New York Jets (down 1)
Biggest standout: Jordan Whitehead (SS)
On a night overshadowed by Aaron Rodgers’ injury, Jordan Whitehead was the Jets’ savior. He picked off two Josh Allen deep balls that, if caught, could have led to Buffalo touchdowns. He picked off a third pass in the fourth quarter which kept the Jets alive and well. Sure, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson electrified on Monday Night, but Whitehead changed the trajectory of the entire game.
10. Cleveland Browns (up 7)
Biggest standout: Jim Schwartz (DC)
The Browns didn’t have a single standout on defense except for Myles Garrett’s sack that was a basketball and football hybrid. So, I went with the head of the snake—Jim Schwartz. Schwartz’s defense in Tennessee folded at the end of last season, and there were many questions coming into 2023 about if he would be able to propel the Browns defense to new heights. I haven’t seen a defensive unit play as together as the Browns did against the Bengals in a very long time. They held Joe Burrow to 14/31, and 82 yards—the worst performance of his career. Let’s give Schwartz his flowers.
9. Detroit Lions (up 3)
Biggest standout: Jared Goff (QB)
Not many would have been able to predict Jared Goff’s rise from being a low level starter for the 0-10-1 Lions to being the captain of what looks to be a dangerous playoff contender. Goff has surprised us all. He is incapable of turning the ball over—a major reason why Detroit has won 9 of their last 11 games dating back to last season; he has now thrown 359 consecutive passes without an interception, and is just 44 away from breaking Aaron Rodgers record. Goff’s Thursday night performance where went 22/35 for 253 yards and a touchdown makes him the standout player of the week for the Lions. The best about part about this for Goff is that statlines like those are beginning to feel routine.
8. Buffalo Bills (down 3)
Biggest standout: Leonard Floyd (DE)
Floyd seems to be productive wherever he goes, and while Von Miller remains sidelined with injury, it’s imperative that someone else steps up as a top pass rusher of the Bills He did just that, logging 1.5 sacks, and doing his part to hold the Jets to 16 points on offense. The elephant in the room is that Floyd’s sack which injured Aaron Rodgers might have done more than move the Jets back a few yards. It might have significantly upgraded Buffalo’s chances to win the division.
7. Baltimore Ravens (up 1)
Biggest standout: Roquan Smith (LB)
As Smith enters his prime, it seems possible that he could go down as an all-time great Ravens defensive player if he stays in Baltimore long-term, which is a pretty premier list to be on. Last Sunday is the type of the game that makes me believe that. Smith totaled 16 combined tackles, a magnet to Dameon Pierce, and had monstrous sack on C.J. Stroud—perhaps Stroud’s welcome to the NFL moment. Outside of maybe Bobby Wagner, Smith’s performance was the best of any linebacker this week.
6. Miami Dolphins (up 3)
Biggest standout: Tyreek Hill (WR)
It seems as though Justin Jefferson became everyone’s consensus best wide receiver during the offseason, and apparently Tyreek Hill took it personally. Jefferson is good at everything on offense, but Hill is simply unguardable, and he showed it at Sofi Stadium in the Dolphins 36-34 win over the Chargers. Hill had 62 more yards than the next best receiver in all of week 1, the most receptions of any player, and a game winning touchdown in the final two minutes of the game. It’s only been one game, but if you told me that Tyreek Hill has a chance of being the league MVP this year, I would not sneeze at the idea.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (down 2)
Biggest standout: Germaine Pratt (LB)
Germaine Pratt should not put a week 1 standout award on his mantlepiece, because if he played for any other team not named the Giants, his name would get lost in the shuffle. However, no other Bengals player besides maybe Dax Hill showed up for Cincinnati. Pratt had seven tackles—above his game average—and a sack on Deshaun Watson.
4. Dallas Cowboys (up 2)
Biggest standout: Jerry Jones (GM)
I wish I could give this to the entire Cowboys roster because every player came to play on Sunday night, but I couldn’t decide on a single player, so I went with the man who put this entire roster together—old Mr. Jones. This Cowboys roster simply has no holes. And looking at the rest of the league, the 49ers are the only roster that looks more deep and complete than Dallas. The acquisitions of Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore will go a long way for America’s team, and maybe, just maybe, Jones can win the first Super Bowl since early in his ownership.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (down 1)
Biggest standout: Patrick Mahomes (QB)
The answer has to be Mahomes, who had fewer weapons on offense against the Lions than in any game in his career. And Kansas City’s defense didn’t bother Detroit’s offense too much throughout the game—they didn’t force any turnovers. Mahomes did all he could on opening night, passing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. In other words, it was not his fault that the Chiefs went down the way they did. As always, Mahomes gave his team a chance, but unlike always, it wasn’t enough.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (down 1)
Biggest standout: Jalen Carter (DT)
Carter’s numbers don’t exactly pop out on the stat sheet, but a team high six QB pressures and a sack did the job. For a rookie in his first game, this puts Carter on a fantastic trajectory. Carter’s work represents more than just numbers on a stat sheet though. He led a blazing Eagles defense through first half in which they jumped out to 16-0 lead, essentially putting the game out of reach for the Patriots.
1. San Francisco 49ers (up 3)
Biggest standout: Brandon Aiyuk (WR)
It feels like Aiyuk is about to make a Ceedee Lamb / AJ Brown type of leap. The exciting, high-ceiling WR2 to the reliable, ever-improving WR1. Aiyuk outplayed Deebo Samuel on Sunday, and, honestly, has been the better route-runner and pass catcher for the last two seasons. He took over the stat sheet, putting up eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. It’s worth noting that Aiyuk averaged more receiving yards with Brock Purdy as his quarterback than before Purdy entered in week 13 last year, and Samuel averaged less. It’s clear who the number one target is in the Bay.