Week 1 Power Report

Easy to overreact after one game but remember, it's just one game. Last year the Giants, Saints, Falcons, and Steelers all made the playoffs despite losing their first game. I'm not burying the Saints, not buying the Jets, and not worried about the Eagles. Here's my ranking of each team.

1. Patriots. Took care of business against the Titans. Stevan Ridley ran wild, Tom Brady did his thing, both tight ends found the endzone, and the defense looked very strong. Next week against the Arizona Cardinals.
2. 49ers. Defense looks as good as last year and the offense controlled the game. If Alex Smith continues to play like that, 49ers will be the team to beat in the NFC.
3. Texans. Only critical point was a missed field goal and a failure to score in the first quarter. They corrected that with four turnovers and 24 points in the second quarter.
4. Ravens. All we’ve heard lately is how old the defense is. Well, Ray Lewis had 10 tackles and a sack Monday night and Ed Reed had a pick-six as the defense harassed Andy Dalton all night long. As for the offense, it was full speed ahead. Joe Flacco had an amazing game, hitting Boldin, Pitta, and Torrey Smith for big plays.
5. Packers. Aaron Rodgers played pretty well but it was just a bad matchup for the Packers. They showed no ground game, as there were only 9 non-Rodgers carries for 18 yards. Another tough matchup against the Bears on Thursday.
6. Bears. Offense and defense are in midseason form already after a nice tune-up over the Colts.
7. Falcons. Matt Ryan and Falcons looked unstoppable on Sunday. In fact, they were unstoppable, scoring on their first 8 drives. Ryan was practically perfect, and the while the defense did nothing in the first half they did force 3 second half turnovers.
8. Broncos. Manning looked like Peyton of old (only in different colors). I really like the Broncos defense.
9. Saints. Lose their first game at home to a rookie after going 8-0 in New Orleans a year ago. But it wasn’t just the defense that struggled; Drew Brees completed less than half his passes for the first time since 2006. The Saints benefit from the “Bountygate” appeal ruling, but it already looks like losing Coach Payton is bigger than we thought.
10. Eagles. It’s not often a team turns the ball over 5 times and still wins. Eagles had 16 possessions in the game and only scored 3 times. Still, it’s nice to come away with a win after a poor game like that. They won’t get as many extra chances next week against Baltimore.
11. Cowboys. One of the surprises of Week 1, the Cowboys did whatever they wanted against the Giants, dominating on offense and defense. With Bryant, Austin, Murray, Witten, and breakout Ogletree, Tony Romo may have the best weapons in the NFC.
12. Giants. Secondary was Swiss cheese against the Cowboys. Rookie David Wilson has been in the doghouse already after an early fumble.
13. Lions. After a sloppy first half including two red zone interceptions, the Lions managed to squeak away with the win when Stafford found Kevin Smith in the endzone with 10 seconds left.
14. Steelers. We saw a lot of vintage Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday night, running around, avoiding tackles, and making something out of nothing. But the defense could not stop Peyton Manning the last three quarters.
15. Redskins. How about that for a debut? Robert Griffin III comes into the boisterous Superdome and not only throws for 320 yards (12.3 yards per attempt), two touchdowns and a 139.9 QB rating, but the Redskins win the game. Wow, does the future look bright in the nation’s capital.
16. Bengals. Nothing went right for the Bengals in Baltimore.
17. Chiefs. A shorthanded defense got picked apart by the Falcons and the offense made too many mistakes in the second half. Jamaal Charles looks good as ever, which provides some optimism going forward.
18. Jets. There’s nothing to be critical about here after a 48-28 smack down to the Bills. Mark Sanchez silenced the Tebow birds with a great game.
19. Buccaneers. A real boring game but still, a good way to start the season as the Bucs won more on Sunday than they did the last ten weeks of 2011. The defense controlled Cam Newton and the conservative offense avoided mistakes.
20. Chargers. No rushing game at all while Ryan Matthews was out. Chargers didn’t make any mistakes and came away with a win.
21. Raiders. McFadden had 13 catches on Monday night. Good for your fantasy team, but not a good sign for the Raiders. The defense did a good job keeping the Chargers out of the endzone, but couldn’t get a turnover and San Diego kicked 5 field goals.
22. Titans. Titans got some good news as it looks like Jake Locker and Nate Washington, who were injured on the same play, will be back on the field against the Chargers in Week 2. Chris Johnson better find a way to be productive after only gaining 4 yards on 11 carries the first week.
23. Vikings. A lot of relief as Adrian Peterson not only plays but plays well and scores two touchdowns. Good chance to go 2-0 against the Colts coming up.
24. Cardinals. Lost their starting quarterback but no problem as Kevin Kolb saved the day in the 4th quarter, earning the division win at home.
25. Bills. Ryan Fitzpatrick looks well on his way to defend his league-high interception total from 2011. Losing Fred Jackson for three weeks and #2 receiver David Nelson for the year spells further trouble for the Bills. They better find a defense, or get their defensive players to step up or it could be a worse season than last year.
26. Seahawks. Unable to take advantage of an extra timeout as Braylon Edwards couldn’t hold onto a touchdown pass at the end.
27. Rams. Rams played well in their first game under Jeff Fisher but it wasn’t enough as Detroit was simply the better team. Still, a clock-operating error may have ultimately cost them the game as it rewarded the Lions a 4th timeout.
28. Panthers. Same ol’ same ol’ for Cam Newton who put up lots of sexy numbers but made too many mistakes that cost the game.
29. Colts. Indy better hope that Andrew Luck doesn’t have to throw the ball 45 times every game. Colts were simply way overmatched by a great team in Chicago.
30. Jaguars. Crushing loss as the Jags couldn’t hold on after taking a lead with only 20 seconds left.
31. Dolphins. Ryan Tannehill simply didn’t stand a chance.
32. Browns. Brandon Weedon had an even worse day, compiling a quarterback rating of 5. Still, the Browns had a chance to win with a lead under 2 minutes. Trouble is ahead as the Browns will be missing Joe Haden, their best defensive player for the next four weeks because of a suspension.