2024 NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: We still don’t know who the Bears are

Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season is officially over, and many of our preseason questions and narratives are as murky as ever. Somehow, the New England Patriots, expected by many to be the worst in the league, toppled the Cincinnati Bengals, who are considered Super Bowl contenders. The Saints looked like the 2008 version of themselves and Caleb Williams, despite a forgettable performance, became the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his debut since David Carr in 2002.

So, let’s revisit our preseason power rankings and see how much Week 1 changed anything. I don’t want to overreact too much to one week of action, so there won’t be many major movers, and I’m also going to base the rankings more on my projections for the team’s moving forward and less on the Week 1 results themselves.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

The defending champs beat a great team, so they stay on top.

2. San Francisco 49ers

The defending NFC champs also beat a great team, so they stay in second place.

3. Baltimore Ravens

One inch. The Ravens lost by a single inch. For that, they move up as high as I can put them.

Always games of inches with the Baltimore Ravens. pic.twitter.com/SrHTRR3f1m

— Z (@zrs155) September 6, 2024

4. Detroit Lions

The Lions managed to beat the Rams in overtime on Sunday Night Football. 2023 was not a fluke.

5. New York Jets

Yikes. That was an ugly loss for the Jets, but they also had the worst turnover luck. This team has too much talent to drop them out of the Top 5 based on the first game with Aaron Rodgers back from his torn Achilles.

6. Dallas Cowboys

Cleveland has arguably the best defense in the league and Dallas dropped 30 points on them before easing off in the 4th quarter as they coasted to victory. Maybe I had the Cowboys totally wrong. Maybe this is just their usual early-season dominance before the inevitable collapse.

7. Buffalo Bills

The Bills showed resilience on Sunday and ended up with a convincing win. Josh Allen should be good to go for Thursday Night Football, but that injury needs to be monitored.

8. Houston Texans

Houston won a close won over a division rival on the road. They’re not so much dropping a spot as they are simply making room for the Bills, who appear to be better than I thought.

9. LA Rams

The Rams appear to be adjusting to the post-Aaron Donald era just fine. Despite the loss, they showed enough to move up the rankings.

10. Atlanta Falcons

Like the Jets, I still believe that the Falcons will be strong playoff contenders. Chalk that bizarre loss up to a lot of new faces needing a little more time to gel.

11. Miami Dolphins

While Tua didn’t post many touchdowns, he still had an efficient day and the defense put the clamps on a Jaguars team that badly needs an offensive rebound this season. They are still strong playoff contenders.

12. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles won but it was ugly. Jalen Hurts was wildly inaccurate and seemed indecisive for much of the game. Their defense could have put that game to bed early, but they dropped multiple interceptions and a pick-six from Jordan Love. It’s hard to trust them right now.

Biggest play of the game to this point, Nakobe Dean dropped pick-6 opportunity and Love hits Jayden Reed for a 70-yard TD two plays later.

12-14 point swing? pic.twitter.com/m23iB4fGXO

— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) September 7, 2024

13. LA Chargers

The Chargers handled their business against the Raiders, getting new head coach Jim Harbaugh his first win with the team. I feel a little bit more positive about this squad than I did a week ago.

14. Cincinnati Bengals

What was that? Dropping your home opener to what was supposed to be the worst team in the league is inexcusable. Burrow was either seeing ghosts or is still hurting from his wrist injury a year ago, and that’s a huge concern. I honestly don’t know what we do with the Bengals but they have to plummet down the rankings for now.

15. Indianapolis Colts

Sure, Anthony Richardson only completed 9 of 19 passes in a loss. But man you have to love the potential he flashed with several big time throws and scrambles. If he can keep refining the finer points of quarterbacking, this team will be dangerous.

Still not over how insane this throw from Anthony Richardson was pic.twitter.com/tWAPva7FOw https://t.co/s72KdFt4NE

— PFF (@PFF) September 8, 2024

16. Chicago Bears

I refuse to believe that what we saw on Sunday is who Caleb Williams will be in the NFL. Debate a wall, but that is not who he is. Plenty of future Hall of Famers laid similar stinkers in their NFL debuts, so until we get a larger sample size I won’t drop the Bears from the middle of the pack. Plus, did you see that defense?

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I owe Baker Mayfield an apology. I said he would regress in 2024 but so far I’m eating nothing but crow.

18. Minnesota Vikings

Yes, it was against the Giants, but Minnesota absolutely dominated in Week 1. They deserve a bump in the power rankings.

19. Tennessee Titans

Tennessee lost and their quarterback situation will be a major obstacle for them this season, but that defense looks deadly. They get to keep their original spot despite the loss, but there’s major concerns here, especially with head coach Brian Callahan throwing his entire offense under the bus.

Titans HC Brian Callahan took a shot at the team’s offensive performance in Week 1 pic.twitter.com/ObTJdRvzMt

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2024

20. Jacksonville Jaguars

The clock is officially ticking on Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson. They need to start winning and it needs to be because of Lawrence or their long-term futures in Jacksonville are in doubt.

21. Green Bay Packers

With Jordan Love expected to miss at least three games, the Packers are turning to a quarterback who just arrived a week ago and has just 66 NFL pass attempts to his name. There’s a very real chance the Packers are 0-4 as they head into LA to face the Rams with Love, who looked like his early-2023 self and not the playoff version, just coming off a leg injury. This season may already be over for Green Bay.

22. New Orleans Saints

The Saints had by far the most dominant win of opening weekend, but it came against the Carolina Panthers. They only get a small bump in the standings.

23. Pittsburgh Steelers

Yes, they won. But the Steelers still do not have a long-term answer at quarterback. Their defense will keep them in most games but the road gets much tougher going forward.

24. Seattle Seahawks

Like the Steelers, the Seahawks chalked up a win that still doesn’t inspire much confidence, overcoming the Broncos and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. We’ll need to see much more.

25. Arizona Cardinals

Caleb Williams wasn’t the only much-hyped rookie to have a disappointing NFL debut. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught just one pass for four yards and wasn’t even targeted on what could have been a walk-in touchdown. The Cardinals have some solid pieces but are still deep in rebuild mode.

Kyler Murray danced in the pocket for 6 seconds and somehow NEVER SAW A WIDE OPEN MARVIN HARRISON JR FOR A GAME-CHANGING TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/HG5ysapKB8

— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024

26. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders need a new quarterback. Since that likely won’t happen until next April, this whole season feels like a wash for Las Vegas.

27. New England Patriots

A pleasant surprise for the Patriots, they beat a team they had no business beating. They get to move up in the rankings but this probably won’t last.

28. Denver Broncos

The Broncos are who we thought they are. Bo Nix was not awful but clearly needs time to develop.

29. Washington Commanders

Likewise, the Commanders looked how I expected them to look. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels put up some flashy fantasy stats but there’s still major red flags to his profile, most notably his habit of bailing on clean pockets.

30. New York Giants

Head coach Brian Daboll said Daniel Jones is his quarterback, but the Cardinals said the same thing about Josh Rosen.

31. Cleveland Browns

The 2024 Browns are liable to give the 2017 Browns a run for their money. Deshaun Watson is a $230 million traffic cone on the field and may become an expensive bench warmer before long.

32. Carolina Panthers

Not only did Carolina lose a stinker in which Bryce Young, their first overall pick a year ago, threw two picks, but they may have lost their best defender for the season. At this point it’s safe to pencil Carolina in for the first overall pick again in 2025. Let the quarterback controversy begin.