Week 1 Power Rankings

Correspondent Kevin's Week 1 Power Rankings

	1. Buffalo Bills No change here, after 1 game the Bills look poised to dominate the AFC. Behind a stellar performance from Josh Allen (26/31 297 yards and 3 touchdowns) and an outstanding defensive performance from the front four (Von Miller 2 sacks, Jordan Phillips 1.5 sacks, A.J. Epensa 1.5 sacks) the Bills pretty much dominated the defending Super Bowl Champions from beginning to end. The Bills went 9/10 on 3^rd downs, out gained the Rams 413 to 243 and won the time of possession battle. The only blemish for the Bills on Thursday were the 4 turnovers, which is expected after most starters not playing in the preseason. I go on record saying that if Von Miller had been a Bill last season, they win the Super Bowl. I expect the Bills to remain atop these rankings for some time. The Bills will host the Titans for their home opener on Monday Night Football 9/19.
	2. Kansas City Chiefs Well, the Chiefs do not seem to miss Tyreek Hill as the Chiefs continue to be the high-octane offense of old in their season opening bludgeoning of the Arizona Cardinals 44-21. Patrick Mahomes looked right at home going 30-39 for 360 yards and 5 scores (2 to Clyde Edwards Helaire). The Chiefs put up 488 yards of offense and ran for 128 yards on only 27 carries (4.7 YPC) and Mahomes was not sacked the entire game. The Chiefs moved the ball at will on the Cardinal defense as Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals flounder. Kingsbury looks completely overmatched at the NFL level with his team not seemingly ready to play Sunday. There is no shame losing to a team as good as the Chiefs but losing by 23 in the NFL is borderline incompetence. As a side note, Andy Reid also set history on Sunday as he became the only head coach in NFL history to lead two teams for at least 10 seasons, this begins his 10^th year in KC after 14 with the Eagles.
	3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Buccaneers hold serve at number 3 following an ugly 19-3 over the Cowboys in Jerry World. The rust clearly showed for Tom Brady after a night where he went 18-27 for 212 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. On this night, it was the Buccaneer running game that was able to take over control the game led by Leonard Fournette and his 21 carries for 127 yards. I foresee Brady being able to shake off the rust and utilize all the weapons at his disposal. A serious question now facing the Bucs will be how they handle the loss of rock-solid left tackle Donovan Smith (hyperextended elbow) and who is becoming a little too oft injured with a hamstring injury in wide receiver Chris Godwin.
	4. Cincinnati Bengals 1) The Bengals were flat out awful on Sunday against the Steelers. Joe Burrow threw 4 INTs, they lost receiver Tee Higgins to a concussion, and they couldn’t put away what is a weak (relatively speaking) Pittsburgh Steeler team. The Bengals revamped offensive line gave up 7 sacks and the Burrow led offense turned the ball over 5 times. With all that being said, I will leave the Bengals at 4. It takes time for an offensive line to gel, and it is too talented not too gel. Joe Burrow is too gifted a quarterback and will not turn the ball over like this on a consistent basis. I do not have concerns on offense, my question is on defense. With only 1 sack against a weak offensive line, where was the Cincinnati pass rush? A big part of their Super Bowl run was the ability of Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard and company to get pressure without blitzing.
	5. Minnesota Vikings The largest jump in the power rankings belongs to the Minnesota Vikings. Simply put, they’re loaded. Led by Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen and a stout offensive line; this cast be too good for even Kirk Cousins to mess up. The offensive line only surrendered one sack, Justin Jefferson had 9 catches for 184 yards and two scores and is becoming the best receiver in football, and a defense that sacked Aaron Rodgers four times is poised to take back the NFC North. While the Packers traditionally under Aaron Rodgers (R-E-L-A-X) start slow and won’t go away, it may finally be the year for the Vikings to reclaim a division title for the first time since 2017.
	6. Los Angeles Chargers If it weren’t for the Chiefs, this would be the best team in the best division in football. The Week 2 match up in Kansas City should be an absolute thriller and will show (at least early) the best in the AFC West. Justin Herbert was spectacular in the opener against the Raiders, completed 26 of 34 passes for 279 yards and 3 scores. The emerging offensive line of the Bolts led by 2021 first round pick Rashawn Slater seems to be rounding into form as they did not allow a single sack to the electric Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones. Herbert was able to effectively spread the ball amongst his backs and receivers (at least 3 players had 50 yards receiving) and the new look Charger defense sacked Derek Carr 6 times, 3 of which came from the newly signed Khalil Mack. My only concern for the Chargers is the running game. They averaged a pitiful 2.45 YPC. While Austin Ekeler is an electric player who runs hard and contributes so much, will they be able to take the air out of the ball and run in between the tackles when it matters most?
	7. Denver Broncos Not exactly the homecoming that Russell Wilson envisioned. The offense looked rusty, Nathaniel Hackett made questionable decisions, and the Broncos left Seattle 0-1. But at least it was only week 1! Russ, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Javonte Williams and company are too explosive to only score 16 points. The Broncos are just as competent defensively with Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons, and Patrick Surtain II spearhead what should be ranked in the top 10 at seasons end. A word of advice to the Broncos: watch the turnovers in the redzone and clean up the penalties (12 accepted for 106 yards).
	8. Philadelphia Eagles After really handling the Lions for 3 quarters; the Eagles come in at 8 in the top 10. Jalen Hurts found AJ Brown early and often for 10 catches totaling 155 yards. Combined with 13 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown; Jalen Hurts contributed 17 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown to pace the Eagles ground attack that totaled 39 carries for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns. My concern is with the vaunted Eagle defensive line led by veteran Fletcher Cox and 1^st round draft pick Jordan Davis. They gave up 181 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground including 144 on only 15 carries to star in the making D’Andre Swift. They’ll get a serious test on Monday Night Football in their home opener against the Vikings in week 2, can they slow down Dalvin Cook?
	9. Los Angeles Rams 1) The defending Super Bowl champion Rams were welcomed back down to Earth on opening night against the Bills. They could not run the ball (where was Cam Akers??) and they turned the ball over (3 interceptions from Matthew Stafford) both of those in one game usually equates to a loss. What was glaring was the Ram offensive line, Stafford was sacked 7 times and was constantly under duress. There could be looming effects from his off-season elbow injury, but the Rams looked flat out bad. They still have a ton of top end talent in Aaron Donald, Stafford, Jalen Ramsey and Cooper Kupp. But is the lack of high draft picks in recent years (the last 1^st round pick for the Rams was Jared Goff in 2016) hurting the teams depth?
	10. Baltimore Ravens 1) After an ugly win over the New York Jets, I am going to keep the Ravens in my top 10. The Ravens got off to a sluggish start on offense in the first half, unable to capture their signature rushing attack. In the second half, the Ravens were finally able to break loose with a Lamar Jackson, no look 17-yard touchdown to Devin Duvernay and a 55 yarder to 2^nd year man Rashod Bateman. But what stood out most was the play of the Ravens defensive line. 3^rd year defensive lineman Justin Madubuike stood out with a half sack and another tackle for loss as well as making his presence known consistently in the backfield. They also had strong efforts from Calais Campbell, Michael Pierce and rotational piece Broderick Washington. With the looming return of 3^rd round pick Travis Jones (UCONN), the Ravens should be able to generate even more interior pass rush, something they have lacked in recent memory.
	11. San Francisco 49ers
]	12. Las Vegas Raiders
	13. Green Bay Packers
	14. New Orleans Saints
	15. Dallas Cowboys
	16. Pittsburgh Steelers
	17. Miami Dolphins
	18. Indianapolis Colts
	19. New England Patriots
	20. Cleveland Browns
	21. New York Giants
	22. Arizona Cardinals
	23. Detroit Lions
	24. Tennessee Titans
	25. Chicago Bears
	26. Seattle Seahawks
	27. Atlanta Falcons
	28. Washington Commanders
	29. Carolina Panthers
	30. Houston Texans
	31. Jacksonville Jaguars
	32. New York Jets