NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Seahawks Rise as Patriots Fall

Getty The Seahawks stopped the Patriots on the goal line to seal the victory.

One more week has passed in the 2020 season but our NFL power rankings picture is still as cloudy as when the season started. Football is a game of inches which is good news for the Cowboys after the team pulled off an improbable double-digit comeback in the fourth quarter.

For the Falcons, the pain is familiar territory and just the latest in a series of heartbreaks since Atlanta won the 2017 NFC Championship. Mike McCarthy was saved from an 0-2 start in Dallas, but it is hard to look past the Dan Quinn part of this story.

Quinn managed to survive when the consensus was the Falcons would part ways with their coach at some point last season. Despite his surprising survival this offseason, it is hard to imagine Quinn lasting much longer in Atlanta. Not after the coach who has defined his career on defense witnessed the Falcons give up a combined 78 points in the first two weeks of the season.

The prime years of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and one of the best NFL offenses are being wasted in Atlanta. The Falcons would be wise to make a move sooner rather than later to avoid another lost season. For the Cowboys, a 1-1 record never felt so good, but this team looks far from the NFC contender many expected them to be when the season started. Dallas has a short time to make a lot of improvements to have any chance in Week 3 as they head to Seattle.

Injuried Defined Week 2 as Several Stars Are Likely Out for the Rest of the Season

After a relatively clean opening week, the NFL was decimated with a number of star players sustaining potentially season-ending injuries. Both Nick Bosa and Saquon Barkley are believed to have torn ACLs which will likely end their season.

There are additional players who could be sidelined including Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor, Drew Lock, Parris Campbell and Christian McCaffrey. ESPN 710 Seattle’s John Clayton called Sunday the worst day for injuries he has seen in his several decades of covering the NFL.

“I have never seen an injury day as bad today,” Clayton tweeted. “At least four ACL tears and so many other injuries.”

Top 5: Ravens Cruise for Second Straight Week While the Seahawks Survive Patriots’ Comeback

The Ravens made short work of the Texans, but the real test for Baltimore is when they hit the postseason. Baltimore is showing no ill effects from their disappointing playoff loss to the Titans, but questions will continue to surround Lamar Jackson until he can make a deep postseason run. For now, the Ravens are the early favorite to be the team to beat but there is still plenty of time for things to change

It was not the most polished outing for the Chiefs who needed overtime to defeat the Chargers, even without their starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. It marks the second straight slow start for the Chiefs, but this time there was not the offensive explosion by Kansas City in the second half.

After having a comfortable lead, the Seahawks needed every second to hold off the Patriots. Cam Newton marched New England down the field to set up a quarterback run that had worked all game long for the Patriots. The Seahawks were able to get a red zone stop with Newton falling just short of the goal line as time expired.

Russell Wilson has arguably had the best start to the season of any NFL quarterback. Wilson was 21-of-28 for 288 yards and five touchdowns. The Seahawks quarterback also added five rushes for 39 yards. It is early but we are seeing the best version of the Seahawks offense we have seen under Pete Carroll as Seattle continues to “Let Russ Cook.”

Bottom 5: The Jets Are ‘Pissed’

The Jets could be the worst team in the NFL and there are no signs of things changing any time soon. Jets head coach Adam Gase described himself as “pissed” after another blowout loss.

“I’m pissed right now,” Gase told the New York Post. “That [expletive] no fun going out there and getting your a– beat. We need to get better fast.”

Things are almost as bad with the other team in New York. Like the Jets, the Giants are winless and are facing another season without Barkley after the running back suffered a horrific injury in Week 2.

The Panthers are where we expected them to be as Matt Rhule has a rebuilding year ahead of him in his first season as an NFL head coach. It will be worth watching to see if Teddy Bridgewater is the team’s quarterback of the future, or if Carolina could be in line for one of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL draft class.

Here is a look at our latest NFL power rankings.

NFL Power Rankings: Heading into Week 3