Week 2 NFL Power Rankings

Sep 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) reacts to a fumble being returned for a touchdown in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

24. Kansas City Chiefs

I thought the Chiefs would take a dip, but losing to the Titans? The bigger week one loss might actually not have been the loss of the game, but rather the loss of Pro-Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson for the year.

I have a feeling I’m really going to relish in talking about the Chiefs this year. Andy Reid was an apparent genius for taking the Chiefs from 2-14 to 11-5 last year, except the 2012 Chiefs were only that bad because of a rash of injuries.

Don’t get me wrong, he did a nice job turning an offense led by Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith into a contender, except I’d argue that there defense and special teams–two areas that are really out of Reid’s control–were what really led to the turnaround.

In 2014, the Chiefs schedule is considerably harder, and if Reid is only going to give the ball to Charles 11 times a game, there win total is going to be considerably lower.

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While Josh McCown did help the Bucs mount some sort of comeback against the Panthers, he looked like the glorified game manager that I’ve pegged him as all offseason.

After week one, the Bucs look like the fourth best team in a crowded NFC South, which really makes me ponder what they think they are accomplishing by playing the 35 year-old over  24 year-old Mike Glennon, who played well enough last year to at least warrant getting a shot to play this year.

22. Dallas Cowboys

Normally I think the criticisms of Tony Romo are a media-created thing that everyone conveniently runs with because he plays for the Cowboys, but he was brutal last week. I wouldn’t get used to that. Offensively, if they use DeMarco Murray as much as they did last week, and can control the clock, they can try to keep the defense off the field as much as possible.

Unfortunately, their defense is too bad for me to think they are any more than a seven or eight win team.

21. Houston Texans

Losing Jadeveon Clowney right away sucks, but J.J. Watt and the Texans defense held what was expected to be a pretty dynamic Redskins’ offense to only seven points, which is a sign that their defense should be able to keep them in games with just about anyone this year.

As for the offense, Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t bad by any means, but I still ultimately expect Ryan Mallet to get an opportunity to play under former Pats’ offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

The Texans might only win seven or eight games this year, but they are one of the team’s in the NFL that you really don’t want to play because their defense is going to keep them in games.