Week 2 NFL Power Rankings
By Tim Kelly
Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
20. New York Jets
What did we learn from the Jets in week one? Essentially that Geno Smith is slightly better than he was at the end of the year, with an improved receving corps and a running-back tandem of Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson that exploded in a week one win over the Raiders.
For the most part, their defense is going to keep them in games. But barring them getting the league-best running production that they got in week one, or them playing the Raiders every week, they still look like a .500 team.
19. Baltimore Ravens
Yes, they did actually play a game last weekend. And they competed with a Bengals team that has a pretty good defense behind a big day from Joe Flacco. But they didn’t win that game, and they had a pretty tumultuous week leading into another divisional game.
The Steelers are already 1-0, so this as close to a must-win as it gets in week two, and it’s impossible to think that Ray Rice hasn’t detracted from trying to prepare for that.
18. Minnesota Vikings
I think they’ll ultimately finish last in a crowded, pass-heavy division, but they did just put up 34 points against the Rams’ defense.
And the combination of Adrian Peterson and Cordarrelle Patterson, who is Percy Harvin without the migraines and health issues, is going to be fun to watch regardless of how the 2014 season ultimately turns out.
17. Chicago Bears
Their defense gave up a few too many big plays, but that was to be expected. I don’t walk out of week one feeling like the Bears aren’t going to be a contender in the NFC North. If you thought that they’d be a dark-horse contender in NFC, then maybe you were brought back to reality, but I wasn’t a part of that.
The one thing worth noting is that while the Bears have a loaded offense, so do the Packers, which we knew, but the Lions might rival both of those offenses.
Were only one week into the season, and while I just mentioned that I’m still high on the Bears’ division, I think team in the NFC North are going to beat each other up this year, which might keep the Bears from actually making the playoffs.